Day 6 Paris
I wake up early so I can get a good start on my day, however, it is still raining. That is really going to mess up the great pictures I wanted to take today ! I grab my backpack and camera and head out the hotel anyway. I originally plan on using the public transit system here, I have everything memorized and I have been here before, it is pretty easy to navigate Paris with the Metro and RER. PLUS I have a tourist map !!
Then I think...Screw that ! I'm taking TAXI's today! I deserve it by now! I mean really, it's already raining, I need a break!
My first stop seems a little further than what I thought, or maybe the taxi driver just took the long way, after all he has a tourist on board, why not milk it ! So about half way there, I remind him that Les Invalides is only 6 or 7 kilometres from the hotel, we should be getting there pretty soon. Wow, we arrive very shortly after that ! Hmmm. The charge is 16 euro's, probably should have been 12 or 13. So I figure, he is not getting a tip from this American and he doesn't get one! I look in straight in the eye and tell him, "that drive was longer than it should have been". I know guilt when I see it. So now we are even and I feel much better.
My luck must be changing, it stopped raining and the skies are starting to clear up. Yeah ! I walk around Les Invalides and start taking lots of pictures. Here is a little history: Louis the 14th, the king who built the Palace of Versailles, decided to build Les Invalides in 1670, it was originally a Paris military hospital and old soldiers home, construction continue until as late as 1861. When the tomb for Napoleon was completed. The church is topped by a golden dome.
Les Invalides is the largest collection of monuments in Paris. It includes Musée de l'Armée, Musée des Plans-Reliefs, Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération, L'Eglise de St-Louis-des-Invalides . End of history lesson and back to the blog.
It is so beautiful in Paris. The city itself is a Masterpiece of Art. Everywhere you look, there is Art. On the buildings, on the bridges, even the small spaces above the doorways have Art on them.
I decide to walk down to the pont Alexandre III bridge to get some closer pictures. The clouds are starting to clear up and it is becoming a beautify day. I get some great pictures. This bridge is like an art museum with statues covered in pure gold. The Galeries nationales du Grand Palais is located just the other side of the bridge. I spend about an hour on the bridge taking in all the beauty of the statutes and scenery.
There is a park that runs alongside the River Seine. I am not sure why, but I decide to make that walk along the river to the Eiffel Tower. That way I can take pictures all along the way.
Not realizing that it was going to be a 2.5 mile trek! I am thirsty and hungry by the time I get to the Eiffel Tower! Lucky me, there was a street vendor selling baguettes and drinks. So for 7 euro (approx. 14 dollars) I get a chicken baguette and a can drink. At that point it was worth it because I had not eat that day and I was really thirsty. I found a bench at the Champs de Mars and sat down, ate my lunch and watched the people. A lot of high school age kids with chaperones. There were probably people from every nation here. All ages, some old, some with their kids. It was fun just to observe them all.
Walking 2.5 miles can really make you tired when you have a backpack , oh and when you are 50 years old and doing it. Did I say 50, I meant 29.
Next stop, across the street to the Eiffel Tower! I walk around under the Eiffel tower awhile taking some pictures. There are no less than 75 people in the line to get tickets. I keep walking around thinking the line will go down. It doesn't. So finally I go get in line. Looks like they have 1 person selling tickets. Great, I am going to be imprisoned in this line for no telling how long ! I already went through security and had to take everything out of my backpack and everything out of my camera case, that was just to get in line. Now I am a prisoner of reason, stuck in this never-ending line. The reason is that I do not want to have to go through security again just to get back in line. I hope I don't have pee.
Finally my turn, now sure how long that took, but I am pretty sure I had a birthday while I was waiting. I know there are a few stairs I have to climb before there is a lift. I was just not sure how many. At the top of each level of stairs, there is a sign that tells a little history of the Eiffel Tower, you can pretend to read it as you catch your breath!
The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level there are 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress of ascent.
So after about 150 steps, carrying my backpack and camera case, I reach another level of more stairs and after pretending to read the sign three times, because I am still out of breath ! I decide maybe tomorrow would be a better time to visit. When I haven't walked 2.5 miles and maybe leave my backpack at the hotel. Yeah, that seems like a better idea than what I am doing now. I knew I had over 540 steps to go and that was just not going to happen today.
It is a lot easier going down the stairs, maybe because gravity is helping at this point. So I finally reach the bottom and find a bench and rest. Wow, I am disappointed in myself because I am so tired. It's true, when you start to get old, you do get tired more easily! Man ! That must mean I am old !
