Well, we arrived late to Paris (thank you Easyjet, again) but eventually made it to Paris in one piece. We arrived at about midnight, and had to find our way from the airport to our hotel. In other countries, such as Scotland and Ireland, we managed fine as asking people for help wasn’t an issue, but here in Paris, there was a bit of a language barrier. We spent a good 2 hours in the airport trying to work out how to get to the city – train, taxi, shuttle? We thought the train would be the cheapest option. And it certainly was. We couldn’t work out how to purchase tickets for the train, and there was no service booths open, no staff, or anyone who knew what they were doing. So we figured we made an attempt to buy a ticket at least, so that was good for our conscience. We jumped on the train, and every time the doors opened we freaked that someone would ask to see our tickets. We freaked out when we saw 4 macho police men – they were like ninjas!!! Really scary – decked out with batons, guns, and were power walking on a mission or something – really freaky. Nearly shat my pants. But we made it to our stop without being asked – so yes, it was the cheapest option.
We arrived to the hotel fine – at about 2am. We have our own private double, which felt just amazing – it had been like 3 months since being in a double bed. I had always been in a single bunk! Our room isn’t luxury or anything like that, in fact it kinda feels like a bed in a bathroom, but it was the cheapest private double in Paris and in a really good location. We are just a walk away from the Place de la Bastille and the Cathédrale de Notre Damn de Paris.
(Cheese stall at the Bastille Market)
On our first day, we had to find some sort of breakfast, and as it was a Sunday morning, most things were closed except some café’s which were seriously expensive. So, we had McDonalds. It was funny to hear English music on the radio in between French music. But after our revolting McDonalds breakfast, we went to one of the café’s and had a really nice coffee (which cost us like $8 each). Paris is really packed with café’s – they’re everywhere. And the interesting thing is, all the outdoor seating faces outwards, like cinema seats, allowing you to watch the world go by. And that’s what the Parisians do, they sit there, with their coffees, and just watch the world move past them. It was quite unique.
We had our coffee, and we were offered a Coffee, Croissants and Juice – which appear to be a traditional French breakfast here – we didn’t have it as it was a tad expensive for our first day, but we will be sure to have it some time this week. It sounds mighty simple, but really appealing.
We then went for a walk down to the Place de la Bastille. As most of you know, it was once a prison which was demolished and destroyed during the French Revolution, and is now a busy round about, with a massive monument in the middle. Quite a sight. Right opposite is the Bastille Opera House, and down one avenue is this amazing market! We had a blast. The French markets are like nothing I have ever seen. It was a bit like the Queen Vic in Aus, but with so much more culture. There was a man juggling with a bowl of fish on his head. And the produce there was so fantastic. All the fruit and veg were sooo fresh. Adam and I bought some nectarines and bananas (not to get confused with ‘l’anana’s’ – which is pineapple in French!) and they were so perfectly ripe and sweet! There were some amazing art sculptures and stalls of fresh fish, cheese, wines, and breads and pastries. I think I was in my zone – I was going crazy. I loved every second!
(some of the amazing culture found at the Bastille Market, Paris.)
We then walked a little further along the river (which runs from the east to the west – right from the Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower) and walked over some glorious bridges, lined with simply stunning French architecture, and street musicians playing proper French music. We then walked up to the magnificent Cathédrale de Notre Damn de Paris (sorry, no hunchbacks found!). Adam and I were amazed by the beauty of this cathedral – that took 200 years to build. The spires are lined with decorative statues of biblical characters, and was once brightly coloured as a ‘bible for the poor’ – i.e. for the poor people who could not read, therefore was to learn the bible by bright and colourful pictures. It is not colourful anymore, but so amazingly beautiful.
(For Lauren - So many little dogs here - EVERYWHERE! and there are heaps of French Bulldogs - i'm getting one!!!)
We then headed around to the front of the Notre Dame to the Place du Parvis Notre Dame – the gardens our the front of the cathedral. I think it would have been a gorgeous garden (garden being pebbles and statues – surrounded by trees) but it was packed with tourists. The line to enter the Notre Dame was a good 200m long. The Place du Parvis Notre Dame is the place where distances to every part of metropolitan France is measured from! We entered the cathedral, and it was so pretty. We didn’t climb the north tower as we are on a budget, and I didn’t want to see the Eiffel Tower until my birthday. But the ground level was gorgeous. People still use it as a place of worship, which I think is nice, and sometimes tourism can ruin things (I know, we are tourists ourselves!).
