A Long Day One in Paris October 14, 2006
The itinerary today included The Arc de Triomphe, The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and ending the day by having dinner with Carrie and Ted Homewood who are friends of ours from Hong Kong and happen to be in town.
It’s a five minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe from the Star Star (this is what we now call our hotel). Other than being a monument to Napoleon’s victories the road around the monument is also known as the largest round-about in the world which also comes with some of the largest traffic snarls. Although it was 10 o’clock on Saturday morning the traffic was busy at the Arc, we thought. We passed this way again about 6PM and the blur of vehicles whizzing around the monument made us glad we didn’t have a rental car here. The Arc is something to see and as it turns out is something we will see many times as our most convenient metro station is on the fringe of the round-about.
The plan called for us to walk the thirty minutes or so to the Eiffel Tower next, but low clouds convinced us that we should save it and we caught the metro to Notre Dame next. The Paris Metro System is actually made up of three different train systems so we stood, again, in the metro station looking like we were lost, which we were, but finally rallied and determined which train to take. We were surprised as anyone when we arrived at our planned stop; Chatelet Les Halles. This is not the closest station to the cathedral, but like all multi layered metro systems you end up making a decision whether to transfer once or twice or stay on one line and walk the extra distance which is what we did here.
Notre Dame is awe inspiring. The size, the architecture and history combine to make this a most memorable stop on out trip of memorable stops. The interior of this massive cathedral is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide and 35 meters high (430’x160’x115’) and can accommodate 6000 worshippers. The style is a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture and with its massive towers and famous gargoyles it is one of the worlds most well known structures. It was built on the site of previous churches as well as a Gallo-Roman Temple. Construction was begun in 1163 but not completed until mid-14th century and has been the center of French Catholicism for seven centuries. All of this and the one thing that I thought of as I walked toward the imposing structure was Quasimodo swinging from the gargoyles and his desperate plight to protect his beloved Esmeralda. It’s amazing what sticks with us sometime.
When we exited Notre Dame the sun had emerged and we headed for the Eiffel Tower hoping to ascend the Paris icon in clear weather and take in the view that so many have written about. Our stomachs got in the way and we stopped at a small sidewalk café for lunch and to enjoy the Paris experience. The food and the atmosphere were more than anticipated and we walked away sated in mind and body. A note here; we have read and heard that while in Paris being an English only speaking tourist may set you up for a certain amount of ridicule from the local population. We have tried to learn a few basic phrases and words to open conversations and thereby show at least a minimal amount of effort and appreciation of the language. This has worked for us so far and we have not had any unpleasant incidents with local people being both friendly and helpful.
We arrived at the Eiffel Tower much dismayed to see the queue for the elevators stretching quite a ways out from the tower itself. We joined Les Miserables in line and settled in for the duration. Fortunately for us the couple in front of us Nadya and Matthew, who are from LA, struck up a conversation and the two + hours that it took us to reach the top of the tower went much quicker, I hope for all four of us. The trip up the tower can be accomplished two ways; one is to take two separate elevators, the other is to climb stairs to reach the first level and then an elevator to the uppermost observation deck of this 324 meter (1070’) tower. We chose the elevator along with most of the rabble waiting to assault Mr. Eiffel’s pride and joy. The first elevator deposits you on a deck that offers impressive views and yet another queue which wraps around the platform. We enjoyed this time as it afforded us truly great vistas of Paris. Soon enough we were on the next lift and headed for the top. Once at the top viewing station we became separated as we battled the crowd and followed our own visions of Paris. As I turned the corner to the west side of the tower a young man was down on one knee proposing to his maiden fair, her with tears in her eyes. Although we are sure that it is probably a common occurrence here it is a touching occasion to see happen before one’s eyes. Of course we had our pictures made and made some for others before heading back to a more earthy existence. At the bottom we wished each other well as we said good-bye to Nadya and Matthew. They are very nice people and we wish them the best in their travels.
We walked back to the hotel stopping at the Trocadero, directly across the Seine from the Tower, to take a few pictures. We had plans to meet Carrie and Ted for drinks and dinner so after a quick cleanup and change of clothes we caught the metro which had an exit just down the street from their hotel. Matt and Tina friends of Carrie and Ted’s from Chicago also joined us for dinner. They along with one other couple had spent the week in a chateau in Southern France. They seemed to take in a lot of the local culture not to mention the wine and cheese of the region. We had a most enjoyable evening starting at the Hotel Regina with drinks and then moving to a neighborhood Brassiere for dinner, which Ted insisted on paying for. Ted also had brought some Cuban cigars and a bottle of fine French wine for me. For all of his kindness I say thank you very much I will enjoy the wine and cigars and did enjoy spending time with you, Carrie and your friends. This meant a lot to us as Carrie and Ted are the first people that we know, that we have seen since we left Hong Kong on July 2nd. Thank you guys again.
