Charles and I arrived safely in the Paris area around 9 AM (local time) this morning, caught the train into town, and were able to check in to our hotel early so we could freshen up. The flights were uneventful – though neither of us could get comfortable enough to sleep on the plane. We are both pretty tired.

Our standard practice when fighting jet lag is that no matter how tired we are, we make ourselves stay awake until the approximate time when we’ll be wanting to go to sleep during the remainder of the trip. Generally, there are a lot of exciting things for us to see when we first arrive in a new place, so it doesn’t tend to be particularly challenging to stay awake. Unfortunately, most of the things we had planned to see in Paris at Christmastime (the Champs Elysees decked out for Christmas, a special Christmas light show at the Eiffel Tower, French Christmas markets, etc) are not currently safe for tourists due to the ongoing riots in many of the touristy areas.

Fortunately, Montmartre has not yet been effected by the riots and is a neighborhood that holds fond memories for us from a past trip to Paris, so we took the (very crowded) metro there for the afternoon. For anyone not familiar, Montmartre is the artsy-fartsy bohemian neighborhood that has been home to many a famous artist, including Van Gogh and Dali. It’s also the home of several iconic cabarets (including the Moulin Rouge – yes, the one from the movie) and the Sacre Coeur basilica – which I find to a be a delightful contrast. And finally, it was the primary setting for one of Charles and my favorite films: Amelie. Highlights of the afternoon include:

• My first taste of vin chaud / gluhwein (hot mulled wine) for this trip
• Riding a funicular (cable railway designed for ascending and descending steep hills) up the hill to Sacre Coeur; Admittedly, 90% of the fun for me was just saying the word “funicular”
• Admiring the beauty of Sacre Coeur
• 30 minutes of being warm and dry inside the Dali museum (the melting clock is fine and all, but overall, surrealism isn’t my bag)
• Stopping at Cafe des Deux Moulins for a mid-afternoon treat*
• Testing the rainproof, cold-weather items I purchased for this trip and finding them adequate

They say that Paris is lovely in the rain. I think of Audrey Hepburn in the classic movie Sabrina telling Linus “Never an umbrella in Paris – and under all circumstances rain the very first day.” Her character in the movie claims Paris smells better in the rain, crediting damp chestnut trees. I’ll admit that Paris does smell better after the rain – but I don’t know that I’m picking up any damp chestnut. I’d wager that it’s more a reduction in the “wee” smell that otherwise permeates the city. I also imagine that Sabrina was referring to a mid- to late-spring rain and not a near-freezing-temperature icy drizzle. Despite the cold and rain, it was a pleasant afternoon overall.

We’re turning in pretty early this evening, as we’ll be catching an early train (6:40 AM) to Munich in the morning.

*On a trip to Paris in the fall of 2012, Charles and I accidentally stumbled into this cafe looking for a place that might allow me to use “les toilettes” in exchange for buying a cup of coffee. Once inside, it was instantly recognizable and we were both completely star struck to discover that it was the cafe where Amelie worked in the movie.