(Me and Adam at the Cathédrale de Notre Damn de Paris)
We then continued on down the river to see the Ste-Chapelle and the Palais de Justice, which was pretty, but disappointing we couldn’t actually see the Ste-Chapelle – It is tucked away behind the walls of the Palais de Justice, so you can only just see the top. The Ste-Chapelle was the first cathedral ever built in Paris, the most exquisite of Paris’s gothic monuments. We also stopped by the Conciergerie, which was the main prison during the Reign of Terror. 2700 prisoners were held here in the dungeons (or cachots), among them being Marie Antoinette, who was later sent to the guillotine.
We also saw the Georges Pompidou Centre, but for first thinking it to be a construction site, and Adam thinking it was a water park, we didn’t bother to enter until realising what it was when reading our Lonely Planet – Europe on a Shoestring. We also saw Hotel de Ville, which is facing opposite some massive French Embassy thing – quite impressive. We sat down out the front of it, where there was minigolf, and had some fine French pastries from the patisserie across the road. I had an Apricot Croissant and Adam had a Citrus Tart. These pastries were bloody awesome. So fresh, so light and fluffy. The croissant was so perfectly light, with a custard cream throughout, and an apricot glaze. Adam’s citrus tart was just perfect too. The filling was so smooth and creamy, it melted in your mouth. But the taste was just divine. It was a perfect lemon taste without the bitterness. Bon Appétite! But the highlight from that experience was that I ordered it all in French. It was so awesome! I’m like ‘Oui, Oui, Oui’…haha!
We continued on to the Tour St. Jacques, which looked cool from the top, but the base was covered by construction work. At this point we were so buggered from all the walking (about 6 hours of walking so far, and still had to get back) so we turned back – not realising The Louvre was just 2 blocks down. But either way I was saving that for my birthday!
On our way back we passed Saint-Michele which was pretty damn cool too and happens to be in a very funky square of Paris, so all the cafes and stores surrounding were really funky and colourful. We continued on walking down the river, and went to take some photos of the surrounding buildings, and Adam turns to me, jokingly, ‘look Ash, it’s the Eiffel Tower!’, and I turn around and say ‘Oh my god, it is too!!!’. It was so funny. He didn’t know what it was, and just through he’d joke around, but turned out it was indeed the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is magnificent, and so enormous. We were a good 10k’s from it, yet you could see it so well. That will be the highlight of this trip I think.
(The Conceirgerie - can you spot the Eiffel Tower???)
As it was a Sunday, the was not a great deal open at 7pm – so we were somewhat stuck for dinner. We walked down the road from out hotel and were relieved to see the bakery still open. We got 2 massive French baguettes, and got some cheese – and please don’t hate us for this – Vegemite! So for dinner was vegemite and cheese on a French baguette. Tasted good tho! I’ll be sure to have some traditional French cuisine throughout the week (no snails though!).
I adore Paris. I always have. I guess I’m a romantic at heart, cos this place just fills you with love, romance, beauty and splendour. It makes my heart flutter, and feels like I have butterflies in my tummy. I just feel so at peace and at home in this magnificent city. We have so much more to see, and we just can’t wait. After a massive day of knocking off some places on our ‘must-do’ list, we realise we have so much more to go. Lucky we’re here for a week!
We’re gonna check out Château de Versailles today, and to take the long walk up to Sacré-Coeur and Gare du Nord. On Tuesday, for my birthday, is jam packed of proper French stuff – Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, The Louvre, and the Champ de Mars. And on Wednesday, we are both very excited to be going to the Catacombes! Spooky!!!
We hope you like the photos (we haven't put up any on myspace yet as we are too pressed for internet time - though sitting in this lovely little French cafe is gorgeous, we could spend all day here!) but out of the 200 photos we took on our first day, we can only upload 5. we hope you like them!
Oh and by the way, me and Adam have been discussing moving here!!! (Adam rolls his eyes)...but seriously - we could so totally get into that (sorry, too much family guy).
Je t’aime!!!
AshnAdaminParis.x
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