Paris...part 3...I realized part two would have been too big!

This morning I packed my bags, being sure to leave out my rollerblades in case I could catch the slow derby outside the Bastille, and delivered all my items to my friends to keep for me until I returned that evening before heading back to London. We went for a walk around a little park, called “Place des Vosges,” and then my friend dropped me off at the market near the Bastille. I didn’t think I would find anything worth buying, but, I turned the corner, and there it was!!! THE PERFECT GIFT FOR MY FRIENDS AT HOME! I was soooo excited! I couldn’t imagine anything more “French!” I was so pleased with myself! I got several of them, finished walking the market, and decided I didn’t have enough, so I went back to get some more! Even my French friends felt it was the perfect gift to bring back to the US! :D YAY! I love it when the perfect thing just jumps out at you when you least expect it! Now that my hands were full, I decided to quickly head back to my friends’ apartment and drop off my gifts. Next, I was off to Basilique du Sacre Coeur.

I read in many travel guides that this is the best view of the city, and typically off the beaten path! EXACTLY my kind of thing! It was beautiful! I didn’t go inside, but the view from the hill and the edifice itself was amazing! There was some kind of event going on, because there were musicians, and street performers everywhere.

I was approached by an artist offering a caricature, and since I meant to get one and hadn’t yet, I agreed. I hope I’m as cute as he made me look! LOL :)


After the Basilique, I headed to Musee d’Orsay, I really intended to see it this time, but once I got there and saw the hour-long line, I decided again that I just didn’t care that much! (I KNOW! Yell at me later! Besides, whose trip was this anyway?) :) I hadn’t properly seen Champs ELysees, so I headed to Place de la Concorde and began to walk toward the Arc de Triomphe along the Champs ELysees.

Of course, the beautiful, tri-glass-domed building on the way distracted me, so I approached and purchased a ticket having ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what was inside! It just so happened to be a contemporary art exhibit! I was sooo fascinated! :) I love it when an unexpected stop turns into such a neat experience!

There was one exhibit I especially loved! The artist cut giant snowflakes out of one-inch thick, white poly-foam. A giant cube was made from what was left of the sheets, and a giant igloo, complete with snowman was erected from the individual snowflakes! It was sooooo fantastic! I sat there for many minutes simply mesmerized! Thinking how fun it would be to live in a house made of those! (Only me, right?)

(This one reminds me of a melted Chihuly! It's actually orange trash cans!)

(This was a giant, reflective, squishy ball)

(There it is in the distance to give you some perspective!)

(Here's another exhibit I enjoyed! It looks like rough, giant, plaster cylinders with shiny metal caps at both ends!)

(I love the doors in this building! They remind me of submarine doors!)

(I could totally live in this building!)

(Can you see how happy this building makes me?)

I'm so glad I decided to stop here!

I made my way up the Champs ELysees, taking many pictures of things that particularly amused me, while I ate ‘pistache’ icecream, found the Metro station, and headed back home. I had just enough time to enjoy a relaxing meal with my friends in their apartment before heading back to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar back to London. My last meal in Paris seemed like a truly Parisian meal! We had wine, a perfect baguette, three different cheeses, some fruit, and ended it with some fantastic chocolate mousse!

“Bonsoir, Au Revoir, Bon nuit!”

Paris 2 of 2 READ Paris 1 of 2 FIRST! :)

The days went much too fast! Here I am on the Eurostar trying to remember what I did the last two days! Ahhh…I think I remember! My friend recommended I check out the markets, since as he says, “That’s what Paris is all about!” He recommended two or three that I should visit that day, and said we would go out today with his wife to see the one nearby their home. The markets were amazing!

I went to one that was much too busy for my taste, and I can’t seem to remember what it was called, but the one I really enjoyed was The Mouffetard market. It was just small enough that it was only about 3-people wide versus 6-people wide. It was also down a cobble street in a hilly neighborhood. It reminded me so much of San Francisco, so I was able to gather some familiar comfort from that. I hadn’t had a sweet crepe yet, (I had one with mozzarella, tomato and chicken the night before) so, once again in my best French, I said, “Bonjour, parlez-vous anglais?” The gentleman told me he did speak English, but remarked that my French was very good, I told him I would prove him wrong by continuing, so I replied, “S’il vous plait, une crepe (laughed while I said ‘WITH’ because I didn’t know the French word) beurre and sucre.” He laughed along with me, and served me the most delicious crepe!

I walked around the market and found a beautiful fountain in the center to sit while I enjoyed the rest and decided what I would do next. There was an English tour of Notre Dame at 2:30p, so I managed to make it there in plenty of time to spare! The tour was fantastic, and I even got to display my recent knowledge when the tour guide was discussing the animals at the feet of the stone sculptures above the coffins. She noted the lion at the foot of a man, and asked what animal was at the foot of most women. I responded that it was a dog. I was actually waiting for a good time to ask her about that, because I had been curious myself, after seeing so many examples of this at Westminster Abbey. (It’s always fun to know an answer in that kind of situation!)

After the tour, I still needed to see The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower, so I decided I should head to the museums. I got to the Louvre 45 minutes before closing, and the line was about 45 minutes long.

So, I admired the lobby, and all the architecture and people around me, and decided to head for my friend’s street. (A good friend of mine had asked me to find the street with her name on it.) It was in the far Southwest of the city, but I enjoyed the ride there very much.

I took several pictures of any of the street signs I could find, and happily headed back to the Eiffel Tower.

