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Ahh, Paris! What can I say, besides now I know beyond a doubt that beauty can and does exist. As my first teaching year overseas has come to an end, I had the opportunity to stop off in London for a little over a week. Once in London, I directly took the train to Paris. When I awoke and began to explore, I was literally over whelmed everyday by the beauty and kindness (surprising as it may sound) of the people in Paris. This was actually my first trip through Europe, and it was a pleasant place to deal with the culture shock of leaving the Middle East. All throughout Paris, there was so much history, so much to do, so many delicacies to try that during my first day, I began to get worried that I might miss some important things. I was able to completely relax though and enjoy the trip was I simply made myself the promise to return.
Overall, I was in Paris for about 6 days, and then I went to London for a couple of days. I will put the Paris trip into a few entries, and give London an entry as well. So,
I may combine a day or two when I share the adventures.
For my first day in Paris, I woke up and decided that it would be best to simply explore, and see some major sights. After talking with the man at the front desk of my hotel, I was sent to a local place that rents bicycles. One point that I have to make now is that Paris has a fantastic transportation infrastructure. The subways ran every 5 minutes, and you can get to any point within the city with at most 5 blocks of walking. For people who may want to opt out of the subways, renting a bicycle is the way to go. There are many points within the city that you can rent a bicycle from with a credit card. These stations can cost a bit more though, so it is better to find a shop that rents bicycles. Besides, the way I ride, I needed a mountain bike.
Once I picked up the bike (and after a delicious breakfast of eggs, ham (HAM, you can't buy this anywhere in the restaurants of the Middle East), toast and tea, I went for a ride
through Paris. What worked best is simply picking one point, going there, enjoy the journey and destination, and then repeat until you become exhausted. At first I went to the most famous site that doesn't exist any more, the Bastille. The prison where many famous people, events and stories are tied to, was destroyed in a riot over 100 years ago. However, a monument exists within the middle of a busy intersection, giving recognition. From this point, I decided to go along the river and get taken further into the city. Along the river, or at least the one I took since a few go through Paris, I saw a future dream home of mine, houseboats. All along the river, you can see harbors in which there are houseboats, next day amazing parks, then surrounded by historic buildings and apartments. This is another thing I noticed, I never really saw houses in Paris, much more apartment buildings. Along this river though, historic places and beautiful parks was the constant scenery. It was great to simply ride through and take in the feeling the city creates. As I was riding along, I noticed two large towers rising up. As I checked
The ride along the river
All along you can see living such as this! my map, I realized I had to stop at this location, the Notre Dam.
The Notre Dam is simply, beautiful, amazing, and impressive and awe inspiring all at once. Construction started on Notre Dam (which means Our Lady in French) back around 1160. It has a lot of Gothic influence and design, the ceilings being one of the best displays. Many historical events have taken place here, like when Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France here. An interesting fact is that around 1840, people were contemplating destroying the cathedral since it had suffered so much damage. Victor Hugo then wrote "The Hunchback of Notre Dam” to raise awareness of the cathedral, and it helped to preserve the Notre Dam. For myself, I was literally taken away when I walked inside and saw what was built. The stained glass, architecture, the overall atmosphere created was something that simply can not be described in words. Many times I simply had to remind myself that it was not a dream. I certainly took my time walking around and seeing the cathedral from many possible angles.
After Notre Dam, I decided to ride my bike to the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphant Arch).
Arch's like this actually come from Roman civilization, in that they are made to celebrate victories and generals. This particular arch was created during the reign of Napoleon, when he was at his highest point. A neat fact is that the Arch is so big, that after WW I, a fighter plane flew through the middle, proclaiming French victory. For me, I enjoyed the historical feeling it casts over the city. My ride and view up to the Arch was along a tree lined road. Although you see all the aspects of modern day life, cars, sky scrapers and so on, the Arch strongly proclaims the heritage of Paris, and of humanity. I think it helps us to remember where we come from. Most especially when veterans of major wars are remembered and honored at places such as this.
My last stop before riding home exhausted was of course, the Eiffel Tower. As I was riding around, the tower was visible in many parts of the city. However, getting close to the tower, and then going inside was something totally different. The Eiffel tower took the highest man built structure title from the Pyramids of Cairo. About 30 years
later, New York City took the title with the Chrysler building. What's interesting is that when the Eiffel tower was built, many Parisians detested the tower and planned to destroy it after its permit was up (it was originally built as a temporary building for a world fair). However, once it was discovered that the tower could be used to send radio and later TV waves, the tower was kept. It made a big difference in sending communications during WW I. In WW II, once Hitler took over, before he arrived the cable cars were cut for the elevator, never allowing Hitler to the top of the tower. Hitler even ordered for the tower to be destroyed when they left, but his subordinates refused to follow the order. After all of this time, the Eiffel tower has certainly become one of the, if not the landmark for Paris.
I got to take the elevator to the very top of the tower, or the third level. The view of Paris was certainly different from the top. Besides that, I really enjoyed being in a major landmark where so much has happened. Of course, this holds true to all of the
First spotting of Notre Dam
In case you can't tell, it's the towers. major things I have seen in my trips. There is no denying that you are in Paris when you are seeing the Eiffel tower.
Once this site was explored, I was exhausted and decided to head back and rest up for the next day of exploring.
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