Paris: Part Deux
Trip Start
May 04, 2006
1
6
7
Trip End
May 22, 2006
Paris,
France
Sunday, May 21, 2006
And with only 48 hours before my ass would be stuck on a plane back to the states for 14 hours, you better believe I didn't waste any time getting through my Paris "to do" list! First up, The Louvre, never been inside before. I basically dropped my stuff off in my hotel room and bolted towards the museum at wizard speed (which, if you aren't familiar with it, means wicked fast!) so that I could have at least 2 hours before it closed at six (little did I know it was actually Free after 6 and stayed open till midnight....only this one day out of the year....DOH!)
Attempt to take goodbye group photo
. So fast was my pace that I actually had a few stolen minutes at the Petite Palais, which was free that day for some reason(Cuz it was free museum day you idiot!). So I get to the Louvre at 3:45 and I manage to see bits and pieces of all three sections before closing time. It was just as I had expected, one of the most stately, elegant and impressive museums I have ever set foot inside. Well worth the uncomfortable blisters the walk over had given me. I recharged with a savory crepe parisienne(ham, cheese and mushrooms) and spent the remainder of the evening gathering souvenirs from various local haunts I had scouted out on my previous visit. Day one - complete success. I went to sleep early so as to ensure peak sight seeing capabilities for trip in the morning - The Palace of Versailles.I was told Versailles is really a full day trip, but since I had done so well with the Louvre I was feeling a little cocky and figured I could pull it off in a half day . . . Um hah, NO WAY NO HOW. It is a beast of a palace. So many rooms, so many wings, and the gardens - Mon Dieux!!! I think I saw 50% from 10 am to 2 pm. What I did see was fantastic, but I definitely missed out on a lot of stuff I would have loved. No regrets though because If I had stayed all day I wouldn't have had the privilege of meeting up with my old friend Ian and his lovely girlfriend who are both living La Vie Boheme as working artists in Paris
attempt to take goodbye group photo 2
. I got to see the gallery where their clothes and accessories are sold and also their studio. It made me almost ashamed of my bland soulless advertising position working for The Man, but hey, c'est la vie. I parted with Ian and Claire for a few hours while me myself and I had a date at the best little Falafel stand in Paris (L'as Du Falafel) and went to check out the Shakepseare and company bookstore, no relation to the Berkeley one and SO MUCH COOLER. They have beds you can lie down on! Then I headed back to my hotel to change for dinner and met up with Ian and Claire at what Ian described as the "most super French Bistro there is." No question in my mind that is was. The Restauarant Chartier was exactly what you'd want from an old French Bistro. Great decor, classic French Food, and bossy old waitresses who have work there all their lives and don't take shit from nobody. At one point Claire and I were worried that Ian was gonna duke it out with out lady over the absence of the Bernaise sauce on his Steak even though she told him his accent sucked so she didn't hear him right so it was his fault he didn't get what he wanted.
After dinner we strolled towards the Paris Opera house, which is beautiful and currently decorated with colorful cow statues) and picked up crepes on the way
Bridge View
. We sat on the steps and watched all the tour buses drive past. It's like 11:45 at night mind you, and all the tourist would take pictures from inside the busses, wouldn't even get out, most busses didn't even come to a full halt. Not exactly my idea of sight seeing.I parted with my friends around 12:30 and decided I really couldn't leave without seeing the Eiffel tower lit up, so I quickened my pace and made it over to catch the very last light show of the evening. I wasn't prepared for just how breathtaking the Eiffel is at night. And the lights show!!!! I tried to capture it on video but it just wasn't right to try and put it on film. It's something you've gotta see for yourself, and really, it's more beautiful than I'd ever imagined. I couldn't think of a more perfect last moment in Paris.
