Love From Paris

After staring at the keyboard for half an hour and relearning the keys, we are finally starting our France entry.

"How on earth were we to get to Paris?" was the predominant thought in our head the day before our departure. We had conveniently timed our trip to coincide with a bank holiday in Britain, and consequently airfares and the direct train had upped their prices... way beyond what we could afford.

We ended up spending 14 hours traveling- London tube, train to Dover, ferry to Calais, train to Paris. Arriving without a clue where we were staying, we traipsed around with our backpacks and found a great hotel near the Sacre Coeur. Once we had a base we got a metro ticket and spent 3 days exploring the city of luuurve.

Our first sight-seeing experience was to the Louvre, where we spent 4 hours viewing all the wonderful exhibits (including Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo of course). From the Louvre we walked (and walked and walked) up L'Avenue des Champs-Elysees and finally reaching the Arc de Triomphe. We went back to the hotel to feast on baguette and cheese (to become a staple).

The Louvre courtyard entrance

Notre Dame was fairly easy to get in to see the chapel section. However, it took an hour waiting in line to be able to climb to the top. We consoled ourselves, while waiting, with ice creams. The view and gargoyles were spectacular. Next stop was the Eiffel Tower. Here, the weather decided to drench us with rain, but that didn't stop me going up. Afterwards we caught the bus to enjoy more street views.

The morning of our last day we got up early and made a quick trip up to the Sacre Coeur, being so close we thought we really had to make the effort for the 10 minute walk. We then dropped our bags at the station and headed to Versailles. The Palace of Versailles was stunning, even though it was raining (still). The magnificence makes your jaw drop and you can't help thinking that maybe it is a little 'over the top' (and perhaps the rioting mobs had a point). We toured some of the inside apartments viewing numerous gilt and embroidered furnishings, sculptures, crystal chandeliers and artworks - everywhere. A walk around some of the grounds finished off our day and we were soon back on the train headed for Rome.

While we did have a couple of run-ins with the stereotypical arrogant, impatient, rude frenchman, we generally found people to be very friendly. A characteristic that we noticed about Paris was that most of the buildings, especially in the older section, are all low lying. It gives the city a less crowded feel than if there were a million skyscrapers. And still, everything is very, very French.

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and Judy