Back to Paris courtesy of Air France

PHOTO: At the Louvre yesterday (c) Sery Kim

In celebration of Paris + Charles De Gaulle's twenty years of partnership, I was invited to join them at their celebratory partnership press conference in Paris today. To advance the trip, I decided to fly out one day early so I could walk around Paris because, really, when you are invited to Paris with one of its signature companies, why would you say no?

The weather in Paris, much like in D.C., was positively balmy. I barely needed a coat after the morning but I was glad to have it earlier when I ventured to the Louvre for the first time in over a dozen visits to Paris. No offense to the Louvre as I do absolutely love museums, but I just can not stand queueing for more than three hours to get into anything. However, since tourism in Paris is sadly down more than 40% due to the onslaught of terror attacks, I figured it would be "easier" to get into the museum -- also it is considered the off-season in Paris -- however that was not the case.

Ah well. At least I got a photo!

PHOTO: Onboard the Business Class service of Air France (c) Sery Kim

Some very interesting facts on Paris Charles de Gaulle, 65.8 million passengers come through the airport through 155 airlines, the first of which is Air France comprising of 53.4% of the traffic, and go to 319 destinations. In particular, the Air France Hub has 6,500 Air France staff servicing 100,00 passengers every day and 25,000 weekly connecting opportunities.

With so many flights, the entire campus is sprawling and so it was very kind of Air France to send someone to greet me and walk me through both the airport as well as through passport control -- if you've never had an official walk you through the lines at passport control, it is probably the best gift a travel can receive (other than flying first class)!

I've always found the service, both onboard and during check-in, with Air France to be fairly friendly. Of course, when you travel as a "special guest" with Air France the service is absolutely impeccable but I have traveled as a "normal" person and I've mostly found the stewards to be incredibly helpful.

PHOTO: All the handouts given during the press conference today (c) Sery Kim

While no one ever really needs additional incentive to come to Paris, right now is one of the best times to travel. For those living in Washington, D.C., if you book flights early enough in advance -- May -- you can fly round trip for $400 right now. Crazy amazing deal!

Then, when you get here, you can do some of my favorite things like getting hot chocolate at Angelina's. The service is absolutely crap, probably the worst service in Paris, but the hot chocolate is delicious so I endure the terrible service for this reason.

PHOTO: Hot chocolate at Angelina (c) Sery Kim

Other things I love to do is to bargain vintage shop in Marais. Free'p'Star is probably is my favorite, mostly because it's so chaotic on the inside with a wide-range of items. I found a great on-trend belt there yesterday for a mere 5 euros. Another one I found is a place where you can buy items by weight. Fun times!

Thank you Air France for bringing me over for a quick 48 hours in Paris. it's been a great trip so far!