You know, Paris was one of the many cities I had never really thought about going. I have always wanted to see Rome, Sydney, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and other great cities but Paris was never really at the top of my list. For some reason, I made the decision to plan a weekend trip to Paris. My rationale was a little crazy, “I’m 30…I need to do something fun for myself.” Not really the greatest reason in the world but a reason all the same. Once I booked the trip, my excitement grew. Little by little, I began thinking about all the fun stuff there is to see in Paris. I made myself a list: Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee, Versailles, and the list goes on. I was excited about the trip but not excited about having to speak French…mainly because I can’t. One of my friends and colleagues, agreed to go with me. She studied French for quite some time so she was definitely a good companion. Not only for the language, but also because she’s a fun person to be around.
We left Vienna headed on a plane bound for Paris. The flight was no fun. It was delayed a little and then we had to hurry for our transfer in Frankfurt. Luckily, the flight there was also delayed so we had nothing to worry about. We had reserved a shuttle from the airport since our arrival was pretty late. The driver was extremely nice and helpful. He had a van waiting for us and he had a couple other people to pick up as well. Before we knew it, we were a van full of people rolling through Paris at night. It was absolutely beautiful! 
The sights were amazing to see but the driving was an experience in and of itself. There appear to be no rules what so ever. And the pedestrians are the craziest. They simply walk out in the middle of the road with no attention to the cars coming at them at 60 miles an hour. Now, I enjoyed seeing the sights but I was more than ready to be dropped off at my hotel. I was on the fast track to becoming motion sick…and for those of you who understand…it’s not a fun track to be on. Fortunately, we arrived at our hotel and check in. It was a quaint little hotel not far from the Republique. We were anxious to get to our rooms and get some sleep…little did we know this was going to be a task. We walked into an extremely small room with a temperature of at least 100 degrees if not more. Once the windows were open, it dropped to a cool 95. The heat was something that could be dealt with but once we laid down on the bed, we found another problem. The bed was as comfortable at a hard wood floor. Either way, we knew we had a lot to accomplish so we needed some sleep. I put my earphones in and did my best to sleep.
The alarm was set for an early 6:45 am. Amazingly, the room was actually a bearable temperature since we were able to leave our windows completely open. There was only a wall in front of us so there was no chance of anyone seeing us nor getting into the room. The first thing on our list was breakfast with a cup of coffee. We found a cute little café on our way to the subway. I had a true French baguette in France. It was delish but the coffee was lacking. Once the caffeine began to take effect, we made our way to the underground. It’s a strange feeling…not knowing what type of ticket we needed for our day. We took the time to play around with the automat before deciding to talk with information. Of course, “talk” is relative. As we walked up, I was hoping one of 2 things would happen: 1. my colleague would remember her French or 2. the person at the counter could speak English…fortunately, both happened. She was able to remember enough to ask for help in French. Then he spoke enough English to point us in the right direction...Versailles. We headed in what we thought was the right direction. It’s extremely unfair to compare the French train system to that of Germany and Austria but I have to do it. We were standing on the platform for 30 minutes and missed 2 trains. Now it seems like something stupid to do but the problem was simply that the signs were extremely unclear. One time the sign said platform 1 so we went to platform 1 only to miss the train on platform 2. This happened once more before we simply decided to get on the next train no matter where it was headed. Luckily, it was headed in the right direction. We made it to Versailles and began our tour. I cannot begin to describe how beautifully extravagant this palace is. Learning about the “Sun King” in class was nothing compared to seeing this work of art in person. I can now fully understand why the country of France went bankrupt. There was gold, velvet, and crystal everywhere.
We took a self guided audio tour through the palace and were not alone. There were wall to wall tourists. After 3 hours in the walls of the former residence of the king, we decided to head out for some fresh air and something to eat. On our way back to the train, we found a crepe place so why not. Baguette for breakfast and crepe for lunch…it’s French right!? Of course, we also took the time to do some shopping before heading to our next destination…Arc de Triomphe. Before getting on the train, we decided to buy a sandwich for a picnic on the Seine. We took a hot train back to town and wound up at the Arc. As we came up the stairs, there was a thunderstorm brewing. The wind was blowing and the clouds were extremely dark overhead. As soon as it began to rain, we headed for cover. We were fortunate to end up in the coverings of a movie theater. Considering this a sign, we decided to take a break from sightseeing and watch a film until the storm blew over. It worked out perfectly. After the movie, the rain and wind had let up and it had cooled down so we were able to stroll down the Champs Elysee. Before we knew it, we were almost to the Eiffel Tower. 
