Paris!

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Well...its a bit late but here's the synopsis of the week I spent in Paris. It's actually quite hard to sum up the experiance in only a few paragraphs. I could easily write a book...but there are already so many books out there that there is no such need to write another.
So here goes...

I think the last thing I talked about was the difficulty getting to the hotel. That aside, I spent the next few days doing the common touristy things. I swear to you all that I don't think I have ever walked as much or as far as I did while there. It was partly (ok, all) my fault because I am too cheap to keep paying metro fares and too lazy and precautious to have to cart my bike around with me at the risk of it being stolen. So I walked. And walked. And walked. I saw all the major sight that Paris has to offer. Many of which I didn't linger at for too long. The reason for this is as follows...I hate (sorry, HATE!) crowds. There were so many people in town that the line ups for anything were insanely long. More on that in a mintue.

The 1st day I was in town I stayed close to the hotel cause I wanted to see the Timetrial stage of the Tour. There was a big mall nearby and I was able waste some time while doing some laundry. The next day I headed downtown for the final stage of the Tour on the Champs Elysées. I arrived at what I thought would be a decent hour to set up and find a good spot...around 11am. Boy was I wrong. Already at that time the whole downtown course was at least 3 people deep and the riders weren't due to arrive until closer to 4pm!!! So rather then sit and wait...I walked up and down the C-E lookingg at all the little bootiques they had set up for the race as well as in and out of some of the stores along the road. After sufficiently wasting enough time and spending a small fourtune on souvenirs, I decided to play the nice Canadian and search for a good spot to watch the riders from. I came upon a small group of American students who let me hang out with them. I managed to get right up to the fence and set up the Canadian flag right in front of the camera. The problem was that I was too far from the finish line to make it back there to see the final ceremonies...oh well. It was an experience I'll never forget.
The next few days, as I already precluded to, were filled with walking from one sight to another. Sacré-coeur, Montmartre, Notre-Dame de Paris, Latin Quarter...etc. I was trying to avoid the Eiffle Tour becasue I knew I'd be around it enough times and I could also see it from pretty much anywhere in town. I sorta treated it like we treat the CN Tour...we know it's there but we don't care so much for it...in essence, we take it for granted. Now, having said that, the 1st evening downtown was spent around Notre Dame. Every other night from that point on I found myself drawn to the Eiffle Tour. It's hard to explain but there is an real inhert beauty to it. I couldn't think of a better thing to do then sit in the park just before sunset with a small picnic of either a crèpe and a hot chocolate, or some fresh bread and honey and watch what was going on around me. Of course, the best part happens for 10 minutes on the hour from 10pm to midnight...thats when the Tour comes alive and sparkles. Anyone who has ever witnessed this in person can test to that. I just can really but it to words. For those who have never been to Paris...get here and see it for yourself!
Moving on...I spent another day making my way out to Versaille. I figured because it was a Tuesday the crowds wouldn't be as bad as they had been the previous days. Boy was I wrong! I had to wait over an hour in the heat outside just to get a ticket to go in! If it wasn't so far out of town I would've turned around and left it behind. ONce inside, there were so many people that I made it hard to really appreciate the grandeur of the Palace (some things were manageble though). The last day I spent in the city I wanted to save for the Louvre and any other small thing that I still had left to do. Not to sound like a broken record but again, the crowds were insane! I did the Da Vinci Code tour which was really cool but had to keep pressing pause on the audio device just so I could make my way through the crowds to see what I was supposed to appreciate in the paintings.
All in all however, Paris is absolutely amazing. As with anything touristy though, it is better to come at a time when the crowds aren't as wild and of course...with lots of money! The more money you spend on food the better it is...amazing eh?
After Paris I headed south....but that is for the next entry..........

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