Our second day in Paris started out with breakfast at a little cafe near our hotel on Rue Tronchet. We then walked to the Eiffel Tower- which is a longer walk than we had anticipated. We could see the tower along the way but it just seemed like forever before we could reach it. When we finally arrived, we only waited in line for about 15-20 minutes, which included going through security (good idea). We paid the 12 Euros to go to the top (it's less if you want to just go to the lower levels). We took the advice in our guide book and took the elevators all the way to the top and then worked our way down. The initial elevator goes to the second level and then you have to get off to take the next elevator which goes to the third, and final level. It is best to get to the top first because they can close that level at any time for overcrowding or other reasons. It was a beautiful day and we were so excited to be up there. The views were breathtaking! We spent 30 minutes or on level 3 and then took the elevator back down to level 2. You can actually see better from this level as there is more open views (the third level is surrounded by a fence). We did a little shopping at the gift shops on this level and got a sandwich and coffee and at lunch on a bench overlooking the city- what a great way to spend lunch! Finally we decided to head down- we took the stairs from the second level to the bottom as the lines for the elevators were long. My legs were shaky- not only am I a little fearful of heights, my legs were still tired from climbing the stairs up the Arc de Triumph the night before. We made it to the bottom and then sat for a while, to rest our legs, take in the immensity of the structure and people watch. We then headed directly across the street to the Bateaux Parisiens boat cruises on the Seine. The next cruise was leaving at 1:15p- so we jumped on for 11 Euros each. The water cruise was awesome! Not only did it allow us to rest our legs, but we got to see the city-Old Paris, some great sights, such as Notre Dame, and get a lot of history about the sights and bridges we saw from our audioguides.
After the cruise we caught the RER train to the Notre Dame stop. We got off and was so excited to see Quasimodo's home, gargoyles and all :-) It was quite an immense cathedral and the intricacy of the doors was incredible. The stained glass was absolutely gorgeous. We did not pay the money to go in to the tower, and were quite appalled by the gift shop and tons of stands asking for 2-10 euros to light a candle. Sort of reminded of us of how Jesus must of felt when he walked in to the temple and found people making a market out of a house of worship. We stopped for lunch at a place called, Esmeralda- cafe with outdoor seating behind the cathedral. The service was OK, but the salad I got was out of this world! W
After leaving the Notre Dame area, we took the metro to Montmartre, Paris' highest hilltop. We got off at the bottom of the hill of which the famous Sacre Couer Temple sits. After getting hassled by somes street con artists, we made our way up the many stairs to the top. There is a furnicular that will ride you to the top, but we decided to keep giving ourselves a workout:-)
Once we made it to the top, it was more breathtaking views of the city. After checking out Sacre Coeur, Philip suggested we wander a little around the streets surrounding the temple. and I am so glad we did, because we discovered one of my favorite spots in Paris. It is the little village of Montmartre. We walked by the little pubs and cafes, shops, and saw lots of artists. This is actually where I bought a painting- the artist is amazing, (she was actively painting at the time). I picked out a picture, bargained with her and saved about 6 Euros. Better than nothing! We bought a few other gifts, including some tea for my Grandfather. When I went to Paris 13 years ago with my grandparents, my grandfather and I wanted to go to Sacre Coeur so badly but just never made it there. We always said we would go if we ever made it back to Paris. Poor Gramps hasn't yet, but I made it and got a memento for him.
We found a cool local Irish Pub and enjoyed a drink before heading back to our hotel. Our waiter was friendly and entertaining and took our picture for us. We then headed back to the metro and made our way back to our hotel to unload our purchases.
We headed back out and walked to the Place de la Concorded, then the Champs Elysees, then Arc de Triumphe again (Philip wanted pictures with his camera-his battery went dead the night before). We then walked to Trocadero square- a very long walk. We were exhausted by this point as the walk was 2-3 miles. But it was well worth it because the view of the Eiffel Tower from Tracadero square was absolutely stunning. The Eiffel tower was glowing in purple hues and we were so close. The pictures don't do it justice, but make an effort to go there at night if you get a chance to go to Paris. At 11pm the twinkle lights came on for 10 minutes and this was just awesome. We finally decided to call it a day and caught the metro back to our hotel. We arrived at midnight- it was a long, tiring, but amazing day. We had to try to get some sleep, our taxi was picking us up at 5:30 am to take us to CDG airport to catch our flight to Barcelona.
Points to keep in mind about Paris: 1. Paris is awesome and well worth visiting but very expensive! The food is pricey as is the souvenirs- especially on the Champs Elysees. 2. Don't listen to what everyone says about the French, they are amazingly nice. Just don't assume they all speak English and show respect by greeting the shopkeeper as you enter and be patient! Europeans don't eat like Americans do- fast and in a hurry. Mealtimes may take longer than you expected. 3. When booking a flight out of CDG, avoid early am flights. We had to book a taxi b/c we needed to leave by 5am- Taxis are very expensive and if you get caught in traffic- it's all over, just give him all your money. If you book a little later flight, you can set up an airport shuttle to pick you up at your hotel- this is at a set price so no matter how bad the traffic, you don't need to worry. However, the airport shuttles don't come at 5 or 6 am. Also, don't rely on the RENF metro system to get you to the airport if you have flight you can't miss. The RENF can go on strike at any time without notice.
No comments:
Post a Comment