Paris, France

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(August 12th through the 16th 2005) Before I left on my trip, I tagged along with my mother to her favorite pastry shop. Owned by a Swiss and German couple, the pastry shop serves wonderful delicassies. Under their payroll, they have a Colombian, whom my mother speaks to when we go, and a French lady from Marseilles, that I practice my French when I can. I told her that I was going to meet up with my brother in Portugal, after his program ended, and we were going to go around Europe, and stop in France for a while. After describing several cities, the only thing she say about Paris is that it is a beautiful city, and that you should not miss le Pigalle--with a hidden smile on her face.
We left Nice early morning headed for Paris on the TGV. The ride to Marseille was unimpressive, and we thought this isn't a train de grand vitasse. Ohh, but when we departed Marseille, all the way up to Paris, this thing flew. It was a really cool experience.
We arrived into Paris around 4, Gared de Lyon, and walked a bit. Left our bags at the train station, as I have said all along, these bags were not about to come with us on a search for the hostel. We got a quick bite to eat and headed for the metro to go to the Latin Quarters. We saw Notre Dame in the background, and it got us excited. We wonder the city, following the guide's suggestions, but we can't find any of the hostels the guide shows on the map. (Three different hostels, on the map, are not there--and we read the map correctly--we are so happy we didn't carry the bags with us). Finally, after walking around for what seemed like 2 hrs, we spot a sign, hidden away by some renovation material (two block southeast of Luxembourg station on Rue Gay Lussac, on your left). It simply says HOTEL, no name, and I thought it was going to be expensive, but LittleBoi says let's give it a try. We do. Several stickers out front, with best backpackers lodging, years 1996-1999. We go in, and talk to the guy in charge. Very nice old man. Spoke very little English, and wanted to speak with us in English in order to practice it. We want a double but he doesn't have any, and gives us a single for the first night. (The two following nights, he gives two separate private rooms, for the cost of one single, 15 euro each a night, what a nice man.) We go for our bags, and come back.
LittleBoi's sole wish since we had started the trip was to see the Eiffel Tower. He was so anxious, we went after we dropped the bags. It was night by the time we headed that way. We get off at the station Bir Hakeim, and one can feel the excitement in the air. There are vibes one couldn't believe. As we follow the crowds and see the street vendors, we peek around the corner on Av. Gustav, and behold what a stunnigly beautiful site. The Eiffel Tower, lighted up, is jaw dropping. I don't stop taking pictures. We walk to it, and stand in front of it, then under it. Wow! On a night like this, we go up. The view was spectacular, breathtaking. The lights going on and off, are magnificent, and the views to the other sites in Paris are great. We are satisfied, head down, and head back to our place.
We wake up content in having seen the Eiffel Tower the night before, and head for the Louvre. This thing is immense. We pose for a pic in front of the famous pyramid, Louvre Pyramid. We go in and wonder around. See marvelous paintings and collections. Venus, Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People, Sarcophogus of Eshmunazar, Law Code of Hammurabi. The travel guide--I know, I know, we use it a lot--says that it would take 3 full days to see every piece the museum has on display; it is the largest in the world. After spending a good time at the museum we head towards the Champs Elysees. Walk riverside, and see glimpses of the Eiffel Tower. We walk around the Place de la Concorde, and walk down the Champs Elysees. Stop to get a French styled hot dog, mediocre at best, with a beer, good. Walk in front of all the shops and restaurants and glamour that everyone knows about. Finally get to the world's largest round about--the Arc de Triomphe. Nice architecturally, but I don't know about its symbolism. We get on the metro and see Place de la Bastille. It was something to see, and we head back for dinner. In front of our Hotel, there is a Mediterranean place, and we get something quick to eat, not expensive, not cheap.
Know us by now, and guess what, we get tanked again, beer here, bere there, bottle of wine here. Us being so smart, and especially after swallowing some alcohol, we decide to go to the Pigalle--which coincidently enough is on our travel guide. "We in the red light district!". Little did we know we ended up there.
Nothing is sacred anymore it seems like. First thing you see when you get out of the metro stop, gues what?, a McDonald's. It is so touristy, especially with Moulan Rouge, that the red light district in Paris has a McDonald's. It is quite interesting.
