Paris, city of love (who started this?)

Obviously, because I haven’t been there, this is only a second hand account, but I try and describe as best I can after hearing all the stories and seeing the photos of Paris.

The train ride from Rouen to Paris only takes an hour and twenty minutes. From the train station to the hostel which my human had booked she walked, of course, another half an hour. The hostel was right next to Gar du Nord, Paris' main train station, and the busiest in Europe. 

Not exactly the best area of the city, nor the most quiet, but a very convenient one. Various trains, metros and busses depart here and that makes it easy to explore the city. And that’s what they started doing straight after checking in. First stop, of course, the Eiffel Tower. This monumental building was erected for the world fair in 1889. Rings a bell? If not, read the post about Brussels. And just like the Atomium, it was meant to be destroyed again after 30 years. And just like the Atomium, it obviously still stands.

The tower is 324 meters high, the base is square and mesures 125m each side! About 7 million people visit it every year. Including my human and Carmelo. They had booked a ticket while on the train and so could skip the 200 meter long ticket line. An elevator takes you to a first viewing platform, then another one gets you almost to the top. What a view!

Paris spans out seemingly endlessly, it’s big! And from here you can clearly see how much of the inner city was planned. Straight avenues, all houses in the same 19th Century style, all neat and orderly. Later they would learn that this is thanks to Napoleon. Not the one you are thinking of, but his nephew. He wasn’t very liked by the Parisiens, but he let a lot of the inner city be demolished and build new and in more splendor. That they liked. 

After enjoying the view they walked through the city to see the Arc de Triomph. Unfortunately they are doing some work on it at the moment, so it’s not as impressive, but still big! From there the 70 meters wide Champs-Elysees runs almost two kilometers towards the Place de la Concorde.

Chartier, Prada and Gucci rub shoulders with Mont Blanc, Lamborghini and Versace. With the occasional McD and Pizza Hut sprinkled in between.

Unfortunately there was some construction going on, so one couldn't walk through

They call this the small palace

When they returned to the hostel, they got talking to some of the other girls in the room and one confessed that she would turn 40 tomorrow, had not had a drink for six years and had left her 5 year old boy and husband (whom she was thinking about divorcing) at home to go traveling for two week to clear her head. And she wanted a drink, now. 

Her wish, their command. So they went down to the pub which was adjacent to the hostel and had a drink. Or three. Or so. The other two girls were only 18 and 19, so it was quite an interesting mix and they had a very good evening/night, which didn’t finish in their own beds for all involved.  

Chateau Versilles and the Louvre were on the program for the next day. Full on history and art. The castle was built in 1661 and is most impressive, monumental in every sense of the word. Or over the top. Depends on the viewpoint. But either way, very interesting. Built by Louis XIII, the castle was a residence to the monarchy and therefore the de facto capital of France for a couple of centuries.

Carmelo in the hall of mirrors                Quite a bed, this one!     

After wandering around the endless rooms and huge halls for a couple of hours, they took the same time to see the gardens, just as impressive. Carmelo enjoyed the musical fountain so much, my human had to stand there in the rain, which had just started, for 30 minutes, holding him up so he could see better. I know, I know, giraffes normally have long legs, but have you seen a picture of Carmelo? Don’t diss him, ok?

There are just a couple of fountains...

Hey, where is Carmelo? Oh, he's just jamming with his new buddy.

When they got back to the city, Versilles is around 20km outside in it’s own little town, they headed straight for the Louvre. Man, what a maze! This place is crazy! There is no way not to get lost. Everyone who says he didn’t is lying! The plan they give you is only partially helpful. If you want to be out by six, which is when they close, start thinking about the exit at 5.30. Latest! 

This is the oldest piece in the whole collection, some 9000 years old

But of course it doesn’t matter too much, because around every corner and in every room there is something worth seeing. No chance of missing the Mona Lisa, it’s where the 200 people are lining up, airport check-in style. My human figured it would take around an hour to then stand right in front of the painting for 10 seconds before being moved on by security. 

Not worth it. She just passed the queue and took her photos from the side, as every sensible human would do. And yes, the painting isn’t very big, but it’s not that small either, as some will make you believe. Is it overrated? You’ll have to decide that for yourself. 

The Cathedral of Notre Dam is still closed because of the fire two years ago. And you can’t approach it very closely either, it’s all closed of by large barriers. Which means that they couldn’t go searching for the hunchback. But talking about him, did you know that the people of Paris wanted to see the cathedral destroyed in the early 19th Century? Until Victor Hugo wrote his most famous book, "The hunchback of Notre Dam". After it was published, the cathedral became a tourist magnet and stopped any plans of demolishing it. The power of literature!

In the evening they went up to Paris' most bohemian neighborhood, Montmatre. Situated on the slopes of a 130m high hill, this hip area is full of nice cafes, bars and restaurants. On the top stands the Basilica de Sacre-Coeur. This is a great spot to watch the city lights come on in the evening, inclcuding the ones on the Eiffel Tower.

On Saturday morning, to finish off their visit, they went on a guided walking tour around the city. Of course, this is a clever thing to do the first day you arrive somewhere, but even so, it was very interesting and they learned a lot of things and some parts of the city appeared in a new light. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t playing the game, but hey, it’s only water, right?

After the tour a nice hot Pho soup did the trick to warm them back up. Carmelo does have to work on his chopsticks-skills, I keep telling him! And then it was time to catch the train, which would bring them back to me. Although she knew that I was safely parked at the harbor, behind a gate and with lots of other campers, my human did worry about me while in Paris. 

All three of us were very happy to be back together and enjoyed a quiet evening and night, without anyone to disturb a good nights sleep.