At that point, we decided to power through and walk to the tower instead of hopping on the subway. One of the streets we chose was the “Rodeo Drive” of Paris. We passed Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc. Unfortunately, the stores were all closed so I had to wait to do my souvenir shopping =) We made it to the Tower but decided not to go up just yet. The crowd was OUTRAGEOUS. We opted to have our picnic by the river and head back to the hotel to plan the next day’s events. On our walk back, we discovered a forgotten fact about Paris; the death of Princess Diana. We happened to cross the street upon seeing a flame much like that of the Statue of Liberty so we wanted to take a closer look. Once standing in front of the flame, there was a photograph of Diana with flowers all around. That’s when we remembered. People had come to leave letters and write on the wall which was over the tunnel in which the accident occurred. That was an unplanned something special. I can remember watching the events on tv and here I was standing over where it happened. It’s a strange feeling which cannot be described with words. We took a few minutes to read the various inscriptions before making our way to the subway. At that point, we had calculated being out of our hotel 14 hours. It was bedtime!
Saturday morning was a tough one. I was so extremely tired and couldn’t tell you why. I actually slept the night before. Either way, I was REALLY slow getting moving but felt a little better after a cappuccino =) I was then headed to the Louvre.
My colleague had been before so she wanted to see another art museum but we had agreed to meet at Notre Dame at 1pm. It could not have been a more perfect day to see the Louvre. It rained most of the morning so there was no need to be out and about. I made my way to the ticket counter and was extremely impressed with myself. I actually asked for my ticket in French! Now, the guy behind the counter laughed but at least I tried. I made it through security, got my audio guide, and headed straight for….yep, you guessed it…the Mona Lisa. I figured I should see her first and then enjoy the rest of my time looking at the other works. It was a sight to see but she was not my favorite piece. She was also not as crowded as I had expected. I was expecting people to be wall to wall to see her but that was not the case. I must also take some time to make another France/Germany/Austria comparison…security. Before entering the museum, I had to have my purse x-rayed but when they say NO flash…they DON’T really mean it in France. People were using flash left and right. Try that in Germany or Austria. It takes all of 2 seconds for someone to walk over and say, “No Flash please.” There were security guards walking through the rooms but I never saw one of them use the famous German/Austrian phrase. Interesting…Anywho, after checking out Mona Lisa, I decided to browse some of the other famous artists such as Spitzweg, Friedrich, David, etc. I am always overwhelmed when I stand in front of the actual work of art which I had only seen in a textbook before…yeah, I’m a dork but it’s an amazing feeling. After several hours of looking at art, I was pooped. I got on the subway headed for Notre Dame. Upon arrival, I found my colleague standing in front of the massive cathedral. The line was wrapped around the block so I took a couple of pictures from outside before heading to the Latin Quarter. This particular area is well known for its wide variety of shops and restaurants for inexpensive prices. We had some lunch, did some shopping, and decided to try the Tower once more. Unfortunately, we would have been waiting in line over 2 hours to get tickets so we made a wonderfully executive decision…go back to the room to watch the Germany/Argentina game. I watched the game while my colleague slept. It was a relaxing afternoon. When she awoke, we decided to get out of the room again. There was another game on but we opted for some movement. We walked the streets near our hotel and agreed upon yet another crepe. The guys at this particular imbiss were nice so we decided to have a seat, eat our crepes, and watch the soccer match with them. They were pulling for Spain, who won, and we had a wonderful time watching them interact with one another. Of course, then it was off to bed. We had an early day ahead of us.
Since our first 2 attempts of climbing the Tower weren’t successful, we decided to get there first thing Sunday morning. Our flight wasn’t until later so we had some time to get ready, packed, and over there. Well, there were 3 extremely long lines and one fairly short one. The short one involved taking the stairs. Since we had rested the day before, we decided why not? I’ve got to do this before I leave or I’ll regret it. The line moved quickly and before I knew it I was climbing the stairs inside the Eiffel Tower. 
It was amazing. It looks as though you would never make it but it’s surprisingly easy to manage. The view was breathtaking! You could see all of Paris from up there. Josh, you would never make it. You can see underneath your feet and once you get up there, it’s apparent that you’re several stories above Paris. I thought of you as I climbed what came to be 40 some odd stories. Of course, sadly it was off to pick up our bags and head for the airport. Before leaving though, we headed to the Latin Quarter for one last crepe. I opted for chocolate and coconut while my colleague chose chocolate, banana, and whipped cream. It was a nice end to the Paris getaway.
As I waited at the airport for our flight time, I made some mental notes of what I would like to see the next time I come as well as what I would like to do again. I made my notes with several family and friends in mind. I can’t wait to come back! Now that I understand the transportation system and can use a few French phrases, I’m ready for a second trip...I would even stay in the same hotel again! After the first night, the bed grows on you! Au revoir Paris!
No comments:
Post a Comment