The French Connection

Tuesday morning we had to wake really early to get the trains to get us to Paris. We slept a bit on the 3 hour ride, but as always a bit hard on public transport. Arrived in Paris with excitement and gusto and ready to hit the town running. What we ran into were strikes that affected a lot of the public transport workers. There was no information centres open to help us find where we needed to go. What we did find tho was an amazing lady who helped to point us in the right way and make sense of the directions we did have. We acquired a map from a newsagent and decided that we could walk, backpacks and all, to our hostel.

The workers strike

the corner where our hostel was

The first part of our walk we were following the workers on strike and their march, which, was a loud and smoky one. For the last part it stated to rain on us. First time though!!! We made it to the hostel, had some lunch, worked out where everything was and decided to walk to the river to catch a boat to the Eiffel tower. Easy in theory, unless you’re me and think you’re walking down a different street to what you actually are and end up going in a different direction. So with a bit more walking, we finally ended up at the River Siene and caught a boat to the tower. Its so pretty along the river and there is so much to see. I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but I really love Autumn. Yes it’s a little colder, but if you have enough layers on you can forget about that (apart from your nose that’s always cold) and just admire how pretty the trees and their changing leaves are.

The sacre coure on the distance

Anyway, I ordered Pete to walk up the Tower, we couldn’t get the lift because that would be cheating. We waited in a queue for a bit only to be told that it was the queue for the lift and the way to walk up it was on the other side- the one with absolutely no queue at all! We walked over to the other side to be greeted by some of the rudest people on our trip yet, they were the security guards who were checking the bags. Apparently they were too busy talking to each other to explain what we needed to do or go. With French ethic aside, we took our time to walk up the tower, I didn’t remember how big it was from my last trip there, but as soon as I hit the stairwell I remembered there being a whole lot of steps. Alas, we had eaten too many sausages in Germany. The views were great and the wind was cold and there is a queue for the toilets and we got hot chocolate, with mine having more cream then liquid. We tried to wait for the sun to set but got too cold. So we walked down, which is just as hard as walking up because your legs get the shakes massively. Overall, we had good timing as when we got to the bottom they lit the tower up and put on sparkly lights and it looked so pretty and romantic.

The famous tower!!!

We found a metro station and went to buy tickets from the machine, but it only accepted card or coins. We only had notes and the lady and information couldn’t give us any coins and really couldn’t give a shit I think. So we had to walk to find a shop, then to another Metro station as we were too far from the last. As we walked we happened upon the Arc de Triomphe, the huge monument in the middle of the ridiculously big and busy roundabout. Just looking at driving around there is scary!! It was nice there tho and the lights were on and there was a metro!! Yay!!! So we finally got back to the hostel, cooked some diner and went to bed, a small room we share with 2 other females. Pete’s bed s squeaked every time he moved and he was on the top bunk!

The Arc de triumph

when is a hole not a hole?

the entrance of the louve

Wednesday morning found us going to the Louvre. We had finally sussed out how the Metro worked and were feeling pretty confident getting around, as well as making sure we had change for tickets! We had a little walk around the grounds, and Pete bought the best croissant ever from a little caravan.
We waited in the line for the Louve, and went in with all the other hundreds of people. There are people everywhere and it is HUGE. We were there for about 4 hours and I reckon we didn’t even see half of it. Its like a maze of steps and floors and rooms and no sense to it all, well, there probably is but I didn’t get it.

Some of the paintings were really amazing and even the louvre itself was a masterpiece- magnificent paintings on the ceiling and details around door and window frames. And yes, we saw the Mona Lisa, which, I have to say, is a bit over rated. Its not even very big and it had it’s own wall, covered in thick glass and had a barrier so you can’t get to too close. There was a large amount of people that were all pushing round each other to see it, taking their photos with it, but the funniest thing was the fact that all the other walls were covered in amazing paintings, but most people were focused on Mona. I really think it's funny that because people tell you something is the most amazing thing, people tend to follow it. Pete loved this huge beautiful painting which was on the opposite wall to the Mona Lisa, and I a painting of a lady (really terrible I didn't get the artist's names, which I should've).

