Europe Day 06: Paris!!

Late as usual
We had planned to get up early but just couldn’t. Last night was a late one, and add it to the long bus ride beforehand, we were just too tired to make it a sunrise morning. Breakfast was weird – but then I’ve never expected much from European/Continental breakfasts no matter where they’re served. Since we didn’t leave early – H-Rabbit and I joined the free ride into the city with the rest of the group. Our Contiki plans had us going to a perfumery, but we decided ahead of time that we were going to skip that and just do what we planned from the drop off point.

The Opera House
We were dropped off at the side of the Grand Opera House. We didn’t go in to see the famous chandelier and grand staircase, cause well, it cost money and would take up valuable time. Today was all about “see it as best as we can” while getting in as much as we can as well (“As cheaply as we can” was also a high priority). If there’s anything we realize, we’ll have to come back to all the places again for a longer time – eight countries in three weeks is just a bit ridiculous to actually get things in properly.

Arc de Triomphe
From the Opera House we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. It’s surrounded by a huge roundabout, so the only way to get there is to take a tunnel underneath the road. What amazes me by all this old architecture is the extreme and delicate details in all the marble, limestone and so many other seemingly indestructible stone materials. It not only withstands the test of time, but maintains such elegance, fragility and beauty that most modern structures could only hope to compare to. Underneath the Arc is the Monument to the Unknown Soldier – simple and elegant to match the Arc under which it rests.

Down the Champs-Elysees
From the Arc we then strolled down the Champs-Elysees pretending to be rich aristocrats of old. All the most expensive labels can be seen quick and clearly as you head down the road – Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Channel – we managed to only make it a little way down before we resigned to the fact that we actually couldn’t afford to even walk in to any of the places and maybe we should reserve this walk for a day in our futures when fortune was better on our side.

Back to the Eiffel
We walked back to the Metro station near the Arc to catch the train back to the Eiffel Tower. True to our word – we did not attempt to go up the tower again – last night’s experience was not to be tainted – but we did want to get just a few daytime shots (as well as a few that did not include the weird Tour de France tackiness that covered the whole front side). We played super-photographers in the park beside the tower as well as took some time to rest from all our rushing around. When we were done – we found ourselves some Paris crepes. I had chocolate stuffed in mine while H-Rabbit had hers with honey. They were absolutely scrumptious.

Musee d’Orsay
From the Tower we then took the Metro to try and get to the Musee d’Orsay. Somehow – because we had to switch from the Metro to the overland lines at some point – we got totally lost and were going the wrong way right out of Paris! Thankfully – we managed to find our way back – and apparently, for some strange reason of the universe, we looked less like lost tourists and more like people who knew what they were doing that other people who were also lost were asking US how to get places – weird, eh?

Once we finally reached the museum, I must say that it turned into one of my most absolute favourite places that we visited in Paris. I was totally moved and emotionally overwhelmed. To see some of my favourite paintings in real life from the likes of Monet, Renoir, Picasso and Cezanne was like walking into a dream. I was really excited that we were allowed to take pictures – but no flash – which made it hard to focus when you don’t have a tripod with you – but I think I got a few to remember the pieces by.

The Louvre
From the Musee d’Orsay, we walked across the street to the far end of the Louvre to make our way through the park grounds towards the main entrance. We took a lot of photos outside before going in, as the beauty of the palace is just as enthralling as the pieces that it holds. The juxtaposition of the pyramids is even more striking in person than pictures allow for – but they most definitely are much smaller in person than pictures or film ever could relay.

The new main entrance is actually right through the largest pyramid. It’s actually quite a trip to walk down through the structure and into the belly of the gallery. Once fully security-checked and cattle-herded, we grabbed a few maps and plotted our visual attack. We started with the sculpture “garden” and took some time to just wander before trying to head for the “biggies”. We slowly made our way towards the Venus de Milo and made sure to look at all the works that were in our path along the way.

Let me just say – the Louvre is massive… yes, massive – even using the right context of the word. From the Venus we then started our walk towards where everyone else was obviously heading – off to the one and only Mona Lisa.

Do you smile to tempt a lover Mona Lisa?
Let me just say – it’s not the French that are rude – but the freaking tourists. If I mention specifically which kind were the worst – I’d be labeled a racist – so I’m going to stay away from that one – but damned if I was embarrassed as a tourist myself on the behalf of all of them. So many of them were pushing and shoving we barely got up to see the Mona Lisa properly. After finally standing my ground and taking the time to simply look – I then turned my attention 180 degrees to the absolutely astonishing and gargantuan “Wedding at Canaan” canvas. It is as everyone always says – totally impressive and awe inspiring – as well as largely overlooked by the scrambling masses clutching for space to view but a glimpse of Mona.

