Paris - Day 1
Holy Hell! I remembered what LiveJournal was! Sadly, I admit that I haven't been on LJ in months as it's just been too difficult to find the time. And sadly, I've been too busy precisely because there would have been so much to talk about. So, I've deprived my friends and my posterity (not my posterior) from knowing what I've been up to. Unless you follow me on Facebook, of course, and then you get what I've been up to digested into small chunks, most of which are bitch sessions about the house or contractors.
So! I'm in Paris. Dorie and I are spending the weekend here before I move on to a conference in Brussels and some business meetings in Dusseldorf and Luxembourg. She will be "around" this week, probably shadowing my trip, but doing her own thing during the days (and this way we save on hotels), but if she wanted to spend a night in Amsterdam or something I wouldn't be opposed. Just so long as she gets back together with me in time for Paris again next Saturday and our flight home.
About the first thing that happened when we arrived in Paris was that I lost my ATM card. I was using the ticket machine to purchase a train from the airport to the city and the card fell out of my hand as I was pulling it out of my wallet, it bounded off of my shoe, and managed to disappear UNDER the ticket machine. We worked with a security guy (and a ruler) to try and poke it out from under the machine, but the gap was insanely small and we just couldn't find it. (It's amazing that it managed to go so deep actually. We couldn't even see it under there.) Fortunately, we had taken some cash out at an ATM already and Dorie has a card that can draw funds from my account, but it means that my only credit card on this trip is an overworked American Express, which isn't accepted in many places. That may make things interesting down the line.
Beyond that, we successfully made it out of the airport (on the RER train) and into the city. Our hotel is a very charming place right near the Louvre. It's more like a B&B in some ways - it's small, the room keys are real keys and if you don't forget to lock your door they won't lock, etc. Breakfast is NOT free, which is sad, but a good excuse to explore cafes nearby. The bathroom is actually huge, almost as large as the bedroom, with a really nice shower. I was expecting a bidet, but maybe that is just old fashioned. (I've never seen one except at a hotel in Korea that catered to European tourists.) The elevator here is the most amazing thing - BARELY room for two people, let alone luggage, it reminds me of an upright coffin with a plush interior. Dorie keeps wanting to take it, but maybe we would be safer on the stairs...
The Louvre was the first stop and man, is it amazing. The glass pyramid outside leads down into a submerged courtyard from which you can get to either the main building or the two wings. (The museum is set up like a HUGE capital "U".) We only visited one of the wings, the one with the European painters and Greek and Roman sculpture in pursuit of just two of the Lourve's treasures: the Mona Lisa and the statue of Venus de Milo. (Neither of which, I was to discover, are actually called what we think they are called.) All I can say is that the Lourve blinds you with spectacle, room after room, insanely long hallways, dazzled with thousands and thousands of paintings, statues, frescos, and more. A few more Parthenon stones were here (but not surrounded by the controversy of the stones in London?). If I have one complaint, it was all too much. The art wasn't arranged in any way that I could understand a progression, the exhibits seemed more inclined to show off works instantly recognizable to a master without providing any insight into the novice as to why this work was part of the display. At times, it seemed to aim for completeness rather than quality (but everything there was a masterwork, so maybe this is too harsh.) And with most of the plaques and information in French only (when there was any explanation at all, which was rare), I left having learned nothing I didn't come in with. And that is a real shame.
After the Lourve was a nap at the hotel and then out again to find dinner. (We ate breakfast at a brassierie, which I thought meant "brewery" - because it probably used to - but now means little cafe.) We went to a crepe place recommended by one of my coworkers and it was fine - Dorie had the best crepe of her life while I was less than thrilled by mine. (The cheese was too sharp and so it drowned out the taste of everything else.) We'll try again for dessert crepes when we can.
Finally, after having a very long walk around district 7 and the Seine and the Champs du Mars (?), we made it to the Eiffle Tower where we proceeded to stand in line to buy a ticket (more than an hour), stand in line to enter the tower, stand in line to go to the top, and then stand in line to come back down again. It was cold as heck and I'm glad that I brought a coat but it really was an amazing experience. The views are gorgeous of Paris, the tower is really one in a million (the Tokyo Tower, while almost identical, can't hold a candle to the real thing), and we met some nice people at the top. Despite taking nearly forever to get in and out, it was a great experience. We walked back to the hotel via the north bank of the Seine and ended the day. It seems we didn't see much, but we really took our time with walking trips and other things.