We walk around, tourists everywhere, like us of course, but not as bad as in Amsterdam. Nice little strip, women telling us to go here, to go there. Video booths calling us.
We, again as smart as we are, decide to go into one of these places--why not? When in "Paris" right? We choose some random place, it says it is only 10 to get in, with a free drink. We sit down, attractive women, relatively of course, around us. We get our drinks, and two women sit next to us. They had to be the most unattractive women in the business. Sorry for being insensitive, but not even close. They say can you buy us a drink, we don't know any better--stupid us--we say sure. BOOM! Both order a 50 euro drink. We say f@#$ that! We head out. The woman that was next to my brother tries to con another 100 euro from him, by telling the owner that they went to the private room. OOOHHH, bad move. My brother goes nuts. Screams, gets in their faces, and threatens the owner to take the money off the bills, or he is going to call the police. The owner gets scared of something, and finally doesn't charge. The place tried to take our money, but we did well. The Pigalle leaves us a bad taste, and we head back.
The next morning, very early, we go to the Luxembourg gardens, walk up to St. Sulpice, all in the Latin Quartes. From there we go to Notre Dame, very beautiful inside, especially the stained glass. Walk around the Ile de St. Louis, and get a bite to eat. Nasty day, cool, even this time of year, and grey. We go to the Musee D'Orsay. As we get in it starts to pour. Nice, we were there long enough for the showers to go by, and sun to come out. The building was gorgeous. The way the rooms were separated was ideal for a museum. The works there are great, and we, though we didn't go to any of the others, was a great choice--not incluiding the Louvre.
The Basilique du Sacre Coeur was next on our list, and headed that way. It was not too far from the Pigalle, imagine that. We ignore the "elevator" thingy, and do the climb ourselves. It was worth it. Getting to the top you feel so great once you look at all of Paris. By far one of the greatest views of a city--challenging Sevilla atop the Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, Monte Alban, Empire State Building, and Tepoztlan. There were crowds everywhere, which made the atmosphere even better. Small squares surrounding the area are full of artists, now catering just to tourists. We descend through another set of stairs, and get a beautiful shot of the Eiffel Tower.
It was a wonderful day and head back to the Hotel. A block and a half away from our place, there is a nice coffee shope, good atmosphere, but expensive--on the corner of Rue de Medicis/Rue Gay Lussac and Blvd. St. Michel. We relax for almost two hours, and head to bed.
This is our last full day together, so we decide to make go all out. We have a 'typical' French breakfast, atleast that is what the menu at the cafe, most likely catered to tourists, said. We head to the Hotel des Invalides. Walk around the premises, some of the museums there, Napoleon's tomb, and saw the flags that the French had 'won' during their conquers.
As we got into the city--this is true--I told my brother there has to be atleast one person in Paris at this time that we know very well, at minimum a very good acquaintance. A WWII museum, I don't know if it is permanent or not, was there, and we headed in. True story, as we were waking up to the next level, someone catches my brother's eyes as the person walks by. He does a double take, and says, Zach. Wow! A very good friend of ours from High School was there. What a small world. We caught up, hadn't seen him in 3 years. It was good, and suggested a nice cafe in Amsterdam. Haven't talked to him since, what a shame. By the way, I thought the museum was great, check it out if it is still up.
We then go back to the Eiffel Tower one last time. Hang around the Parc du Champ de Mars, and relax. After a while, we cross the Seine, and admire the tower from the building directly across from it--didn't get the name. Already late afternoon, we go for our goodbye dinner. Walk up to the Champs Elysees, and settle on a restaurant that serves a humongous portion of mussles. Get good beer, and enjoy the night. The street lighted up at night is stunning, and the Arc de Triomphe compliments the long avenue well. Good night sleep.
The next morning, one last time, drag those bags around, and head to the airport to see my brother off. Finally, travelling without those bags. See him off, great, short goodbye. I head for the Gare de L'Est, to get on my way to Luxembourg. Two weeks of travelling with my brother was great. I was so happy that we were able to do so again, for five weeks this time.

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