Paris took its time to woo me. On first arrival, walking around, the overwhelming thoughts in my head were 'wow, this place is dirty.' I was expecting cute cobbled streets with cafe's abuzz with happy Frenchmen, but instead found dirty bitumen, kebab shops and very few French.
We're staying in District 10, the multi-cultural district, and downstairs from our gorgeous apartment is a Mexican cafe. So our first night in Paris and we're listening to South American music! Thankfully this place has double-glazed windows that block out all noise! Not that it was bad, I just wanted to feel like I was in Paris!!
So the next day we headed off to check out the Paris hot-spots. We made our way to Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, walked the length of Champs Elysees and visited the Louvre. While gorgeous they didn't really grip me in the way that I expected. I didn't help I was wearing flip flops and most of the walk is on sand. SAND?! This is something I still don't get - what is with Europe and sand?!
We lined up outside the Notre Dame tower for an hour before we read that they let 20 people in every 10 minutes. We did the math and realised it would take us another hour and a half to get in so we decided to go check out the view from Arc de Triomphe. The metro had us there in no time! LOVE the metro in Paris!
Arc de Triomphe is stunning. Looking at the history on the way up (as all good monuments display) and seeing the Nazi's marching through the Arc really puts an incredible perspective on the significance of this place. The view from the top is fantastic! Unfortunately they've put up safety spikes so you can't sit on the wall and watch the traffic anymore but we could see enough to grimace as we watched two women try to cross the road on foot, only to be told off by the police who are constantly watching this insane intersection!
I didn't realise how long the Champs Elysees is until I walked the length of it. It's gorgeous! Halfway along is a massive square, that I later found out was the sight of 100's of beheadings, including Marie Antoinette! Now there stands a huge obelisk that was 'given' to the French by Egypt. We stopped for lunch at McDonalds where Andrew finally got to eat a Royal with cheese. (Pulp Fiction)
We headed to the Louvre, cooled off our feet in the fountains that surround the courtyard outside and then went in. We made our way, as I'm sure most tourists do, straight to the Mona Lisa. Tiny little thing, especially compared to the wall sized piece opposite it, but a brilliant piece of art. I thought the British Museum was huge - this place is MASSIVE!!! Halls and halls of art, sculpture, relics, etc. We touched around 1/12th of it!
We found a lovely cafe for dinner, enjoyed some escargots while watching the waiter cut up bread with a guillotine. One thing that has taken me by surprise is the complete lack of unhelpful, annoying French people! Everyone we've met, bar one, has been lovely, friendly, helpful etc. The thing that has surprised me is the lack of English spoken here. The most common response to 'Parlez-vous anglais?' is 'a little.'
So the next day we headed off to Château de Versailles and WOW did this place take my breathe away. The wooing began here! On first approach it was another stunning castle but passing through the gates and heading to the gardens I stood in awe. Before me, for as far as the eye can see, manicured gardens, stunning fountains, opulence in every way! All I can say is STUNNING, STUNNING, STUNNING!!
On the way home, after an amazing dinner, we went up to Sacré-Cœur. And there I found my Paris. Cobbled roads, cafe's abuzz with happy Frenchman, buskers playing and people dancing to them. It was there I fell in love! Montmartre is absolutely my favourite place in Paris.
Our final day, and the best was left to last. La Tour Eiffel!! What a gorgeous sight to behold. I know it's a metal structure, that ingeniously was turned into a radio tower (they were going to dismantle it after 20 years?!!), but there is something so beautiful about that tower! We came later in the day, just made it to the top for sunset, and watched it twinkle at night from the lawns below. Sitting there, I could see how Paris is the city of love. Summer nights in Paris have captured me. I will return again, hopefully will stay in Montmartre, and perhaps even learn a little of the language before I return.
Au revoir Paris. Merci beaucoup!
And now off to the vast unknown. Today we hire a car and drive, head in the direction of the south coast, no accommodation booked... adventure!!
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