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Published: February 23rd 2008
Monday 10th September Early to rise, I drove the Kia back to Waterloo Station and walked the 1-2 km from there to work. I found out later that because I'd travelled into the congestion zone after 7am (It was 7.15 to be precise) and didn't pay the fee that day (because I didn't even know!) I'd be fined £50 plus £25 admin fee plus tax! In the end the thieves slugged me £88 which was more than the car cost for the whole weekend! Raarggghhh!! After work I met Em at Buckingham Palace (only a 9 min ride) and we had a little picnic in St James Park.
Tuesday 11th September I'd finally got my bike route to work sussed out. I felt like I was the pewter shoe sometimes as a lot of the roads I took and places I rode past were found on the Monopoly board. On the way to work they included - Abbey Rd (not on the board but still famous), Marylebone Rd, Euston Rd, Kings Cross Station (and the nearby St Pancras Station pictured), The Strand and Fleet St. On the way home I went via Northumberland Avenue, Trafalgar Square, Pall
Mall, Piccadilly, Buckingham Palace, Park Lane and Mayfair.
Sick of breaking spokes every month or so, I forked out £95 for a new hand built rear wheel. Lets hope it does the trick. After work we tried some "Yo Sushi", a Sushi bar where the meals come around past you on a conveyor belt. It was quite different and we ended up having 6 dishes at £1.50 - £3.50 each. After that we watched the comedy "Run FatBoy Run" and saw heaps of familiar sights including Millennium Bridge and St Paul's, showing the very spot where I'd sat that day for lunch. Surreal!
Friday 14th September Paris!!
As I forgot to pack some trousers I had to bolt home after work and then back to Waterloo, cutting it very fine with only about 5 minutes before the gates closed. No tubing out to Heathrow, or bussing out to Stanstead for us today though. Today we boarded the Eurostar train which left from the city centre of London and arrived in the city centre of Paris. Before long we were zooming along at around 300 km/h but it didn't feel like it at all. There were more
bumps and noises travelling 30km/h on the tube than there was on this travelling 300!
We got into Paris at 9.15pm, which made it a 2hr 15min journey all up, très bon! From the main Gare du Nord station we transferred onto an RER train (another underground train service) and then jumped platforms onto a Metro train (yet another underground service) hopping off at Porte d'Ivry. From first impressions the train system seemed to be a bit cleaner, friendlier and less packed than in London. Having a similar setup meant it didn't take us long to nut it all out. Perhaps we're becoming seasoned travellers now? Maybe not just yet.
It was quite amusing and a bit weird hearing everyone else speaking French to each other. Who would've thought it? My 12 MP3 lessons didn't quite prepare me as well as I would have liked in understanding the language but I could pick up familiar words here and there. If all else fails at least I knew "je voudrai boire du la biere" - I want to drink some beer. A short walk from the station brought us to the Best Western Rive de Gauge, which was nice
and clean but was nothing flash.
Saturday 15th September We had about a 1km walk from our hotel to Mum's Sofitel Bercy. So, we got off to an early start to allow plenty of time, and found ourselves there in no time. We hadn't eaten and as nothing else appeared to be open, we forked out a ridiculous €18 for a couple of croissants and a coffee at the hotel restaurant. As tour time was getting close, I rang Mum with a "Where the hell are ya?". She replied "In the lobby, where are you?". Damn...I was in the lobby as well...but obviously not her lobby...DOH!! I'd not been given the latest update to the itinerary which would have shown that Mum had changed hotels in Paris, and was now on the other side of town, next to a bus that was about to depart. Frantically we hailed a cab, who's driver didn't understand a word of English but still managed to get us to the right hotel with about 2 minutes to spare. Bloody 'ell, talk about a stressful way to start the day!
On the bus now with Mum and Sid, we toured round
the city passing the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), the Champs Elysees and Place de la Concorde. First mini stop was at a big square outside the Ritz Hotel where Diana and Dodi were last seen coming out of the revolving doors. It was quite strange seeing it in the flesh (or more correctly, in the brick) after seeing the footage umpteen times on tv.
Next stop was the iconic Eiffel Tower. We had caught glimpses of it from around the city, but it wasn't until we stood right under it that we could see the complex, massive structure in all its beauty. With all of the latticed metal framework visible it truly is awe inspiring and makes you wonder how they could have designed and built it way back in 1889. One rather unusual addition, in tribute of the World Cup, was a huge inflatable rugby ball positioned right in the middle of the Tower. Current game scores were also displayed on a big LED screen mounted up near the ball. After a short line up, all 30 of us on the tour jumped into one of the mammoth elevators (they can hold 50) and we ascended up
Ritzing It Up
Where Di and Dodi left through the revolving doors.to the 2nd level of the Tower. I wanted to go all the way to the top level, alas that would have to wait till next time. The view was still spectacular from this height and even though it was slightly hazy we could see the whole city spread out below. We got a quick rundown of the highlights on each side of the Eiffel, including the Trocodero, Notre Dame, the river Sienne and Tour Montparnasse (known as the "mistake" by the French, it is an ugly blocky office tower that sticks out like dog's nuts. They say the view from the top is the most beautiful in Paris, since it is the only place from which you cannot see the tower, haha).
Being on a tour meant no time to smell the roses, so down we all went, back in the bus and off to Les Invalides, a hospital/burial site/museum/monument where the sarcophagus of Napoleon was held. Walking over the grass to get to the entrance drew the wrath of the local constabulary, his whistle going berserk at Mum and I. Must be a low crime day in Paris. The inside of the massive domed church was very
impressive, with its high painted roof, marble floors/columns and rich decorations. Napoleon himself lay (actually he could be standing up inside it, he was a short fella) inside a massive marble tomb in the centre of the room, with several wall sculptures of him in Roman guise surrounding it. Actually all throughout Paris we'd see statues and monuments dedicated to Napoleon. They (and he himself it seemed) were crazy about the guy!
