I love Paris in the Spring time!

Last weekend of "Celebrate Kara's Birthday Month" and I am off to Paris with four of my girlfriends. But wait, would it be blog worthy if I actually got to Paris with no problems? NO!! So the story begins.
We started planning this trip months ago...well at least talking about it. What we were going to do, see...but never where we were going to stay. So I took the bull by the horns and got us a great apt, just a 16 min walk to the Eiffel Tower. About a month out I start to look at flights for the 5 of us, not bad in pricing, all under 160 euro. After sending out the email about times and prices I get a email back from one of the ladies and she tells me that she is afraid to fly, and that she is going to drive. Well I do not want to drive for 5 hours if I can fly for 1! Love you all, but I am not going in a car if I do not have to. So Tricia tells me that her husband will use his frequent flyer miles and get us tickets. Great Birthday Present!
Its a week before we leave and the other 3 ladies still have not decided if they are taking a train or driving. I can't handle it, I like to be organized, know what I am doing before I even know what I am doing.
So it is now the morning of the trip. Its about 7:20 AM and I am getting everything ready for my 7:30 taxi pick up. I see on my iPhone that I have a message from Jenn. I call her and she tells me that Natalie's leg is swollen, maybe a blood clot, and that Leslie ate something the night before and had an allergic reaction. So now poor little Jenn is not sure what to do.
I get in the cab and I am thinking well Leslie will take some benadryl and be fine and go with Jenn. Natalie I have no idea what is going on with her but she is not coming for sure.
So Trisha and I meet at the airport and get on a plane and arrive in Paris at 10 AM. We have messages that Jenn is getting Leslie and they are driving. But then the next message is that Leslie does not want to chance it and Jenn is all on her own again. Tricia and I get on our iPhones and start looking at flights for Jenn to get her butt here to Paris. We find flights for 250 and she will be here by 3 pm, with enough time to be here for our 6 PM time for the Eiffel Tower trip. So really I do not know what is going on, but I find out later that Jenn was going to take the train by herself, but did not have her passport, then two ladies from school drive her to the airport to get her on a plane, but its too late and too expensive for a ticket.

So what does this all mean? Tricia and I are in Paris all by ourselves.
I am adding another rule to traveling with women. If you are traveling with me, always, always do what I do, do what I say, stay with me! I will get you to where you need to go one way or another. Don't ask questions, don't ask "why?", just do what I say.

Tricia and I had a great time. The first day was so sunny we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. Not too many people on a Friday so we were able to get up nice and close.

It got so warm that we went into Esprit to try on clothes since we brought blue jeans and sweaters (cold and rainy in Germany). Tricia bought a skirt, I just rolled up my jeans and wore my tank top. Problem solved!

We went to the top of the Eiffel tower that night. Such a great day, the sky was clear and we could see for miles. We had met a family earlier that day while having lunch and overheard them talking about going to the Eiffel tower. Tricia told them that we had 3 extra tickets since our friends did not make it. So they paid for the tickets and went to the tower with us. Very nice.

This picture is the family we met treating us to dinner..which was a crepe and a coke light. He told us there are different menus when you go to a cafe. When you sit outside in front the prices are different than if you were to sit inside. My coke was 7 euro! Inside it was 2.50! Then when he ordered wine he told the waiter in french "not the table wine, the good wine behind the counter" Tricia said it was one of the best red wines she has had. He told us that tourists do not know about the pricing or that they are getting the cheaper wine for the same price as a good wine. He had lived in Paris before moving to the states after college, so it was great to get his in site on the city.

Tricia and I had walked so much the first day that I awoke in the middle of the night with a terrible cramp in my calf!

The next morning limping around the apartment I told Tricia, more water less diet coke today!

Today was Notre Dame, Chocolate tour, Sacré Coeur, and Moulin-Rouge. I swear Tricia was wearing the soles off my sneakers! I went to a souvenir shop after Notre Dame, and there were Japanese people everywhere in this store. The store owners were even Japanese, and yelling Japanese to everyone. After living in Japan for over 3 years I start yelling out Sumimasen!! To try and get their attention. I told Tricia I am an American in France speaking Japanese to buy something. How does that work?

We went on a fabulous chocolate tour of the city. Adam our tour guide showed us

La Maison Du Chocolate
Jean-Charles Rochoux
Poilaine Bakery
Pierre Hermé Macaroons
A Pastry Store
Pierre Marcolini Chocolatier
Patrick Roger Chocolatier

I do not think we could have had one more piece of chocolate after that 2 1/2 hour tour. I will never look at a normal American piece of chocolate the same. I have been tainted for life! Seriously look any of these up! They are to die for, cannot even explain to you what it was like to bite into the first eclair! First cold truffle. Yum!!!
It was a great trip, with a great friend. What a great birthday month! 40 rocks!!