Parisian Tales: Part I

Soooooooo Paris.

There is a ton that happened. I was there for four days after all. So it all began on Friday-- I spent the day running errands and doing laundry and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. PLENTY of time--- the flight was delayed, but not too bad. It was kind of a surprise how short the flight was--- we got there in no time. Upon arrival we swiftly went through customs and stopped off at the bathroom before searching for a cab. While Dom was in the bathroom two men who spoke English really well came up to us and asked if we needed a cab. We said yes, but I was already wary of them. They asked where we were staying and said it was a flat rate of 60€ to get there. They knew exactly where it was. Corrie was all ready to believe them, but I knew that Dom said that the hotel said it shouldn't be much more than €30. The guys really weren't very nice--- it was weird that there were two of them honestly and they kept at it once Dom got out there, but she and I were really hesitant and walked away as we mumbled something about the hotel having a shuttle (even though we knew it didn't). We walked out and got into a cab from the line of cabs. We were a little frantic for a while because we didn't have the hotel address and the cab driver spoke very little english-- great right? Dom used my phone to call her mom and get the address and the driver drove in the general direction of St. Denis. Once we got the address it was a smooth ride and guess how much it cost? 30€. Thank goodness. We were worried for a while that we were going blindly in a cab and should have taken the exorbitant fee in the other one, but it all worked out.

We got to the hotel-- which was really nice and got checked in. Again it was kind of complicated with the language barrier and the pricing was a funny-- Dom's mom was called once again. We got an awesome deal on the room because some of Dom's family works at a Marriott back home-- this also worked out and was sorted in the end. Yay! I paid only 140€ for all four nights & the BEST complimentary breakfast on the planet, but I'll get to that later.

We got in kind of late, but it was our first day/night in Paris and we didn't just want to sit in our room. We looked at the book I brought with me and found a cafe not too far away. We were going to walk to the metro, but it was really shady and scary so we got a cab. We went into town near the Moulin Rouge and just walked around and took pictures. I was really self conscious about being an American and tourist, but it got better. It's so much more overwhelming to travel in a foreign country that you stick out in. In Ireland most people don't have any idea that I'm not Irish just by looking at me. In Paris my skin is definitely in the minority--- and Paris is very diverse, too. Then add on top of that the fact that we are unable to communicate easily with everyone and it's just more stressful.

We just walked around a bit and then went back home because we wanted to be up early the next day.

We woke up early and went down to breakfast-- there was another miscommunication with the hotel--- they did not have the correct name with our room number and were telling us breakfast wasn't complimentary, but if you went to Dom's name it was (all very complicated). We just kept eating and it all worked out eventually. They are a new hotel so they must not have had everything figured out yet. Breakfast consisted of the best cereal I may have ever had, eggs, potatoes (little round hashbrowns kind of like McDonalds), pastries (croissants, raisin rolls) and other breads, cheese, meat (sausage, sandwich meat, bacon), copious amounts of fruit, juices, water, tea, coffee, milk, and a few other things. It was AMAZING. We ate a lot every morning and ran most of the day off of breakfast (I also always had almonds with me in case I started fading). I may dream of that cereal for the rest of my life. Delicious.

After breakfast we were ready to brave the metro in the daylight. There was a stop right near us, so transportation into the city was very easy. The public transport in Paris is similar to New York and I was soon reminded that we are pretty spoiled here in Dublin. Well kind of. Paris was more efficient and we always knew when a train was coming, but when we got on the smell of several bodies pressed together in a tube under the earth was highly unfortunate. The first 7 rides or so on trains we never had the opportunity to sit down and more than once we were crammed in the standing space struggling to have a pole to hold on to. Of course in those situations there are so many people standing that if you fall the others around you act as buffers and supports. I can't even imagine riding on the subway and being short--- thank goodness my head could rise above most people.

We road the metro into town and got off somewhat close to the Eiffel Tower. When we surfaced we went up to a man at a news stand to ask the direction of the Tower. He made some kind of annoyed gesture to his face and to the right--- yeah I probably would be annoyed, too, if some people came and asked me where something was that was clearly in their line of vision. Heh... the tower was sticking up above some buildings so we struck off in the general direction. Once we got there Corrie served as the motivator to get in line to go to the top. She'd been dreaming about it since she was a little girl and her family didn't have enough time to get to the top. The line to walk up the first few levels was shorter so we got in it and purchased our tickets quickly enough.

