DAY 14 - Paris I

Tuesday, 3 May 2005

Wow! We're finally catching up with some of our blogging. Paris is pretty amazing city. The most amazing part of it may be the traffic in the city. There are often no lines painted on the roads to indicate individual lanes and traffic circles (roundabouts) are huge free for alls. It can be a little nerve racking to say the least. Al actually did a U-turn right in the middle of the Champs L'Elysee!

Car Mileage: 2000 miles @ Paris, France

The Paris subway system actually works pretty well. It's much more affordable than the London trains and somewhat cheaper than the German trains. There are a lot of subway musicians that people actually stop and listen to. It's kind of fun.

Al & I are staying at a hotel that is close to the Bastille subway stop. There is no more Bastille to speak of except a monument in the middle of a traffic circle. Getting back to traffic circles, one of the largest circles is around the Arc d'Triomphe. One of the most enjoyable things we did was hike to the top of that monument and look down at the traffic mayhem below us. It's hard to explain but it is very entertaining. We also went to the top of the Eiffel tower which was a little disappointing only in that you can't really get a good perspective of the city from up that high.

We had traditionally french food tonight, vichyssois (cold, milk & potato soup), foie gras (goose liver pate) and roasted chicken on couscous. Very cute local restaurant. Not my favorite type of food but we wanted to try the local fare. So far, the Parisians have been fairly friendly and not what we were led to expect. Almost all the restaurants have English-language menus or menus in multiple languages. One thing to be aware of is that ordering soft drinks in restaurants can be an expensive proposition – 10 US dollars for a large coke! That's all for now.

Notre Dame Cathedral/de Paris
We have lunch at Cafe Fouquets, an outdoor Parisian cafe and then head over to the Notre Dame Cathedral. This building is an excellent example of Gothic architecture. Once inside, there is an area where you can pay 2 euros to light a candle...we take one, light it, place it on the very top, and say a prayer for our cat Onyx. Wonderful stain-glass windows complements the interior of the cathedral.

Arch of Triumph/Arc d'Triomphe
We then head over to the Arc d'Triomphe. Since it is inside the Charles de Gaulle/Etoile circle you must go underground to get to it – way too dangerous to cross this circle that has 12 major boulevards feeding into it!
We make the climb – all 278 steps – and the view on top is spectacular. Since it is on one end of the famous Champs l'Elysee, you have a great view into the Tuleries Garden and the Louvre Museum. Bonus is looking down into the Charles de Gaulle/Etoile circle and watching the crazy drivers negotiate this thing.
When we drove it earlier in the day it was exilarating, yet scary. The problem is this – in the rest of France, the circle has the right of way. But in Paris, the roads coming in have the right of way. Add to this no yield signs, and no lane markings for a road that's wide enough to fit 10 lanes. Thus, chaos rules the day.

Eiffel Tower
We then head over to this world-famous icon. Since Locke was pooped from the Arc d'Triomphe climb and I wasn't feeling well, we opted for the elevator all the way to the top and back. You can climb to both the first and second levels (as I did many years back), but it'll take you a while. Once on top, the very best view of the Parisian skyline can be seen. What's interesting is that most European cities do not have tall skyscrapers like the US does. Frankfurt started this trend in the late 80s/early 90s and Paris started this in a district to the west of the main city. So it's very much like Washington DC -- most of the city proper is low with one exception (Washington Monument/Eiffel Tower) and a financial district with skyscrapers miles west of the city proper.

Anyway, back to the tower. While up there, a loud and obnoxious Russian woman is talking loudly on her cell phone then begins screaming at her daughter to come to her. All of us around her were so annoyed by her behavior that I don't think anyone would have mind if one of us chucked her over the side – just kidding! So, we're in line for the elevator down and realize she's just in front of us...we go to the other elevator just to get away! Then on the second floor, she's in front of us again! Fortunately, the elevator gets full and by a stroke of luck, she's the last one on – whew, the agony of having to listen to her in a closed confinement would have meant only one of us would be walking out of that elevator alive! Anyway, Locke and I chuckle about this person constantly... :)

Locke does the second handwash laundry...wow, we won't be complaining about doing laundry at home anymore, huh!

-- Al & Locke