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Published: July 19th 2007
Paris certainly has not disappointed. With one rainy day, with the other three sunny, no such complaints.
I booked a last minute journey on the high-speed TCV train from Brussels so that meant €s, €s and more €s - 76 of them in fact! But with a hangover firmly in charge, my backpack weighing a tone and Brussels experiencing high 20s temps, I was in no mood to run around Brussels trying to find a cheaper way to get to Paris. And then again in 2hrs and at around 260km/h, I was in Paris; so who could complain? Upon arrival my backpack hadn't lost any weight and I kind of felt as though I was back in Asia with the heat. My mission was to find my way to a key metro station to meet up with my latest couchsurfing host.
So I've been staying in Suburban Paris for 5 days and really enjoying the city. Prague and Berlin as my hitherto favourite cities have been challenged. So it is just great, as many readers have probably been so blah blah blah. Day one I basically spent exploring the city by foot. I have this map you see,
and for the first time, one that I can actually follow. I don't know if it's me or the map but something is connecting. Of course I've checked out all the real touristy spots, but also have done my best to explore the not so familiar parts of Paris. Day two I headed up the Tour Eiffel. I had got up early in order to beat all tour buses and managed about a 15th place finish so not too bad. It's an interesting enough structure with plenty of history behind it and the view, despite not going right to the top, is pretty amazing. The rest of the day was more walking around; I made to places like the Senate, Notre Dame, Palais du Luxembourg, many of the city's parks and narrow lanes- where mass tourism could be avoided. Later that night I hung out in a park with my host and some of his friends- we played Poker Texas Hold'em style- anyone tried it? well it's good.
The third day was arguably the highlight. I went to amazing chateau in Versailles. It's a great building with lovely and and huge park and courtyard surroundings on the outskirts of
Paris. Arguably, the infamous Treaty of Versailles was signed here too. However, I was a bit further down on the tour buses this time, finishing in about 29th. It reminds me of Invercargill a bit with all those darn tour buses and people taking all those pictures. From Versailles, I negotiated my way through Paris's train, bus and metro system (which usually gets the better of me) to the Musée de Louvre. Over 1000 paintings (mostly from Western Europe) are on display here and then all sorts of antiques and other art works. I spent a good 4 hours there, and of course saw the Mona Lisa La Joconde. The artwork was great to see but it was difficult to appreciate as it seemed like three-quarters of all my tourist mates were only there to see the Mona Lisa; it was like bees to a beehive (and the language was mainly American English). Picture after picture; o well. Apart from that I had a great time and really appreciated the art on the more quieter floors. That night I went to a free (gotta loved those) and brilliant Ethiopian concert with the same people; it was a bit of a
70s Afro-beat and dub mixture, so no complaints. This was followed by a great Ethiopian meal. On my final day I checked out the Musée d'Histoire de Paris and more of the city.
Au Revoir, Ã la prochaine !
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yoonah
non-member comment
paris
Bonjour monsieur Keizer, Honestly, I don't know how you managed to do all that in just three days. I'm saving at least a decade of my life to experience Paris. You must be feeling a whole heap more cultured now that you've tasted a bit of joie de vie a la pariesienne... ay? Did you try any escargots? Are the ladies really chic and equipped with a poodle like in the picture books? Did the locals make you feel pathetic because you don't speak the mighty language?