City of Paris

Paris at last! Overall - it was everything I hoped it would be - fun, bustling, and beautiful. Saw so many, many historic sights, probably a lot of them without even knowing they were "sights" or knowing their actual names. That didn't stop me from enjoying myself though! I tried to take as many pictures as I could (about 100 actually) and ended up posting 51 to this blog entry. Hopefully this will give you somewhat of an idea of the breathtaking scenery I was so lucky to observe.

The day started out very early - waking up at 5:30am to get dressed and ready to go with Virginie to catch the train. Caroline drove us to the station where we flashed our ticket and pass (I needed a ticket, but Virginie goes everyday for work so she has a pass). Our train left at exactly 6:17am and took about an hour or so to reach Paris. It stopped along the way at various points to let people get on and off accordingly. While on the train, Virginie helped me plan out my day in Paris which included directions on how to take the metro (subway), how to get to various sites and the number to reach her at work should I need to call.

Once we arrived, the metro station was a busy, frantic place to behold. People rushed everywhere along the dark underground tunnels. Stairs and escalators branched off into various directions - all of which appeared very large and scary from my perspective. After we bought my ticket for the day (it would allow me to get on and off the metro within a certain radius of the city limits) Virginie and I headed to her work where she then pointed me in the direction of the Eiffel Tower - and away I went.

Without Virginie by my side - Paris was quite an intimidating place. As the day went on, I grew more confident with my touring skills and was able to enjoy myself immensely. To get to the Eiffel Tower from Virginie's work I had to walk quite a ways past numerous cafes, shops, houses and street vendors. Since it was so early, few were actually open. Coming around one bend I passed the Economic Council building. It seemed so majestic that I stopped to go in. A man inside asked me what I wanted and when he found out I was a tourist didn't seem to pleased to see me. He told me I wouldn't be allowed upstairs but could take a brochure for info. So I did. Then thanked him and left, but not before taking a view snapshots of the outside.

After the Economic Council building I saw a theatre where apparently many dance and music shows were performed. Unfortunately the theatre was closed Tuesdays (quite odd since most tourist things, including museums are closed Mondays). Coming around the corner of the theatre was beautiful with the view of the Eiffel Tower just in plain sight still quite a ways down the hill. I stopped to enjoy the beautiful view, took some more pictures and then trooped down the hill to the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower opened at 9am, so I still had a few minutes to wait by the time I got there. Even so, there was a long line of eager tourists waiting impatiently in line for the ticket counter. While I waited for the place to open, I sat on a cement bench and read my Europe book on Paris sightseeing. While I read, I was visited by several of the vendors walking around selling Eiffel Tower key chains and postcards. After buying my ticket (the prices were broken into several categories depending on how far up you wanted to go and if you wanted to take the elevator or stairs) I preceded to be herded into the elevator cart along with the other tourists. It was the first time in quite a while that I was surrounded by people speaking English. At first it was a pleasant familiarity, but then it was just annoying as crying children, snotty teens and overweight, sweaty adults pushed and crowded along. The ride up was a couple minutes long - not too bad. Once at the top (I went all the way up to the top and then walked down part of the way) we were let out to take pictures and sightsee. The view was incredible and the time and day was nearly perfect.

After the Eiffel Tower visit I strolled through the park below and saw a volleyball tournament going on along one side. It looked like quite a large event as people were just beginning to set up in preparation of the volleyball games with players warming up in various outside sand courts. From the courts I took several pictures of historic looking buildings, saw the rent-a-bike rack (see picture) and the infamous McDonald's restaurant.

I spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon walking around the city of Paris - up and down major streets as well as smaller roads. I saw many beautiful houses and apartments as well as cute shops and cafes. Almost all cafes had outdoor patios as well as many shops. While some areas were quite open with grass or cars on one side, others were quite crowded in terms of buildings being stacked on top of one another. In a way - it reminded me of Long Beach on Pine Avenue or Hollywood (but not as dirty) - but at least in the closeness of buildings and the amount of space. Along my walk I bought a ton of food - I figured I was in Paris - everyone says the food is delicious - so how else would I find out?! I bought a sandwich for an early lunch - grilled veggies in a vinigrette on a fresh baguette. Later on I bought a strawberry tart at a little bakery, some chocolate at a gorgeous candy shop and a thin, buttery cookie that was almost a cracker texture.

In the afternoon I visited a lovely museum where an exhibit featuring Indians from all seven continents was displayed. It was a very moving display that featured humanity as having various backgrounds and cultures, but one voice - it sounds funny - but I got a bit choked up looking at it. It was nice going in the smaller museum as well because the tourists were French tourists - school children on field trips, families, etc. rather than the regular American tourist.

After the museum I took the metro to a small cafe where I called Virginie at work to let her know where exactly I was located. While waiting, I ordered a french baguette, jam and water without bubbles. Once Virginie arrived, we took the train to Versailles where we met Caroline at a clinic of the husband of the couple we were having dinner with. We then took the van (horse van I'm not sure why Caroline didn't bring her car) to the house. It was the most beautiful little French house you had ever seen! It had two cherry trees on the side (see pics) and a wonderful living room featuring historic displays of art and furniture pieces. The dad - Joan Joque bbqed, Stephanie the wife made a wonderful pasta salad, and the daughter Cybil made dessert - a fresh cherry, rum cake. Everything was utterly delicious! After dinner we sipped tea and coffee inside the left to head home. On the drive, I took pictures of the almost full moon. It was an extraordinary day ending to a wonderful day.

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