Bon Jour!
Oui...I am in Paris. It is quite surreal to be here. But here I am standing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Traveling:
I have to say that this has been one of the easiest trips that I've flown overseas. Those of you who know me know that I typically get stopped at security somewhere along the way to be searched (for whatever reason they seem to flag me or something). But this time was smooth sailing for me. In fact the only security I went thru was initially leaving Boise. And then once we arrived in Paris they didn't even stamp our passports at immigration or take our info cards (we had to ask if they would stamp our passports as a souvenir!)
So we had a flight from Boise to Minneapolis and then we picked up our international flight to Paris. We actually arrived an hour early in Paris. BUT I think the most difficult thing about the 2day-span of traveling to Europe was maneuvering thru Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris. I think we walked the entire airport to get to the actual sortie (exit). Once we found our way thru the maze of corridors in the airport, we had to stand in a very long queue at immigration and then also at the train ticket counter (to purchase our one-way tickets into the city on the Metro). Then we took the Metro train into Paris. I think we figured it to be a total of about 3 hours from landing to setting foot at the door of our hotel in the Latin district at Saint Michel.
Day ONE in Paris:
After finding our hotel we were a bit early for checkin, so we were able to leave our backpacks there and go tour about a bit to familiarize ourselves with where we were staying. The street we are on (Rue de Huchette) is in the Latin district of the city (the place where students and artists and poets hangout). The hotel we're staying at (Hotel du Mont Blanc) is famous for having Hemingway stay there. The cobblestone street is lined with tourist shops, crepe shops, cafes, bars, and above them all are residences. It's an idealic scene as just around the corner is the Seine River...and we are right across from Cathedral de Notre Dame. And I found this internet cafe close by (huge plus for me) so I can keep up on this blog.
We took some time touring through Notre Dame. It is so beautiful! OH MY GOODNESS! They had choir music playing as we walked around (utilizing a handheld audio tour device) gazing at the statues, the paintings, the stained glass, and the beauty of it all. I sat down for a bit and sketched some of the arches on the ceiling. Magnificent! The cathedral is still in use and has 4 services a day. We may take in a service one day this week to experience it fully.
We also took a bus tour to get a view of the entire city. I highly recommend these sorts of tours when visiting any large foreign city...it's worth the money you pay. You typically get unlimited use (hop on hop off) for either 24 hours or 2 days in a row. So we usually go round the whole city the first day and then on the second day go back to sites we want to see more in depth utilizing the bus for transportation. This is a great tactic if some of the sites you want to see are somewhat farther away than others.
Oh...and I got my first taste of the French crepe. Fantastic! I love them! They have crepe shops where they make them right in front of you. You can get them with just about anything in them. And they roll them up and put them in paper and hand them to you, so you can walk around and eat...and they're real cheap too.
After walking around for most of the day and shopping at the street vendor stalls we came back to our hotel and enjoyed a good night sleep (after watching some French television...I think I watched the French version of CSI, they call theirs RIS...don't ask me what it stands for, I don't know...but it was very much like our forensic dramas in the US....all in French).
Day Two in Paris:
Today, we had a leisurely morning. We strolled out into the streets and purchased our coffees and croissants and then hopped on the tour bus once again. We made our way to the Arc De Triumphe and spent some time sitting in the middle of the huge round about that it sits on and sketched. Then we got back on the bus and made our way to the Eiffel Tower. This is where my time here so far became very surreal. I found myself sitting on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower, eating a baguette with fromage (cheese), people watching, and painting. This is crazy!
After several hours of this idealic surrealness, we got back on the bus and made our way back to our neighborhood near Notre Dame, where we sat ourselves down a the window of Cafe Panis and sipped our coffees while we watched the people and traffic go by on the street.
Before this trip I was a bit concerned as to if I would be able to get by with the difference in language. I don't speak French and I've only ever traveled to English speaking countries in Europe. But I must say that my friends were right when they advised me to start out being friendly and try some words...the people here are just as friendly and they do usually speak English and will help the conversation if you at least try. I've only run into one time where the shop worker didn't speak English...but he quickly found another shop worker who spoke just a few words of English. We both gingerly made our way thru the conversation...it was actually somewhat comical as we both kept smiling and nodding and making hand gestures to try to understand each other. Eventually it worked out! And I most thankfully and happily smiled and said "Merci!"
Tomorrow we start our 2 day tour of the Louvre.
Then we'll do a 2 day tour of the Musee De Orsay.
And then who knows...it's an adventure!
I'm ready to be immersed in ART!
Until the next time...Au revoir!
