My Day in Paris

I know. I'm crazy. I only spent a day in Paris. BUT it's only an hour and a half away by train. AND I'm pretty sure I'd like to go back to see the Louvre and the lights at night. This was just a warm-up.

That being said...PARIS!

The rumors are true - Paris is a very beautiful city!

I started out the day on a train from Brussels to Paris. My arrival was very frustrating; I needed to purchase Metro tickets, but the machines didn't take bills, nor did they accept my debit card. I had to leave the train station searching for a place to exchange a 10 Euro note for some coins. I had to buy some tic tacs in the end. Oh well. It only means I have to have fresh breath more often.

Once I finally got on the metro and figured out the system, things went very smoothly! My first stop was the Arc de Triomphe. It was actually kind of a funny stop. I took the metro to a certain station, and was thinking I was going to have to search a little bit for the thing.

Nope. I walked up the stairs, and BAM there it was!


Beneath the French and EU flags burns an eternal flame for the unknown soldier.


So that was nice. I then proceeded toward my next destination, which I could see towering over the buildings. On my way, I enjoyed a nice walk through some neighborhoods. The leaves here are just starting to turn, and a lot of the trees were tinged with gold. Many of the building are whitish, and with the sun being out (another GREAT weather weekend!) and the trees turning colors, it made for a very beautiful morning.

I wandered through a market during this walk. The markets here sell everything from fruits to trinkets. I was most interested in the meats, though. I saw ducks with all their feathers still on, live lobsters out on display, octopus, and all kinds of fish.



Stop 2: Tour Eiffel

The lines were insanely long to go up. so I was content to sit and stare at the icon.



I sat down and had myself a bit to eat on this here bench in the park around the tower. Since I'm thinking about it, I would like to share my new hobby which I discovered here in Europe - harassing pigeons. For whatever reason, I enjoy making them uncomfortable. I think they've told each other about me, though, because either they're terrible flyers or they started harassing me right back.

After that, I went and visited Notre Dame, mainly because of the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame.


The inside was okay, but I then went outside to stand in line for and hour to climb the bell towers. My legs got the workout of their life! The spiral staircases to get up the towers are almost maddening - after a while, I almost felt trapped in there, not seeing where it ended or how far I had to go, not being able to see the way down. So worth it, though, once I got to the place between the towers.



Not only did I struggle up the stairs, but I gawked at gargoyles.




In true tourist style, I purchased a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I had started the book sometime last year, but it was a library copy and I started reading it in the middle of school. Thus, I never finished it, but I really do enjoy Hugo's style.

After that, I walked along the Sienne for a bit on my way to visit the house of Victor Hugo. The guy lived in style, but the apartment I visited was his only after he published a few things and had money.



After that, I wandered some more...saw some neat things.

I'm not sure exactly what this building is, but inside there were royal apartments. Very beautiful, and what's better - free admission!


The Opera Garnier - I arrived too late to tour it. :( It's the building that inspired the book The Phantom of the Opera and I would have loved to see it!


My final stop was the Basilique de Sacre Coeur. I need to stop being nice to strangers, for it was here that I was sucked into buying a string bracelet for 5 euros by an African street merchant, and had a very uncomfortable conversation with a drunk French man.

Anyway, that was my day in Paris!