I was completely overwhelmed by the crowds, and decided my main purpose was to see it…I didn’t necessarily need to go up it! (I KNOW, I KNOW! Go do it yourself then! I feel like I got the experience I was out for!) :) I took several pictures and decided to head home for the evening!

I had a wonderful, peaceful cruise on the Batobus from the Eiffell Tower to Jardin des Plantes, and a leisurely walk home. I checked in with my friends to confirm our plans for my last day in Paris, and I went to bed!

Paris 1 of 2 READ THIS FIRST!

My first night in Paris was incredible! I got myself to the London St. Pancras terminal to catch the EuroStar to Paris, without any problems. It took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to Paris, and since the sun doesn’t set here until after 9pm, it was still light the whole journey. In fact, it was barely dusk when I arrived in Paris.

(This was the view from outside the window of the French country-side)

When I got off the EuroStar, I began to panic! Luckily I had 30 pounds still in my pocket, so I traded them for Euros, and headed to the Metro. I looked ahead on my journey, so I knew I needed to take the Bastille ligne 1, 5, or 8. I saw a sign for the Bastille ligne 5, so I just kept following those same signs. Everywhere I looked, everything was in FRENCH! I was really beginning to panic, wondering what in the world I was doing, going to a country where I didn’t know the language AND was traveling ALONE! I finally found the Metro line I was supposed to take, and followed the route map to make certain I was headed the right direction! I was so relieved the closer we got to the Bastille exit. When I finally emerged from the underground station, I slowly walked up the steps, turning all around, and thinking to myself, “Well, this is Paris!” I walked around looking for a street sign that said Rue St. Antoine, I finally found one that said faubourg rue St. Antoine, so I followed it. I got to the address where I was supposed to be staying, but there was a nightclub there, not a hotel! In my best French, the French that I taught myself on the train ride just an hour or two earlier, I said, “Bon soir, parlez-vous anglais?” The gentleman I was speaking to replied, “No.” YIKES! He was standing in the building where my hotel should have been and I didn’t know how to ask him where I was!!! I showed him the paper with the address of the hotel, and he made a very dramatic point in the opposite direction. I gathered I had walked in the opposite direction, making my error similar to that in Phoenix of being on an avenue instead of a street. Ughhh! Not a fun mistake hauling a bunch of luggage at 9:30p. I briskly walked all the way back where I started, kept going around the circle where I popped up from, and finally found the correct Rue St. Antoine. Meanwhile, my friends that I was supposed to call when I arrived were horribly worried, and I was getting so frustrated, because I couldn’t figure out how to dial out in a new country with my U.K. phone. I finally arrived at the correct location around 10pm. I was soooo relieved! I checked in with my friends, and went to the hotel to unpack and CRASH!

I had an excellent night sleep, and the following morning, my good friend set me up with a brief tour of the neighborhood and helped me acquire transit passes for the duration of my stay. He said “Au Revoir,” to me at the Batobus station, and watched me sail down the Seine headed to the next stop.

(My first view of the Eiffel Tower from the Batobus.)

The Batobus stops at most of the tourist attractions, but since this was my first time, I decided to take it all the way around first. I started on the river at the Jardin des plantes stop, so that’s where I started my walking tour as well. I walked several blocks and decided to take a bus. I was on a mission to catch the 73 bus, since Samantha Brown from the travel channel, as well as some guide books, highly recommended that line for sight-seeing. A few blocks later I made a transfer to another bus that should have led me to the 73, but several blocks into the journey, I realized I was taking it in the opposite direction. I decided to stay on and take it all the way around, but at the end of the line, the driver made us all get off. So, I found another line, and eventually found myself at the 73. Once again though, I was taking it in the wrong direction!!! Usually I have a really good sense of direction, but can’t quite seem to get it here yet. The 73 ended up taking me all the way to the Northwest of Paris, and then back again through the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees and Place de la Concorde. I exited the bus at Musee d’Orsay, which was also on the Batobus route. The museum was closed already, but I took some pictures and headed to Notre Dame on the Batobus. Notre Dame was beautiful from the outside. There’s a tour in English tomorrow that I’m going to try to catch so that I can see the inside, otherwise, I had considered going to church there on Sunday, so I can see what it’s like in action.

(This was one of my favorite houseboats...there are tons of them that line The Seine.)

(Tee, hee! I absolutely loved finding this on one of the many times I got lost!)

After touring the Royal Pavilion, I had just enough time to take a quick stroll to the beach. Brighton Pier is very carnival-like, and seems very similar to the Santa Monica Pier in California. It was very cold and windy today, but that didn't stop me from getting as close to the water as possible. :) I did resist the urge to dip my feet in though! :( Maybe I'll get a chance to do that when I hunt for fossils on the beach at Lyme Regis the first weekend in June!

Here was the beach with my shoes in it for scale! Of course I snagged some beautiful, rounded rocks and shells to bring home as personal souvenirs. I wished I had more time to hunt for treasures!

The woman who took my picture assured me there was sand, but the tide was high at the time. I was in a hurry to get home after my lecture, so I didn't go back to check.

After class today I went on a solo trip to Brighton which is on the coast, an hour by train, directly South of London. I was interested in seeing the Royal Pavilion, and it just happened to be Garden Week there, with numerous activities, including a lecture from designer Andy Sturgeon on The Making of a Modern Garden. It was described as being a whirlwind tour of gardens from ancient Greeks to present day. It was so interesting, and I wrote down a ton of ideas I'd like to try when I get home! :)

The Royal Pavilion was breathtakingly beautiful inside and out! While I'm much more partial to the outside, the inside also had some amazing embellishments and furnishings! Feel free to check out their website to view the inside, as personal photos were not permitted.