We left our home at 5 am on Wednesday, March 20th. We arrived in Paris at 7 am, March 21st. I thought I would have no problem sleeping on the plane, but I didn't sleep very well, or so I thought. We were lucky enough to sit in the very last row: no one behind us, no worries about seat kickers or squishing anyone. I did like the TV's we could watch whatever we wanted as long as we had headphones. (check - brought my own!) The plan was to sleep as much as we could on the plane, then stay up all day once arriving in Paris - no problem.....maybe. I thought we would have been totally exhausted, but it was such a rush trying to find our way out of the airport (that was an adventure), then trying to interpret signs with labels in French. oi.
Finally made it to the Tourist Information booth, bought our Paris Museum passes, took money out of the ATM (oh that was the other thing we did before leaving - we notified our card companies that we'd be out of the country and which atm's to use - no service fees.) We bought a carnet (packet of 10 train/bus tickets). Then got to ride the train with all of our luggage to downtown Paris....that was interesting. The closer we got to downtown, the more people got on, then more, then more and we took up 4 seats with our luggage and ourselves. Paris countryside.....not so impressive from the train. I'm sure beyond the 'tracks' area, it would have been better.
We get to the train station where we think we should get off, then walk 1 mile........to our hotel. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we left our luggage with them and wondered around for several hours and found the best food at Le Pret - chain eating place, loved it!!
We went back to the hotel to change and get our room. The eleveator, kid you not, was only big enough for Jeff and then stack the suitcases - I had to take the stairs. The spiral staircase - starts to play tricks on your eyes after spiral #4. :) After reaching the 5th floor and helping Jeff fall out of the elevator, we walked a tiny hallway to our room. Big enough for a bed, one way walking to the bathroom and a small desk. There was a balcony that Jeff said he enjoyed one night. I was exhausted.
Day 1 in Paris - some wondering, checked into the hotel. Dina (concierge) didn't speak great English and was more comfortable speaking Portuguese or French. We spoke Spanish and English. - Jeff spoke Spanish and I nodded along trying to pick up the few words I understood hoped I could remember enough to be helpful. :) Started a walk on the Historic Left Bank - our hotel was in this area and it was so cool. It was the art district - so not really up our alley as non-art people, but it was still fascinating.
The famous Love-lock bridge. What's interesting is Steven was here last fall 2012 and there was so few locks you could see through the gate. Not anymore - a lot of love locked on this bridge. :) I thought about writing our name on someone else's lock. No pen.
Standing on the bridge over the Siene river
Some government building - honestly I didn't love the Left Bank walk from Rick Steves, but we did it not knowing much about Paris. It was a lot of 'so-and-so' lived here, I'll be the first to admit I don't know much about famous writers and their life stories, so where they wrote was not interesting to me. We did enjoy walking up and down the streets - the architecture is so OLD and unique.
The Nave - the alter where the Priest gives the sermons. Check out the detail on every square inch of the pillars and even the ceilings.
Stained glass was beautiful!
my favorite part was the pipe organs in every church. WOW!
St. Sulpice Church - we were next to this fountain taking pictures and we decided before we left for the vacation that we would offer to take pictures for other couples or groups in order to have our picture taken too. :) So there was this Grandma and her 2 grandsons (I think they were from South Carolina) out there taking pictures and we struck this deal with them. They then told us, the youngest grandson was there for a performance in the church (what kind of performance do you have in a church??) and we should stick around and hear it -okay we'll try, but had to be at the Eiffel Tower at 3.
the candles and the candle sticks are massive!
Turns out it was an organ performance - wow....we didn't get to hear it, but we heard a few notes being played. He must be one amazing organist to be invited for a performance - it's noon in case you were wondering what time it was. haha!
We went back to the hotel to get more clothing - it was going to be cold at the top of that Eiffel Tower. Two things I did not anticipate - how crowded it would be and how sore my feet were going to be, but I was so glad Suzette let me borrow her UGG boots - they were a life saver!
My handsome husband looking very dashing and French looking at the Eiffel Tower. This is right before we were mobbed by the 'sellers' of Eiffel Tower replicas - gold. ;)
ever wondered what it would look like to see straight up the middle of the Eiffel Tower? Now you know. They were doing some construction and adding another 'layer' with a restaurant and more enclosed viewing.
Just one of the 'feet' - there are stairs you can walk up to the first level.....I would not have made it up those stairs without crying. Did I mention I'm terrified of heights???? Terrified.
The first viewing level - seriously I should have taken a picture of how many people were up there with us - it was packed!
Now up to the next level where we can then ride to the very top. This is what the view is like out the elevator which of course is all glass.....Jeff took these then told me to look out the window. I about threw up - had to refocus and look at my feet while taking deep breaths.
We walk over here later, but how cool is this view?
