Paris - A Brief and Wonderful Visit

My trip to Paris was using a high speed train; it was only 3 hours long from Grenoble.  Of course, passing through the beautiful french countrysides, you can still see graffitti.

With only two days in Paris, it was a challenge to pare down all the many things one can do.  I checked into my tiny hotel room (but sweet hotel, The Magenta in the 10e arridoisement) I slipped out to find a late supper.  The streets were filled with people still, even though it was past 10 pm, and it was more of an ethnic than tourist street.  I found a little sushi place, a bit counter-intuitive for a French culinary experience, but delicious nonetheless.

My full first day found me doing a bit of walking around the city.  I walked through the cathedral, with was just breathtaking.  The work and skills of the 12C is outstanding.  I climbed the steps to the top… about 350 of them, in 39 degree heat.  There, I overlooked the city beside the gargoyles, whose real function is to be drain spouts.  

For dinner I had tartare.  So good, so French, then headed toward the Champs-Elysee where the completion of the Tour de France was about to occur!  Talk about crowds.  I believe that half of Britain was there hoping to see their team bring it home again, and they were not disappointed.  I stood beside a British cycling couple and got a few tips from them.  The crowds were crazy. Planes flew overhead leaving coloured streams in the air.

Do you see the bikes?  They went too fast!

Day two was quiet as I spent most of the morning pampering my foot which was stubbornly fighting walking.  By the time I got going, it was lunch time so I stopped for un plat du jour… kind of a brunchy meal… canard!  Another great French treat. 

I walked around les Jardins at the Luxumbourg Palace and drank a beer in the outdoor courtyard, then went to the Eiffel Tower.  I had to hang around quite a while as they didn’t turn the lights on until 10 pm, but the wait was worth it; the tower becomes one great big sparkler.  Having gone up in the cathedral, I decided NOT to do the tower elevator, and certainly not the stairs.  My foot thanked me.

What a huge structure.  There are lots of renovations going on right now so I guess I have to return to Paris to see the improvements.

France ended the next morning with a fast train to Amsterdam.  The European experience continues!