Deciphering a New Da Vinci Code

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Before I launch into any blogs about my time here in Nice, I thought I would do one about my trip to Paris last weekend. My main purpose for going was to go see the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I also was excited to go back to the city, as I hadn’t been since I was 13 (again, many, many dumb choices were made at that age, so I wanted to actually see the city this time!).

Since I’ve decided that I’m a bit past hostels, I booked a hotel room online that even had it’s own bathroom (not common for the budget hotels)! Expensive for Canadian standards, it was quite reasonable for Parisian standards, but I quickly realized why...first, and not so surprisingly, it was not in the nicest area of town. Next, the room was the size of my bathroom at home. There was a bathroom, but I was very confused as I could not find the shower until I looked up and realized that the bathroom also served as the shower. Now, you were supposed to be able slide the door closed so as to create a seal; however, that door didn’t budge, so water sprayed everywhere. Usually, I would have felt bad spilling water onto the carpet, but I wouldn’t dare call what was covering the floor carpet. I would say it was more like indoor astroturf in a nice puke brown color. C’est fantastique! However, all of that aside, the room was somewhat clean and had a bed, so all was good. Plus, it had a TV, so I could watch Sex and the City overdubbed in French (which really, really throws you off—“Carrie doesn’t sound like that!!!”).

Okay, moving on to the concert. The concert was great. It was in a mini-arena, but, for some weird reason, it was all open seating. I’ve never seen that at an event with actual seats. However, open seating meant it was an advantage to a person flying solo, as there are always free single seats here and there. I staked out a pretty good seat and sat back and watched the show. The band got by with the typical French phrases (“Bon soir”, “Merci beaucoup”, etc.), which I’m sure they’ve mastered in all languages, but the rest was in English. It was pretty surreal to listen to a sold out arena belt out all of the lyrics to songs that are in a different language from their own. I guess it answers the question, “Which means more: the lyrics or the music?” Considering half the audience didn’t have a clue what the lyrics mean, I’m going to go with the latter.

The Saturday and Sunday in Paris was ridiculously hot...and muggy. Yes, I just came from the Middle East, so I guess it’s fair to say that I should be used to it. However, places like Doha rely heavily on air conditioning in every establishment; whereas, Paris does not have the same luxury. I also decided to walk everywhere and save on Metro fare. Smart idea when you’re wet within minutes of leaving the hotel. However, I was a trooper and walked the whole entire day from my hotel to the Louvre, through the gardens, up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe and then down to the Eiffel Tower.

The Louvre was great! I actually saw more than the Mona Lisa (my first time in Paris I just went to see the Mona Lisa and then decided to take a snooze in the cloak room). However, thanks to “The Da Vinci Code”, the Louvre has become quite a spectacle. There is now a Da Vinci Code audio tour and flocks of tourists huddled around any of the paintings mentioned in the book. I decided to ignore the Da Vinci Code craze and tour around on my own. I went into the somewhat vacant wings and enjoyed watching students attempt to replicate famous paintings right before my eyes. At first, I thought, “This is great. Not only do you get to see the actual paintings, you can watch artists in their element.” However, I think I’ve uncovered a new Da Vinci Code secret...I noticed something slightly suspicious: all of the paintings that these so-called students were working on were almost complete. Here’s my theory: it’s all set-up. They aren’t real artists. The paintings were done by other people and are displayed each week in their “almost done” state and then hired actors stand there adding shadowing here and there, as people aren’t really there long enough to watch them make any actual progress. It’s brilliant, really. Tourists think they’re getting more bang for their buck and walk off even more content than if they just walked around looking at the already complete products. Well, it’s a theory anyway.

The Eiffel Tower was quite an experience as well. I decided to go to EuroDisney instead of the Eiffel Tower the first time around, so this was a must-do on the trip. I decided that I might as well go to the top since I had to stand in line anyway. Well, what they neglect to tell you is that after standing in line for an hour to get to the second level, you had to stand in line AGAIN to get the elevator that takes you to the top. I love line-ups. Especially when you’re alone and you don’t have a parnter in crime to save your spot while you run to the washrooom or grab water, or, in my case, go buy your ticket (it’s the stupidest system where you get out of line to buy your ticket right before you go in, so people like me look like we’re budding when we try to lay claim to a new spot in the newly formed line).

After sweating profusely for a few hours at the Eiffel Tower, but securing some 11 Euro worthy photos at the top, I made my way to the 16th district (all of Paris is divided by districts) to visit my friend Amin’s aunt who lives in Paris. She was delightful. For one, French wasn’t her first language, so I could actually understand what she was trying to say for the most part (as her accent wasn’t as thick) and, for two, she fed me delicious ice cream. She also had free long distance to Canada and the US, so she let me make some phone calls home (coincidentally, it was Stef’s b-day and my sister-in-law Kim’s b-day, so it worked out quite well!). After my visit with her, I made my way back to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with my cousin Cathy’s husband, Amerino, who coincidentally was in Paris on business (what are the chances?!). Before we went for dinner, I dropped off some stuff in Amerino’s room, which was quite the departure from my tiny shack in the norther part of Paris. Aside from the breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower (literally next door to the hotel), he had a beautiful upgraded suite with a separate bedroom and sitting area. *sigh* The tour of his room made me not so anxious to get back to my glorious room in Paris’ north ghetto.

We made our way to the Latin Quarter upon Amin’s aunt’s recommendations and went to a place that she had mentioned: Cafe de Flore. Well, little did we know that this was the place where great French philosphers (Sartre, etc.) used to spend their time, so, despite being quite a modest little cafe, the prices were quite steep to ensure that these philophers would not be forgotten! After ordering a $9 Ginger Ale (seriously), I opted for the plain omlette, which was almost the same price as my pop! Amerino opted for a salad and a pop, but our two meals would have paid for a gourmet meal with a bottle of wine at home—crazy! After dinner, we found a cool little street with cafes and restaurants and decided to go for coffee and dessert at a little mom and pop restaurant. Now, despite having dessert and coffee on their menu, we discovered that you are not allowed to order only coffee and dessert and we were promptly kicked out of the restaurant when they discovered we weren’t eating dinner! Can you believe that? So, we ended up back at the expensive cafe district where we knew we could order dessert and coffee. Funny thing is, two coffees and one dessert almost equaled our dinner! I do not know how Parisians choke down these prices. C’est bizarre.

On my last day in Paris, I decided to continue playing tourist and hit the Picasso Museum, the Musee D’Orsay, the Notre Dame and a tour on the Reine. This ended up being my deal day. For one, the Picasso Museum has loaned out a big chunk of its permanent collection, so the entrance fee was only 2 Euros and Sunday was the Musee D’Orsay’s cheap day, so I actually didn’t feel like I watching my savings quickly dwindle away on this day. The tour down the Reine was gorgeous and a fantastic way to do Paris if you want to see all of the main sites, as most of them are situated along the river. Overall, it was a great weekend and I’m loving France (aside from the occasional rudeness that will be covered in future blogs).

I apologize for the length of the blog and the lack of photos, but I guess I’m just excited to be writing in English! A bientot!

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