Paris

After a couple of days relaxing and exploring Lille a bit it was time for our next excursion. We were off to The City of Lights - Paris.

July 9

Our home away from home in Lille is very central. It is a short walk to the train station. We (Sharon, Arlyn, Calvin, Abby, Kim, and I) left around 10 in the morning and headed to Paris, only an hours journey. Then we braved the Paris metro, which is actually really well laid out and easy to use once you immerse yourself in it. It also helps to have other people travelling with you to reassure each other that you are on the right track (or to support each other if you get lost or turned around). Our group of 6 teamed up in order that we would always have a buddy to watch out for each other while travelling in the city. Team Lush - Kim and Sharon (a fitting team name), Team Formidable - Arlyn and Abby, and Team Awesome - Calvin and me.

Arlyn and I had found a cheap (relatively for Paris) hotel to stay in for the three nights that we were there. Here are the great things about Yooma: it was new, therefore it was clean, free wifi, free candies on the counter each night, the staff was helpful and attentive, the cost, but the best was that is was central. The hotel is a short walk to the Eiffel Tower. We were able to rent one room for all 6 of us. There were four bunk-like pods on one side of the room, with partition like sliding walls, which were way more comfortable than I predicted and a double bed in the central part of the room. I think the hotel is still working out some kinks, so here are the not so great things about it: the air conditioning was a bit spotty - working some places, not working in others. This caused room change number 1. There was a flood through the ceiling of the hallway. It was pouring the first evening we were there and water came through the ceiling and was filling the hallway. We were in limbo a bit that first night, not too sure if we would have to change rooms. But the water did not reach our room and we were given the all clear to head back to bed. The next night, we had room switch number 2 as the air conditioning had stopped working in the second room and no windows would open. So we were off to our third (and final) room. Travel is all about adventure and we definitely had an adventure without even leaving our hotel.

Our plan for the afternoon was to visit two museums. Musee Rodin and Musee Marmottan Monet.


We walked from Yooma to Musee Rodin stopping at the Champ de Mars to enjoy a lunch of baguette and cheese and then passing by Les Invalides on the way. Musee Rodin houses the works of the sculptor Auguste Rodin. His works are located in an old mansion and its surrounding gardens. His most famous works include The Gates of Hell and The Thinker. The Gates of Hell is based on Dante's Inferno. The Thinker was a part of The Gates of Hell but later became its own independent sculpture. Both of these sculptures are located in the gardens along with a number of other pieces including partially completed works. Within the museum, there are many more sculptures over two floors. Having previously visited and thorough loved Musee Rodin, I have had an appreciation for The Thinker. Often, I have considered purchasing a copy of the piece but have held off, until today. I am now the owner of my very own The Thinker and am excited to see where this travel souvenir will fit in my home.

The Thinker

After leaving the Musee Rodin, we hopped back on the metro and headed to Musee Marmottan Monet.There, we were able to see many works by Monet as well as Pissarro.There, we were able to see many works by Monet as well as Pissarro. For dinner, we stopped at a restaurant close to the Seine and our hotel. The bridge that crossed the Seine on our way back to Yooma had a replica of the Statue of Liberty located half way across. Behind Lady Liberty, down the river, we could see Eiffel's other creation, the Eiffel Tower. It was a fitting end to our first day in Paris.

July 10

We began our morning slowly, with a breakfast at Yooma and then a stroll to the Eiffel Tower. We wandered around the tower for a bit and took some photos. Our ever present tour guide, Rick Steves had suggested taking the city bus number 69 to see some of the sites in Paris. We hopped on at the bottom of the Champ de Mars and Kim read aloud to us explanations of the various sites we were passing by. Obviously, we started at the Eiffel Tower, we also passed by Ecole Militaire, Rue Cler, Les Invalides (Army Museum), the Louvre, Ile de la Cite (where Notre-Dame is located), Ile St. Louis, and finishing at the Place de la Bastille. We hopped off at the Place de la Bastille where the 52m-high Colonne de Juillet is now located in the centre of a crazy busy, barely marked, multi vehicular, use at your own risk round about. The round about is attraction enough as we all stood back and watched the trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles scurry and weave their way around the round about.

Next we were off for lunch. Once again, Rick Steves came through for us and suggested that we eat at the cafeteria style eatery in a major department store. Located 5 sets of escalators up, we not only enjoyed a delicious lunch but a fantastic view of the city and some scrumptious ice cream!

Our next stop the Louvre. Although we are saving visiting the Louvre for Anne-Marie and Sage's visit, we were still impressed to walk around the outside of the buildings where we took some pictures with the Grande Pyramide. Continuing on we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries and stopped to enjoy a cup of coffee as we sat beside one of the many ponds and fountains. Continuing along we walked up the Champs-Elysees where the sidewalks were packed with people and the streets lined with high end stores. The Champs-Elysees led us directly to the Arc de Triomphe. It was really difficult and a little disconcerting to think about Hitler walking up this exact same road, heading to this exact same monument about 70 years ago. The arc is quite and impressive structure. We walked under the round about that surrounds the arc and were able to stand under the arc and walk around it.

Arc de Triomphe

It was time for a bit of a rest so we headed back to the hotel, picking up a crepe on the way. Our goal for the evening was to head back to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. On top of the lights, every hour, for five minutes, there is a twinkling light display. We were there just before 10pm, when it is still actually a bit light out, and toasted the Eiffel Tower, Paris, and our wonderful adventures as the twinkle lights sparkled.