I go over to the beautiful Carousel, there is a street vendor there and I get some popcorn and a drink. ( any time I say drink, I am really meaning Diet Coke ) So I sat there watching the Carousel and eating popcorn, which by the way tasted old. I am looking around and I spot a Hop on, Hop off Tourist bus. Seeing all the sites and not having to walk seems like a good idea for the rest of the day, or at least until I get rested.
Most of these Tourist buses are 24 euro's, but the ticket is good for 2 days and they usually stop at 15 to 20 different sites. They also run every 10 minutes, so you never have to wait very long to catch it to the next stop. I also noticed, the last stop is only a couple of blocks from my hotel. Think of all the money I am saving from not having to get taxi's today. Yeah me, take that all you crooked taxi drivers ! Next time, I will just take a taxi to the bus stop. Not really, I can walk 2 blocks.
OK, so my whole reason for the bus, is that I am tired and I do not want to have to walk a lot the rest of the day. Wouldn't you know it, the first stop is the Louvre ! That's where I wanted to go, because I want to visit the Jardin des Tuileries and it is located behind or in front of the Louvre, not sure which,. . If you have never been to the Louvre, the walk from one end to the other is probably 3/4 of a mile, so much for my rest.
I walk through the Louvre, get some great pictures and am almost to the Tuileries when I spot a little café. I am now starting to realize why Parisians drink cappuccino. I order a cappuccino and some great looking French pastry and a Diet Coke. Again, I sit and look at people while I rest, I mean eat.
The Tuileries are everything I imagined they would be, the trees and flowers are in bloom. There are little children racing little wooden sailboats across the fountain. It is just beautiful here. I feel like I am in a fairy tale. I am the Princess, walking through her Princess garden. Lol, there goes my imagination again.
I walk around and take pictures of everything. Wow, I guess that cappuccino kicked in, because I am not tired anymore.
I head back toward the bus stop, which is about ¾ of a mile away. I take pictures along the way. I then spot an artist on the side of the street, selling pictures he has painted. They are so great ! He should put them on Ebay. Of course he talks me into buying a couple of them. Only 15 euro a piece. Being the shrewd negotiator I am, I act like I do not really want a painting. He finally says, OK, I give you 2 for 20 euro. I pull out 15 euro and tell him " that's all the money I have, maybe I will just come back later, because I really wanted 2 of them. " He smiles and says, OK, for you I give 2 for 15 euro ! These really are good paintings, I think I did good ! So he wraps them up for me and I am thinking; now I have to carry these all over Europe. Hmm , what was I thinking ?
Next stop Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris. (Cathedrale= French spelling ) I have been to all these places before, but somehow, it is still like the first time. I am just as excited as I was the first time I visited two years ago.
Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris is a magnificent structure with a rich history. The inside as well as the outside is a work of art. I walk through as though I have never been there, in awe of the chapels and the art. There are ancient paintings and sculptures inside Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris. Probably, the most famous Stained Glass windows in the world. A lot of the chapels I had been in on my last visit, were closed off by small fences. You could look in them, but not go inside. Something must have happened here for them to do that. Probably some moron broke or defaced something. Still just walking through a Holy Place like this, seems like an honor. I feel privileged to be able to just walk in this building. This time I have a much better camera and I get some really good pictures.
Wow, is it the end of my day yet !, No, I still have to visit the Arc de Triomphe! The Arc de Triomphe has 292 stairs, I remember that from the last visit, because I counted them on the way up. So I am going to be content to just take pictures from afar ! Just as my visit is ending at the Arc de Triomphe, it is starting to rain. That's OK, because there is a Metro station there, so I will just hop on the subway and head back to the hotel. I really do not want to stand in the rain and wait on the bus. I head down the stairs to the train, buy my ticket, go down more stairs and all of a sudden, I smell smoke, like a lot of smoke, then I hear an alarm. Yeah, this could only happen to me. I am already 2 levels down.
There is an announcement in several languages for everyone to quickly as possible get to their train. I mean really, what is up with me and Paris ?
Is it because I came alone and Paris is suppose to be for lovers ? Maybe I caused a rift in the space/time continuum. I get to my train and I am off, no problems. I am going to find a place to eat and walk back to the hotel. Since I turned the wrong way outside the Metro station, I still end up having to walk about ¾ of a mile back to the Hotel, in the rain. Because when I get out of the restaurant, it is pouring down rain. That's OK, because I start to skip and sing, " Singing in the rain, just singing in the rain" People are looking at me and probably thinking, " yeah, another American nut in Paris " good way to end my day. By the way, my paintings are Ok, because he put plastic around them.
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