Okay I can finally upload photos! Check out my last entry and you'll see photos of my trip.
Paris is awesome, It is such a romantic, beautiful place and has
great food! Because blogging is so hard in this country I'm going to
write one massive blog about my time.
So on my first day I planned to hire a bicycle to check out the city but I ended up sleeping in and decided to walk instead. I'm glad I did because I saw some beautiful sights and even though Paris is set up really well for cyclists it is still dangerous on the road. French drivers are mad!
I missed breakfast that day but it was okay because I wasn't that hungry due to my cold, Once I saw a cafe with someone inside it that didn't look intimidating I went in and meet what I thought was an attractive French man, he reminded me of Russell Crowe, but it turns out he was from the netherlands! He was very nice if a little brusque and keep correcting me on my grammer. I enjoyed an excellent cappucino and then started to wander again.
I ended up at the Notre Dame! It was such a sunny, happy day and everyone was out taking it in.
After I ate I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower and the streets I chose all seemed to have high end brands like Chanel and Prada, It was fate, Paris knew I love fashion. :)
Once I got to the Eiffel Tower the weather was really warm so I decided to go to the Summit to see Paris, I was told to queue in the stairs line because it was shorter and I'm glad I did because the line for the Elevator was massive, pretty much triple the stairs only line. It wasn't even that difficult to climb, I was really tired and had sore legs but I managed it quite easily. Even if It was hard the view was sooooo worth it, check out these photos
On my way back I got hit on by a french guy and it got creepy pretty quickly, when he realised I was not going to go with him and be, as he put it "crazy", He held my hands and wouldn't let them go as well as pointing at my boob with his finger like he was going to touch my chest. Bizarre.
When he left me, I headed back to the hostel for a good nights sleep.
I decided to check out the Louvre because the weather was yucky and it was definitly a day for being inside. First I started off the day with a yummy lunch and went to a cafe down the road from the hostel, I ordered a Chocolat chaud and a slice of quiche and when the waitress came over to hand it to me I dropped my pen so when I picked it up I hit my head on the tray which then spilt some of the drink! It was such a waste because it was the most delicious drink I've ever had.
The Louvre was really good, I'm surprised because I usually don't like art. I did wish a friend was with me who studied Art History like Laura or Tess because I wanted to know more about a lot of the paintings.
I learnt lots about how Leonardo painted and his methods, things that are probably obvious to others but I had never really put any thought into. For example I learnt he would draw "cartoons" of his artwork before painting them, with the Saint Anne painting he drew three editions before deciding on the final one, he also would draw over and over one specific part of the painting like an arm or a foot to get it just right. He was an amazing artist.
The main reason for my visit was to see the Mona Lisa and it was probably the main reason for a lot of people. They had this glass case surrounding the painting, a roped off part about 1.5 metres around the glass and two guards making sure people didn't get too close!
On my way back I meet a more gentlemanly French man who asked me in french directions but I couldn't answer and he was kind enough to say I looked like a french woman. :)
Something random I noticed was on the bridges they had locks with peoples names on them, I'm not sure what its about but it was quite interesting.
Day three was the day for shopping because it was Saturday, also I didn't know it at the time but most shops are closed on Sunday so if you ever go to Paris don't expect to shop on a Sunday!
I wanted to check out one of the Marche aux Puces and the Père Lachaise Cemetary, The easiest way was to get the Metro and I have to admit I was avoiding using it, But once I got down there I saw how easy it was and really made the most of it. I went to the Marches aux Puces de Montreuil which was supposed to be more focused on bric-a-brac, antiques and Vintage clothing.
There was so much random crap mixed in with cheap chinese clothing and hardware products, but if you really looked there were some good items also. I've had a bad experience with markets in London so I didn't buy anything except a cheap necklace and bracelet (But, the necklace broke later that night!)
Once I was at the end I wandered up the road and found a mall so I thought I would check it out. Inside they had a McDonalds so I thought I'd see what they sold and it was so much nicer than in New Zealand, especially the McCafe!
In the late afternoon I went back to the hostel and had a power nap, One of the other roomies wanted to go out for dinner and have a proper french meal so we decided to go together. She is Korean and didn't speak much french and because I knew a little I think she was happy to go with me.
My Appetizer was a Tarte au Tartin and It was delicious!
For my main meal I has a fish dish with a green curry sauce but I think it tasted more indian than french. It was good anyways!
So on my first day I planned to hire a bicycle to check out the city but I ended up sleeping in and decided to walk instead. I'm glad I did because I saw some beautiful sights and even though Paris is set up really well for cyclists it is still dangerous on the road. French drivers are mad!
I missed breakfast that day but it was okay because I wasn't that hungry due to my cold, Once I saw a cafe with someone inside it that didn't look intimidating I went in and meet what I thought was an attractive French man, he reminded me of Russell Crowe, but it turns out he was from the netherlands! He was very nice if a little brusque and keep correcting me on my grammer. I enjoyed an excellent cappucino and then started to wander again.
