RJ and I emerged from the Chunnel and immediately noticed we'd become sophisticated - like a
continental breakfast. I'd always been curious what it's be like to be urbane, and was glad to find that it suited me. I can only assume that the French police that checked our bags on the platform did so to see where we got our clothes.
We walked most of the city that first afternoon, from Montmartre (we were staying right near Sacre-Coeur) to the Concorde, along the Champs-Elysees to the Arc d'Triomphe and down to see the Eiffel Tower just in time for sunset. I accidentally led some German teens into traffic - I didn't know they were following me, or for that matter what I was doing in the first place. We all got out ok and I decided to use my "seeming French" powers for good from then on out.
It was around dinnertime that night that we realized we didn't know any French. The waiter at that first cafe didn't seem to approve of our lack of preparation, so we ended up at a kebab shop around the corner before crashing at the hostel.
The next day we managed to get into Notre-Dame before the lines got incredibly long. I said a Hail Mary and RJ and I tried to imagine someone living in there. It's cavernous, and the way it's built makes it apparent. At some points you can see through a wall (via a window or arch) in front of you, and then through several more behind:
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
Then onto the Louvre. Well worth it, although the mob scene at the Mona Lisa slightly overshadowed the painting itself. I knew it was small, but what I wasn't expecting was the overbearing presence of middle schoolers from Maryland.
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| The Mona Lisa |
This was also the day we got to go up on the Eiffel Tower. We walked up to the second level but didn't go all the way to the top. I managed a few good photos though:
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| The Top |
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| Neighbors |
In all we walked about 32 miles in under 3 days. Other highlights included Shakespeare & Co., The Bastille, talking about Queen Elizabeth's timeshare in Denver, and mussels. Here are the other good photos:
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| Moulin Rouge |
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| Try Riding a Mile in My Stroller |
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| CDG |
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| Do We Know Him? |
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| Champs-Elysees |
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| RJ |
