Paris- the setting for many movies and TV shows, the home of famous artists and artworks, the location of many of the world's most recognisable landmarks. People talk and write about Paris as though it has some magical powers, where dreams come true and your life will be fulfilled. In reality, for me at least, it is just another city. It is however a very beautiful city and it was great to see all the landmarks.
We arrived in the mid morning on Friday and left early on Sunday, so we had 2 days and 2 nights to explore. We stayed at a Best Western near Opera, so we were quite near some major landmarks such as the Louvre, Lafayette and of course the opera house itself. To get an idea of how the city works, we bought a 2 day pass for the hop on hop off bus, there was a few to choose from but our hotel lobby sold tickets for Les Cars Rouges so we went with that. It was about 25 euro for the 2 day pass, but we used it many times so probably got value for our money. We first went on a ride around the whole circuit, it took about 2 hours and we got to see most of the major landmarks- Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dam etc. The second day we used the bus to get to the specific areas we wanted to spend more time at. It has varying reviews, and while I was not blown away by the experience and would probably not do it again I thought it was a good way for a Paris newbie to see the city on a short stay.
On Saturday morning we went looking for a bakery (boulangerie) to find some croissants and bread sticks. It was Easter Saturday so there was not alot open, but after a few minutes walking we found one and got some delicious fresh bread. After a quick stop off at a small supermarket (I think it was a Monoprix) we had all the jam, cheese, and snacks we needed for the day.
We spent Saturday (and I mean all of Saturday) at the Eiffel Tower. It is cliched, but I couldn't go to Paris and not go up the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, thousands of other people felt the same way, and with one of the 2 lifts being out of order, we had a four hour wait before we could go up. I never tjough you could get sick of the Eiffel Tower but after standing in the cold, wind and sometimes rain for that long, we were all pretty sick of it. Once we went up though, the past hours were forgotten as we realised we were actually doing the thing that is on the bucket list of so many people around the world.
On the way home we had a wander through the Galeries LaFayette, which was full of branc name and designer shops, out of price range but worth it to see the inside of the big domed glass ceiling. The food hall was pretty neat and we picked up some bits and pieces for dinner, which we ate on the steps of the Opera house. Not exactly a michelin rated restaurant, but it was nice to soak up the atmosphere of the city.
There was so much style in Paris- leather jackets, big sunglasses, guys sporting haircuts with shaved sides and long fringes. But the number of tourists definitely seemed to outnumber the locals. Everywhere you look are people with big cameras around their necks, maps or tourist books in hand, wandering the streets and flocking around the landmarks. Hopefully next time we go we'll be able to get a little bit off the main tourist track and see a different side of Paris.
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