I zoomed in as far as my camera would go - can you see the kids playing?? I was okay as long as I didn't look straight down.
bummer it was so hazy - this was at the top and it was chilly and windy. so glad we went back for coats
We walked over to that place I showed in the picture above. Our concierge Dina told us to go there to get amazing pictures of the Eiffel Tower - awesome! Also very crowded.
3 of my most memorable moments of the Eiffel Tower:
1: the Con. 3 of them actually so I guess there's 6 memorable moments
1a: the gold replica statues of the Eiffel Tower - as if shaking them loudly will make me want to stop and buy them from you or you or you or you or you - there were at least 15 in about 20 yards.
1b: the bracelet - I show you bracelet - I make for you? Let me see your wrist.......no. I make for you? Very fast. No. Aw, too bad. (the con here: they tie a friendship type bracelet on your wrist too small for you to get off, then ask for money because they gave you a bracelet)
1c: Deaf and Dumb - this was the best one by far. Under the Eiffel Tower this lady with a few missing teeth and some gold teeth came up to us and asked if we'd like to sign a petition for the Deaf and Dumb children...... I say no. Jeff says sure. I say no again, he writes down his name - well his psuedo name, I say don't write your name (a little more forceful). He finishes his name.
(here's the clutch) - She flips the other half of the paper up and points to an amount spot. Jeff says I will give you nothing. No money. He writes a (at this point I wasn't sure what he was going to write) a 0 with a line through it. She tries to tell us it's for Deaf/Dumb children and he wrote his name, he must donate. Just like those other names did - probably fake names. No money. She walks off yelling and I'm sure cursing in French about Jeff. (kind of wish I knew French). hahaha!
2: Emotional Traveler: I kid you not, we walked about 30 yards and sat down next to a group of girls from the States - they were working in Germany and in Paris on holiday. This lady comes up to us, rambles on and on about how she just got here from California, she went to get on the train from the airport, put one bag on the train, then went back for the rest and the train door shut. She some how tried to tell the man standing by her bag - Eiffel Tower 5 pm for him to bring the bag........can I use your phone? she finally asks. (I'm thinking she's trying to scam us after Con #1a, b, and c) My phone doesn't even work, but the girls next to us have a phone she can use to call the train station for her lost bag. No bag turned in so she was going to wait around until 5 pm - it's 3 pm. It was her computer bag too, so mostly work stuff and toiletries, but important to her. I felt bad for her and glad I had read the Rick Steves guide to traveling that warned about that and the cons in #1.
#3: The Pick pocket - We heard several reminders from signs and from the employees at the Eiffel Tower to beware of pick pockets - they work the close crowds and distracted tourists. I wondered why someone would pay to get up the Eiffel Tower (really you only have to pay to get to the very top), but the cost and time it takes to work a crowd with that many bags is probably minimal when compared to what they 'find'. On the way down (lots of lines to get places, down is one line we stood in for several minutes and I was ever so grateful to not have my little kids with us - paranoia I tell ya). Anyway, we got on the elevator to go down and it was of course totally packed. We got almost the to the end and panic set in with the family next to us. A French family with 2 children - probably 8 and 6. The dad looked around frantically, the mother spoke in equally as frantic French and the kids just stared in horror not quite sure what to do. The father's bag had been opened and emptied of it's monetary contents! It wasn't a big bag, it was a small camera size bag. It was all their money - cards, cash, all of it. The woman wasn't carrying any of their money. The daughter was in tears - not sure if she opened it or what happened (don't speak French remember?) Security was called and and the elevator cleared and filled with the next group to go up. I felt so bad for them and so grateful we were wearing our money belts with our cards and most of our cash. We had some cash not hidden away, but only about $60.
For these reasons - Paris was stressful for me, so many people, I felt like everywhere I turned, we were going to be scammed.
So off we went to take more pictures, walked our way to the Musee D'Orsay (no pictures allowed and I was down right exhausted and fell asleep sitting on a bench waiting for Jeff to speed walk the art). We saw Whistler's Mother, lots of Monet, Renoir, Manet and so much more.
Now for food - we were so hungry and places close early in Paris which also surprised me - 8 oclock and places were closed til the next day at 11.
One last look at that stunning view via iphone
We found this yummy pizza place - we look a little worn out! :)
Melt in your mouth baked right there - delicious........ Good night Paris!
St. Germain des Pres - one of the oldest churches in Paris - been here for 15 centuries!! See what I mean by OLD? I was a little uncomfortable taking pictures of the inside of these churches. They are after-all places of worship and there were people there to worship someone. So there's the center of the church - the Nave where mass is held on these horribly uncomfortable wicker chairs that are bound together with a piece of wood along the base of the chairs, then around the outer ring of the Nave, there are smaller 'chapels' set up for different Saints to be worshiped. You can light a candle - after you pay of course. A lot of the churches we visited were under construction and restoration. You'll see some of the paintings where they have restored a small piece - it's looks new.