July 11

Unbelievably, Sharon part of our adventures had come to an end. Today was the day that she was heading home. Sharon hopped in a taxi at about 10am with lots of hugs and kisses and wishes for safe travels. Our little group was down to 5 people.

So, continuing on our journey, we took the metro to a northern part of Paris called Montmartre. My Lonely Planet book had a mini tour around Montmartre for us to follow. Our metro station as one of the deepest stations in Paris with the multitude of flights of stairs to prove it. At the park, located at the exit of the metro station, is located Le Mur des je t'aime, The Wall of Love, and art installation where the phrase I love you is written in many different languages. This is one of the many different art installations, commissioned or rouge, that we saw around this part of the city. The tour had us walk past two windmills - Moulin Radet and the hidden Moulin Blute Fn. Moulin Radet dates from 1717 and was used to ground flour and is now the location of a restaurant. The streets of Montmartre are very hilly and rather steep at times. The buildings are very beautiful. At the top of one of the hills, a busy tourist section, film crews were ushering people out of the area as they completed a 15 second take. This area was so packed with tourists as it was extremely close to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. We pushed through the crowds and headed to the church. The grounds of Sacre-Coeur gave a very impressive view over the city of Paris. We hopped on a finicular to head down the hill and back to the metro. Our stop let us off close to Pont Neuf where we found a charming crepe maker who made us some delicious crepes. He encouraged our use of the French language. We ate the crepes at the base of Pont Neuf, looking over the Seine.

A short walk further got us to Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris. The line to get in was impressively long and so we simply wandered around the cathedral and took in some of the points of interest courtesy of Rick Steves. Behind the cathedral is a lovely and peaceful garden where we sat and enjoyed some shade for a while.

Our group of 5 quickly turned back in to a group of 6 as we met up with Tim at the Pantheon. Originally a church it is now a mausoleum to some of France's greatest thinkers - Voltaire, Rousseau, and Hugo. We also saw the resting place of Marie Currie. Most resently, some Resistance fighters have been interred here. At the centre of the dome hangs a 67m long wire with a sphere at the end of it. The pendulum swings and displays the time. Foucault's pendulum was used as a experiement to prove that the earth rotates. I was completely fascinated by this. I still don't fully understand it all but I feel like my brain is on the verge of comprehension. I'll get there.

We walked through Luxembourg Gardens, where we saw kids racing mini sailboats on a large pond, on the way back toward our hotel so that we could rest up for the evening ahead!


Today was the day that we had planned the Fat Tire Bike Tour. Our tour began at 6:30 and was planned for about 4 hours. This tour was so much fun. I would highly recommend this company to everyone travelling in Paris. We all loved it so much (even the reluctant Abby enjoyed herself in the end) that we are planning on looking into the tour while we are in London later this month.

The tour company fitted us with the proper sized bikes, my bike was named "Effiel in Love", a recess duty vest, and we all chose to wear a helmet. We met up with our Irish tour guide, Ted, who explained the tour and gave us some safety instructions also. We would either travel single file, two by two, or by a swarm that we would use to our advantage to dominate the intersections that we cycled through.

A few times throughout the evening, Ted told us that he had a Master's Degree in French history. I guess he was pretty proud of that. We bike through the Latin Quarter and over to the Île de la Cité, along the river and enjoyed salted caramel ice cream at Berthillon (the most famous ice cream shop in Paris). We cycled around Notre Dame and Ted stopped us and told us some interesting information and facts about the cathedra. We cycled to the Louvre and finally headed to a boat cruise on the Siene. Ted poured the wine and we all enjoyed the views from the boat, espcially the Eiffel Tower, once again lit up for the night. I don't think that I could ever get tired of seeing that sight.

Cycling through the busy streets of Paris was a real adventure, especially after we had enjoyed the wine on the boat tour. I saw Kim cut off a couple of pedestrians which got me started laughing until tears were streaming, which is also another hinderance to cycling, at night, on the busy streets of Paris. The tour ended back where we had started. It was truly a fun adventure that kept us all smiling and laughing.

 The Eiffel Tower

July 12

We purchased our tickets to Versailles prior to arriving there, on the advise of Rick Steves! This was an early morning start after our late night bike tour. We left our luggage in the lock up at the hotel, got some coffee and Pain au Chocolat and caught the train to Versailles. This was about a half hour journey. The station is a short walk to Chateau de Versailles. We arrived about 10 minutes prior to open and lined up with our tickets in hand. Shortly after arriving we were in. The chateau around the tour is set up in a very organized way and we were provided with Audio Guides. Obviously, Versailles is stunning. The Chapel, the Hall of Mirrors, the symmetrical gardens are all so very impressive. Louis XIV transformed his father's hunting lodge into the Chateau de Versailles in the mid 17th Century. It was in use from 1682 until 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. At its peak, it took 10 000 people to run Versailles. After our audio guide took us through the palace, we ventured out to the sprawling gardens. We walked and walked. The entire property covers 900 hectares. We also visited The Estate of Trianon, sort of a cottage away from the court life of the palace, and The Queen's Hamlet, a mini village built to reflect a rustic countryside, which was mainly used by Marie Antoinette as a play place. By the time we were finished visiting the playful goats at the hamlet, we were all ready to head back. So, we caught a city bus to the train station and headed back to Paris to collect our luggage. A couple of metro rides later we were at Gare du Nord and hopping on our train back to Lille.

Versailles

Exhausted after our busy few days in Paris, we all crashed in the apartment.