Je ne comprends pas in Paris

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Well Kristin missed the first chance to get over to Paris, but we got it right this time! On the 17th of August we ditched work early and hitched a ride on the eurostar out for 4 days holiday.

We got into Paris at around 10pm and sussed the tubes quick smart. Our hotel was about a km from the Arc de Triomphe (kicked a goal there), and we didn't have too much trouble finding our way there.

After just a little sleep in on the Friday morning we headed out to see what we could see. We made our way up to the Arc, and on down the Champs Elysees. Near the Concorde we decided to jump on an open top bus to take us around the main sights in the city. First stop was the Eiffel Tower. Due to the hordes of people lining up to get up the tower we decided to leave the tower for another day, and moved on. For the rest of the day we sat on the bus taking in the sights, and catching our bearings, getting off here and there to take a quick look around. That night Kristin and I had a couple of seats at the cabaret "Le Lido de Paris". The whole cabaret thing was pretty cool, with some impressive costumes and plenty of tastefully topless ladies. The performers doing the individual scenes were classy too.

The next day we got down to the Eiffel Tower a bit earlier and may our way up fairly swiftly by taking the stairs rather than the lift. After spending a bit of time up there and getting a few snaps in, we headed to down to the Lourve to catch up with John who had a few hours to himself on his Topdeck tour. After a beer in the sun, and few laughs Kristin and I moved on to the Orangerie, another gallery near the Lourve. This gallery was stunning with some huge wall paintings by Monet and a few Picasso's and Renoirs around as well. The best part was the lack of people once we got in there, although this was only truly appreciated after being in the Lourve a bit later on in the trip. Next was Notre Dame and a look inside the cathedral, and then off for some dinner around St Germaine. After dinner we walked down the river to check out the Eiffel Tower with the Xmas lights on. Lovely.

On the Sunday we headed up to the Montartre area to check out the Basilique du Sacre Coeur, and the vast veiws of the city that can be captured from its elevation. I really enjoyed the area around the Basilica with all the little cafes and creperies, and street artists trying to sell their wares. A very cool part of town. From here we headed down to the Lourve, which of course was packed!!! Huge tour groups made it fairly hard work to get around, so we decided to get a quick look at the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa and a few others and be on our way.

The final chapter was a look around the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and some dinner at our local restaurant.

Our four days in Paris was fantastic, and left us both feeling like we'd only really scratched the surface. Looking very forward to the next visit... mainly because we will be watching the All Blacks clobbering the French at the stade de France!!!

Ben

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Photos

Winged Victory of Samothrace
A few people to contend with!