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Carrie and I took a trip to Paris for our 2nd anniversary.  We chose to book a tour and then spend a few extra days on the back end of the tour, so we would would know what we wanted to do and where to go.  I personally was apprehensive about Paris, having been under the impression that we would run into a bunch of rude and politically superior people that I would have to set straight.  This could not have been further from the truth.  Our guide, Arnaud, set the stage perfectly.  He said that Paris was no different than any other international large city, such as New York, except the Parisians were not inclined to be falsely kind.  As long as we were prepared for efficient service and tried to speak french, we would be fine.  We found that to be very true and we also found the city and its people to be far more genuine than most Americans, we loved Paris very much.  We also met some very nice people that we would love to see again, either as traveling partner and/or long distance friends.

The tour that we booked was the "Best of Paris in 7 days" with Rick Steves, click below for his site.  We choose Rick Steves after looking at many other travel sites and talking with a travel agent.  Carrie has been a fan of Rick for a while, buy's his travel books and Tivo's his shows on PBS.  This tour was fabulous.  Along with the already mentioned fantastic guide, Arnaud is very knowledgeable and very Parisian, he had everything in order and was quite fun to talk with about even routine things in the city.  The tour included lodging, breakfast, a couple of lunches and diners, a metro pass (your best friend on this trip), a museum pass, a bus tour and a RER ride to Versailles.  There was plenty of walking and the Paris Metro is the best I have ever been on.  It may look a little daunting a first with 14 lines, but one you figure it out it is the only way to fly.  I WOULDN'T DRIVE IN PARIS IF YOU PAID ME.  The only other thing is the dollar is very weak against the Euro, so many things are about 30% more expensive once you do the conversion.  Don't for get to convert, we had a few instances of telling our selves that something looked like a good deal, because 1€ looked like $1 where it was really $1.31. I also recommend getting into Paris the day before the tour started as opposed to the day of.  We arrived at 8am and met for orientation at 3pm, by the time we got on the bus for the city tour I was out cold and don't remember a thing, I think Todd and Steve were throwing things at me but I can be sure. The itinerary looks packed and it is, but you will get plenty of free time, so if you've missed anything you can go back or if you would rather take a break at a cafe or grab a broché and a bottle of wine at the Eiffel Tower, you can do that too; Carrie and I enjoyed a stroll from the Musee du Louvre through the park, past Place de la Concorde and down the Avenue des Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe Etoile.  When we looked back we realized our stroll was about 3 miles and 7 metro stops, at least I don't have to do that again, EVER.  All in all it was a great trip and we are now looking for people to go in on an place in the city, we are open to the neighborhood but certainly love Rue Clare and its proximity to everything.

Here is our trip outline and itinerary