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Published: November 13th 2005
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Well it was an early morning start for myself, Liani and Heath. Up at 4.15am in search of a tube ride out to Heathrow Airport. After wandering through the tube station, watching a very drunk guy try to surf one of the signs and not crack his head, Heath checked the timetable and realised we were not going to catch our flight if we waited for the first train of the morning! So off we ran to try get a cab into paddington station where we could get the Heathrow express. We managed to grab a mini cab and the guy offered to take us all the way to the airport. This dude had been on all night and was wired - he did not shut up to draw breath! Heath and I chilled out in the back while Liani had to cope with the barrage of chitter chatter! She did well! We made it and were off to Paree!!
On arrival we texted Luke and eventually saw this wild and woolly young man cruise by! Needless to say Luke had obviously not spent much quality time with a razor throughout his European adventure! We dropped our bags off at
our hotel - Le Regent in Montmarte and set off for some good coffee, a french crepe and a wander up a zillion stairs to Sacre Coer. Although it was a drizzly day, the view over the city and surrounding suburbs was lovely. Paris is very low with only one or two taller buildings. Montparnasse is the tallest building with a rooftop vantage point for 360 degree views of the city. After Sacre Coer we went back and checked in to our rooms. We had a cute little room with a few over a typical Parisian street. People seem to live in small flats which line the streets. One night Liani and I were privy to a Frenchman playing his guitar at the window for all to enjoy. We ended up at a great resturant for dinner and enjoyed some lovely french red wine!
The next day we went and had the most amazing mushroom and cheese crepe's for breakfast, good strong coffee and headed off to the Louvre Museum. Because it was the first Sunday of the month, all museum's in Paris were free, so in we went. I was keen to see some of Leonardo Da Vinci's
anatomical drawings, as well as Mona and some Michaelangelo scuptures. There is so many pieces of art in the Louvre that apparently if you look at each piece for 3min it would take you 6mths to take in all it has to offer. Unfortunately alot of Da Vinci's sketches are held in Italy, so I was happy with a book of his anatomical drawings which were very advanced for the time he did them. After the Louvre we split up, Heath and Luke headed off to the Pompidou Museum while Liani and I took a wander and found a really beautiful cathedral. It was just nice wandering through the streets taking in the atmosphere and pace of the city. Paris has a much better feel than London, on entry to any store the owner says Bonjour so it has a very welcoming feel. Its much slower, but seems just as crowded! Especially the metro underground, which on first glance is chaotic, but once you get your head around reading French its manageable! That night we Liani and I met up with Luke on top of Montparnasse for the most amazing view of the Paris nightscape. Most points of interest are
lite up so you get a great visual understanding of where everything is. After nearly being blown off the top, as it was blowing a gale and absolutely freezing, we met up with Heath and went to have a look at Moulin Rouge and the seedy strip it inhabits. The street itself is similar to Kings Cross in Sydney, with peep shows, sex shops and the usual shady characters. To have dinner and see a show at the famous Moulin Rouge costs a tidy 170 euros, needless to say we high tailed it out of there!!
On the last day Luke and Heath went off to see another architecteral exhibitition while Liani and I walked up the Champs Elysees which is the upper class shopping strip. After deciding we couldnt afford anything at Louis Vuitton we moved on to enjoying an afternoon drink while watching all the people walk by. When hooked up with the boys and made our way to Gare de Nord train terminal for our trip back to Charles de Gaulle airport. I really enjoyed Paris. I found the French lovely and prepared to help with directions and general information. Perhaps they do engage more if
you at least attempt to speak the language, but I had no problems whatsoever. Paris is a beautiful sity, both by day and night, and one of the places I will definately go back to.
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