Oui Paree

                

In all the time I’ve lived in London I never managed to go to Paris so as part of my European farewell trip I decided to fly to and from Egypt via Paris, leaving me a day and a half each time. People say that you either love or hate Paris. I still can’t decide. There were many beautiful things but also, sadly a few unfortunate things.

My first trip to Paris was from Amsterdam where I stayed at St Christopher’s hostel (which I do not recommend) and met up with Tracy, the Kiwi girl I had just met in Amsterdam. Here, I had one day and the weather wasn’t too nice so we headed to the Lourve and took some typical tourist shots, pretending to hold up the pyramids just as we did in Egypt (I’m getting better at actually being in photos these days) then saw how long the line was so brushed it for the Musee D’Orsay which they say is better. This line was much shorter, only a 40minute wait, spent chatting about our upcoming adventures, excited for Egypt.

The interior of this museum was beautiful and we strolled through the rooms admiring artworks from Van Gogh, Claude Monet and all things French. I’ve seen so many paintings of naked people with just a cloth which ‘just so happens’ to be falling in front of the private area quite a lot and it made me wonder, are these artists sex fanatics, creeps or did everyone just walk around practically naked back then? Mary Magdalene is certainly another obsession for many artists and there is only so many times you can look at a painting of her. There was however a very beautiful collection of paintings and they were all presented so elegantly with exquisite frames. Some paintings even took up a whole wall; it was crazy! Since living abroad I’ve found a new love of museums and I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that there are so many in London and they are all practically free. I know Australia’s ones won’t be as good but it is one of the many new things I would like to do upon my return home as I vow to see Sydney with new eyes and venture outside of the Eastern Suburbs bubble of Sydney that everyone so comfortably stays in.

Next was Notre Dame and for anyone who has seen Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame I was rather excited. It was free entry and at first I thought this was just going to be another church but it truly was grand and surprisingly, it is still a functioning church with mass held twice daily, we even saw people lining up for confession (although it looked more like they were having a job interview). We didn’t have any guided tours in Paris so anything we knew was from our combined knowledge (which wasn’t much) or if we eavesdropped on a nearby tour guide but unfortunately there were no English speaking ones around that day.

We ended our day with a walk along the riverbank where I caught my first glimpse of the Eiffel tower but it was rather hazy so I thought I’d leave it to the next time I was in Paris. The sight of it was beautiful as it towered above the surrounding buildings and at that moment it really felt like I was in Paris. It might sound silly saying that but for anyone who has travelled you may agree with me that sometimes when you are on the other side of the world, you look around and its almost like you couldn’t tell where in the world you were, but this view oozed with Parisian symbols; From the riverbank, to city view, to the artists lining up artworks to buy along the riverside and to the black men walking around with countless Eiffel towers on a massive ring. There are patisseries, flower shops or fruit shops on every corner and everyone speaks just French, expecting you, a foreigner, to be able to as well. So we headed to a patisserie and brought a fruit tart, croissant and a snail (the bread kind) and had a feast! I was in French heaven as it was so delicious. Being on a budget we brought our dinner from the supermarket; a salad, some chicken and a bottle of wine, then had an early night as my flight for Egypt was at 8am meaning I had to get up at 4:30 so it was an early night for me and lucky I did because turns out, in Egypt a good night sleep was rare.

Paris round 2 was experienced after Egypt and was again only a day and a half. St Christohper’s Inn was too far out of the city and for its price of 38 euros per night I wasn’t impressed with what they offered you so instead I managed to find Aloha hostel, walking distance from the Eiffel tower and only 30 euros a night. Looking back I didn’t actually do much in Paris last time so I was determined to make a full day of sight seeing, beginning with the Eiffel tower. The night I walked to my hostel I could see the Eiffel Tower lit up and it was picturesque so I was rather excited to see it in daylight. Again, like the pyramids, no matter how many pictures you’ve seen it definitely is something different witnessing it for yourself the first time. At first sight, it wasn’t as tall as I expected but I loved the scenery of the long grass patch opening it up as one of the world’s most famous monuments. It was here I wished that I were on a tour so I could know why it was built and so on. I later discovered that Gustave Eiffel built it as the entrance arch to the 1889’s World’s Fair. Apparently it is controversial as he intended to build it out of steel but iron was used instead.