Okay.

There are a lot of steps to get to the first level.




There may be even more to get to the second.




In the end it was totally worth it. Corrie was so gung-ho about it all and we had a good time once we got over the burning sensation in our legs (feel the burn, love the burn!) and the view was incredible. I don't know why it was so much fun, but it was definitely more rewarding to physically climb the steps than waiting 90 minutes in line to take an elevator. I truly felt like I had accomplished something.

Oh. And the tower was brown. I expected it to be black. Dominique thought it would be silver.

After climbing the tower we walked toward Champs elysee and planned to meet up with Andre (friend from Dublin) who was staying with a friend (Emily) who was studying in Paris. We were getting hungry and Corrie wanted a crepe--- all we could find was desert crepes. Eventually we ended up in some tourist restaurant, but I was too hungry to complain. I had cheese pizza and coke. At least the coke was cold and I got twice as much as I would have in Dublin. Corrie got a banana and nutella crepe. Andre caught up with us and we wandered around the shops. Corrie was very interested in looking at what fashion Paris had to offer--- she walked into a ridiculously expensive store, but they wouldn't let her upstairs. Have I mentioned that she was wearing a tshirt, shorts and tennis shoes? Hmm yeah..... Dom and I didn't care much so we left.

I followed them across the street to the Louis Vitton Store--- it was beautiful and we had to wait in a short line to go in (ridiculous). Apparently Louis created luggage as we know it, isn't that nice? I have more respect for it now and there really were some beautiful bags and things--- they didn't all look exactly the same with same boring brown print...

After browsing around we walked toward Notre Dame, but we didn't make it down there.


Woah. I completely skipped an event. After the Eiffel Tower Dom, Corrie, and I went on a boat tour. The Tower is right by the Seine so we jumped on a boat and listened to a recording tell us about different buildings along the river--- we saw a lot, but it was hard to take pictures and the recording said everything three times. Once in English, French and Spanish. It was very windy and the sky was overcast and blaringly white, but I enjoyed it very much.


Back to where I was.

We walked toward Notre Dame but abondoned ship right after the Louvre. We wanted to go home and rest and clean up before meeting up with Andre and his friends that evening.

That evening we met up with Andre and Emily and several other students studying with her. They were all studying either poetry or fiction and most of them attended NYU. Emily goes to Boston College (I think). I really enjoyed getting to meet even more American students. We went to the river where a lot of boat restaurants were and ate. I had a banana and nutella crepe--- very tasty. We went back to Emily's little apartment a little more than a shoebox--- but not by much and then we went back into town where it started raining. exhausted, we three girls got a cab and went back to the hotel.

The next day we woke up for breakfast and then slept some more (we had done so much walking the day before!). When we woke up we went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. The Louvre is absolutely ginormous and I probably saw 10% of what is in there. I think it would take four months to see everything in there if you just walked from piece to piece. FOUR MONTHS! I certainly don't have that kind of time and art history only goes with me so far... it's kind of like ballet--- not really my thing.

We ran into a cafe in the louvre and grabbed sandwiches (and a coke) that was cool to eat in the louvre amongst the history and art and emotion.... there really are too many naked statues, though. sorry just a random comment, not really pertaining to lunch in the louvre. i also received a very nice phone call from emily during lunch--- that was very nice (I will always remember I talked to her in the Louvre during that conversation).

There are a lot of nice shops near in the Louvre near the metro and I enjoyed browsing there--- it was more like what I imagined Paris to be.

At this point we said goodbye to Corrie, she wasn't staying as long as Dom and I. Corrie was a very nice travel companion. She is very friendly and speaks to anyone that addresses her. Like the random guy that is kind of yelling at you from the sidewalk--- I usually get a stony look on my face and determinedly keep walking---Corrie, however, turns and stops and yells hello and upon further inquiry shouts she is from Virginia. Corrie's French speaking talents are rather similar to Daddy's eloquent use of the Spanish language. Gracias=Grahcious. Excusez-moi= excuse mer or excuse moy. There are more examples, but they really aren't very important.

Not only do the French speak a different language but they also have different rules when it comes to public interactions. In Paris staring is completely normal. We are all kind of programmed to look away when someone notices we are staring. Not so in Paris--- if any change occurs the glance grow in intensity. True story... it's a little unnerving.

Please tune in later for part two of Parisian Tales.