Paris Day 1 (sort of)

Well it took me over 30 hours but I finally arrived in Paris. 

I did only give myself less than a week to prepare for this trip as it was a last minute decision to even go, so after an amazing dinner with my husband on our last night together, I spent the following day trying to get a bit more organised before I headed off.
Jamie had to work but he got home at 2pm but we only had 1 hr together before it was time I needed to head to the airport.  After being together FOREVER this trip will be the longest time we have ever spent apart.
We said a tearful goodbye at the airport and I sobbed all the way to check-in.  I nearly started sobbing again when I nearly got caught out for pretending to be a Qantas Club member.  The only reason I nearly got caught out was that my bag was overweight (before i even leave for the trip!) and the girl was confused why th e computer kept flagging me for excess charges when I was suppose to get an extra allowance for being a Qantas Club Member.  Anyway after the supervisor was called over I played the dumb blonde and they ended up just letting me go.
Now onto the Qantas lounge to enjoy my Qantas Not Club Member benefits.

I did not have long before the flight was boarding.  I stayed long enough to finish my wine and to hear the final boarding call for the flight.  I managed to be at the gate before they were calling my name so I am definately getting better.

I board the A380 bound for Singapore ready for my connecting flight to Paris which is expected to land at 6a.m Paris Time.  The total travel time for me is 24hours.  Some bad things about the flight......Due to a storm the plane was grounded on the tarmac for over an hour.  This meant I missed my connecting flight to Paris and had to wait in Singapore to catch a flight to London, then wait in London to catch a flight to Paris.  This added another 6 hours onto my flight :(  Some good things about the flight.....The plane to Singapore was not full and I ended up with my window seat plus the other two seats beside me.  Enough room for me to lie down with my 3 pillows and blankets!  The flight from Singapore to London I happened to luckbox the exact same deal and again had the entire three seats. The movies were a welcome distraction and I got to see a few that I had not seen before.  The Hangover 2, Midnight in Paris, Something Borrowed, Pirates of the Carribean 4 and an arthouse movie that I cant remember the name of.  While the flights were long at least I was comfortable.

After landing in Paris I made my way to baggage collection worrying that my bag would be lost in all the confusion.  It was one of the first out! I then boarded the Roissy Bus bound for the area called Opera.  From there I caught a taxi to the apartment I am renting for my ime here is Paris.  While it was a little confusing it was fairly hassle free and I was met at the apartment by the lovely owner Ana.  She showed my around the apartment and made me feel very welcome.  I can call her whenever I need anything as she lives and works only 10 minutes away.  She left me with a welcome gift which was great as I had not eaten since dinner in Sydney over 24 hours ago.

I left the wine, cheese and biscuits, and just ended up eating some of the baguette with some french butter.  OMG how could bread and butter be sooooo Goood!  I unpacked and took a few pics of the gorgeous little apartment.

While I dont have a view of the Eiffel Tower or anything it is a cute little area that definately gives me the feeling of living in Paris rather than staying in a hotel room.

It was now around 3pm local time and although I was so tired I decided to head out just for a short walk and to not really liking the idea of eating in a restaurant on my own I wanted to get some food for dinner. 

I am on the fifth floor and no elevator (at least it will help work off the bread, cheese and wine) so I made my way out onto my street.

I walked around the neighbourhood for a couple of hours before grabbing some groceries and heading back to the apartment to crash.  The ground had now started swaying so I wanted to get back before I got over tired and disorientated.

I resisted the yummy food at a local shop which was difficult as did I resist the shop keeper (with the bung eye that made me keep looking behind me to see who he was talking to) who wanted to give me his number which was a lot less difficult.

I picked up a present for Jamie on my tight budget and then stumbled back up the stairs to my apartment.

Ahh finally back at apartment. I cant resist taking a few more photos of my view.

I spent some time watching the sun go down and thinking about what an amazing adventure this solo trip is going to be for me.  It made me miss Jamie heaps but I know this trip is going to be such a personal and positive experience for me. 
I made a small dinner and crashed in bed fast asleep by 8pm with dreams of what my next day will hold for me. xx