I didn’t climb up it then and instead wanted to come back at sunset and then take pictures at night but this would later be my biggest mistake in Paris. On to the Arc De Triomphe and I don’t know why I was eager to see this because I knew nothing about it but it has always been on my list of things to see. Turns out it has the tomb of an unknown soldier underneath and marks the victories of the French. Once there I knew that I wasn’t the only one and plenty of people were taking photos so I asked one guy to take a photo for me and I quickly regretted it. A very nice person, but could not for the life of him take a photo. First it was just me, then when I asked for the background he took half of me and half the building. I was only asking for a tourist picture with the monument and myself together, I didn’t care if I was full body, close up, waist up or anything, just for both of us to be in it. After the fifth go I just thanked him, waited for him to leave and asked someone else. I feel sorry for what his holiday photos are going to turn out like.

Moving on with sight seeing, I ventured off to see the Moulin Rouge, just the outside as I definitely couldn’t afford to see the show but for some strange reason it never occurred to me that I should have just booked a different, lesser known place but oh well. I came here to also walk around the surrounding area where people had told me was very lovely and very Parisian. With it’s cobbled roads, street artists and coffee shops or patisseries everywhere Montmartre was a fantastic place to just wander around. I looked at the information of a walking tour and tried to find all the places myself, hoping to latch on to a tour but had no hope. I did find the last remaining windmills in Paris and after buying another fruit tart sat on the steps in front of Sacré-Cœur Basilica, joining hundreds of other people as we overlooked the view of Paris which was so pretty. It made me think of other places in Europe I’ve been to where I see city views and now that I have left time between last seeing Europe I realise that this is a very typical setting for Europe; hills, buildings, cathedrals, churches, castles and famous monuments, all man-made and very, very different to Australia.

The afternoon had neared and I thought that it was best to make my way back to the Eiffel Tower as the lines would be long but first I needed some money so found the nearest ATM. No one was in line so I walked straight up and pulled out 200 euro but just as I went to put it straight in my wallet a man grabbed me from behind and frightened me. I don’t know how I didn’t drop my wallet or the money but he managed to grab half of the notes from my hand and run away. I was shocked. I had been robbed in broad daylight. I had been having such a fantastic day then something like this happened. I couldn’t afford to be robbed and stood there for at least a few seconds wondering if that really happened. A lady then approached me and told me it was common for all sorts of crime to happen from pick pocketing to people having knifes pulled on them. I’ve always been cautious, particularly because I have my DSLR and guard that more than my passport sometimes but this happened out of nowhere and so quickly.

Determined not to let it get to me I headed to the Lourve to say hey to Mona Lisa, with a British passport I gained free entry and headed straight there. The room was packed and everyone was pushing to gain a selfie with the famous lady. As people say it is much smaller than you imagine but it still is pretty awesome. I was however in no museum mood after recent events and left pretty much straight away, heading for the Eiffel Tower, hoping it would cheer me up but my day was only going to get worse because as I walked out of the station it began to rain! I looked at the menus of nearby restaurants and couldn’t afford the standard price of 20euros most meals cost so instead headed to a caravan near the tower and brought a chicken sandwich and water. I found shelter and watched the rain simply get heavier and began to wonder what I should do. Thirty minutes passed and the rain just got worse so I sadly made the decision to run back to my hostel and come back later when the rain had stopped. By the time I got back to the hostel it looked like I had stepped into a bath fully clothed so it was straight to the hot shower for me.

Sadly, the rain did not stop so my hopes of climbing the Eiffel tower and photographing it at night were diminished and my lovely stay in Paris had taken an unfortunate turn. Nevertheless, Paris was great, full of things to do and I can still see myself returning one day to climb the Eiffel tower and maybe even going to Disneyland, something I also wanted to do but with the weather and solo travelling didn’t feel right at the time. So for now it’s auvior to Paris and until we meet again.