Touchdown in Paris — Jet Lagged but Thrilled
We left Atlanta at 8 p.m. and landed in Paris at 10 a.m., which sounded like a perfect setup - fly overnight, sleep on the plane, arrive rested and ready. Spoiler: we did not sleep. Not even a little. We landed on pure adrenaline and the kind of delirious excitement that makes everything feel slightly surreal.
Our first milestone happened before we even left the airport: the girls got their first passport stamps. It sounds like a small thing, but watching them hold out those little blue books and see them stamped for the first time felt like the whole trip just became real.
We grabbed an Uber to our Airbnb, dropped the bags, changed clothes, and headed straight out to figure out the Metro and make our way to the main event.
A Street Artist, the Police, and Our First Parisian Adventure
We wandered down toward the Seine, still pinching ourselves a little, when a street artist approached and offered to sketch the girls. We said yes immediately - how could you not?
Halfway through the first sketch, the police showed up.
The artist didn't even flinch. He just kept drawing while we all stood there frozen, doing that thing where you look at each other silently trying to decide if you should run, stay, or pretend to be deeply interested in the river. The officer let him know he needed to wrap things up and move along. The artist nodded, completely unbothered, and kept drawing.
They came back. He was still drawing.
By the time both portraits were finished, the police had returned a second time and everyone parted ways peacefully - the artist unhurried, us slightly breathless, the girls completely delighted. We later learned that street vendors in Paris need permits to sell their work, which we did not know going in. What we did know was that we'd accidentally become part of a little underground Parisian street scene on day one, and the sketches are some of my favorite things we brought home.
Dinner Inside the Eiffel Tower
The plan for the evening was dinner at Madame Brasserie, a restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower that I'd booked entirely with credit card rewards points. It's exactly the kind of thing I would have talked myself out of paying for - $628 for dinner felt wild, but with points it felt like the most magical free meal of our lives.
We arrived to photographers snapping pictures, chatted with other families waiting in line, and then rode the elevator up to what I can only describe as genuinely surreal. Our server was wonderful, the views were unreal, and we got a photo with the Olympic rings still on display from the Games held just weeks before our trip. Sitting inside the Eiffel Tower, watching the sun set over Paris while the girls tried new dishes without a single complaint - it was one of those moments where you just think: we actually did this.
Running on Fumes
We had every intention of staying long enough to watch the Tower sparkle at night. By 8:20 p.m., all four of us hit a wall simultaneously. We'd been awake for going on 40 hours, and the choice was either leave gracefully or risk a full family meltdown in the shadow of one of the world's most romantic landmarks. We left gracefully.
No sparkle show. Zero regrets. We'd earned our sleep.
Day One Takeaway
Our first day in Paris wasn't about seeing everything. It was about arriving - really arriving - and letting the city settle in around us. A passport stamp, a sketch from an almost-arrested street artist, dinner inside the Eiffel Tower, and enough sense to go to bed before things went sideways.
Not a bad start.