Off to the Louvre now which most of you would have heard of. We got a few photos playing around with the cool upside down glass pyramid and then had lunch, including some macaroons, which are a French meringue with jam in the middle. They were sooo delicious, I should have bought more. Walking through the Louvre it was hard to concentrate on the pieces of art as the building itself was just so magnificent. The painting and sculpture work on the ceilings alone was enough to give anyone a neck ache (let alone Mum!). Phillipe, our Belgian tour guide led us through the old tower foundations (when the Louvre was a castle), past amazing statues and paintings and onto the pièce de résistance, the Mona Lisa.
The Champs Elysees
With the Arc de Triumphe in the distance. Actually, the Mona Lisa (housed behind a glass box and surrounded by people) didn't impress me as much as the only other painting in the massive room, the monumental "Marriage at Cana" by Veronese, the Louvre’s largest painting measuring approx. 7 by 10 metres. After about 1.5 hours we've only just scratched the surface but have to move on. We'll have to come back for sure (I know I keep saying that!).
Dropped off at the Opera area of town, we Metro'd home, got changed and Metro'd back to Mum's hotel. Tonight we were to attend a cabaret in the "adult" section of town down the road from the Moulin Rouge. We had a nice, if rushed, meal washed down with all you could drink beer and sat back for a night of good old fashioned entertainment. Jugglers, acrobats, dancing (topless) girls and a main singer kept the audience in good spirits, with a few being dragged up on stage to be made a fool out of. It was a great night out (thanks Mum!) which everyone seemed to enjoy.
Sunday 16th September After meeting Mum and Sid at their hotel we introduced them to the
The Infamous Tunnel
Where the almighty stack happened Metro system and worked our way to the Charles du Gaulle stop and the Arc de Triumphe. We popped up like prairie dogs from underground right next to the Arc and walked underneath it to catch a glimpse of the Eternal Flame and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier dedicated in memory of the dead who were never identified in both World Wars. The real action was going on around the Arc though as cars, buses and motorbikes risked life and limb to weave their way around the multi lane (actually there are no lanes marked!) roundabout. Horns beeped, cars did u-turns after missing turnoffs and some just stopped in their tracks making great entertainment. I could have set up a deck chair and watched it all day! Now I know why no insurance policies cover the Arc de Triumphe.
We strolled down the tree lined Champs Elysees, stopping at the Peugeot, Mercedes and Adidas shop (the biggest in Europe) before sampling some crepes at a street side restaurant. The price wasn't too bad, considering after New York's 5th Avenue it's the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. Continuing on down this very long straight road,
we arrived at one of the major squares in Paris, the Place de la Concorde with it's ornate fountains and big old ferris wheel. On the other side of this square was the Jardin (garden) des Tuileries, where we were lucky to see a heap of marching bands about to launch into song. They started off in separate groups playing different tunes, walking towards each other and when they met, some of the members swapped bands before separating again. It looked very tricky to pull off and they did stuff it up the first time, but they all let out a big cheer when they got it right.
Up a bit further was the Louvre courtyard and main entrance where the above ground pyramid was situated along with a heap of people sitting down, cooling their feet in the water feature. It was quite a hot day with the sun beaming down on us but we kept moving, crossing the Sienne before walking up to Notre Dame Cathedral. All up it was about 5km from where we started back at the Arc de Triumphe and we'd continued on in a straight line all the way. At the garden area
in front of Notre Dame we were amazed to see a guy hand feeding about 50 finches all sitting on one bush. Upon seeing us, he handed a pile of seed to Emma and it didn't take long before about 10 birds were jostling for a peck. It was a bit late to walk to the top of the gargoyle friendly Notre Dame for the view but we had a quick walk around inside where a service was being held. It was quite impressive but so are most of the buildings in Paris! There was a guy out the front who looked just like the Hunchback but I think he was just an opportunist beggar with bad posture.
Mum and Sid headed back to their hotel for a spell, while we walked a bit further up to some street markets and festivities. It was absolutely packed and all the walking and heat had drained us too, so we crossed the Île de la Cité and jumped on the Metro. Back at the hotel Em had crashed out, but I was keen to see the Eiffel Tower all light up at night so I headed out to the Trocodero on
the train. Some doped out Carribean woman kept everyone on board entertained with her non stop 20 min rambling before she got off. No idea what she was on about and I think even if I spoke fluent French I'd still have no idea. Funny though. Once I emerged from the Metro I dodged all the crappy souvenir sellers and walked up to the steps of the Trocodero where I could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up in green and yellow. At 9 o'clock on the dot (as with every hour after 8) the Tower started sparkling all over which went on for a good 5 minutes. I got a few good snaps, then, noticing all the commotion going on in a large tent under the Tower I walked down to investigate further. Turns out it was packed full of Frenchies watching their team trounce all over Namibia in the Rugby World Cup. I hung out there for a while as the atmosphere was great, and proving the French aren't bad sports they gave a big cheer when Namibia scored their first try, bringing the margin down to about 80. 😊
After the match I entered the Metro
again, then promptly exited it when a bunch of people started running out in a panic. Call me foolish but I tentatively proceeded and discovered it was just a bit of a scrap that was being attended to by the Police. After tubing it back to Porte d'Ivry and emerging from a different Metro exit than I was used to, I spent the next half an hour wandering around trying to find my way back to the hotel. Doh!
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Artie & Mum
non-member comment
Gee, it was just like being there all over again