Advertisement
Published: September 8th 2012
Edit Blog Post
It was hard to believe we were waking up in another country and would be in yet another one for bed
tonight. We have really enjoyed our stay in Italy. It has probably meant we are about 10kg heavier though. There was too much nice stuff to eat and drink, but they really could improve their bread. We did notice that the Italians are a race of extremes. For example, they either drive incredibly fast or so slow you want to scream (actually either way makes you want to scream). Other times they are so incredibly rude. For example the woman in the tourist office in Milan. But then you have to remember the people who are so nice, like the staff in the cafe in Montone.
We also discovered that all Italian gelato is good, even the bad stuff.
Italy is so full of art that you become desensitised and blasé about just another Carvaggio or Michaelangelo.
Aperol spritz is the best way to end the day and to start dinner.
Italians seem to find a way to be permanently off work, either it's holidays, or it's the wrong day or it's just time for la
pausa.
However they are all stylish, both men and women.
Prada is the best of the Italian designers, mainly because they know how to look after their customers.
But today we were heading to France.
We hardly had any sleep last night. Going in to Vienna for dinner took a long time and we had to be at the airport early. Why do we keep booking these flights? The good news was that since we were already checked in we had an extra hour. It still meant
a 5am shuttle from the hotel. It also meant that Harriet was a little sleepy and she didn't figure out where we were going until we were just about to board.
We hadn't let her anywhere near the gate or the boarding passes until we were about to board and then she read the destination on the screen. She was so excited. She admitted that she had hoped we were going and that she had suspicions, but she really didn't know. It definitely made the flight bearable, but it wasn't too long anyway.
We got to the hotel to discover that our room was no longer available. It
wasn't really what we wanted to hear. They offered us two rooms next to each other for 2 nights and the 2 bedroom apartment we had booked for the last 2 nights. We had been looking forward to a few days without packing, but it wasn't to be. The good news was that the Eiffel tower was within walking distance and we could see it from our balcony. We took the news very calmly especially since we had had so little sleep, left our bags and went for a walk to find cafe au lait and crepes for breakfast.
Paris was the first city to get free bike rental working. There are stations all over and it's easy to sign up for. Unlike Melbourne, you can ride them without helmets so they are much easier to use. There are also bike paths all over so it's safe as well as green to hire. We found a station right near the hotel and map in hand pedalled off to the Louvre.
We cycled past the Hotel des Invalides, the Palais and Place de Concorde to the Tuileries Gardens where a security guard stopped us from entering on bikes. We
cycled down Rue de Tivoli instead and then spent absolutely ages trying to find a spot to leave the bikes. Every station was full and we were beginning to think it was a big mistake to have hired them. We did eventually find somewhere to leave them and walked back to the Louvre.
We really had seen so much good art in Italy that we weren't sure we could handle too much more, but we knew we had to see the Mona Lisa. We followed the crowds like sheep to the Mona Lisa but also saw the Venus De Milo and plenty of other good art.
We rested by the fountains and pyramid for a while enjoying the sunshine then had a baguette and croque Monsieur in the gardens. Leaving the bikes behind we sauntered up the Champs d'elysee stopping in a couple of shops on the way. Louis Vuitton had a big queue so we gave it a miss and got macaroons instead - much better choice. At the arc de triomphe we were reminded that we were in a big city when a guy started shouting at some kids for attempting to grab stuff from his
pockets.
We wanted to cycle back to the hotel but unlike the morning when every station was full, now every station was empty. We walked miles to find bikes and ended up with 2 but by the time we got to the Eiffel Tower we still hadn't managed to get a third. Absolutely exhausted and fed up with bikes, we limped back to the hotel, got dinner down the road and collapsed into bed.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.085s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 8; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0485s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb