Sen. Al Franken kicked off his mentorship of freshman Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday as the pair met for their first official mentoring session.

While Franken and Paul may not have much political common ground, they have struck up one of the more unlikely bonds of the 112th Congress.

Franken's spokesman Ed Shelleby said Franken talked with Paul about things that he found helpful as a new senator, when the Minnesota Democrat was thrown into the Senate mid-year following his recount court battle. Paul and Franken also "continued their conversation about areas they might work on together."

No word on what areas that would cover.

Last week, when Paul appeared on David Letterman, the late night host asked the Paul about his friendship with Franken. The Kentucky Republican joked: "We're going to try to set a record by seeing how many times we can vote on opposite sides of an issue."

The Senate's orientation program gives freshman members both a Democratic and Republican mentor. Paul's other mentor is Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Source: Al Franken's office

Franken's meeting with Paul wasn't his only Republican encounter Wednesday — he also sat down with Minnesota Rep. John Kline to talk about education.