The first day of my three-week Parisian adventure has come to a close, and I am calling it a success!

After arriving at my Airbnb in the 8e, my first order of business was finding a local market to buy basic food essentials like bread and butter. (YASSSS, THANK GOODNESS FOR FRENCH BUTTER!) After that, I grabbed lunch in a local cafe and explored a few blocks around my neighborhood before returning to my apartment for a nap.

Jet lag wasn’t actually bad today. I’m hoping that what they say, that the second day is the worst, won’t hold true… but I guess we’ll see, since it’s already 1:29am right now and I’m still awake and writing this. >_<

Anyway, tonight I grabbed dinner with friends who live here, and afterward we walked along the Seine as far as we could before flooding stopped us. (The river is abnormally high right now, so some of the water started spilling over onto the sidewalks.) Along our stroll, I snapped a few shots to test out my new camera, the Sony a6000, and see how it would perform at night. couldn’t be happier! I’m so glad I splurged and got it. It’s incredibly lightweight, and even with the 50mm lens, I can still fit it in my purse, tucked away from pick pockets. Expect a lot more pictures than last year!

No where else to go… guess it’s the end of the line!

We caught the 9pm Eiffel Tower light show! It’s hard to see, but the tower is sparkling. 🙂 

This is the Académie Française (French Academy), and I learned a fun fact about it tonight: the members who work here are called “Les Immortels” (The Immortals), because they hold their office for life.

When in Paris, it’s so easy to walk and walk and walk… and not realize how far you’ve gone until your feet start protesting. This is what happened to us; we started in the 3e at Hotel de Ville and walked along the river until we hit the Pyramide du Louvre. From there, we continued into the 1e and walked through Place Vendôme, all the way to familiar stomping grounds: the Palais Garnier (aka the Opéra Garnier) in the 2e. This is where I stayed last year, so no map was needed to get around and find the nearest metro station back to my apartment!

I am quite proud. Re-familiarizing myself with the metro system here took about a minute and navigating the streets was so much easier this time around. Knock on wood, I don’t think it’s going to take much time for me to feel like a Parisian. 🙂

Bonne nuit, mes amis! XO