Ah Paris

We arrived in Paris quite late at night, and still recovering from jet lag we went straight to the Hotel room and caught up on sleep.

We are staying in the north of the City - this is an area that has lots of cheap hotels... and not much else.  Our room is... well, it's not much, but it's in Paris, so that's probably good enough.  So far the TV has died, only one of four lights works, we don't have face cloths, and the wallpaper is being held in place by selllotape.

Still, it has a lovely little balcony overlooking rather lovely buildings.  It's close to the train stations which is also good, and the Wifi's good, so I can keep up to date in the evenings.

On Tuesday morning we wandered around town, and just got our bearings and a look around.  Down by the Seine, the city is everything that you'd expect it to be - truly beautiful.  Everything is built with a sense of grandeur - while New York is big, Paris is Grand.  Everywhere you turn you see another beautiful building or elegant monument.

We also went and had a look around inside the Notre Dame Cathedral - at nearly 850 years old, it really puts New Zealand history in context!  This is an old city, with lots of surprises to it!

Le Notre Dame

Day two we decided to dedicate to Le Louvre.  A converted palace made up of three huge wings, even giving ourselves the whole day was probably not enough:  You begin to develop museum fatigue after a few hours.  I'd suggest choosing a few galleries you want to go see and concentrate on those - if you feel fine afterwards you can continue wandering, otherwise come back another day if you want to see more.

After the Louvre we went back to the Hotel then went out to meet one of Nick's friends for drinks.  We met him at Canal St Martin (The same canal that appears in Amelie!) and sat and drank Piquante Pints before going to dinner in Belleville. C'est superb!

Yesterday, we got real touristy and did what everyone should do on their first visit to Paris - Le Tour Eiffel.  We took the metro there, so we came up from the station, turned the corner and there it was, straight out of the post card.  The massive steel structure that you see in every representation of Paris.

So of course we had to go up.  Unlike other monolithic structures that we've taken on which I've felt relatively secure on - the Empire state, the Sky Tower etc., you have to remember that this is essentially a steel exoskeleton of a building, so everything is open.  Thus going up to the top is a rather unnerving experience, especially as it gets thinner and thinner as you go up.

Still, kept it under control, and it was well worth it at the top.  The views out over the city are magnificent, and you can see all the structures that make Paris so special.

Back down, and happy to have my feet on the ground, we had a quick lunch then swung by the Hotel des Invalides.  This is Napoleon's tomb, but also has a fascinating collection of armory - swords, pistols and suits of armour.  Highly recommended.  The tomb itself is rather grandiose, but well worth a visit.

Then off to Musee D'Orsay.  This is a converted train station that's been turned into a museum filled with art and sculpture.  Well worth a look - the collection of van Goghs is amazing, as is the impressionist wing.

Then Nick and I weren't feeling well, so came home early and had a bit of a rest.  We went down to the local market for dinner and made baguettes with stinky cheese - very French!  I did all the ordering in French (with a little help from Nick) and got what I wanted, even better!

So, we are now chilling out before we head off.  Final thoughts for our rather whistle-stop tour of France.

This is a truly stunning city, especially down on the banks of the Seine.  The sheer grandeur of the buildings really shows you what can be done when you have an unlimited budget and history behind you.  You can spend hours just wandering through side streets and take a turn which leads you to another magnificent building or priceless sculpture.  Even the lesser streets have a very historic feeling to them - brick lined streets, old apartment buildings, very beautiful.

Although it is not a particularly clean city, especially away from the tourist areas.  Our boots both gathered quite the layer of dust, and smoking appears to be much more regular than anywhere else, even cigar smoking.  The difference between wealth and poverty is more noticeable than anywhere else I've been so far.

If you came with an unlimited budget, the shopping that could be done is overwhelming as well!  This has definitely been a highlight of the trip so far, and will definitely be somewhere we return before too long.

A bientot Paris, nous reviendrons.

Next stop, Belgium.  Will update blog next time I can get online.