Joyeux Anniversaire a moi

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Paris is always a good idea.

Especially when turning another year older – it definitely helps take the sting away a bit when you realise you’re officially in the late 20’s gang. The City of Lights had always been high on my bucket list long before I’d visited and I fell in love with the city during my quick stint there at the beginning of my Contiki trip. I couldn’t wait to get back and explore more of the city, seeing what I had missed last time I was there and generally, getting lost in the city and just taking it all in.

My journey started in the late afternoon of the 27^th April, taking a quick trip on the Eurostar across the channel and ending up in central Paris. Stepping off the train and into Gare Du Nord is an experience with people everywhere – most asking if you need a taxi as you walk off the platform into the station. It was definitely overwhelming being in an unfamiliar part of town whilst trying to figure out where to go to get to the Metro and also trying to remember which metro line I had to take. But I got to my hostel in one piece despite someone getting a bit too close for comfort whilst I was buying my ticket and asking if I could buy his ticket with mine whilst showing me a couple of 20c coins as my ticket came out of the machine. Side note: Do not trust too easy – Paris is a city well known for its variety of scams and pickpockets due to the amount of unsuspecting tourists. I was staying at the Generator hostel in Place du Colonel Fabian in a 4 dorm room with an ensuite so it’s definitely up there with one of the nicer hostels I’ve stayed in (I’ve actually been quite lucky and the majority of hostels have been really good). Also, the guy working at reception mentioned my place of birth when sighting my passport upon check in – not only does he know the town I was born, but he worked there whilst in Australia on a working visa. Considering a lot of people I’ve come across over the years back home have no clue where it is, I was well surprised that someone on the other side of the world knew the place. As it was getting quite late by the time I checked in and got comfortable, I spent my first evening hanging around the hostel – watching the sunset over Sacre Coeur in the distance from the rooftop terrace before having dinner and retiring to bed to wake up ready for a day of exploring.

The next morning, I set off down the road to Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise, which was only a 20 minute walk from where I was staying, to stop by Jim Morrison’s final resting place. Pere Lachaise is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris as well as being the most visited in the world, and also one of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. Other notable people also buried here include Oscar Wilde and Edith Pilaf, amongst many others. After a quick glance at the map at the entrance, I was able to easily locate where his grave was – I visited 4 years ago when I was last in town also and this time around, it was nice to see that the graffiti of song lyrics and tributes left by tourists had been cleaned off the tomb next door. Keeping with my slight morbid theme of the morning, I then got on the Metro and headed to Denfert-Rochereau. Here, I stopped by a boulangerie (bakery) for a quick croissant and espresso before heading into the Catacombs of Paris. The Catacombs is an underground ossuary which holds the remains of more than 6 million people in a small network of tunnels in a former limestone mine. It took about an hour to walk through and my ticket included the audio guide, which outlined the history of how it came to be. Word of warning, like all tourist attractions in Paris, the lines are long – the entrance to the Catacombs is on a roundabout and when I got there at about 10:30am, the line already stretched halfway around the roundabout. To avoid having to wait in the queue, I had pre-booked my ticket so that it already included the audio guide and also allowed me to go to the 'Skip the Line' line, which is much shorter.

Afterwards, I got back on the metro – after finding an Oz café and naturally, taking my photo with the kangaroo statue out the front – and headed off to the Louvre to spend my afternoon revisiting the main sites of Paris. From the Louvre (I didn’t venture inside this time), I headed towards the Champs Elysees by walking through the stunning Jardin des Tuileries, which is a public garden between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. From Place de la Concorde, it was straight up the Champs Elysees, known for its luxury retail stores, cafes and theatres, towards the Arc de Triomphe at the other end. The security of the stores on the Champs Elysees strip has definitely been increased since my last visit, which is to be expected due to recent events however it's still sad to see. Almost all of the stores require a bag check as well as a metal detector scan before they’ll allow you in – it’s also the same when getting off the Metro at the shopping arcade below the Louvre. Again, completely understandable however, sad to see the extent of security the city has to put in place due to the current state of the world. I spent a bit of time at the Arc de Triomphe before making my way towards the Trocadero to catch my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. As it was only mid-afternoon by this point and I wanted to see the tower light up at sun down – a stunning sight I was hanging out to view again – I decided to use the time to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. After going past the security that’s now placed around the tower, I opted to climb the stairs to the 2^nd floor and from the 2^nd floor, I was able to purchase a further ticket to take the lift up to the top but I decided against because the line was long, I’ve been up the top before and remember it being very windy – also I don’t remember having to purchase a separate ticket but I could be wrong. On each floor, 1^st and 2^nd, I took the time to take photos of the view from all angles and on the 2^nd floor, treated myself to a macaron before making my descent down (via the elevator – the stairs were killer but totally worth it) and making my way back to the Trocadero, watching the street performers and also the touts selling souvenirs (which is frowned upon and often times, you will see these guys being chased down by the police) until the Eiffel Tower lit up.