Today is another day!
So! I'm in Paris. Dorie and I are spending the weekend here before I move on to a conference in Brussels and some business meetings in Dusseldorf and Luxembourg. She will be "around" this week, probably shadowing my trip, but doing her own thing during the days (and this way we save on hotels), but if she wanted to spend a night in Amsterdam or something I wouldn't be opposed. Just so long as she gets back together with me in time for Paris again next Saturday and our flight home.
About the first thing that happened when we arrived in Paris was that I lost my ATM card. I was using the ticket machine to purchase a train from the airport to the city and the card fell out of my hand as I was pulling it out of my wallet, it bounded off of my shoe, and managed to disappear UNDER the ticket machine. We worked with a security guy (and a ruler) to try and poke it out from under the machine, but the gap was insanely small and we just couldn't find it. (It's amazing that it managed to go so deep actually. We couldn't even see it under there.) Fortunately, we had taken some cash out at an ATM already and Dorie has a card that can draw funds from my account, but it means that my only credit card on this trip is an overworked American Express, which isn't accepted in many places. That may make things interesting down the line.
Beyond that, we successfully made it out of the airport (on the RER train) and into the city. Our hotel is a very charming place right near the Louvre. It's more like a B&B in some ways - it's small, the room keys are real keys and if you don't forget to lock your door they won't lock, etc. Breakfast is NOT free, which is sad, but a good excuse to explore cafes nearby. The bathroom is actually huge, almost as large as the bedroom, with a really nice shower. I was expecting a bidet, but maybe that is just old fashioned. (I've never seen one except at a hotel in Korea that catered to European tourists.) The elevator here is the most amazing thing - BARELY room for two people, let alone luggage, it reminds me of an upright coffin with a plush interior. Dorie keeps wanting to take it, but maybe we would be safer on the stairs...
The Louvre was the first stop and man, is it amazing. The glass pyramid outside leads down into a submerged courtyard from which you can get to either the main building or the two wings. (The museum is set up like a HUGE capital "U".) We only visited one of the wings, the one with the European painters and Greek and Roman sculpture in pursuit of just two of the Lourve's treasures: the Mona Lisa and the statue of Venus de Milo. (Neither of which, I was to discover, are actually called what we think they are called.) All I can say is that the Lourve blinds you with spectacle, room after room, insanely long hallways, dazzled with thousands and thousands of paintings, statues, frescos, and more. A few more Parthenon stones were here (but not surrounded by the controversy of the stones in London?). If I have one complaint, it was all too much. The art wasn't arranged in any way that I could understand a progression, the exhibits seemed more inclined to show off works instantly recognizable to a master without providing any insight into the novice as to why this work was part of the display. At times, it seemed to aim for completeness rather than quality (but everything there was a masterwork, so maybe this is too harsh.) And with most of the plaques and information in French only (when there was any explanation at all, which was rare), I left having learned nothing I didn't come in with. And that is a real shame.
After the Lourve was a nap at the hotel and then out again to find dinner. (We ate breakfast at a brassierie, which I thought meant "brewery" - because it probably used to - but now means little cafe.) We went to a crepe place recommended by one of my coworkers and it was fine - Dorie had the best crepe of her life while I was less than thrilled by mine. (The cheese was too sharp and so it drowned out the taste of everything else.) We'll try again for dessert crepes when we can.
Finally, after having a very long walk around district 7 and the Seine and the Champs du Mars (?), we made it to the Eiffle Tower where we proceeded to stand in line to buy a ticket (more than an hour), stand in line to enter the tower, stand in line to go to the top, and then stand in line to come back down again. It was cold as heck and I'm glad that I brought a coat but it really was an amazing experience. The views are gorgeous of Paris, the tower is really one in a million (the Tokyo Tower, while almost identical, can't hold a candle to the real thing), and we met some nice people at the top. Despite taking nearly forever to get in and out, it was a great experience. We walked back to the hotel via the north bank of the Seine and ended the day. It seems we didn't see much, but we really took our time with walking trips and other things.
Today is another day!