When I went for my morning croissants, life in the 16th arrondissement was much busier than it was when we arrived this weekend.  Children of all ages were heading out for school, and adults were on their way to work.  One of the joys of staying in an urban residential area is feeling like we are part of life in Paris.  We must be starting to look like we fit in because this afternoon a man stopped us to ask for directions in halting French.  He was so happy to find out we were Americans and could help him out in English.

Our goal today was to master the Metro (Paris subway) and visit a number of different areas in the process.  After making four transfers on one trip, we feel confident we can now get anywhere in Paris on the Metro.

The Hotel de Ville (below) is home of the Mayor of Paris and local administration.  Ever since 1357, the City of Paris’ administration has been located on this site.  Two days a year, Paris celebrates Heritage Days by opening the holy shrines of buildings which are normally closed to the public.  On this Saturday (the first Heritage Day), we will be able to tour inside this spectacular building.

Beautiful weather welcomed us to our first full day in Paris.  After fresh croissants from our corner patisserie, we tried a different Metro station for a weekly pass, and voila, my French improved overnight, and we got our passes.  Our pass starts on Monday, so we spent the day walking in the Bois de Boulogne,  the second largest park in Paris and 2.5 times larger than Central Park in New York City.  Hiking back to our apartment we passed the Roland Garros Stadium, home of the French Open and the  Jardin des Serres Auteuil, a beautiful botanical garden where I plan to spend more time.  According to Paul’s Fitbit, we walked 13 miles today.  Dinner tonight was at a French/Asiatic restaurant recommended by our landlady.  I ordered our entire meal in French and got a “thumbs up” from our waitress, which probably means my French was understandable but far from flawless.

We are now in our Paris apartment-plane on time, not too jet-lagged, all keys and codes to get in worked, and we love it.  After unpacking, we explored our neighborhood and tried to buy a weekly metro pass.  My French may be a little rustier than I thought, so tonight I am planning what I need to say, and we are going to try again tomorrow.

Feeling a bit grubby after being in our clothes for two days, we decided to dine in, and had a wonderful meal of wine, bread, four cheeses (never had any of them before), grapes, olives, and chocolate.  After dinner, we took a little stroll to the Eiffel Tower.

This is the view out our living room window.

Our bags are packed, we’re ready to go

We’re standing here, outside our door

Waiting for our friend to pick us up and take us to the airport, we are about to embark on a month-long adventure in Paris.  For a short time, we are going to live like the French in an apartment in the 16th arrondissement.  I am ready to eat croissants, drink wine, roam little side streets, visit the markets, and enjoy life in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.