Paris

We arrived in Paris on Wednesday afternoon about 4:30 p.m. All was well except for a delayed flight out of Amsterdam. We sat on the plane next to a man from Paris who spends three weeks every summer in Portland with his wife, daughter, and in-laws. He was very friendly and helpful. 

We took the train into Paris, which was a little disturbing.  It felt more like Oakland than our idea of Paris.  Getting off the train in Paris without backpacks was more scary.  At first, we could not figure out how to get out of the subway, but when we did get out, there were lots of men loitering on the streets who appeared to be from the Middle East or North Africa.  We had to wander for at least 45 minutes before finding our hotel which was fine once inside. The only thing is that the elevator was broken and we had to lug our backpacks up 5 flights of stairs.  Good training for the Camino, huh?

Then we found that I could not access Wi-Fi with my iPhone, but Angie could pick up messaging. This is why you saw no posts until today.

We did have a great time in Paris and completely enjoyed the people. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.  We made a point of seeing the Mona Lisa at the Louvre as well as having a Guinness and fish and chips at an Irish bar. :)

We are now on our way to St. Jean Pied de Port by train from Paris.  It will take us about 7 hours.  There we begin our Camino.  We are a bit anxious, not knowing if we will find a place to stay and, more importantly, answering the question if we are up to this.  Our feet are already sore from finding and connecting to all the right trains!