Last days in Pari!

So I have seen Paris in fast forward. I spent 4 very fast days seeing as much as I can. I went up the Eiffel Tower, did a wonderful walking tour of the city, strolled through he Gardens of Versailles, and took a boat ride around the Seine. I go to sit in cafe's and watch Parisians as I drank my espresso, wine, and ate cheese... oh so much cheese.

I also got to go to the Louvre, when people tell you how big it is, they aren't exaggerating. It is huge, and amazing. Truthfully though I was more impressed by the building more then the art. Here is a view from inside the Louvre to the court yard.


I also enjoyed a the final leg of our walking tour which was down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. The street is so alive and full of people, and energy. The history of Paris is apparent in all you see. I never appreciate history so much as when I am emerged in it.


As a whole I found the people very nice (contrary to popular belief), the architecture beautiful, but the weather a bit shit. It rained or was cloudy the entire time. All that aside walking through the streets of Paris makes you feel like you are in a movie. They say it's a romantic city, but I didn't see that either.

Here's a list of my favourite things in Paris.

1) The Architecture
2) Winding tree lined streets.
3) Champs-Élysées
4) Arc de Triomphe
5) The Louvre
6) The Gardens of Versailles
7) The boat ride on the Seine
8) The Eiffel Tour
9) The Wine
10) The Cheese

Château de Versailles

Jess and I got up early and made our way to Versailles.

The town itself reminded me of an 'Olympic Village' or 'Vacation Spot', in fact the Rugby world cup was being held there at the time. Even though it was only a quick train ride from Paris it was quite different.

Luckily the weather was good and we were able to walk through the gardens. It was incredible. All I could think was that this was someone's back yard!!! I didn't have a wide enough lens to get it all in... so here's me in the garden instead ;-)



Again because the Chateau was so big and crowded inside I couldn't get any pictures to do it justice. All I can say is you have to go there to see it. If I learned one thing about the French it's that they like things BIG! We brag now when we have 9 or 10 foot ceilings, who do we think we are royalty? Nope they had 40 or 50 foot ceilings, maybe more! This place was Gianormous!

Belle Pari!

Very early but not so bright on Monday morning the ladies and I bid farewell to each other again. We all had different destinations, Kristy - Exeter, Sponge - Sheffield, Guava - India and Me - Belle Pari. I made my way to Waterloo Station to take the Chunnel to Paris. The ride was quick and uneventful. Once in Paris I became immediately aware of the fact that I don't speak or understand French. I did manage to get on the right subway and find my hostel all by myself though, with NO ERRORS! I know I'm getting good at this. I didn't go South instead of North, right instead of left, I followed maps and written instructions and had an incident free morning. It was going to be a good day.

Once I checked in I didn't want to waste anytime so I went for a wander. The streets in Paris are winding and are lined with beautiful buildings. Below is a great representation of what they are like, it was the first thing I saw when I got out of the subway (and had to walk up with my luggage by the way); instantly I fell in love with yet another city. I know I did it backwards because they say that Buenos Aries is the Paris of South America, and now I see why. It was similar in a lot of ways, specifically the architecture that I love so much.


I wandered my way over to the area where the Moulin Rouge is. The way it was described to me was that it was similar to the 'Red Light' district of Amsterdam. It wasn't quite that bad, but it was a flashy, sex lined street full of temptation for debauchery.

Then for a quick break I went back to my hostel, met a girl, Jess, in my room and we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower together. We ventured on the subway and again we made it there without incident. After 5 years of traveling alone I am really getting good at it, less time lost means more to see. That and the fact that 2 heads are better then one. Jess and I seemed to balance each other well. She knew what to do and when, and I knew how to get us there. Great combination, oh and she spoke French!! So we made it to the top of the tower and back, saw some lovely views of Paris, although a bit rainy and overcast.


This is my favourite picture of the Tower.

Once we were tuckered out (both of us up very early) we went back to our hostel through the pouring rain. There may have been an issue with us going the wrong way on the subway, but to our credit we were tired.