First of all, Selena and I would like to extend a heartfelt danke serh to our hosts in Germany: Herbert, Brigitte, Jennifer, Martin and Jens. They were incredibly kind and generous to both of us and we greatly appreciate their hospitality! Germany is a beautiful country and I am grateful that I got to see at least a little bit of it.

I can hardly believe that I am actually in Paris!

Our first day of travel by train in Europe went off without a hitch. We caught the 10:48 from the Rheydt-Odenkirchen station, arrived in Cologne around 11:35 and transferred to the Cologne-Paris train with no problems. We passed through Brussels, Belgium on the way to Paris. Our train got into Paris shortly after 4pm. There was a slight delay in meeting up with our driver due to a miscommunication; however, all was forgiven when we met up with him. I’ve posted his picture. Enjoy, ladies.

After settling into our hotel (and enjoying some of the blanc de noir wine we brought from Germany), we went out and explored our neighbourhood. At the restaurant, we met a very friendly gentleman working there who is from Tunisia. When he found out we were from Canada, told us he loves Canada and is looking for wife. Our hotel is right across the street from Gare de Lyon, which will make our metro riding super convenient.

Tomorrow we tour the Louvre in the morning and are planning on going to the Eiffel Tower as well.

Bon nuit,

Stace

p.s. Trace, you would be so proud of me – the French I am remembering enabled me to go through the log-in steps for our Internet access and to have two conversations: one about the Metro and one to order dinner.