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Published: November 8th 2009
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Yep I'm in Paris and I've got to say I'm getting much better at booking hotels over the internet. With the Pantheon right outside the window of the hotel and a view straight down the street to the Eiffel Tower from the front door I'm loving this little hotel already, plus it's got a lift. Lifts in French hotels are a big plus cause without fail your room will be nowhere near the first floor and after lugging your luggage up what the French choose to call a staircase arriving at a hotel with a lift is a bonus. Though at one stage I was starting to wonder if I would find the place. The trip from CDG airport is easy jump on the metro line B and away you go. Pop out at Luxemburg station and the aimless wonder begins, well not completely aimless as I had a map of sorts and rough directions. Unfortunately there's two exits for the Luxemburg station and I managed to choose the not really prefered one. After wondering around a little trying to find a street sign that even mildly resembled the ones on the map I remembered that the piece of technology on
my wrist has a build in compass. Hit the magic button and look at the map and I work out that I'm on the wrong side of the tracks so to speak. Cross the road wonder along a bit as I quietly thank man for inventing the wheel as my suitcase dutifully follows along behind me to a sign that matches up with the map. From there it was a step to the left, a stroll to the right and there it was at the end of the street, the Pantheon. Head for it and off to the right a bit is home sweet home for the next few nights.
Unfortunately the weather here hasn't exactly been days of sunshine, but you can't really blame Paris for drizzling rain and temps lucky to get into the teens. It'll be novel to get back to the island and only have one layer of clothing on for a change. Although the allegedly 100% cashmere scarf that I got in Istanbul is paying for itself big time, who would have thought that a bit of silk and wool would be so warm. The other problem is that I must be starting to
There's something not quite right about this.
It's about -400°C and she's wearing a summer dress. look a bit like a local as a few too many people are asking me things in French (not exactly a help to either of us) and the restaurants are now giving me the French menu straight up rather than the English one, but as long as you avoid anything with 'tartare' in the name it's all good.
One of the great investments has been the Visit Paris pass that gives you unlimited travel across the public transport network. I've even managed to master the rail and bus system in Paris this time around and have been buzzing around everywhere, jumping from RER, to Metro to bus and back again. Very impressive me thinks for someone that lives on an island who's definition of public transport is a group of what some may call shadey looking guys who own minibuses. The other bonus is the location of the hotel, I'm a bit of a convert to the Latin Quarter now having stayed near the tower last time and somewhere I can't remember before that. Everything seems to be very convenient, including the airport and Gare du Nord (which is where the little side adventure to Amsterdam departs from).
Maybe it's living on the island, but there seems to be an incredible number of attractive women in Paris. Or it could be because the hotel is near a Uni, either way there's a couple of things that I've noticed. The fashion at the moment seems to be shorts, stockings and calf length boots, hasn't anyone told them it's like minus 400 degrees, I'm still a bit chilly in jeans, jumper and jacket. The other thing is the number of them that smoke, it's more an exception to see a woman that isn't than it is to see one that is. Fortunately they have adopted the no smoking indoors rule over here as well, which leads to a lot of people sitting at the outside tables smoking rugged up like eskimos. Although I can't work out why they are on the slim side given the amount of food I've seen some of them scoffing down. Mind you I haven't been far behind them with confit duck and absolutely delish french pasties being very welcome change to what's available in Turkey or at home.
It's taken a few trips but I'm slowly working my way through Paris's attractions, this time
Sacre Coeur
Third time lucky I make it to see this wonder it was the turn of the Musee d'Orsay and Sacre Coeur. Both didn't disappoint with d'Orsay living up to it's expectations as I whiled away the hours looking at all things sculptural and painted. It's amazing what you can do with a train station you don't need anymore, just convert it into a museum and as they'll come flocking. Even if it does mean it looks like an umbrella convention outside with all the people lining up in the rain. Sacre Coeur was also impressive, unfortunately there's no happy snaps from inside it but it does rank up there on the great churches I've wondered into. Google it and have a look, the artwork above the altar is an amazing mosaic. But things being Europe if you want to see more you have to walk up 300 spiralling stairs to the base of the cuppola to see the surrounds. It's also good to get your bearings on which part of Montmartre to wonder to next. After walking up 300 steps I've worked out why I'm doing all this now, especially after seeing some other people hobbling around and being happy to get up the steps at the front of Sacre
Coeur. The other thing that was on my list to do was a visit to the Catacombes, where they have skeleton after skeleton arranged in a disused rail tunnel. After treking out there in the rain on the Metro and finally finding the door after a bit of dodgey french signage sent me in the other direction I discovered a small sign on the door, "the catacombes are closed indefinately due to an act of vandalism". Time for plan "B", go and eat a French pastry, well you know it's France, it's raining what else is there to do.
When I mentioned I was coming to Paris one of my friends sent me a lovely email along the lines of you have eat this French vanilla slice thing in the Jardin du Luxembourg, oh and there was some mention that she now dislikes me a little for being in Paris. I didn't quite get to eat the huge vanilla slice thing, but I did go for a stroll around the gardens. On the fence outside the garden was a photo exhibition of the Mekong from it's trickle in Tibet to the mouth in Vietnam. The photos captured the people
along the way and how they rely on the river. The effect of what happens upstream on those downstream, particularly the desire of China to throw up a couple of dams and what the effect will be. It also made me think back to the little excursion through south east Asia last year with the photos of Luang Prabang and parts of Vietnam, except that it's a tad colder in Paris.
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