I ended up at the Notre Dame! It was such a sunny, happy day and everyone was out taking it in.
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| It doesn't look sunny but it was! |
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| My yummy lunch! |
After I ate I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower and the streets I chose all seemed to have high end brands like Chanel and Prada, It was fate, Paris knew I love fashion. :)
Once I got to the Eiffel Tower the weather was really warm so I decided to go to the Summit to see Paris, I was told to queue in the stairs line because it was shorter and I'm glad I did because the line for the Elevator was massive, pretty much triple the stairs only line. It wasn't even that difficult to climb, I was really tired and had sore legs but I managed it quite easily. Even if It was hard the view was sooooo worth it, check out these photos
After that it was all downhill.... Haha, get it? No aside from that weak joke it was a nice descent and I really enjoyed my walk back to the hostel, heres a lovely photo
On my way back I got hit on by a french guy and it got creepy pretty quickly, when he realised I was not going to go with him and be, as he put it "crazy", He held my hands and wouldn't let them go as well as pointing at my boob with his finger like he was going to touch my chest. Bizarre.
When he left me, I headed back to the hostel for a good nights sleep.
Day two
I decided to check out the Louvre because the weather was yucky and it was definitly a day for being inside. First I started off the day with a yummy lunch and went to a cafe down the road from the hostel, I ordered a Chocolat chaud and a slice of quiche and when the waitress came over to hand it to me I dropped my pen so when I picked it up I hit my head on the tray which then spilt some of the drink! It was such a waste because it was the most delicious drink I've ever had.
 |
| The quiche was also delicious and had this large piece of cheese baked into the top |
The Louvre was really good, I'm surprised because I usually don't like art. I did wish a friend was with me who studied Art History like Laura or Tess because I wanted to know more about a lot of the paintings.
 | |||||
| An exhibition of Leonardo de Vinci's work, specifically Saint Anne |
I learnt lots about how Leonardo painted and his methods, things that are probably obvious to others but I had never really put any thought into. For example I learnt he would draw "cartoons" of his artwork before painting them, with the Saint Anne painting he drew three editions before deciding on the final one, he also would draw over and over one specific part of the painting like an arm or a foot to get it just right. He was an amazing artist.
The main reason for my visit was to see the Mona Lisa and it was probably the main reason for a lot of people. They had this glass case surrounding the painting, a roped off part about 1.5 metres around the glass and two guards making sure people didn't get too close!
On my way back I meet a more gentlemanly French man who asked me in french directions but I couldn't answer and he was kind enough to say I looked like a french woman. :)
Something random I noticed was on the bridges they had locks with peoples names on them, I'm not sure what its about but it was quite interesting.
Day 3
Day three was the day for shopping because it was Saturday, also I didn't know it at the time but most shops are closed on Sunday so if you ever go to Paris don't expect to shop on a Sunday!
I wanted to check out one of the Marche aux Puces and the Père Lachaise Cemetary, The easiest way was to get the Metro and I have to admit I was avoiding using it, But once I got down there I saw how easy it was and really made the most of it. I went to the Marches aux Puces de Montreuil which was supposed to be more focused on bric-a-brac, antiques and Vintage clothing.
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| Heres my outfit for the day, I ended up grabbing a cardigan and a scarf because it was quite cold. |
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| I've seen some cheap furs in france, but its too heavy for my baggage! |
There was so much random crap mixed in with cheap chinese clothing and hardware products, but if you really looked there were some good items also. I've had a bad experience with markets in London so I didn't buy anything except a cheap necklace and bracelet (But, the necklace broke later that night!)
Once I was at the end I wandered up the road and found a mall so I thought I would check it out. Inside they had a McDonalds so I thought I'd see what they sold and it was so much nicer than in New Zealand, especially the McCafe!
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| Yummmmmm! |
When I was finished looking around I decided to go to the Cemetary, I only really knew a few names on the list they had at the entrance so I wrote down the locations and took a photo of the map and went looking.
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| Eugene Delacroix (Painter) |
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| Oscar Wilde (Poet) |
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| Edith Piaf (Chanteuse) |
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| La Vie en Rose |
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| Jim Morrison (Musician), There were gates around his grave to stop vandals |
My Appetizer was a Tarte au Tartin and It was delicious!
For my main meal I has a fish dish with a green curry sauce but I think it tasted more indian than french. It was good anyways!
Day 4
As it was my final day in Paris I thought I would tick off a few more things from my list, I decided on walking down the Champs-élyseés toward the Arc de Triomphe. It was an excellent day with beautiful sunny weather and even though it was sunday, as I mentioned above in France they close shops on a sunday, everyone was out!
I then decided to take a few more photos of the hostel and have dinner at one of the other Hostels because you get a full three course meal for only $10.50. I really enjoyed my stay at the hostel and it was such a great location! I would definitely recommend it to others.
I will see you again Paris, I enjoyed every second!
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