Getting Lost at the Louvre
After disentangling ourselves from the crazy people, we then took our time walking through the museum and saw some of Leonardo’s other amazing works. We also saw lots of other inspiring pieces that really make you think about how the artists accomplished so much with so little. You really do need an entire week to spend at the Louvre by itself, let alone a week for Paris entirely. After we finally found our way out, I forced H-Rabbit to sit and take a break by the pyramid fountains just to let it sink in about where we were and what we were actually doing. After witnessing two such inspiring and moving galleries I do attest that I would mark today as one of the most memorable days in my life.

Notre Dame
From the Louvre we then made our way to Notre Dame. It was nearing time for us to head back to the hotel to meet the group for our dinner, and the line-ups to get into the church were just impossible so we only got to see the outside. We then tried to see Sainte Chapelle across the road – but that too was lined up for through the wazoo so instead we decided to head back with time to spare to the hotel so we had tons of time to get ready for Moulin Rouge! Though, once again – more things we missed that give us even more reasons to go back to Paris for sure one day.

Montmartre
For those of us who opted to, our Contiki tour included a night out at the Moulin Rouge. The tour bus took us through the city and within the northern red light district of Montmartre. The life of the city was in full swing in this part of town, and it wasn’t even 7pm.

Moulin Rouge
The tickets for the night were extremely expensive, but I can at least now say, without a doubt, that it was worth every penny. I think we felt even more justified when we learned what the non-tour-group price was. I couldn’t believe the amount – but the house was packed – which only proves that the place definitely delivers the entertainment it promises. While our food was generally what was expected – it was nice to be bombarded with free wine and “real” Champagne (only Champagne from the region of Champagne, France has the right to be called Champagne – everything else is just sparkling wine, so the rule goes).

The house was extremely packed, especially since it is a dinner theatre – our waiters barely had room to stand at our tables – let alone walk by them. Even though H-Rabbit, Chris, Liz, Peter, Megan and I were at the end of the group and got seated last – we ended up getting some of the best seats in the house. While were off to the extreme right of the house – we were first and front row, right against the stage. When we got to the dessert and Champagne part of dinner – that’s when the show started.

It was extremely well done with a ton of amazing acts. Being in the seats where we were – we even got right “in” to the show, being literally whipped with feathers and sequins and all sorts of things. It’s too bad that we have no pictures to show for it – but cameras are forbidden in the Moulin Rouge for, well, I’m sure you all know the reason why.

O’Sullivans
After the show, we all went out for the rest of the night to the bar right next to the theatre called O’Sullivans. While it was a pretty good bar, I must admit that it truly was filled with 90% tourists, and was probably pushed as the place to go by almost every tour guide that had ventured the Moulin Rouge with their entourage. However – we used this as a night to get to know our fellow tour peeps and have the first of what we assume will be many awesome nights out. After getting decidedly plastered – as most of the pictures will attest – we grabbed a taxi back home at about 3am and crashed to get a few hours sleep before we had to ride out early again the next morning.

Europe Day 05: From London to Paris

Our Contiki tour begins!
Major early start today at 5:30am! I seemed to have lost little tour cards package that we were given to have on us, but after giving the initial card to our tour manager yesterday, apparently it didn’t matter that they were lost. We dragged our stuff to the other Contiki hotel, as that’s where we were being picked up by the bus, and met up with the people on our tour group, including two new friends we talked with yesterday, Belinda and Natasha from Cayman Islands. We had our suitcases weighed and they fell well below the limit allowed per person for the bus, which just means – WooHoo – more shopping!

On our way
After that we all got on the bus and took off. The bus was fairly packed, with 45 people, and ended up being a mix of two tours – Road to Athens as well as Road to Rome. There weren’t too many free seats, but everyone seemed comfortable. The group was pretty quiet – not much rah-rah – but I think that’s because everyone had a pretty late night and an extremely early morning. We have a lot of couples and a lot of girls – I’m sure the single guys are quite happy. We were introduced again to our tour manager – Leona – who gave us a rundown of general Contiki rules and whatnot – and we were also introduced to our driver Joop who we could tell would be a “jolly old soul”. This first drive was on our way to Paris. It was going to take a few hours to get to Dover so we just settled in.

White Cliffs of Dover
During the drive, you could tell that once upon a time, castles were the home du jour though Europe as we passed quite a few examples along the way. When we finally arrived in Dover, where we were to catch a ferry to Calais, France, we were definitely impressed with Dover castle and the famed white cliffs that stretch for miles.

Ferry Riding
The ferry we caught was fairly huge and had two major shops and lots of comfortable seating. It took about two hours to get to Calais, which was a bit long since we actually got waylaid when we arrived since the ports were all full.

Driving through France
From Calais, we had another few hours driving to a rest stop, and then another few hours driving after that before getting to Paris. While on our way, we passed Vimy Ridge – though only in sight – as the highway is quite far from the area. It seems either the monument was placed in a natural opening that could be viewed from the highway, or someone made it viewable. Anyhow, unless you’re warned it’s there, you’ll miss it, because when you’re driving by at 100km an hour, you are basically afforded a five second glimpse.

