Just D.I.N.K.ing Around: Finding Paris and Don't Move My Cheese!

Time to Fly!!

Our adventures start at the SeaTac airport in Seattle. We always like to arrive early to have as stress free flying experience as possible. If that means we have plenty of time to enjoy a meal and some drinks at Anthony's in the airport, then even better.

One of the perks of living in the Pacific Northwest, you can get good fresh seafood at pretty much any location. Today we had oysters and salmon poke at Anthony's before catching our flight. Kelly was disappointed, Copper River Salmon season was set to start the day after we flew out. Mental note, don't schedule vacation during Copper River season. For those who are not familiar, Copper River Salmon is some of the best salmon in the world.

The flight to Paris was pretty uneventful. We quickly met Duane and Tari in the airport, had a glass of bubbles and then headed to the hotel.

Since we have never been to Paris, We expect to be on the move all day long everyday, so we will begin by uploading the photos and then provide more details later.

After checking our bags, we took a quick walk to take a look at the Eiffel Tower and then headed to lunch. The hotel we are staying at in Paris is right in the heart of Rue Cler. That is a plus.... they also win the award for the smallest elevator known to man. And this is saying something because prior to this trip we could have sworn nothing could be smaller than the elevator in the hotel we stayed at in Rome.

Yes, this is the elevator....

"There is but one Paris...The French air cleans up brain and does good...." Van Gough

Our hotel was in the best spot, right on the Rue Cler like we said but also about two blocks from the Eiffel Tower. We quickly dropped our bags at the hotel and made our way to park near the tower.

Tari finally made it to the Eiffel Tower!! The friends in our group all joke and give Duane a pretty bad time because he has been to Paris before but for reasons he tries to explain never brought Tari a souvenir, not even one of those dumb Eiffel Tower fridge magnets.

Time for Lunch...Don't Move My Cheese!!

After checking out the tower and walking Rue Cler, it was time for lunch. There were several choices on Rue Cler to find an outdoor table and be a "true Parisian" We chose Cafe Central. We started our lunch with a nice Sancerre wine

The infamous cheese plate!!! Tari REALLY likes cheese, so for her lunch she ordered the cheese plate and some French Onion Soup. The picture above was the cheese plate our waiter brought out. We all had the same thought...that is ALOT of cheese. Silly us thought that was the cheese plate just for Tari.... FYI... we figured it out a few days later that no it was not just Tari's cheese plate. Which would have been good to know that first day. We proceeded to eat 98% of that cheese plate..... even though our server tried to remove it several times and then his manager came over and tried to remove it. Every time one of us (normally Duane) would say NO when asked if were were done. We are pretty sure that poor waiter was fired after we left. The cheese plate was the restaurant's cheese plate... it is supposed to be shared with all patrons.

Jamie was adventurous and ordered the beef tartar.... basically raw ground beef, raw egg, some Worcestershire sauce and spices. I have to say

Kelly ordered the Croque Madame. The French like their eggs, beef, and cheese

Duane ordered the duck confit, it came in it's own little crock

Of course after lunch, Kelly had to get Glace and Sorbet. As she said it is no Gelato, but it would hold her over till we got to Italy.

Walking the Streets of Paris.... To the Musée de l'Armée and Napoleon's tomb

The Musée de l'Armée is now a museum, when Napoleon first built it, it was intended to be a home/hospital for soldiers. Today it is military museum where one can learn about Napoleon's battles, and various other French conquering of the continent.

The courtyard of the museum....a whole day could have been spent wandering the grounds.

Inside the Museum.....

Along with Napoleon's history, the museum also had a great display of World War II items. They had many guns and Winston Churchill's favorite cigar and cigar case.

Napoleon...Soldiers Generally Win Battles; Generals Get Credit for Them

Of course, what is a museum about the French Military without a section about Napoleon? This museum did not disappoint. Besides having some expected artifacts like clothes, guns, and saddles. They also had his tomb and his horse... yes, his horse!!! The poor horse was stuffed and in a case for all to see.

Napoleon's Tomb is just like the man himself... larger than life, grandiose,and ostentatious.

In the picture below, you can see the scale of his tomb by looking at the man walking behind it.

Time to head back to the hotel

Little Bit of Cuba in Paris....

For a group of friends that built on wine, cigars and food, it was great to find a place in Paris that was a Cuba lover and Cigar lover's dream. Kelly actually found this place by googling cigars and Cuban bars before we left for our trip. It was a great way to spend the first night in Paris. We had wonderful Cuban food like guacamole, ceviche, and plantains. The mojitos were done with Havana Club Rum... the best rum in the world and the guys were happy with the authentic Cuban cigar selection.