Paris, Day One

Wait, what, I'm in Paris...? What if this is a big mistake? Why did I decide to do this on my own? Why doesn't it feel like Paris? Is that person looking at my bags? Okay I'm in Paris... somebody pinch me? But what's that gross smell? Oh god, I can't read a word of French. Showerrrrr.

After our super exhausting 24 hour plane ride, I'm about ready to burst into tears at the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. However, with a firm grip on all our bags, we make it to our hotel and collapse on the bed. Our hotel is in Montparnasse, which is a pretty quiet area. By the time we shower (the bathroom is tiny), the stomach starts hollering, so we leave to find our first Parisian dinner. This we find at a little creperie, not very far from our hotel. Our waitress is very patient (and vegetarian!), and helps us understand the menu. My galette contains a strange mixture of goats cheese, lettuce, walnuts, tomatoes and. . . honey! It is very odd, but in a good way (and cheap). Courtesy of an Indian chef, no less.

Giddy with food coma, we walk back to the hotel and I promptly fall asleep. Libby is jetlagged, poor thing!

p.s.: I've this little obsession with checking out grocery stores in new cities I visit. I'd searched up Monoprix, and went to a few different ones while in Paris. It's kind of like Countdown in New Zealand, except the Champs-Élysées one also sold clothes.

Paris, Day Two

"Libby, I think we're lost, I can't see it anywhere,"

Then, Libby points in the one direction I'd somehow missed. I turn around, gasp and curse my map-reading skills (which are generally pretty good, okay?).

And there it is. Tour de Eiffel. Looking magnificent in the morning light. We abandon our maps and make a beeline in its direction. We have already bought tickets (1st and 2nd floors only), so we don't have to wait in line. Huzzah Libby for thinking ahead! It's a sunny day, and I spot Arc du Triomphe, Sacré-Cœur, Montparnasse Tower and Notre Dame, amongst other things. Thanks to the zoom on my camera, I spy on a roadworkers meeting in a nearby park. I buy a few postcards, and sit writing and eating a delicious mozzarella-tomato-pesto panini. Who said it's difficult to find vegetarian food in Europe? Not only am I spoilt for choice, but the food here has been some of the most delicious* I've had.

There is lots more of Paris to see, so reluctantly we make our way down the Tower. I'd heard of the so-called scams that happen in Paris, especially around the Eiffel Tower, and keep a vigilant eye out. A few of the hawkers try to get us to buy miniature Eiffel Towers, but subside after a firm "non, merci." The rest of the day passes without incident.

We take a metro to Arc du Triomphe, and then walk down Champs-Élysées. The craziest piece of clothing I spot is a python skin jacket. Shopping in Europe is great . . . for people with lots of monies. Still, I get a few things because Champs-Élysées! And... I know this topic has been chewed over, but man, those Parisians! So classy. Just looking at them makes me want to dress better.

After what feels like a very long day, Libby and I metro back to Montparnasse, and have yet another delicious* dinner - this time, Italian. Ah, but that Pomodoro Arrabiata is good.


*I feel like I'm going to abuse the word 'delicious'. . . but, you know, Europe.

Paris, Day Three

Our third day in Paris is a Saturday. The friendly guard at the metro station asks me if I'm 25 or under, because it means that I can get a cheap day pass for the metro. Win! Why don't they have such discounts in New Zealand? Hmph. At the metro station, Libby and I print a photo at the Photomaton – one of my must-do's of Paris, ever since I've seen Amélie. I wear a striped tee and red lipstick. So very French of me ;-)

Anyway, this particular Saturday starts off how I wish all my days started – with a discount (as mentioned earlier) and a Nutella crêpa. 4 Euros from a quirky street side vendor – who wouldn't let me take a photo of it till he'd prepared it properly – it has a generous heaping of Nutella, and is very hot. We were supposed to go to Versailles, but since both Libby and I are tired from the day before, we wander around to Printemps, an upscale shopping mall.

