Whirlwind in Paris

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Arriving on a 6am train was not the nicest way to finally make it to Paris, but it was the cheapest and so it was our method of choice. We had booked a hostel just down the road from Sacre Coeur but it was pretty skank so we only lasted one night before finding ourselves a room in a little hotel in charming Montmatre. All around us were streets lined with speciality food and wine stores, cafes and bars and typically French boutiques. It was delightful.

On the tourist trail our first stop was the Eiffel Tower. It was a lovely sunny day so the walk up the 668 steps was well worth it and we had a great clear view across Paris. We then explored the Champs de Mars with all the locals and tourists out picnicing in the sunshine. A walk up to Sacre Coeur before sunset seemed to be the same idea as everyone else, but the church itself itself is lovely and the views across Montmatre are really nice. We headed back again after dark to see the city all lit up and avoid some of the crowds; its a really cool place.

Day two was the first Sunday of the month, so it was a rush to get round all the museums while they free, though this involved a lot of queueing and patience as everywhere was packed. We started at the Picasso museum, which I loved. It has so many different pieces of his as well as some of his scultpures which was neat to see. Corb isn't such a fan, though he did like a cool sculpture of a goat which was in the museum garden.

Next up was the Louvre which was pretty amazing, just for its size alone. We checked out the Islamic Art section before seeing the Apartments of Napoleon 3 and the very impressive Reubens room. The Mona Lisa was a little disappointing and the crowds were absolutley manic, though they were no less for the Venus de Milo or the Winged Victory which we preferred. Some of the Egyptian collection was just mindblowing, but there wasnt time to do the Louvre justice so I'll have to come back another time and see the lot.

After a quick lunch we headed to the Musee d'Orsay where they had Corb's favourite 'Ours blanc' by Pompon in large scale. The masters of the upper levels were amazing, kind weird to actually see them after seeing them in magazines and on TV so many times.

We headed over to the Arc de Triomphe that evening to see it all lit up with the lights of the busy Champs Elysees racing by. It wasn't free so we decided not to climb to the top and instead wandered back over to the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkling and lighting up the night sky. Very cool.

Days three and four were a lot more relaxed with some good sleeping in, tasty food, crepes of course and wanders through the streets of Paris. I wasn't too impressed with Notre Dame from the outside but once inside I took back all the bad things I had said - the stained glass windows were amazing and despite the crowds it had a lovely old, peaceful atmosphere that was great. We checked out a couple of free exhibitions at the Hotel de Ville and then scared ourselves by looking at the prices in the glitzy Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, Paris' premiere shopping centres.

We had planned to head out to Versailles but with the weather giving up we didn't think it would be much fun in the wind and rain. Something for next time perhaps.

I really enjoyed Paris and it lived up to my expectations which was good. I don't know if it is a city I'd like to live in, but definitely one I'll return to and hopefully next time with more money and then I can do some serious shopping!

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