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Published: July 25th 2008
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The Eiffel Tower
On a perfect day... and they'd predicted rain. "Eugh, well zair are no other options, I suggest you find a nice bench to sleep on," said the seemingly rude and nasty Parisian lady from the Tourism Office, and she was being completely serious. I kept my cool, and walked off.
A
bench!!!??? My 13 year old brother Eddie and I had headed down to Paris from London for two days and one night with absolutely nothing planned, except that Eddie wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower. We didn't book any accommodation, or make any arrangements at all, we were just going to 'play it as it lies' and see what happened. I think we were both imagining a nice Backpackers somewhere with beautiful French girls all over the place and a fresh croissant for breakfast. But a bench!??
I didn't imagine there would be any problem finding a cheap-ish backpackers somewhere in Paris. I didn't know it was against the rules for someone under 18 to stay in youth hostels. I also didn't realize that some hotels required a letter of consent (along with a copy of some ID from a parent) if a minor is to stay with his older brother. These were all things I
Spectacular and Incomparable
(And there's the Eiffel Tower in the background) didn't have. I
did know that all the cheap hotels that
would have accepted us were fully booked out - it was the beginning of summer in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, what was I thinking? I started scouting out soft grass or sheltered benches.
Now, for myself, I didn't really care. Sleeping rough for one night doesn't really bother me at all. It was Eddie. Innocent and fragile, pure and unblemished. The youngest of my brothers, who I was meant to be looking after. What would Mum and Dad say? They had trusted me to take care of him - how would they react when they found out we'd slept on a bench surrounded by rats, thieves and homeless people? And worse - what if Eddie decided to go on one of his 'sleep-walking adventures' he'd been having over the past week or so?
I work on the theory that "Everything Always Works Out" (EAWO) and until this moment in my life, it never failed me. But suddenly I found myself sitting on a park bench halfway along the Champs-Elysée, with my tired little brother next to me, entirely unsure whether this
Looking for Notre Dame
"Well, the map says it should be right here!" bench would become our bed in a few hours. The rush of peak hour traffic racing towards the
Arc de Triomphe seemed frightening all of a sudden, and the policemen on roller blades didn't seem so funny any more. In fact, I think they were beginning to look at us suspiciously.
I gathered my thoughts, took a deep breath and headed back to the indifferent lady at
l'Office du Tourisme to hear my options again. Luckily, she was patient, and made a few calls to some hotels to see if they would take us, but they were all booked. Apparently all the one- and two-star hotels were full, and there were only the more expensive types left. The lady called the cheapest of these, which was 120 Euros for the night(!), and that one was full too. This was beginning to get ridiculous, I wish I had known that Eddie wouldn't have got into the youth hostels... I wish we had made it a day trip... I was already planning excuses to give to Mum, or even wondering whether we could get back to London that night. It seemed like everything was lost. I was out of options, and
Le enjoying le view.
On the balcony outside the apartment. getting desperate.
I don't know if it was something I said, or whether Eddie was doing that sad puppy look he sometime does, but all of a sudden, Lady Luck stepped in. With just a few words and a glimpse of pity, the mean and nasty lady at the tourism office turned into a radiant and delightful angel who would make our stay in Paris completely unforgettable.
"Eugh, well, per'aps you can stay with me and my family eef you like. I 'ave three children and one of zem is about your age" said the charming and kindly lady, pointing to Eddie, "zat ees, if you don't mind sleeping on ze floor."
Did we mind sleeping on the floor?! Not at all! All was saved! A miracle!
Ten minutes later and we were following our new friend through the backstreets of Paris with smiles of relief on our face and excited about what was to come. We reached an old apartment building, where we took a tiny little lift up a few floors, opened a huge ancient door and found her whole family waiting excitedly to meet the two stupid Australians who hadn't planned their accommodation.
Adding some splice to life at le Louvre
I shouldn't really spoil it, but Eddie and I solved the old 'no one to take our picture' problem by taking a photo of each other, then giving them le splice. The apartment was beautiful. It had polished wooden floors and big French doors leading onto narrow balconies where there was a fantasic view of the sun setting over Paris. We were treated like kings and served a lovely entrée with all sorts of cheeses, hams, cherry tomatoes and paté which we spread over baguettes. All this with some vin rouge (not for Eddie though) and good conversation. I talked to the our hosts about Africa and Australia, which they thought was the most exotic thing in the world, and Eddie taught the kids English words while they taught him French. We enjoyed a lovely dinner after, then sat around with a few glasses of wine and planned out our next day in Paris. (Remember the lady worked in the tourism industry - she knew everything. In fact, we threw our Lonely Planet guide out the window).
The next morning we left the apartment early, found our Lonely Planet guide in a nearby bush, then walked the kids to school and said our
au revoirs. Then our lovely host took us to a local
patisserie where she insisted on buying us an assortment of croissants, pain au chocolats and
Touché, monsieur!
This photo took a lot of takes on the self-timer mode, so please appreciate it. The baguettes were a hell of a lot longer before we began eating them between takes. some other sort of little pastry creation which we thoroughly enjoyed at intervals throughout the day. She took us to the nearest métro, dropped us off, and made us promise to stay with them if we ever come back. We thanked her for her generous hospitality, but she instead thanked us, and said that her whole family had enjoyed our company and hearing our stories. Eddie and I walked off, quite unable to grasp what had just taken place over the past 12 hours or so.
The next day in Paris we did all the regular tourist things; climbed the Eiffel Tower, checked out the Louvre, freaked out about all the people praying in the Notre Dame, admired the queues at the catacombs, took a lovely cruise along the Seine, and Eddie ordered me
deux chocolat chauds, (s'il vous plait) - whatever that means. I also stumbled upon the Shakespeare and Company Bookshop near the Notre Dame cathedral, which I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in books. On the whole, our day was SUPERB.
It was with fond memories and sore legs that we boarded our coach back to London that night, with our bag stocked
full of croissants and soda water (which we bought thinking it was normal water - disgusting) to enjoy on the way back. It was a memorable adventure, and I'm so glad everything turned out the way it did. We were lucky to find the kindest and most understanding lady in Paris, and from what I gathered, she was a pretty accurate representation of the other Parisians too. So many people have told me horror stories about the rude and nasty people they've encountered in France, but I didn't come across one. Just make an effort with the language, be friendly too, and the rewards are there to be enjoyed.
Oh, but I advise booking all accommodation in advance.
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Julie
non-member comment
Bravo !
Bonjour, so you made it to Paris...nice ! I'm glad you found a nice French lady like that...never met any...lol. But that was quite an adventure for both of you...I'm still in Chicago, flying to St Maarten in a few days and then off to France to visit my family in Burgundy...let me know if you're around ! You are more than welcome ! BTW I have a cousin in Paris...for next time... Did you speak French ?? Hope so ! Flying back to Perth on August 30th ! CAN'T WAIT !