Eiffel Tower, Notre Dam (minus a hunch back)

The Metro station we planned to get off at was closed so we had to go another stop further but it worked out well as we got to walk through one of the prettiest parts of Paris (I think) there were streets lined with trees that lead both to the Arc de triumph and the Louve. There was an Egyptian Obelisk that must have been plundered by the French at some point at the entrance to the park; I remember seeing one just like it (maybe a little smaller) on the bank of the Thames in London. The park is really nice and quite open, first impression of Paris is that it is a lot more spaced out and open than London the parks have walkways the size of roads going through them instead of the small paths that go through the parks in London. As we entered the park we were confronted by the first of many scam-artist baggers who will ask you "do you speak English" if you say yes they show you a postcard with a sob story about a father in hospital on it and ask for money. Em gave her 70c and she didn't seem pleased with the amount but we walked on making note to pretend not to speak English next time we were asked, we noticed later that these women work in gangs and target all the tourist attractions.

We pulled up a couple of the chairs that are scattered around the parks and chilled out in the shade for a little while and then headed in the direction of the louver. Got sidelined by a street "artist" who draw my character pretty badly and Em bartered him on the price down to 10Eu he claimed that he was drawing the portrait for free but he was pretty forceful that we should buy it when it was finished, oh well it will make an interesting souvenir.

We had a look at the Louver on the outside and checked prices etc, both of us were not up to a day looking at art so we decided to save it for later and go see more of the city. Off to Notre Dam we went, a decent hike but well worth it along the river across the famous --insert bridge name here-- and onto the island. Notre Dam is free and the most frequented attraction in Paris, 10s of millions of people go through it each year! We joined the queue an experience we have avoided mostly on this trip but one that we can avoid anymore. The queue looked huge but it moved really quickly and we were soon inside where we could check out the round stained glass windows that I have seen photos of before and wander around looking at the chandeliers, the organ and the carvings. As churches go it was nice but not the most impressive we have seen, but hey it's Notre Dam you can't not go there!

After this we moved on to the Eiffel Tower. The line up for this attraction was insane! We decided to not line up in the beating heat, but rather find a nice patch of grass under a tree and lie here for awhile. It was so lovely and relaxing! We spent quite a long time doing this, it was so refreshing and it was great to be able to people watch and take in the sounds, smells and workings of Paris. When we eventually thought we'd had enough we made a lazy move back towards the Metro station to catch the train back and chill out in the air conditioning of our hotel room!

written by  Chris and Emily on June 13, 2009 from Paris, France
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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