What to do First?

So here we were, staring at each other, all alone in the apartment. My inner thoughts were so mixed. We were in the middle of Paris so to speak, and now I had no idea what to do first. For the first time since we left America, Scott took charge. He is forever organized and neat, so he began unpacking. It was the one thing he could do to have a feeling of normalcy and control.

I followed Scott’s lead, and began unpacking as well. There was a small dresser in one corner, so we filled that first. We looked around and found some small doors, about 3 ft. high, built into the hallway by the bathroom. These were the ‘closets’ so to speak. We hung our shirts and whatnot, and piled our shoes in the bottom. Now on to the bathroom. Although it was spacious, clean, and shiny, it wasn’t much on counter space. Just a pedestal sink and a tiny rolling glass table (?) about 12 inches square. So happy was I to find a hook on the door, as I had a hanging bag for my toiletries.

All this took about 15 minutes...now what?

Although my eyes were burning and I was beyond exhausted, I wanted to head out. According to the experts, you aren’t supposed to take a nap...you are supposed to jump into the time zone immediately. Scott just stared at me, and sprawled out on the bed. He said he needed a 20 minute power nap. He fell asleep in about 30 seconds.

I roamed around the apartment (which took about 15 seconds) checked out the tiny kitchen area, went out on the balcony, and contemplated the next 8 days. It was slightly overcast and cool. The thing that struck me most, was the peace and quiet. It seemed I was the only person in the entire building. So strange...

There was a laptop in the apartment, and I decided to send an email home, just to let family know we had arrived. This email was the beginning of something big. More on that later.

As Scott snored, (there went the peace and quiet), I finally decided to lie down a few minutes...Wow...the bed was incredible! I sank down into the mattress...heaven!

Three hours later, we woke up!

I jumped up from a sound sleep. I was so disoriented. Where was I? I shook Scott awake, and I was in a complete panic to get going. I felt precious time had been wasted.

It was about 2pm (14:00 on the bedside digital clock). We bundled up with jackets and scarves, a first for Scott, and a look he wasn’t too keen on. He is a man’s man after all. Always living in the south, and now in Florida, neither one of us had ever worn a scarf...ever. It felt like everyone would stare at us. We were so self-conscience. I was determined we would not look like tourists. I have to say, we looked pretty chic as we went down the elevator. Very unlike us!

We stepped out the front door, and onto the street. We literally didn’t know which way to turn, or where we planned to go. With guide book in hand, we decided to explore Montmatre, our neighborhood.

As I think back to that moment, I realize how green we were. At this point of the trip, we figured it would be like any other vacation, only further from home. We had no idea the transformation that was about to take place in our hearts, our relationship, our lives. It would take about 3 days for Paris to truly wrap her arms around us, and for us to embrace her back in the same way.

Once this happened...magic!