We hopped on the Metro subway from Charles de Gaulle Airport to our apartment hotel. Andrew and I always like to take public transit in a foreign country, because aside from being a cheaper way of travelling, it allows us to quickly immerse ourselves into the city and its people.
After checking in at 1pm - and despite being up for almost 30 hours and feeling the luggage under our eyes gravitate towards the floor - we headed out to start exploring the city of lights. After all, if it's anything us gays love to do, it's to pack as much in as we can.
Our first stop was L'Arc de Triomphe. We took the Metro - the easiest and cheapest way to get around Paris. The Arc was our first encounter with Paris' stunning architecture and we were quite impressed by this early 19th century creation - commissioned by Napoleon, to honour those who fought for France, in particular, the Napoleonic Wars.
Located in the heart of Place De L'Etoile and standing 150 feet tall - with several avenues branching out from it, like the spikes of a star - it is an arc to trump all arcs. We ventured to the top - all 284 steps of its skinny spiral staircase - and took in our first of undoubtedly many more panoramas of Paris. Beautiful.
Standing atop the Arc, I enjoyed getting a high-level view of the city. What I loved instantly about Paris were the old buildings; their beautifully-detailed architecture and character-filled French windows and balconeys told me instantly why so many people come to and fall in love with this city.
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