city at night

city at night

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

We're in Paris




We finally made it to France.  We were up at 4 AM this morning to catch our 7:30 flight from Barcelona to Paris. 

The city is outrageously expensive.  Our cab ride from the airport cost $80 US.  Our itty-bitty hotel rooms are the most expensive of the trip.  Our light lunch and snacks in cafés have been very expensive... but I must admit absolutely delicious.  (I had the best onion soup I have ever had!)

We have all heard the stereotype that the Parisians are rude and arrogant.  Well, if today's experiences are any indication, that stereotype is a bit fat lie.  Everyone that we dealt with today was extremely courteous and kind.  I even asked a fellow on the street where the subway station was... (I was so proud of myself.  I asked him in French!)... and he was very nice and pointed out exactly where the entrance was located.  I had one waiter compliment me on my French, and I only know a few phrases. 

By the time we got settled into our hotel it was around 2 PM.  We didn't return to the hotel until 12:30 AM!  We took the metro (subway) at first, but then we walked all over.  We arrived at the Place de la Concorde because we wanted to visit the nearby Orangerie Museum (famous for its Monet water lilies).  However, when we arrived at the door, we discovered it is closed on Tuesday.  We continued walking through the Gardens of the Tuilleries all the way to the Louvre.  Because our time in Paris had been cut short, we had decided that we weren't even going to try to tackle the huge museum.  But since we were there, we thought we might as well go in and spend a couple hours viewing a few of the highlights.  But the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays too!


The Louvre
We continued walking along the banks of the Seine River.  We took one brief detour away from the river to look at the impressive City Hall of Paris.

By now we had walked all the way to the Ile de la Cite, the island in the middle of the Seine where Paris began.  The most famous landmark on the island is the Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame.  (Tomorrow we plan on visiting the interior of the church, and climbing the bell towers.)




We then walked all the way back along the Seine, and continued farther to the Eiffel Tower.  By this time it was dusk, and the tower was illuminated.

  
The line to go up the tower was not too long, so we decided to go up.  We only went as far as the second level, but that was high enough for spectacular views of the city.






Each hour there is a light show in which the tower is covered in twinkling lights.  It was midnight, a dazzling end to the day.



 

4 comments:

  1. BONJOUR MON COUSIN! I just popped in for a visit to your blog after returning from our Prague visit and Passau to Budapest river cruise; our first visits to Austria and the formerly Communist countries of Slovakia and Hungary. We had a wonderful experience, and were impressed with how clean and welcoming the cities were. Damage from WW II is still being repaired, but shows that the governments are making an effort to preserve their past history. I have no experiences to compare to seeing Budapest aglow in golden lights as we sailed up the Danube at 11PM. It looks like you're having a wonderful time, but I know exactly what you mean about the costs in Paris. We've decided to look for ways to see more small cities and villages in Europe, and save the big cities for DVD visits whenever possible! See you in July!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi cousin! Glad you had a good time! We're seeing a lot in the short time that we have in Paris, but I'm a bit exhausted! We walked for 10 hours yesterday, and 7 hours today. I finally had to tell Phyllis, "I need to go back to the hotel and take a nap." See you in July!

      Delete
  2. Fabulous photos. The joy of Paris being a walking city is one of the best things. But even 20 years ago, I started buying a baguette, a piece of fruit and a drink. Meals were so costly. I can't even imagine now what it would be.
    I stayed in a little hotel that looked out on the Tuilerie Gardens. WHAT a lovely site.
    Paris is still one of my favorite cities in the world, along with Mexico City! Enjoy. All that walking does take its toll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been having a large American breakfast at a nearby restaurant, so that I don't have to eat much during the day.
      Yes, it is a great walking city, but after a total of 17 hours of walking in two days, I hit the wall, went back to the hotel, and took a 4 hour nap.

      Delete