Printemps has a free accessible terrace, and the views of Paris are, well, grey. Most of the old Parisian buildings have grey rooftops, plus the sky has clouded over. I don't care. It's Paris, it's beautiful, and I'm snap happy.

Later, we get the metro and walk over to the Notre Dame, which is actually located on an island. The walk there is very calming, and we sit under some trees overlooking the Seine River and devouring the macarons that I purchased at Ladurée.

Notre Dame is enormous, but the line to go inside stretches half a kilometre. Non, merci. Libby and I take a few selfies, and bus back to the hotel, where our Topdeck family has started arriving. We say hello to a few people, and wait for dinner, which is provided by Topdeck. It is mediocre Italian food, but the meat eaters (hah) get to try snail. Libby says it tastes chewy and garlicky.

After dinner, it is time to go on our night tour of Paris, and we hop on to the coach. Our tour guide, Marta, tells us about the places we're passing. We stop at the Eiffel Tower, to see it lit up. I can't get enough of the view, but we are on a schedule now, Libby reminds me as we run back to our coach.

Paris, Day Four

Ancient porn is now art.   
                                         – Libby's accurate description of the grand artworks at the Louvre.

This is our last day in Paris (sob). It is a free day as far as our tour is concerned, so after a breakfast that may or may not have consisted of a considerable quantity of crepes, croissants and cakes, we metro to the Louvre.

The trick is to get there early, and use one of the side entrances. The line is not very long, and once inside, we follow the map straight to see our friend Mona. It's sad, but I take one photo and one selfie before I'm shoved out of the way. Oh well. After this disappointing affair, Libby and I pick an area of interest each to see at the Louvre. Libby picks sculptures, and I pick Egyptian. It is so odd, I am a graphic designer, but art history bores me like nothing else. I try to give the museum my best shot, but the amount of people, the amount of walking, my broken audio guide . . . it's just insane, and neither of us enjoys the museum. It is time to leave.

It has started raining by this time, and I haven't got a jacket, an umbrella, or a rain coat on me. I need not have worried, however, because as soon as it starts raining, hawkers selling umbrellas pop out of nowhere. We take a few photos outside the Louvre, and then metro to Champs-Élysées.

Now it's raining even harder, and we walk the entirety of the avenue as quickly as we can. The plan is to warm up inside Galaries Lafayette, but . . . it is Sunday, and we find out that Galaries is closed. Wop wop. We metro around and end up behind the Notre Dame.

It is drizzling now, and I am outside this gorgeous building covered in wisteria, on this little cobbled street in Paris. And then the bells at the Notre Dame start ringing. I have a moment. One of those unexplainable, beautiful moments that make you want to weep. I don't want to leave this city.

But leave we must, as we're supposed to meet our tour group at the Eiffel Tower for a picnic. Then, we happen to go across the front of the Notre Dame with a negligible entry line. Hallelujah! Goodbye picnic, hello Notre Dame! I feel very small inside the huge cathedral, and it smells of incense. People light candles and pray. There is a Sunday service on, and a smiling elderly chap with missing teeth comes to shake my hand after the service.

Later that evening, we walk along the Seine and find Shakespeare and Co., a well known bookshop. It's a quirky place, but we are not allowed to take photographs. Inside the bookshop, it is cramped, but cosy. Upstairs, there's a little nook with a typewriter, where people have left all sorts of sweet notes. There's also a little area for the Book Club. In another alcove, a father is reading a book to his child. Someone starts playing the piano. Gosh, I can spend hours here.

Outside, there's an alleyway that we see a few restaurants in, so we follow it but I'm not hungry and Libby ends up getting McDonalds (oh, the blasphemy!). We rush back to our hotel as it's getting dark, and pack our suitcases as we watch The Amazing Spiderman in French.

The whole day, we explore without a map, following our instincts and letting the streets of Paris lead us around. We are not disappointed.