The following day, I woke up to start celebrating my birthday in Paris! The sun was out, the day was beautiful and I got dressed up and set out to explore. I took the Metro to Pont Neuf to check out the Pont des Arts Bridge across the Seine River, as it was a place I’d missed on my last visit. What was once known as the Love Lock bridge, where couples came and attached locks with their names written or engraved on to the railings of the bridge and threw the key into the Seine as a gesture of love and commitment, is now just a normal pedestrian bridge as all the locks have been removed - I really did miss seeing this bridge as they’ve now put up a glass rather than the railings so people can no longer attach locks. At the time of removal, the city council estimated that over 700 000 locks had been attached to the bridge. I then headed towards Notre Dame, another place I hadn’t gotten a chance to get up close on my last trip – I only saw it from a distance. It’s free to go in to the cathedral although if you want to go up to the top of the bell towers, there’s a fee. The line just to get into the cathedral was massive and I didn’t fancy waiting for who knows how long in the heat so I made the call to try come back another day, possibly try a weekday hoping it wouldn’t be as busy. After admiring and taking photos of the outside, I then headed towards Berthillon, another Anthony Bourdain recommendation and close by to Notre Dame, for a gelato. What Mr Bourdain did not mention was there were multiple Berthillon stores on the same street; most selling out of restaurants however I went to what I’m pretty sure is the original store as it had a lot more flavours to choose from. I picked the cherry flavour and although a tad pricey for the size of the scoop, it was deliciously good. Well done Bourdain, well done. I then had a browse through the souvenir shops adjacent to Notre Dame and bought myself a sneaky birthday gift (because tickets to Paris obviously wasn’t enough) – a selfie stick! (so now you’ll all be able to see a little more than my face close up in all my travel photos) – and grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch before heading to my next stop. Shakespeare and Company is hands down the coolest book store I’ve set my feet into – it reminded me so much of the bookstore Belle visits in Beauty and the Beast with the shelves full of books and the wooden ladders leant against them (cartoon version, not the new live version) and it even had a shop cat that was just lazing around. Opened in 1951, named after the original store that had previously been opened in a different area of Paris and was a gathering place of aspiring authors such as Hemingway, Shakespeare and Company not only stocks new and second hand books but also houses aspiring writers and artists in exchange for help in the shop. Afterwards, I made my way back towards the Louvre to walk up Rue de Rivoli to go pick up some treats because a birthday wouldn’t be a birthday without a cake (and unfortunately, I didn’t have my lovely friend Amy, who’s brought me cupcakes into work for my last few birthdays). And because I’m celebrating a birthday in Paris, it would only seem right to splash out on my cake and get it from Laduree, a luxury bakery famed for its macarons. After picking out my treats, a strawberry and rose petal tart as well as a box of macarons, I headed back to my hostel to rest before the evening celebrations. Prior to my trip, Mum had very nicely wired me some money so my birthday dinner was on her and usually, I wouldn’t spend a lot on fancy meals whilst travelling since the majority is done solo but being a special evening, I decided to splash out a little. However, the original place I wanted to go to was already super busy so I had to abort my plan of getting le orange canard (a delicious duck dish I had during my last visit) and find another place for dinner. I found a restaurant close to the Moulin Rouge which seemed decently priced and therefore I celebrated with a glass of red wine followed by a 3 course meal of escargot, seared duck breast with chips and a crème brulee. The service was wonderful, the meal was tasty and I was given a free postcard at the end which has since been posted (and received…long ago) to Mum as a thank you. After dinner, I decided to stay out a little longer for a drink or two and found a small bar that had a live band playing – I was lured in by Radiohead and they played all the classic pub songs that most bands do, even chucking in some classic Rage Against The Machine in there. It was a perfect way to end the night as it’s very similar to how I would have celebrated my birthday back home yet here I was on the other side of the world.

