Friday, July 30, 2004

Paris In Late July Well, Paris was just about everything you’ve always heard about.  The Eiffel Tower was right where the maps said it would be.  The Louvre had the Mona Lisa in it.  The food was above average.  The place smelled like piss.  The waiters were rude.   Gotta love France.   Here are some of the highlights (and a couple of lowlights) of the trip:   We actually had no problems getting to Paris.  We drove most of the way from my home of Miesau and parked the car at the train station in Meaux, France.  From there it was a thirty minute ride into Paris.    The hotel was better than expected.  I’m used to the overpriced closets of London.  We got a pretty decent room for right around $100 a night.  Not bad for the great location right next to a Metro stop and within walking distance of the Moulin Rouge.   We spent the first day getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower and into the Louvre.  The Eiffel Tower got off to a shaky start when the ticket guy said we couldn’t buy a ticket to the very top.  Then, not two minutes after we had paid for our tickets to the second level, he was selling tickets to the top level.  I was a wee bit upset.  Luckily, you can buy tickets to the top once you’re on the second level.  They don’t tell you that ahead of time, but you can.  So we managed to enjoy the view of Paris from all three levels of the Eiffel Tower, including walking down a good way after getting tired of waiting for the elevator.   The Louvre visit didn’t last long because a) we waited until after 6 p.m. to go there to take advantage of a discount, and b) they shut down one whole wing, so that eliminated some of our options.  Still got to see the heavy hitters:  Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, and Victory.  Our favorite was probably the huge Napolean coronation painting.  It is amazing to see in person and really works wonders to make you feel entirely insignificant.   We topped off the night with a ride on a ferris wheel outside the Louvre at dusk and a walk around the Place de la Concorde where many remnants of the Tour Du France were laying around which had only ended the day before.  Speaking of which, the guy that offered to take a picture of Marcela and I was not only American, but had on a Tour t-shirt not like any on sale around Paris, was sporting a crispy tan, and had calf muscles that Popeye couldn’t match. Neither one of us had the guts to ask if he’d ridden in the race, but I’d be shocked if he hadn’t.   Tuesday morning we decided to save a little money and buy our breakfast at a small grocery store by the Eiffel Tower.  After a couple of croissants, pains au chocolate, and bottles of orange juice in the park in front of the tower, we boarded a boat and took a cruise down the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay.  Spent a couple of hours there and then cruised down to Notre Dame.  The interior was just as impressive as the exterior, but the surprising part of Notre Dame was the small chapel set aside for the Virgin of Guadalupe.  You don’t expect to see Mexican flags in a French cathedral, you know?   That night we headed for Paris’ red light district which, unbeknownst to us, was just a block or two north of our hotel.  You know it’s a hardcore area when an X-rated theater is parked right next to a McDonalds ("Would you like some fries with your stripper?").  Definitely not the family side of Paris.  The Moulin Rouge is on the same street, but with dinner and a show starting at over $150, we passed.   We capped off our final night in Paris with a visit to the Arc de Triumph and a short walk down the Champs Elysees where Marcela had the best banana split of her life at a sidewalk café.  I had the richest chocolate mousse.  Not sure if it was the best I’ve ever had.  I was too busy slipping into a sugar coma.   So that’s pretty much it.  Lots of sight-seeing.  Lots of food.  Lots of wanting more time to enjoy the city and get to the things we didn’t have time for. Related link: Photo gallery of the trip:  see more of the photos I took in Paris with captions explaining what you're seeing. 6:06:58 PM     |

© Copyright 2005 Alex L. Mauldin.