A quick taxi ride back to the hotel and we were back in our room; me soon asleep Holly up writing in her journal until almost 2AM.
It’s a five minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe from the Star Star (this is what we now call our hotel). Other than being a monument to Napoleon’s victories the road around the monument is also known as the largest round-about in the world which also comes with some of the largest traffic snarls. Although it was 10 o’clock on Saturday morning the traffic was busy at the Arc, we thought. We passed this way again about 6PM and the blur of vehicles whizzing around the monument made us glad we didn’t have a rental car here. The Arc is something to see and as it turns out is something we will see many times as our most convenient metro station is on the fringe of the round-about.
The plan called for us to walk the thirty minutes or so to the Eiffel Tower next, but low clouds convinced us that we should save it and we caught the metro to Notre Dame next. The Paris Metro System is actually made up of three different train systems so we stood, again, in the metro station looking like we were lost, which we were, but finally rallied and determined which train to take. We were surprised as anyone when we arrived at our planned stop; Chatelet Les Halles. This is not the closest station to the cathedral, but like all multi layered metro systems you end up making a decision whether to transfer once or twice or stay on one line and walk the extra distance which is what we did here.
Notre Dame is awe inspiring. The size, the architecture and history combine to make this a most memorable stop on out trip of memorable stops. The interior of this massive cathedral is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide and 35 meters high (430’x160’x115’) and can accommodate 6000 worshippers. The style is a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture and with its massive towers and famous gargoyles it is one of the worlds most well known structures. It was built on the site of previous churches as well as a Gallo-Roman Temple. Construction was begun in 1163 but not completed until mid-14th century and has been the center of French Catholicism for seven centuries. All of this and the one thing that I thought of as I walked toward the imposing structure was Quasimodo swinging from the gargoyles and his desperate plight to protect his beloved Esmeralda. It’s amazing what sticks with us sometime.
When we exited Notre Dame the sun had emerged and we headed for the Eiffel Tower hoping to ascend the Paris icon in clear weather and take in the view that so many have written about. Our stomachs got in the way and we stopped at a small sidewalk café for lunch and to enjoy the Paris experience. The food and the atmosphere were more than anticipated and we walked away sated in mind and body. A note here; we have read and heard that while in Paris being an English only speaking tourist may set you up for a certain amount of ridicule from the local population. We have tried to learn a few basic phrases and words to open conversations and thereby show at least a minimal amount of effort and appreciation of the language. This has worked for us so far and we have not had any unpleasant incidents with local people being both friendly and helpful.
We arrived at the Eiffel Tower much dismayed to see the queue for the elevators stretching quite a ways out from the tower itself. We joined Les Miserables in line and settled in for the duration. Fortunately for us the couple in front of us Nadya and Matthew, who are from LA, struck up a conversation and the two + hours that it took us to reach the top of the tower went much quicker, I hope for all four of us. The trip up the tower can be accomplished two ways; one is to take two separate elevators, the other is to climb stairs to reach the first level and then an elevator to the uppermost observation deck of this 324 meter (1070’) tower. We chose the elevator along with most of the rabble waiting to assault Mr. Eiffel’s pride and joy. The first elevator deposits you on a deck that offers impressive views and yet another queue which wraps around the platform. We enjoyed this time as it afforded us truly great vistas of Paris. Soon enough we were on the next lift and headed for the top. Once at the top viewing station we became separated as we battled the crowd and followed our own visions of Paris. As I turned the corner to the west side of the tower a young man was down on one knee proposing to his maiden fair, her with tears in her eyes. Although we are sure that it is probably a common occurrence here it is a touching occasion to see happen before one’s eyes. Of course we had our pictures made and made some for others before heading back to a more earthy existence. At the bottom we wished each other well as we said good-bye to Nadya and Matthew. They are very nice people and we wish them the best in their travels.
We walked back to the hotel stopping at the Trocadero, directly across the Seine from the Tower, to take a few pictures. We had plans to meet Carrie and Ted for drinks and dinner so after a quick cleanup and change of clothes we caught the metro which had an exit just down the street from their hotel. Matt and Tina friends of Carrie and Ted’s from Chicago also joined us for dinner. They along with one other couple had spent the week in a chateau in Southern France. They seemed to take in a lot of the local culture not to mention the wine and cheese of the region. We had a most enjoyable evening starting at the Hotel Regina with drinks and then moving to a neighborhood Brassiere for dinner, which Ted insisted on paying for. Ted also had brought some Cuban cigars and a bottle of fine French wine for me. For all of his kindness I say thank you very much I will enjoy the wine and cigars and did enjoy spending time with you, Carrie and your friends. This meant a lot to us as Carrie and Ted are the first people that we know, that we have seen since we left Hong Kong on July 2nd. Thank you guys again.
A quick taxi ride back to the hotel and we were back in our room; me soon asleep Holly up writing in her journal until almost 2AM.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 12:38 PM
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