Paris Driving
Finally – after hours and hours on the bus – which we are realizing is going to be an on-going saga on this trip (I have no idea how we’re going to survive) we made our way into Paris. It truly was amazing driving into the city – the sights, the sounds, the people – there just seemed to be a fullness of life to it all that I don’t think I’ve witnessed too much back home. Before we went to our hotel, Leona gave us a quick tour of the city and some of the major landmarks. We jumped out to see and take pictures of Napoleon’s final resting place, as well as the Eiffel Tower, a little later, from the Tracadero area. However – about five seconds after leaving the bus – the sky decided to downpour on us, so we all ran back. The pictures we all got though are a bit neat, as it looks like doomsday is approaching with the Eiffel Tower in the background – ha!

After that, there was not point stopping anywhere else so we drove to the hotel which was in the southern region of Paris – just on the rim of the city proper.

Creating our own adventure
We had actually arrived in Paris quite late and there were no plans made for the evening except for a quick meal. With the weather it seemed fruitless to do anything, and someone had said that the Eiffel Tower might not even be open (which we couldn’t believe). Regardless of all the doom and gloom however, H-Rabbit and I decided to take off with our new friends Chris and Liz (awesome couple from Sydney) and check out the Eiffel Tower anyway. We knew from our schedule that we probably wouldn’t get another chance to see the Tower at night and we just didn’t want to miss that experience. After gearing up for the rain, we made our way through the Metro system and didn’t get lost, though it was a bit tricky figuring out just where we were with everything in French and the multiple lines all crisscrossing over and under each other.

Graffiti Note for Da Boyz: Every single inch of the Paris Metro/train tunnels are covered in graffiti – even the parts that you think haven’t seen the light of day and/or artificial light – ever. My only comment – it was all BAD graffiti – like black and white tagging only, and nothing artistic at all I must admit I found that very disappointing and strange for such a city renowned for its artistic talents.

Happy in the Rain
When we emerged from the Metro, it was beginning to rain again. At first – we were a bit lost because the station for the tower is not exactly that close to it – however venturing a few steps, we realized that it was just hiding behind some trees and the view was spectacular – even from far away. When we got to the base of the tower, it started to rain harder – however it opened up an awesome opportunity – the liens to go up the tower were getting shorter and shorter because people were leaving due to the rain. We didn’t know for sure if we wanted to go up at first – we were worried we’d pay for nothing if the sky was simply full of rain clouds – but seeing as we made it all the way – we figured we might as well – and it wouldn’t be too much of a burden to do it all again tomorrow if the views were bad. As we waited in line – we realized we might HAVE to do it again tomorrow anyway – as the message popped up saying “Third Floor Closed” – which is the highest point of the tower you can get to and of course exactly where we wanted to be. However – luck on our side – it opened up again just before we went to buy our tickets – so we were relieved. Apparently whenever the third floor gets too crowded – they close sales to it – which is quite aggravating – especially for people standing in line in the pouring rain!



One of the best experiences ever
It was about 11pm (yes – to that person who told us it would be closed at 10pm – it WAS open – and would be STILL open until Midnight!) when we hopped (though really, more like squished) on the tower elevator. As we ascended, the most awesome thing happened - the 11pm light show went off. It was absolutely breathtaking to have all these millions of lights just blinking and flashing and dancing all around you. H-Rabbit caught tons of video of it because the pictures just didn’t do the experience or effect justice. When we were let off at the second stage – we went immediately into the line to go to the top. We figured we’d do our picture taking and hanging around at each stage as we came down – to ensure we didn’t miss the third floor experience since time was of the essence.

Paris at your feet
The view from the top of the tower is absolutely mesmerizing – and I believe even more so at night. The city of lights just blazes beneath you and the beauty of it all just whisks you away. We took a ton of pictures of the city from every angle we could think of. It truly was a breathtaking view and experience. The adrenalin pumping through us even made us forget all about the rain. I can say for certain now that we wouldn’t have passed up tonight for anything. As we were approaching midnight, we figured we’d try and make a dash to get down to the bottom of the tower again to try and see the light show from the ground rather than on the elevator again. We didn’t quite make it for the very beginning – but we did manage to hit the ground before the show finished and got some great shots out front of the tower. I believe that the Tour de France “additions” most definitely only looked good at night, as their bright yellow “tackiness” definitely didn’t fair well earlier in the day when we were taking shots at Tracadero.

On our way home by taxi – as the Metro closes down at midnight – the four of us agreed that we shouldn’t ruin the experience of tonight by trying to go up during the day tomorrow. Our taxi ride through the streets of the city was quite beautiful as well as we needed to go right across Paris to get back to our hotel. Upon getting “home” we have now collapsed into bed to get ready for the HUGE day ahead of us tomorrow – as we need to try and see as much of Paris as we can in all of just one day, all on our own!