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Published: April 6th 2008
Eiffel Tower
Right underneath itSo obviously the perfect place for us. We arrived late and, not wanting to pay for a hostel, decided to sleep in the train station. Crashing in the station is not allowed, but lucky enough for us, we were never found. We slept right through to 7:30am when we awoke, totally confused and lost, with hundreds of people rushing past, most of them lingering for a second or two at the sight of us. Waking up with so much commotion about, is not the greatest way to greet the new day. Still feeling out of it, we then had to take the metro to the Lyon station to book a ticket to Venice. The first thing we did was buy overnight tickets to Venice, hoping to save money by not checking into a hostel. But we had to pay a supplement fee and a reservation fee for a couchette, so it ended up costing the same as a hostel... a very very nice hostel. The Eurail passes, to much of our dissapointment, are not exactly what they make them out to be. We threw our bags in lockers, but didnt actually pay to "lock" them, we just hoped that no one
would open our locker, runnin on hopes. Now you have a slight idea of how broke we are. We bought a map and hit the streets of Paris. Now, for those who think you need more than a day to conquer this wonderful city, we like to think we proved them wrong. And, we did it all on foot. Our first stop was Notre Dam, about a half hours walk from the Lyon station. Such an amazing building, beautiful and so detailed. The lines were, of course, massive, with tourists from all over the world snapping pictures, buying silly souvenirs, and street performers desperately trying to impress small children to leak out money from their parents. We crossed a bridge to walk along the famous Rive Gauche, where tiny cafes, restaurants, painters and book sellers line the sidewalks. They make for wonderful Paris photography. Our next stop was the Louvre. We must have arrived at an odd time of the day, since we only waited about five minutes before entering. After trying for some time to convince the teller that we were under 18 but had no i.d (under 18 gets in for free) we finally paid the 9 euros
to tour the Museum, gutted. The Louvre, as some may already know, is gigantic. "It would take you two weeks to see everything the Louvre has," a Frenchman pointed out to us. We cut it down to only the "must-sees"; Le Jaconde (Mona Lisa), the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Wedding Feast at Cana, Aphrodite, and much much more. Our legs were already sore, but we were determined. We walked along the Avenue des Champs Epysees far enough to get a spectacular view of the LArc the Triomphe, and then diverted towards La Tour Eiffel. Originally built as a radio station, the Tour stands surprisingly tall. Anoter big surprise is how beautiful it really is. If you think about the idea and what its made of, you wouldnt think much of it. But looking at it, there is something very majestic about it. The lines to climb the Tour were beyond insane, and climbing the Tour didnt seem all that appealing to us. If youre inside it... you cant really see it, can you. The walk back to Lyon station was long and tiring. Our legs were shot, we were tired, and so far. Along the way, we stopped at
a cafe for a beer each. You cant go to Paris and not experience a cafe. We sat, resting, and taking in all the sights of Paris. It was a succesfull day, we saw a lot and made the most of our short time spent there. Next stop- Venice! See you there.
Love
Chris and Evan
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