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Our first full day revolved around the Eiffel tower (as opposed to shops, seeing as it was Sunday and they were shut!). We hadn’t glimpsed it on arriving the day before, and we were all keen to spot it. We had a booking for the top at 3pm, so spent the day walking towards it from the centre of Paris (Hotel de Ville near the Ile de Cite) through the Louvre (outskirts), Jardin des Tuileries, place de la Concorde and along the river.
The atmosphere was relaxed and French, with everyone out enjoying the day. Cyclists and pedestrians seem to have priority, even on busy roads, and drivers all seem to be so courteous. There are a huge number of cyclists everywhere, and not the lycra clad racing ones, but the cute bikes with baskets, with riders in everyday street clothes and dresses, with no helmets, just cruising around. The majority of the bikes are actually the velibs, which can be easily rented from every metro station, and returned to any other one. Sophia was harping on at us all day to go on them, and we definitely will once we have a better feel for where we want to
be heading, and the road rules.
The closer we got to the Eiffel tower the more non French it felt. English suddenly seemed to be the only language spoken, even in response to our continued French attempts (which shows how bad ours obviously is). Our lunch, although still the nice French food, came from an English menu, in American sized portions. The cafes in the area didn’t have the same French feel or look with loud American tourists at every table. It was nice to return to our neighbourhood at the end of the day, which is definitely authentic.
Our apartment is as small as was promised, but a much better experience than a hotel. JP was waiting at the gate to meet us from the taxi (only about 10 minutes from Austerlitz train station), wearing his Chef Jean Paul apron. They had a yummy lunch and champagne ready and waiting for us in their apartment. It was nice to meet Elly, and get some inside knowledge and tips on our plans for Paris. Our first afternoon was spent shopping along rue de Rivoli, which was only a 15min bus ride from our apartment.
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Jenni Simkin
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Hi Jenny - great to read your blogs. keep them comming. Love the photos, they bring back many lovely memories. Cold wet and windy here, so dont hurry home.....