Paris, France - Arrival

We arrived in Paris at about 10:30 PM and after a bit of initial confusion over how to buy tickets for the subway, and how to interpret the transportation map, we eventually managed to find our hotel, Le Duc De L'Orange, located in Le Chatelet - in the first arrondissement.

Before I ever arrived in Paris, I envisioned a country filled with well-dressed people smoking cigarettes, eating baguettes, and talking on their mobile phones. What I found when I arrived, was that for the first time in my life, my preconceived notions were 100% correct - Paris is full of well-dressed people smoking cigarettes, eating baguettes, and talking on their mobile phones.

Roaming the streets near our hotel, we settled on a two-floor bar with a live jazz band on the second floor. The waiter seated us at the front of the room and we sat down and looked at the menu.

There were wo prices for each of the drinks on the menu which I can only classify as "frightening" and "blood curdling." We later found out that the distinction between the two prices, was based on location in the bar (upstairs or downstairs) and we promptly departed, concluding that the band probably wasn't worth watching anyway. What do the French know about jazz?

We settled on a nearby bar that had prices in the "slightly vexing" range, which was far more acceptable to me after my surprise expense at Waterloo.

After a few drinks, we decided to head back fairly early.