St. Sulpice Church - we were next to this fountain taking pictures and we decided before we left for the vacation that we would offer to take pictures for other couples or groups in order to have our picture taken too. :) So there was this Grandma and her 2 grandsons (I think they were from South Carolina) out there taking pictures and we struck this deal with them. They then told us, the youngest grandson was there for a performance in the church (what kind of performance do you have in a church??) and we should stick around and hear it -okay we'll try, but had to be at the Eiffel Tower at 3.
We went back to the hotel to get more clothing - it was going to be cold at the top of that Eiffel Tower. Two things I did not anticipate - how crowded it would be and how sore my feet were going to be, but I was so glad Suzette let me borrow her UGG boots - they were a life saver!
Now up to the next level where we can then ride to the very top. This is what the view is like out the elevator which of course is all glass.....Jeff took these then told me to look out the window. I about threw up - had to refocus and look at my feet while taking deep breaths.
3 of my most memorable moments of the Eiffel Tower:
1: the Con. 3 of them actually so I guess there's 6 memorable moments
1a: the gold replica statues of the Eiffel Tower - as if shaking them loudly will make me want to stop and buy them from you or you or you or you or you - there were at least 15 in about 20 yards.
1b: the bracelet - I show you bracelet - I make for you? Let me see your wrist.......no. I make for you? Very fast. No. Aw, too bad. (the con here: they tie a friendship type bracelet on your wrist too small for you to get off, then ask for money because they gave you a bracelet)
1c: Deaf and Dumb - this was the best one by far. Under the Eiffel Tower this lady with a few missing teeth and some gold teeth came up to us and asked if we'd like to sign a petition for the Deaf and Dumb children...... I say no. Jeff says sure. I say no again, he writes down his name - well his psuedo name, I say don't write your name (a little more forceful). He finishes his name.
(here's the clutch) - She flips the other half of the paper up and points to an amount spot. Jeff says I will give you nothing. No money. He writes a (at this point I wasn't sure what he was going to write) a 0 with a line through it. She tries to tell us it's for Deaf/Dumb children and he wrote his name, he must donate. Just like those other names did - probably fake names. No money. She walks off yelling and I'm sure cursing in French about Jeff. (kind of wish I knew French). hahaha!
2: Emotional Traveler: I kid you not, we walked about 30 yards and sat down next to a group of girls from the States - they were working in Germany and in Paris on holiday. This lady comes up to us, rambles on and on about how she just got here from California, she went to get on the train from the airport, put one bag on the train, then went back for the rest and the train door shut. She some how tried to tell the man standing by her bag - Eiffel Tower 5 pm for him to bring the bag........can I use your phone? she finally asks. (I'm thinking she's trying to scam us after Con #1a, b, and c) My phone doesn't even work, but the girls next to us have a phone she can use to call the train station for her lost bag. No bag turned in so she was going to wait around until 5 pm - it's 3 pm. It was her computer bag too, so mostly work stuff and toiletries, but important to her. I felt bad for her and glad I had read the Rick Steves guide to traveling that warned about that and the cons in #1.
#3: The Pick pocket - We heard several reminders from signs and from the employees at the Eiffel Tower to beware of pick pockets - they work the close crowds and distracted tourists. I wondered why someone would pay to get up the Eiffel Tower (really you only have to pay to get to the very top), but the cost and time it takes to work a crowd with that many bags is probably minimal when compared to what they 'find'. On the way down (lots of lines to get places, down is one line we stood in for several minutes and I was ever so grateful to not have my little kids with us - paranoia I tell ya). Anyway, we got on the elevator to go down and it was of course totally packed. We got almost the to the end and panic set in with the family next to us. A French family with 2 children - probably 8 and 6. The dad looked around frantically, the mother spoke in equally as frantic French and the kids just stared in horror not quite sure what to do. The father's bag had been opened and emptied of it's monetary contents! It wasn't a big bag, it was a small camera size bag. It was all their money - cards, cash, all of it. The woman wasn't carrying any of their money. The daughter was in tears - not sure if she opened it or what happened (don't speak French remember?) Security was called and and the elevator cleared and filled with the next group to go up. I felt so bad for them and so grateful we were wearing our money belts with our cards and most of our cash. We had some cash not hidden away, but only about $60.
For these reasons - Paris was stressful for me, so many people, I felt like everywhere I turned, we were going to be scammed.
So off we went to take more pictures, walked our way to the Musee D'Orsay (no pictures allowed and I was down right exhausted and fell asleep sitting on a bench waiting for Jeff to speed walk the art). We saw Whistler's Mother, lots of Monet, Renoir, Manet and so much more.
Now for food - we were so hungry and places close early in Paris which also surprised me - 8 oclock and places were closed til the next day at 11.
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