Paris - The City of Love

Paris – The City of Love?

Well, not at first glance at least. Apparently all big metropolises around the world have dark seedy underbellies, and it seems we walked smack into the stomach of Paris. Having waited 2 hours at Charles de Gaulle International for our Air France bus into the city, we were dropped off a few blocks from the hotel and proceeded to drag our bags along the uneven cobbled streets of Bastille to our hotel – not after dragging them for half an hour in completely the wrong direction mind you. By the time the drizzle had turned into a downpour we had arrived outside our hotel, only to find two hooded youths beating the stuffing out of another, now de-hooded, youth on the pavement in front of the entrance. Awkward. We managed to sidestep the public violence and make our way into the Holiday Inn Bastille, squashing ourselves, our two bursting suitcases and our backpacks and two carry-on bags (yes, the one Gary snuck onto the flight) into one of the first lifts installed in Paris, complete with 1800s suspension. Needless to say our night greatly improved with a hearty bowl of steaming French Onion Soup straight from the oven.

We spent most of Friday hopping on and off the L’Open Bus Tour of Paris, which provided a comprehensive, albeit relatively superficial, overview of all the great sights Paris has to offer. It was wonderful showing Gary all the highlights of the city and besides for the hour and a half where we were the only two idiotsroof of the bus sitting in the rain (in extra small ponchos). Gary was really blow away by the scale of the city, the size of the buildings, statues and fountains and the pure grandeur of it all - Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, Hotel de Ville, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysee, the Louvre, the Opera. I absolutely loved seeing not only allthe incredible historical monuments but also the street café life and bustling Parisians, all so stylish with their touch of French flair – a turquoise scarf here, red lipstick there, a panama hat and cigar everywhere! Absolutely intoxicating.

To Be Continued ...