Grenoble, Millau, Paris
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2009
1
16
27
Trip End
Dec 12, 2009
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Friday, October 30, 2009
Date: 01/11/2009
Location: Paris, France
Beers consumed to date: 769
The Grenoble day was a bit of a disaster. We left pretty much not knowing what there was in and around Grenoble and didnt really plan it much. The first disaster was the fact it was around 200km away, and cost us about 30 Euro in tolls
Millau Viaduct
. Once we arrived we just drove through and decided to go to the nearby mountains. Grenoble wasnt a particularly bad or disappointing city, and it didnt take to long to get through it. We ate lunch on the side of the motorway, before heading towards the mountains again. Eventually another hour later we finally arrived at a ski resort with a name ive now forgotten, although it did mention something along the lines of 'Grande'. The ski resort was a pretty dull place, although it was surrounded by nice mountains in full autumn colours. We sat there for about 5 minutes and realised we had driven 3 ½ hours to see some mountains, of which we had seen plenty already. After a quick shop we drove the 3 hours back to Avignon and arrived after dark. At the end of the day we had used a tank of petrol, paid 60 Euros in tolls, and sat in the car for about 7 hours. It was an experience non the less and just one of those mistakes you learn from. The next day we finished our washing and cleaned the house. After about 5 hours of drying in the machine my sleeping bag had finally returned to somewhat of a normal state and didnt smell anymore. We left Avignon about 9:30 and headed towards Milau. On a highway there we went over the Milau Viaduct, the worlds tallest bridge. The road-deck is about 350 metres of the ground, although im not exactly sure of the number. After the viaduct we drove about 9 hours straight to get into Paris well into the evening
Near Grenoble
. Not wanting to waste an oppurtunity we drove round the Arc de Triomphe several times and drove past the Eiffel Tower. The Arc de Triomphe (which is a completely ridiculous yet practical roundabout) was particularly amusing as Peter decided to get out and film the van, while we managed to drive around about 15 times. We camped near the camp site in Paris in the Bois de Boulonge (a massive park near the city centre) as we didnt want to spend money for only a few hours of parking in a campsite. As we found our parking spot we past some Gypsies in their vans, which provided some entertainment. Our first day in Paris was spent sightseeing. Firstly we walked past the Arc de Trioumphe before heading down the Champs Elysses to the Louvre. We must have spent all of about an hour in the Louvre as we considered it a boring place. We did the Mona Lisa and then walked through a few of the large galleries containing paintings, sculptures and artifacts. With age I could see how I could appreciate it but as a teenager it wasnt the most interesting place. I was also shocked with the lack of contemporary arts, although I guess the Louvre isnt famous for this. Afterwards we walked in a full circle and covered the Notre Dame, The Eiffel tower, Luxembourg gardens and a few other places
Van infront of Arc de Triomphe
. That night we played King of Beers in the van and this time it was Daisy's turn to consume to much, although to her credit she didnt vomit. At about 9pm we decided to go out in Paris but just as we got to the shuttle bus at the entrance of the camp ground we started talking to some Irish. A man was there with 2 ladies, and they had been waiting for the bus to go to the Irish Pub for quite some time. After hearing we had a van he offered us a 10er for each person to get a lift there. Sure enough we quickly cleaned the van and drove to the entrance where there stood 10 Irish, waiting to go the pub. They all piled in and began chatting as we drove the 10 minutes to the pub. We had more than filed the van to capacity at 14 people. It would have been a funny sight at the other end for the cars behind us when 10 Irish people hoped out of the van. After being payed 50 Euros (not the full fare, but not complaining) we drove back to the campsite and headed out to the city. We didnt last long however and ended up back at the van a bit after midnight. Yesterday, we climbed the Eiffel Tower and then headed to Mont Martre in the late afternoon. Much like Kings Cross in the sense that there are lots of sex clubs and related stores
The Louvre
. However unlike the Kings Cross it seemed a lot cleaner. While we were there we also went by the Moulin Rouge. That night we went to an Irish Pub nearby and made good use of the 3 hour happy hour. While we were there a 2 piece band played consisting of a women and wheelchair bound man played. After asking the man what music he liked he told me blues. We made friends with him and managed to get about 8 blues songs out of him. For a French person he spoke English really well and did some really good blues covers. We stayed there for most of the night, before making a detour past a Halloween party, which we didnt enter and arrived at the van at before 3. Today we went to Parc Asterix, about 25 km out of town. The constant rain was a bit disappointing, but it was fun and provided some different forms of entertainment to usual. There were a couple of good roller-coasters however the good ones were closed due to the rain. Now we are just sitting in the van, waiting for our clothes to dry, and having a quiet night before we head towards Berlin tomorrow. We have planned the trip to take 2 nights.