The next day I walked half hour or so from my hostel to venture around Sacre Couer and Montmatre, stopping along the way for a fresh croissant and latte. After the late night the night before, today was a very slow paced day, which is actually quite the perfect way to spend a Sunday in Paris. When I reached Sacre Couer, I grabbed a baguette for lunch and some water and found myself a spot on the stairs where I just sat and watched the world go by. Afterwards, I headed up to the top outside of the basilica, which as like most places in Paris, there were crowds of people everywhere! From Sacre Couer, I began walking around Montmatre whilst trying to get away from the crowds. I was given some pretty amazing views of the city below so spent a bit of time taking photographs. Making my way through the cobble stoned streets, I stopped by Place du Tertre and watched the artist’s set up around the square paint. Although, heavily tourist based these days, it does give a nice insight into what Montmartre may have been like back when Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh lived and worked around the area. Plus as mentioned above it gives some great views of the city below! Heading back home, I stopped by Le mur des je t’aime, or otherwise known as the I Love You Wall, where the phrase ‘I love you’ is written in 250 languages. Afterwards, I then spent the afternoon in a café for a spot of afternoon tea where I had my first solely French conversation with the barista, who was clearly quite impressed with my efforts (although I’m sure my pronunciation was a bit off) and set my order up on a table as I was paying so I could sit and enjoy my café latte and pastry.

The next day was a public holiday so all seemed quiet around town – or so I thought. It was also my last full day in Paris and I wanted to just have another quiet day exploring more of the city so I headed towards the Le Morais district, stopping off briefly back at Pere Lachaise to see more of the cemetery. I had decided to head towards Place de le Bastille to then walk along the Seine River, however as I was walking past the Bataclan Theatre (one of the places targeted in the 2015 Paris attacks), a few police cars with sirens went screeching past. Thinking nothing of it, I continued on in the same direction until I came across atleast 10+ police vans lined up trying to get through the traffic. I could also see up ahead there was a lot of smoke and loud bangs near where I was heading so not knowing what was ahead, I decided to abort original plan and duck into the next side street to go in a different direction. Following the street, which took me straight into where I was avoiding – and I was faced with a riot squad around Place de la Bastille, along with the heavy smoke and loud bangs. Not knowing what was going on and with no intention to stick around to find out, I headed down the street in a different direction. As I was walking away, there was a massive bang and the crowds of people that were watching whatever was happening started running down the street – instinct took over and I too started running as well as being hit with the residue of the tear gas that had been fired into the crowds. A little shaken, not knowing what was going on, I got out of there quick smart and headed back towards hostel for wi-fi to find out what had just happened. Turns out, being the Labour Day public holiday and with the presidential campaigns in France at the time, the usual march by the unions turned into violent protests. And I managed to walk right into it. After a chill out session at the hostel, I headed out to the supermarket to pick up some supplies for a picnic and headed towards the Champs de Mars side of the Eiffel Tower, where I set myself up for the afternoon. Picnic beside the Eiffel Tower at sunset = a perfect way to end the stay. The only thing to make it more perfect is if I had actually taken notice of the bottle of wine I had purchased as I didn’t have a wine opener on hand and stupidly bought one with a cork rather than a screw top. Nevertheless, it was still a wonderful afternoon/evening spent people watching and awaiting the Eiffel Tower to light up. After spending hours enjoying the atmosphere around, the night was ended with an ‘Au Revoir!’ to the tower…and a Nutella crepe.

The next morning, I checked out of my hostel however as I had a late train home and didn’t fancy lugging around my suitcase, I left it in their onsite luggage storage to pick up later. I then walked up to the canal close by, which was lovely to walk along on such a lovely, sunny day and stopped by a café I had read about – and had found out the night before was only up the road from where I was staying. Le Pavillon des Canaux is one of the quirkiest little cafes I’ve seen – at one point it was done up in an Alice in Wonderland theme (which is why I was keen to check it out but it was no longer like that) however, the café is divided into rooms and each one is themed as a room of a house. Kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom etc – there is even a bath tub converted into a table so you can sit in the bath whilst sipping your coffee. Afterwards, I headed back to Notre Dame, hoping it wasn’t as busy to get inside and have a peep. Thankfully, there was no wait to go into the cathedral however there was a huge line to go up to the bell towers, which was a shame as I’d like to go up and see the gargoyles one day. Inside the cathedral, it’s pretty impressive – as well as very busy. A church service was also happening whilst I was in there and although not overly religious myself, it was pretty cool to see especially being in a different language. Afterwards I headed back towards the Louvre to catch the metro back to my hostel to pick up my bags, with one last walk around Jardin des Tuileries and getting a fellow traveller to take a photo of me (something different to my usual selfie) with the Eiffel Tower in the background. With my bags picked up, I headed to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar back to London, which was a pretty uneventful train ride.

And so that concludes how I spent celebrating my 28^th year of life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although, looking back, I feel I probably spent more time than I needed to here however, with the May Day public holiday, it worked out cheaper staying an extra day or so than travelling back on the holiday and besides, I was able to go at my own pace and spend some moments relaxing back. An amazing time was had and I don’t think I would change any part of it – except maybe the riots.

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