Adventure Started: We made it to Paris!

We left Victoria at 11:00 am and arrived in Paris at 11:45 am local time. The flying was great, we really enjoyed the novelty of Icelandair. Everything from the retro stewardess outfits complete with pill box type hats to the Icelandic sayings and trivia written everywhere in the plane. We had a very brief stopover in Iceland and it already has us thinking whether we should engineer a stop in Iceland on the way home (if we have any funds left).

On our Iceland to Paris leg of the trip Ben sat next to one of the former directors of UNESCO. He was a very talkative an interesting person so the three plus hours went by in no time.

Aside from Abby getting about 2 hours sleep during the restless night, none of the rest of us were able to catch any winks. Despite that, we managed to navigate the airport shuttle, train, two metro lines and brief walk to our Paris apartment with no hiccups. No hiccups, that is, until we arrived. The codes we were given for the two security doors did not work so we waited outside for a few minutes until people exited the building. Slipping inside, we then manoevered the narrow, winding stairs to our fifth floor walkup, only to find there was no one there to greet us. Trying the door, we found it locked. Over the course of the next hour, we sent out twosomes to find a phone card, reach the owner and find food. Those stairs are a lot of fun, especially for two very tired girls! When we reached the owner on her cell, she said the door was actually unlocked for us (however, it required a real shove to get it open). I felt badly then, knowing that Abby needn't have fallen asleep on the stairs earlier. After some other minor travails, we now have internet access and full bellies (and two kids sleeping off their travel day). Hannah has been a wonder, communicating with store owners, metro guides and our host in French and we feel fortunate to have her as translator for this initial country.

And, in case you're wondering, we survived the travel pains with no stress and inner turmoil. It bodes well for us when we will manage to actually get a full night's sleep.