June 5

Today was my first day awake in Paris. Yesterday, I flew in and was so jet-lagged. I slept all day. So, it's like I wasn't really here yet. Today was fun! I walked central Paris with a local Parisian, friend of Alicia's. She really gave me a lot of insight about the history of the French canal and the recent string of terrorist attacks (no connection! I think). I appreciated hearing how the terrorist attacks has impacted local Parisian life, the side of the story not reported on the news. I had the most fun practicing my French at the la boulangerie (with Cleo's help). After our tour, we stopped and had a glass of French wine at a local cafe. I didn't catch the name of the cafe! But it was just nice to have French wine in a Parisian cafe. Everything was very scenic and beautiful. I think tomorrow I'll be more rested and ready to go in with the tourist crowds and do the touristy stuff. I'll take better notes on the different stops along with way. I was definitely too tired still for all that today. So, it was nice to walk around Paris in the non-touristy areas with a local. Relaxing warm-up to a beautiful city.