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Laying down in front of the Eiffel Tower
Really like this shot, I finally learned how to use the self timer. I hung around this park in front of the Eiffel Tower for about an hour. Ahh Paris, what can I say about this amazing place that has not been said before? Its midnight, im in the sixth floor of a parisian apartment that is just a stones throw from the Champs D'Elysees and im stayin here for free. Oh yeah, and the fellow who is letting me stay in his apartment just left to spend the night at his girlfriends. For those who dont know I am doing what is known as couchsurfing and I simply cannot imagine travelling any other way now. Couchsurfing is an international network of travel minded people who offer up their couch to fellow travellers, more info found
here.
My first night in Paris I stayed in a small hotel in the Montemarte district, it was only 27 euros (which is the absolute cheapest I could find) and they ended up giving me a private room! I felt kind of bad when the japanese tourist who checked in right after me paid 60 euros to share a 3 bed room with strangers. It took me forever to find the place though as it was tucked away in a small avenue that dead-ends. Since I arrived so late I didnt
Relaxing in the Jardin du Luxembourg
Breathtaking garden and alot of people sunbathing. I'm sure you all will see lots of shots like these. want to go out and explore the city just yet so I walked around the district and found a small cafe to have dinner. As I was ordering I quickly learned that no one there spoke english, but when I tried spanish a nice gentleman who was eating his own dinner offered to translate from spanish to french for me. I ended up ordering a steak kebab (I have since learned that this is one of the cheaper meals you can buy here in Paris) and was invited to eat with the gentleman who translated for me. His spanish sounded alot like Tio Vicentes so I assumed he was from Spain but he turned out to be from a small coastal town in the south of France. He was a very nice guy but we parted ways after dinner.
The next day I got an early start and met up with Geoffrey, who I found through couchsurfing in a Paris poker group. He has a game setup for this Saturday with about 10 others from the Paris region. He offered to host me for the next week, but I think I'll stay with him for a few days then
London Eye and Big Ben
I rode the London Eye and it was only 30 bucks for 30 minutes! see if I can find someone else to stay with just to meet more people. After I met up with him I made my way to Catedral de Notre Dame which was just absolutely breathtaking. I have seen pictures, video, and read many stories featuring the cathedral but none of them truly did it any justice. 422 steps later I was at the highest point in the cathedral and was rewarded with a 360 degree view of Paris, this is where I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Since I had been travelling via the metro and staying in congested districts I had yet to glimpse the famous tower and it was the perfect way to get your first look, from such a high vantage point. After walking around the area, scoping out some shops and trying my first crepe, I made my way to the Jardin de Luxembourg. This place was something else, I felt like I was transported back to 18th century Paris visiting an enormous chateau with an even bigger garden. It was a gorgeous day so it was packed with people sun-bathing, reading, having a quick meal or just taking a nap.
Didnt
My Hostel in London
Shared this room with 3 others from all over the world. get a chance to post this last night so I'll add on what I did today as well.
Woke up this morning to the sun hitting my eye and the sounds of paris traffic seeping in through the balcony door. I decided to start the day at the Arc de Triumph which was alot bigger than I anticipated. Didnt pay to go up because I wanted to check out the view for the first time during the evening. The roundabout that houses the Arc is said to be the busiest intersection in the world but it didnt seem to be too chaotic, I must have come during a slow period. As I was walking through a side street, making my way to the Tower I got stopped by a man driving by who thought I was italian and started asking me something. When he saw I didnt understand he quickly switched to spanish and so began his incredible tale. Apparently he was visiting Paris with his wife all the way from Italy and he was running low on gas. He mentioned he was a photographer for some famous Italian clothing firm I had never heard of and he had
Big Ben from the Top of the Eye
Spectacular views from up here. a few of the jackets he had just used on a photo shoot that he could give me in exchange for 400 euros for gas money. I laughed at the proposition but played along as I was interested to hear what else he had to say. When I told him I was just a poor student making my way through Europe he gave me his business card and told me I could call him up and get the money back when I made my way to Rome. After much haggling I finally told him I only had about 50 euro in my pocket, he relented at first but said that was fine, I could have these beautiful italian leather jackets worth over 3000 euro's for what little cash I had in my pocket. I'm not gonna lie, it was somewhat tempting as these jackets did look pretty nice and I figured if these jackets were cheap knockoffs then I was only out 50 bucks with a good story to tell and a valuable lesson learned. However, the thought of lugging these 3 heavy jackets for the rest of my trip was just too much to bear and I sent the
Catacombes!
The passageways were filled with these kind of bones. guy on his way.
When I finally made it to the Eiffel Tower I noticed just how ridiculously long the lines were for the lift so I decided to go the cheap route and bought a ticket to walk the stairs. Apparently I hadnt learned my lesson from the 460 steps of St. Pauls Cathedral in London and the 422 steps of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. This climb seemed much higher but I didnt get an official count of the steps. The views were definitely worth it though, I ended up spending about 2 hours making my way up and walking around in the 2nd floor of the Tower. The 3rd and final floor of the Eiffel Tower eluded me on this trip, I didnt want to wait in line for the lift nor pay the extra 4 euros and I think I want to save that for when I come back with someone special. The Champs de Mars was calling my name after the long trek down and I decided to lay down for a bit and take a few good shots of the Tower. I learned to use the self-timer on my camera and got a
really neat shot of me relaxing with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
As amazing as the most famous landmarks in Paris were I probably enjoyed myself the most when I visited the Catacombes. This is a 1.7 kilometer hike in the undergrounds of the south of Paris where they put the bones of the many dead that were filling up the graveyards. The entrance is about 14 stories below street level so it was pretty chilly down there which was a welcome change from the hot day up above. You would think it would stink down there, what with the hundreds of thousands of skulls and bones that are over 300 years old but I was surprised at the complete lack of odor throughout the whole passageway. I got some good video that I'll try to upload, its hard to see much of anything but it does a great job of showing the mood of the place.
Thats it for now, its almost 7pm here in Paris and its starting to pour down rain. The Paris couchsurfing group is having a get together at divan du monde, a bar/club in the Montemarte district that seems to be pretty popular with the locals. If the rain lets down I'll probably meet up with them there.
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Christina
non-member comment
Awesome!!!!!!!
Dude that is just way too cool! I know i've told you how much I love your writing, but these updates make me appreciate it that much more. It's almost like being there... well maybe not, but i'ts neat to hear all the small details. :) Glad to know that your Spanish is helping you get by. I seriously laughed out loud when you said you started speaking spanish when you realized they didn't speak any english. I've done that before! Haha