Well… I had a nice blog all written up from Paris. I was just getting ready to post but wanted to add a few pictures. Apparently that was a bad idea. Everything I had written went <poof!> Argh! I may have woken my hotel neighbors with my cursing. So, here’s another try without pics. Those will have to come later.
We arrived in Paris around 8:00 in the morning. Charles de Gaulle airport was an absolute breeze. We went from plane to customs to baggage claim to taxi in less than 30 minutes.
After dropping our bags off at the Mercure hotel in the “La Defense” neighborhood near the office, we hopped in the free shuttle bus to the subway. It was a little confusing trying to figure out which tickets to buy, but once we got on the subway, it was remarkably simple to figure out how to get from point A to point B.
First stop was the Eiffel tower. It was immediately viewable after stepping out of the subway passage. I excitedly grabbed my big ‘ol 35mm Nikon D60, turned it on, and nothing happened. Doh!!! Why do I do this??? I even had a spare battery… back at the hotel. Ah well, at least I had my subpar phone on my camera.
Since it had started to sprinkle, we declined paying to get to the top of the tower and opted for a stroll along the Seine. During our stroll, we came across the relatively new, Le carrousel de la Tour Eiffel, which is at least partially powered by pedaling the horses. Pretty odd. There was a little covered area near the carousel with two stationary bikes manned by two rather dour looking people. I couldn’t figure out if they were grouchy because they had unruly kids on the ride or if it was their job to sit there & pedal.
Next stop Notre Dame Cathedral. We got there just in time to hear the end of mass. The air was filled with incense, French priestly voices, and finally delightfully creepy organ music that reminded me of The Phantom of the Opera, but somehow reminded my boss of “(Domo Arigato) Mr Roboto” by Styx.
We hopped back on the subway (they seem to be located in the ideal location to the interest points to allow the shortest amount of walking), crossed our fingers that our tickets would still work, and headed for the Musee d’Orsay. I’ve heard and read that it’s a very cool museum set in a former train station. Unfortunately, the line was incredibly long, particularly since it had started turning from a sprinkle to a more substantial rain. Of course I had an umbrella… back at the hotel. I blame jet lag.
We decided to head back to the hotel & grab some lunch. Apparently though, no restaurants are open for lunch at 2:00 in the aftenoon on Sunday. Will have to find out if that is only a Sunday thing or proves true for all days. For our first meal in Paris, our options were… get this, Mc Donald’s or Subway. We reluctantly chose Subway.
Our hotel was very nice. Larger than most European hotels I’ve been in. The breakfast was much better than a standard hotel breakfast. Cappucino, pastries, eggs, bacon, sausage, an assortment of meats and cheeses and fruits and cereals, and did I mention pastries? They had a “grape pastry” that was the perfect mix of flaky, moist, and delicious.
By the way, my experience with the French people is that they’ve got a bad rap. The majority of people were quite helpful, some quite friendly and definitely not rude.