The Hype of the Mona

There were so many people around the Mona Lisa and the crowds were really getting to us so we decided that we had seen enough. We left there and made our way home. By this time we had had a big couple of days and I had started to be a bit grumpy (just a little) and needed to have a rest. So I went to the hostel and chilled out while Pete went for another walk and ended up in a pub, where he met a french backpacker and stayed out drinking half the night. On coming home he woke me distraught that he had lost his jacket and wallet. Turns out he had just put them in his bag trying to be safe earlier on and then forgot.

The modern art museum

the best cake EVER

Thursday morning we were well rested and ready to go though Pete was a bit hungover and tired. We were going to the Basquiat exhibition, a abstract-expressionalist painter at the modern art gallery. On the way we stopped at a bakery to get some breakfast and the most amazing quiche type pastry which was rich and cheesy, followed by a little cake that had strawberries and cream and custard and sponge and was the most delectable thinkg we have ever eaten. No wonder we are putting on weight!!

a sneaky photo of Basquiats work

Pete is a big fan of Basquiat and loved the exhibition. I didn't know too much about him, and although I enjoyed it, I'm not particularly sold on his art. A bit too expressionalist for me! But Pete did manage to get told off at in French by a lady who had funnily enough pushed in the line to buy tickets, and because of her pushing in Pete thought it would be appropiate to stand in her way as she was trying to get out, thus having the stern words that we couldn't understand.

Pete having a beer with Jim

From there we went to see Jim Morrisons grave. The graveyard was in the middle of a residential area in the city and went up a hill and with beautiful old headstones and monuments. I think that people get buried on top of each other as there is no room to expand, and we saw that there would bo ine grave space with 2 to 3 different names on it. We found Jim, a small grave that is fenced off and we got some photos and Pete had a beer in his honour. By doing this he managed to get told off by an older man, in french again, we assume because your not allowed to drink there. So he was on a roll!
While we were there we checked out Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde's graves also. Oscars was a great big one with kisses in lipstick all over it, really something else.

our fancy cruise dinner

After getting back to the hostel Pete had a sleep (he was wrecked!). We had booked a champagne dinner cruise so made our way to the Eiffel tower and the boat. It was a bit fancy and our fanciest clothes aren't really. We got our seats, not even by a window, and ordered our champagne. I was pretty much drinking by myself, it was a bit tough going for Pete at the beginning. The food was also a bit fancy and not at all working for Pete too, I ate half his entree, he ate some of my main (the juiciest, tenderest steak I have had for ages) and I ate half his dessert. We had 2 hours on the boat, and didn't really see much apart from some lights, but were limited with the views. It was still a great night and we had champagne in Paris (as you should). After the cruise we went to a bar on the way home, ordered another bottle and had a great waiter who served us. We saw this huge cocktail go out to a table that had a firework coming out the top, and when we ordered our bottle the guy put one on top for us too! Pretty special.

our fireworks champagne

So we after there, went to another bar, drank whisky and made our way back to the hostel after that, with me quiet plastered. It was a late night to bed, and the next morning we had to pack our bags and leave for the eurostar to get to London. It was terrible! I think hang overs are best served when you don't have to carry your life on your back. On the way to the train we did decide to get some more of the quiche-thing and cake, except this time we didn't share the cake. When we got to the station we were going up the escalator and Pete was taking up the whole step and a lady couldn't pass him. When he did move over she stomped past him and was telling him off- in french!!! Pete really knows how to push their buttons!
So apart from offeneding everybody Pete was a big fan of Paris, as it was I: it was easy to get around, there is so much to look at and explore and it is a clean city. Sure, we paid about 18 euro (about $23 aus) for 2 beers at one bar, but we also only paid .65cents ($0.95aus) for 1.5 litre of Evian water. We did so much walking but enjoyed our adventures. Oh, and one of the ladies in our room was from Belgium and she did shows and all about women's liberation and standing up for women's rights. She had a bag and a jacket that she had made herself, covered in clitoris'! It was funny, but pretty cool what she was doing, but still funny.

The clitoris bag and jacket!!

So now we have a week in London to see friends and explore a bit more.
We need a holiday from our holiday tho-this is hard work sometimes!!
Hope your all well and thanks for your little messages, we love to hear from you P&R xxx

The French Connection

Paris, France