As always, I don't own these lovely ladies, but I do love to borrow them for some playtime :)
Jane wakes when she feels the bed shake. A thought enters her head that she is experiencing an earthquake, but she hears an announcement speaking first in French, and then in English. Right, I'm on a plane about to land in Paris. Wow, I actually slept ok. This first class gig isn't bad! Jane stretches and looks around. A flight attendant approaches with a warm towel to freshen up and to help adjust her seat, Maura is returning from the bathroom. She leans down to kiss Jane.
"Good morning, Jane. How did you sleep?"
"I actually slept. I seriously feel kinda rested."
"Perfect." Maura settles into her seat next to Jane. "We'll check into the hotel, freshen up, and then go see some sights." The next hour is the usual bustle of departing a plane. Jane hates waiting for luggage, always afraid that it has been lost when it's one of the last bags. Luckily, today, Maura's bag appears first and a few suitcases later, Jane's. Jane breaths a sigh of relief. As they walk out of baggage, passengers are being greeted by loved ones. There is also a line of drivers holding up placards and iPads with names of passengers. Jane is surprised, but not really so, when she sees "Isles" on an iPad.
"Alphonse, it is so good to see you." Jane watches as Maura proceeds to kiss his cheeks, left, right, left.
"And it is always a pleasure to serve the Isles family."
"Alphonse, I would like to introduce you to Jane Rizzoli, my…." Maura pauses. She is so used to saying 'my friend,' but she looks down at her left hand and beams. "fiance."
Jane sticks out her hand, "Pleasure to meet you."
Alphonse takes her hand, but pulls her in for the kisses. Jane is flabbergasted, but follows his lead on the kisses. "Miss Rizzoli, it is an honor to meet you."
"Uh, thank you. Same here."
The ladies follow Alphonse to the car. It was cool, in the 50's. If the ladies came directly from Boston, it would have felt mild, but coming from a warm island, it felt cold! A 20 minute drive and they arrive at their destination, the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. Maura checks them in, speaking fluid French. Their baggages are loaded to a cart and they follow the bellhop into the elevator. As he opens the door, Jane stops a step in with her jaw dropping to the floor.
"Maura," she whispers, "this room is bigger than my apartment." She turns in a circle in amazement. "Can we afford this?" Jane is still whispering in case the bellhop hears her worry and takes the bags back down to the desk.
"Oh, sweetheart, don't worry. The Isles Foundation owns this room and it is available to family and Foundation sponsors whenever it is needed." Maura takes Jane's hand to show her the view. "This is one of the Signature Eiffel Suites of the hotel." Maura brings Jane over to the glass door that leads out to a balcony with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
"Wow. Now that is what I call a window with a view!" Jane stands gazing at the tower.
"I was thinking that could be one of our stops today, if you aren't too tired." Maura wraps her arms around Jane's waist from behind. This is what you'll be looking at when I propose to you tomorrow night! Maura feels a rush of excitement course through her. Jane made her proposal perfect, Maura only hopes she can do the same for Jane.
"Sure. Can we climb it? Are those little people I see down there?" Jane squints at the Tower.
"I'm not sure if we can verify the heights of the people that are currently on the Eiffel Tower, but I do not believe that they are all 'little people' such as …." Jane kisses Maura.
"Sweetheart. I know the people are mostly in what you would consider normal parameters of height; that was just a phrase to say they look little from this perspective." Jane smiles as she kisses Maura's nose.
Maura takes the map that is left on one of their tables and they ladies proceed out the door for the short walk to the Eiffel Tower. Jane is observing all the people around the area. She sees many of the tourists wearing their backpacks backwards, on the front of their bodies.
"Hey, Maur. By any chance, is their a high rate of pickpockets here?"
"Unfortunately, Jane, yes. There are so many tourists here, it brings out the criminal elements."
As they arrive at the base of the Eiffel Tower, Jane sees military personnel with assault rifles patrolling. "Wow, they take security here very seriously, huh?"
"Yes, they do, Jane. It is considered a norm to see groups of three military personnel with their weapons patrolling the base of the tower. Did you know, Jane, that when the Tower was first built, it was the world's tallest building at 1,023 feet until the Chrysler Building was built in 1930 in New York. This tower is built so soundly, that it barely sways 3.5 inches in a strong wind."
"Do you want to go up to see some of the views from inside the Tower?"
Jane looks up. "Hell, ya. That would be awesome."
Maura gets a mischievous glint in her eye. "Well, we can either take the stairs or the elevator up. It's only 345 stairs."
Jane quickly calculates. 345 stairs. Approximately 12 stairs per story. That would be…. shit! Almost 29 stories! Maura begins to get nervous as she watches a transformation come over Jane. She sees a determination in Jane's eyes that means her teasing has backfired and they may actually be walking up the steps. Not the way she planned on spending her first day in Paris.
"You know, Jane, on second thought, do you mind if we take the lift? I know this would be a great form of exercise," Maura leans in to whisper to Jane, "but I would rather save my strength for some exercise in bed tonight." Jane's eyes widen and a grin comes over her face.
"Anything for you my love." Jane is secretly relieved.
"Why don't we visit the champagne bar on level 3 while we enjoy enjoy the view?"
"They have a champagne bar here?" Jane raises her eyebrow.
"Of course, Jane. This IS Paris after all."
The afternoon passes quickly with the mini tour of Paris. Maura points out some of the sites from the Eiffel Tower and they decide to take a tour of several of the gardens. The last garden they visit is the Jardin du Luxenbourg. They stand at the terrace and people watch. Even though it is winter, the gardens are very popular for both tourists and Parisians. Jane and Maura watch as children sail toy boats in the Octogonal Lake.
Last, they travel to the Arc de Triomphe. Maura explains the history of the Arc. She points out the row of 30 Shields that run below the arch. "Each shield has the name of a Napoleonic victory." Jane is very respectful seeing the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Maura makes sure they are there at 6:30 pm when the flame is symbolically reignited each day.
They ladies find a quiet restaurant to finish the evening. Maura makes sure to find one that doesn't challenge Jane's taste buds overly much. "Jane, if we have steak here tonight, do you trust me to suggest something a little more exotic tomorrow night?"
Jane gives her a very doubtful look. "How exotic are we talking?"
A little late today, but work and errands got in the way. I hope you are enjoying the story! Hugs to everyone!
My love to Belgium