But it was okay! Tom and I got by with the minimum. Merci, oui, bonjour, s'il vous plait!
A view of Paris.
Tom and I arrived in Paris on October 3, and it was really, really hot. We took the high speed Eurostar from England and went under the English Channel. There were a lot of unpleasant pressure changes as we went in and out of tunnels that kept making our ears pop painfully. But the trip was mainly uneventful as we made our way to our hotel near the Montparnasse Metro station.
Our first impression of Paris wasn't a positive one. Guess whaaaat? Paris smells like urine! Maybe it's because there weren't many public washrooms around, or because many of the washrooms we did find required a fee in order to use them. But when we were walking through a park towards the Louvre, Tom saw a guy peeing in the hedges.
Tom and I outside the Louvre. Turns out it was closed!
We planned to spend our first morning in Paris at the Louvre, but we arrived and discovered that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. Why Tuesdays? I don't know. It's not like closing on a Sunday would be logical or anything... So instead we took a walk through the Notre Dame Cathedral and were confused why people were taking photos. Both the Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral had a no photo policy, and we assumed the same would hold in France. Apparently the French only have a no flash policy.
The Notre Dame Cathedral.
From the cathedral, we decided to make the long walk to the Arc de Triomphe. It looked to be about 5km on the map, but we figured we would see many more sights than taking the subway. We were right! We passed many impressive buildings, an event for Paris Fashion Week, and several monuments.
The Arc de Triomphe.
The Arc de Triomphe is situated in a large traffic circle. From the top of the Arc, we spent a few minutes watching the chaos of cars below us. There are six to seven unmarked lanes of traffic filtering into two lanes! People going every direction, and non-stop honking. It also seemed like the people inside the traffic circle were yielding to the people on the outside. It's difficult to describe the traffic in words, so I've posted a video below.
French traffic circle chaos.
From the Arc de Triomphe, we headed towards the Eiffel Tower. It is hard to appreciate the size of the tower since there are no other tall buildings around it.
The Eiffel Tower (as seen from the Arc de Triomphe).
Up the belly of the Eiffel Tower.
Initially Tom and I planned to take the lift to the very top of the tower, but when we saw the line of tourists waiting to go up, we made the executive decision to take the stairs. There were about 670 stairs up to the second level, and it was a lovely view. We were exhausted after our first day; I'm sure we walked no less than 8km!
The line to take the lift up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
The line to take the stairs up the Eiffel Tower.
For our second day in Paris, we ventured into Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur. This area of the city was full of artists and tiny boutique shops. Although the Sacre Coeur was beautiful, the entire perimeter of the building and the steps leading up to it smelled strongly of urine. It kind of kills the so-called "romantic" vibe of the city!
The exterior of the Sacre Coeur.
We stopped at the Galeria Laffeyeta (i.e. a giant department store mall) to admire the intricate ceiling, and visited a French McDonald's. I secretly hoped the McChicken would be called the McPoulet... But no, it was still the McChicken.
The rest of the day was spent at the Louvre. We saw the Venus de Milo, and also the Mona Lisa.
Although we have heard many stories of the French being rude and snobby, everyone that we interacted with was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed our time in Paris, but it was not our favorite destination on the trip. Tom and I had quite the adventure flying home... But I'll save that for another day!
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