Day 1: Bonjour la Belle Paris!

Charles de Gaulle Airport to Hotel Concortel, Paris
Distance: approx 50km (we got lost... more than once)
Ride Quality: harrowing!

Ive officially made my first trip across the pond! Overall the flight was pretty good- they had a great movie selection! But unfortunately I abated a good portion of my sleep deficit before we left,  so I had a hard time falling asleep in the economy pretzel position. To make matters worse,  I packed our melatonin in the wrong bag,  so we didn't have that either.

The biggest surprise of arriving in Paris was the laid back attitude of the customs officer.  He gave us a big smile, said Bonjour,  stamped our passports and that was it! No request to know our itinerary,  date we would leave,  nada!

Overall the Charles de Gaulle airport isn't the swankiest but it gets the job done. And truthfully,  I was grateful for some of the grunge because it prevented people from looking too closely at Penguin + I while we were unpacking and assembling the bikes...  which thankfully all arrived,  all in good shape!

Tired from the flight and hungry because of no breakfast,  we set about assembling the gear. A brief look out the front doors of the airport,  though,  made me feel pretty anxious. It looked a LOT like Pearson,  with tiered and looping highways and fast moving cars.  I was skeptical that we'd be able to bike out of there without being roadkill.

It took us a good hour to work out a plan / route. Fortunately,  Penguin had already researched the route meticulously so really it took 15min to review the route and 45min to work up the courage to throw myself into Parisan traffic.

Overall the ride in to town went smoothly save for one near death experience each.  Paris drivers are CRAZY! The roads are narrow, street signs small and obscure,  and people here drive fast and aggressive. My near death experience occurred during one of the many roundabouts we navigated where a truck decided to randomly go into reverse while another car tried to Tbone me against it. I slammed on the brakes,  barely unclipped,  and skidded along on my heels directly into the truck with a light tap.  The truck driver just smiled and waved.  I was in a cold sweat of terror. Fortunately,  as we got closer to Central Paris,  the number of cyclists increased as did drivers' acknowledgment of them.

Once checked into our hotel we both had a hot shower in order to feel more human then grabbed a map and headed out to do a reconnaissance mission for our sightseeing tomorrow.  We walked down the Champs Elysees, saw the Arc de Triumph,  the Eiffel tower,  and then walked along the Seine to the gates of le Louvre. The architecture and history in Paris are amazing.  Even on our short little walk we saw so much.  Most notably,  the statuary in Paris seems to require that you are eternally described as atop a horse if you're an important person.  This can make things confusing because from a distance a man on a horse with an upwardly raised sword looks very similar to all other men on horseback waving swords in the air. Thus,  I would like to make a request: if I ever do anything sufficiently notable so as to require that my character or accomplishments are recorded for all time through the creation of a statue in Paris,  please do not put me on  horseback. I do not want to be confused with Napoleon every day by well meaning tourists.  Instead,  please place me atop a noble steed of a unique variety,  such as an emu.

That's all for to tonight. Penguin has already fallen asleep beside me and Id do well to follow his example. Hooray for a great first day of the honeymoon!

Cheers,
Saroja