Sunday, 3.30.08
So Sunday was my first day exploring on my own. I had a loose schedule of things I wanted to see. As I'd get ready in the morning, I'd take a look at the list and check to see what was closed when.
At dinner the previous night, one of Matt's coworkers had suggested taking a bus tour, to see most of the sights and then make the decision on what you wanted to go back to. Being that it was overcast/rainy, I figured I'd try that on Sunday.
I used the borrow copy of The Eyewitness Travel Guide to Paris to find the better bus tour options. Once I located the one I wanted to use, I started my walk toward its location. After walking up and down the street it was located (according to the book) in the rain, I was about to give up, when I looked to my left and saw one of the buses coming toward me. I followed the street from where the bus came & eventually found the office.
It was approximately 11:35AM at this time - I went in and asked when the next tour would be.
"That was the 11:30 bus you just missed. The next tour is at 2:15." A little bit let down, I still purchased my ticket. I decided to head back out and explore for a few hours. Luckily, this bus tour company was a short jaunt from the Louvre, so I decided to spend some time in there.
Much to my surprise, there weren't long lines to enter. Once inside, there were longer lines for the ticket windows, but thank goodness for automatic ticket machines. I made my way to that, much shorter line. I had the ability to read the instructions in English & pay with my debit card, what an easy transaction.
It was roughly 12:15 at this point, so I decided I should get to all of the bigger things that everyone goes to see during their visit to the Louvre. I booked it to where the Mona Lisa was displayed (and even though I knew it was small, I was still a bit surprised at just how small it was) - and then walked around looking for the Venus de Milo & then the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It was probably around 1:00PM at this point (*note* I did not have a watch & my cellphone didn't work over there, so the only way for me to immediately know what time it was was to take a picture with my camera and then add the 7 hours to the timestamp).
I leisurely walked through the museum, eventually making my way to the exit, as I needed to pick up lunch at some point before the hour-long tour. I figured I could come back after the tour to see the rest of the museum.
I made my way outside & found another one of the street vendors selling baguettes. I did my best French impression & placed my order for a tomato/mozzarella baguette & bottle of Evian water (mainly because it was the easiest to order).
Because it was raining/wet, I couldn't plop down on the grass like I had hoped. I found a covered bench area though & started to eat there. I finished up around 1:45 and started to walk back to the bus tour company. A line had already begun to gather, so I hopped in it.
As I stated above, this tour was roughly an hour & went to such places as: the Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Palace de Invalides, Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame, The Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower (I know there were others, I just don't recall them - sort of says something for the tour). We were relegated to the bus for each site, no getting off to explore as I anticipated. While it was nice to have a quick-ish tour of these sites, I would have preferred a more interactive tour.
We returned to the bus tour company around 3:15, once I deboarded the bus, I decided to head back into the Louvre for a less-rushed tour. I spent probably another 2 hours inside, and then decided I should head back to meet Matt, as that was our plan on the days he worked (meet at the hotel between 5-6 to decide what to do about dinner).
That night, we were invited to dinner with some Chicago-area colleagues at a place on the Champs-Elysees called L'Alsace. Not knowing what to expect, but excited to go to Champs-Elysees, I figured I'd find something I could eat. Now, having no idea what Alsatian food was, I was a bit surprised by the menu. Apparently, Alsace is right near the border of France and Germany (read: sauerkraut and sausage). Most plates included a big ol' pile of sauerkraut, some sausages, a carrot, and more sauerkraut. Needless to say, Matt, Heather and I weren't all that impressed.
After dinner, Heather headed back to the hotel, while Matt and I decided to explore the area, where we ultimately ended up in a pub with live music. It was a little bit of a goosebump moment when the musician played "Sweet Home, Chicago" (he didn't know we were from Chicago).
After a few drinks there, we decided to head back to the hotel area, and either head to the pub we had went the previous night or to the "cremeria" for more beer. The pub appeared to be closing, but still had a couple of gals inside working on their laptops. The bartender offered us a couple of drinks, saying, "Well, you're in here now, it'd be a shame if you didn't have at least one pint" - SOLD! 3 beers later, but before the girls had packed up their laptops, we decided to call it a night.
I'm really enjoying Paris to this point.
Pictures from the Louvre (I did a lot of this weird picture-taking throughout my trip)
Palace de Invalides
So Sunday was my first day exploring on my own. I had a loose schedule of things I wanted to see. As I'd get ready in the morning, I'd take a look at the list and check to see what was closed when.
