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| I'm French! |
Paris has grown on me over the past 2 days…I’m getting
my feel for this kind of traveling & gonna be honest, feel pretty French at the
moment. Yesterday was a busy day for my feet, walking all over Paris for 10
hours (...it was only 4 miles). After packing my bags yesterday morning, I left the hotel in search of a baguette. A lost looking face & a few
train rides away I found a pastry
shop on a corner & got my huge baguette for only 95 cents! I broke it in half, stuffed
it in my bag, & headed for the Eiffel Tower to hang out in the park area
for a couple of hours.
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| The 2 brave pigeons |
On the way, I heard a group of American guys speaking
to a group of girls say they were from North Carolina…my neighbors! Nice
reminder of home. Once I turned the corner, there it was…you see the pictures,
but it’s different when you see it in person. The long park is laid out in
front, so I found a spot, plopped myself down, & ate my baguette while
guarding it from 2 brave pigeons. The park was
absolutely beautiful & full of people having picnics, playing soccer, &
being their touristy selves taking pictures (like me). Lesson #4: wear sunscreen. I realized when I got
home that night that I had a nice farmer’s sunburn, but at least no one will be
blinded by my whiteness.
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| Before |
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| After |
One of my favorite things to do is people watch. I’m
completely content sitting at a café or on a bench doing my thing for a couple
of hours while everything else happens around me. I saw a newly married couple
taking pictures, many, many couples having lunch together, kids kicking the
ball around, runners, & picture takers. Once curiosity got to me a couple
of hours later, I packed my bags & headed straight for the tower. At first
glance, I thought climbing that tower would be nothing but a few gulps of water
away. As I walked closer & the tower got bigger, there was NO WAY I was
going to try to climb that thing with my backpack. I don’t know if I could even
do it without carrying anything (we’ll find out Monday). I took a few more
pictures with my mouth gaping open & followed the crowd to the other side
to see the vendors lining the river.
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| Geometrically cut trees |
There was a free fashion show that I was planning on
attending a few blocks away, so I walked along the river for a while hoping to notice
the building once I got to it. On my journey there, I was approached by 2 scam
artists, stopped by a building to use the bathroom & ended up visitng the
City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts by accident (it was free), missed the fashion
show because it was in a completely different part of Paris (I can’t read),
& found the Louvre by accident after almost walking past it without
noticing what it was.
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| Mr. Churchill |
The scam artists…this was pretty funny. I’m
walking along the river, & a Spanish lady walking towards me picks
something up off of the ground (which I could have sworn I didn’t see anything down there). She “found a golden ring” that looked like a man’s wedding ring.
I’m thinking oh no, someone lost their ring! She looks around & then at me
asking if it was mine to which I shake my head, but she’s insistent on giving
me the ring saying it is good luck & to keep it. I’m thinking, "mkay, why
not? Cool souvenir." As I’m walking away I hear her say, “Madam, do you have any change? Maybe
2 euros?” I tell her I have no change (I lied because I’m poor too) but she
kept asking. I handed out the ring to give to her, she took it angrily &
left. At this point, I knew what she was up to. Not 10 minutes later on the
same pathway a young Spanish guy does the same thing to me. He “finds a
ring,” that looks exactly like the first & wants to give it to me, but I
just look at him & walk off. Come on guys, at least agree to take opposite sides of the river.
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| Chillin' out in the water fountain at the Louvre |
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| City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts |
In search of water & a bathroom, I found a group of
official looking buildings thinking they were hotels & walked into the City
of Paris Museum of Fine Arts. Double whammy! A few of their floors are free to
visit, & I was able to use the bathroom! Afterwards, I went back on the
river trail & continued my journey. I noticed more official looking buildings in front of me,
pulled out my map to see what they were, walked past the Louvre, pulled
out my map again, & doubled backed to go in the entrance. The Louvre has a
long garden/fountain/walking area (which I later discovered is the Tuilerie Gardens) before you actually reach it…they have
fountains, vendors, & chairs everywhere under shades of trees that I sat
myself down at & hung out for a while. The shade was much needed, & you can't beat the scenery (unless you're the Eiffel Tower).
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| My homegirl, Mona, & me hanging around |
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| The Louvre + a person |
I finally reached the Louvre sticking my feet in the
fountain beside the glass pyramid & denied access to the “secret” area to
purchase tickets (most people don’t know about), but luckily there was NO line
at the main entrance. Eleven euros later I went on to see the Mona Lisa &
many other works of art. I spent about 2 hours there, but had to leave without
seeing everything because my feet were punishing me back. I took Line 12 on the
Metro to the Lamarck-Callaincourt stop & spent about half an hour walking back &
forth on Rue Callaincourt looking for my hostel…I turned left instead of right
when I got off of the train. This is what I’m going to be doing for the next 2
months, & I can’t wait. The hostel life is perfect for me. There is a mom
& daughter from Venezuela & a woman from Ireland (I have a place to
stay in Ireland now for free) rooming with me. I’m only there for 1 more night
until the next hostel, but it’s perfect. They’re cheap, I have a great view,
the private bathroom is surprisingly nice, & I feel safe. I was able to
leave my luggage there for the day so no lugging around my backpack!
Today was my day to hang around since my feet are a
bit angry. I went back to my first hotel in search of my towel (sorry mom)
which they didn’t have, and then headed to the St. Lazare Metro stop to purchase a cabin
for the nighttrain to Barcelona Tuesday night. Above the St. Lazare Metro stop is the
Lafeyette Galleria (where the fashion show I missed yesterday was),
restaurants, vendors, & shops galore! I’ve done my share of shopping this
morning & am hanging out at a café for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow
I’m hoping to wake up in time to go to the Notre Dame church service, but can't promise anything since I don't have an alarm. I'm going to end this post apologizing to everyone for the corny jokes...thank you Dad.
Today was my day to hang around since my feet are a
bit angry. I went back to my first hotel in search of my towel (sorry mom)
which they didn’t have, and then headed to the St. Lazare Metro stop to purchase a cabin
for the nighttrain to Barcelona Tuesday night. Above the St. Lazare Metro stop is the
Lafeyette Galleria (where the fashion show I missed yesterday was),
restaurants, vendors, & shops galore! I’ve done my share of shopping this
morning & am hanging out at a café for the rest of the afternoon. Tomorrow
I’m hoping to wake up in time to go to the Notre Dame church service, but can't promise anything since I don't have an alarm. I'm going to end this post apologizing to everyone for the corny jokes...thank you Dad.
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