At dinner the previous night, one of Matt's coworkers had suggested taking a bus tour, to see most of the sights and then make the decision on what you wanted to go back to. Being that it was overcast/rainy, I figured I'd try that on Sunday.
I used the borrow copy of The Eyewitness Travel Guide to Paris to find the better bus tour options. Once I located the one I wanted to use, I started my walk toward its location. After walking up and down the street it was located (according to the book) in the rain, I was about to give up, when I looked to my left and saw one of the buses coming toward me. I followed the street from where the bus came & eventually found the office.
It was approximately 11:35AM at this time - I went in and asked when the next tour would be.
"That was the 11:30 bus you just missed. The next tour is at 2:15." A little bit let down, I still purchased my ticket. I decided to head back out and explore for a few hours. Luckily, this bus tour company was a short jaunt from the Louvre, so I decided to spend some time in there.
Much to my surprise, there weren't long lines to enter. Once inside, there were longer lines for the ticket windows, but thank goodness for automatic ticket machines. I made my way to that, much shorter line. I had the ability to read the instructions in English & pay with my debit card, what an easy transaction.
It was roughly 12:15 at this point, so I decided I should get to all of the bigger things that everyone goes to see during their visit to the Louvre. I booked it to where the Mona Lisa was displayed (and even though I knew it was small, I was still a bit surprised at just how small it was) - and then walked around looking for the Venus de Milo & then the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It was probably around 1:00PM at this point (*note* I did not have a watch & my cellphone didn't work over there, so the only way for me to immediately know what time it was was to take a picture with my camera and then add the 7 hours to the timestamp).
I leisurely walked through the museum, eventually making my way to the exit, as I needed to pick up lunch at some point before the hour-long tour. I figured I could come back after the tour to see the rest of the museum.
I made my way outside & found another one of the street vendors selling baguettes. I did my best French impression & placed my order for a tomato/mozzarella baguette & bottle of Evian water (mainly because it was the easiest to order).
Because it was raining/wet, I couldn't plop down on the grass like I had hoped. I found a covered bench area though & started to eat there. I finished up around 1:45 and started to walk back to the bus tour company. A line had already begun to gather, so I hopped in it.
As I stated above, this tour was roughly an hour & went to such places as: the Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Palace de Invalides, Place de la Concorde, Notre Dame, The Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower (I know there were others, I just don't recall them - sort of says something for the tour). We were relegated to the bus for each site, no getting off to explore as I anticipated. While it was nice to have a quick-ish tour of these sites, I would have preferred a more interactive tour.
We returned to the bus tour company around 3:15, once I deboarded the bus, I decided to head back into the Louvre for a less-rushed tour. I spent probably another 2 hours inside, and then decided I should head back to meet Matt, as that was our plan on the days he worked (meet at the hotel between 5-6 to decide what to do about dinner).
That night, we were invited to dinner with some Chicago-area colleagues at a place on the Champs-Elysees called L'Alsace. Not knowing what to expect, but excited to go to Champs-Elysees, I figured I'd find something I could eat. Now, having no idea what Alsatian food was, I was a bit surprised by the menu. Apparently, Alsace is right near the border of France and Germany (read: sauerkraut and sausage). Most plates included a big ol' pile of sauerkraut, some sausages, a carrot, and more sauerkraut. Needless to say, Matt, Heather and I weren't all that impressed.
After dinner, Heather headed back to the hotel, while Matt and I decided to explore the area, where we ultimately ended up in a pub with live music. It was a little bit of a goosebump moment when the musician played "Sweet Home, Chicago" (he didn't know we were from Chicago).
After a few drinks there, we decided to head back to the hotel area, and either head to the pub we had went the previous night or to the "cremeria" for more beer. The pub appeared to be closing, but still had a couple of gals inside working on their laptops. The bartender offered us a couple of drinks, saying, "Well, you're in here now, it'd be a shame if you didn't have at least one pint" - SOLD! 3 beers later, but before the girls had packed up their laptops, we decided to call it a night.
I'm really enjoying Paris to this point.
Pictures from the Louvre (I did a lot of this weird picture-taking throughout my trip)
Palace de Invalides
Matt and I on Champs-Elysees
3 comments:
Very good. How many days of Paris are left in this saga?
We were in Paris until 4.3 I think? Until Thursday, when we headed to London.
I love how you had to use your camera to tell what time it is. And I loved the "weird picture taking". Now I have to go and google "Champs-Elysees". You mentioned it several times and I have to admit that I have no idea what/where that is. :( Keep the stories coming.
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