This is an excerpt from my study abroad travel journal, roughly published in 2010, polished today.
When you only have 6 months in Europe every day counts. So it was fitting that even my new friends and I all made similar itineraries for traversing the continent for a month during spring break we all arrived at slightly different times. And because we were all doing our best to make every pound (we were living in England) go as far as possible, for me this meant that my itinerary took me from Liverpool to the French Alpes, to London, back home to Leeds, then back over to Paris. Hey! I didn’t say it was logical, I said it was cheap.
Anyway, the upside was it meant I had a chance to repack my carry on (no checked luggage obviously) and get some fresh(ish) undies. My flight out of Leeds Bradford Airport go me into Paris around lunchtime and to save some of the best attractions for when we were all together I just went wandering with the aim to learn to use my new Nikon DSLR a bit better.
But first I actually had to find my hostel. It would have been nice to stay in one of Paris’ many beautiful boutique hotels, but unfortunately that was so far out of the question if wasn’t even a consideration to be rejected.
Finding the hostel was not as easy as I’d hoped. You have to remember that this is 2010. While Google Maps and iPhones existed, it was far from ubiquitous. So I had Evan texting me directions from his computer back in England. How far we’ve come.
My first stop was to the Arc de Triomphe. I know I said I’d save the attractions for Evan and Chris, but this was an accident, I swear! The roundabout that the Arc is on is as crazy as its reputation would have you believe and there is no easy way for a pedestrian to cross it. That is, until you find the subways that go under it. At this moment I would happy to be on my legs and not in a car. Having a rental car Paris would be fine (I don’t recall the traffic being ridiculous), but I’d be requesting my GPS to avoid this roundabout at all costs!
I walked up the Champs Elysees and had the cheapest dinner I could find (I think it was still like 15 euros) and wandered over to the Champs de Mars where I met up with Chris, my fellow exchange student from Canada. Chris was actually there to meet up with his own family, not me, so he would just be popping in out and this story.
Chris and I enjoyed a lovely sunset, watching the Tower transform from a dull bronze into a sparkling, magnificent steel beast. Featured in many movies, and famous for its history and its culture, Paris is one of those destinations on just about every bucket list, and for me, it was pretty surreal to be there.
Second Day in Paris
My hostel, Le Village, was in the Montmartre area and this gave me a perfect excuse to wander. Montmartre is this beautiful neighbourhood full of old houses and classic Parisian backstreets. It is also home to the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, or in English, the Sacred Heart. The Sacré-Cœur is Romano-Byzantine in style, built between 1875 and 1919.
The Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre sit on a hill on the outskirts of the city and from the top of the Basilica steps you have a fantastic view over the entire city; a lone structure juts out of the earth in the distance.
After Montmartre, I walked back along the main street the hostel was on to Moulin Rouge. On the way, I walked past many hilariously titled stores such as ‘Sex shop’ and ‘Pussy’s’ which was probably my favourite. Evan got lost navigating the underground, his adventure included a sitting in wee, but eventually made it.
As per usual, our first stop was the New Europe free walking tour. As poor exchange students, these were a favourite of ours. They aren’t technically free, because they work on tips and you feel like cancer if you stinge out on them, especially because they are always very good.
Walking tour hosts love to point out things in the city that you would probably miss if you weren’t looking. One such example was the sculptures on the underside of Pont Neuf, the bridge that goes across Ile de la Cite (the island on which Notre sits). There is a story behind these grotesque faces. Unfortunately, no one really knows what it is.
The tour ended at the Jardin du Luxembourg, a big concretey park with a smallish, octagonal pond surrounded by a smattering of gardens.
The tour took most of the afternoon and we were famished so we headed back to the hostel but not before a glorious microwaveable dinner from a convenience store.
Third Day in Paris
We wanted to get the Eiffel Tower out of the way as early as possible. Unfortunately, the put crawl from last night meant waking up at 7am was not a high priority. Not that it was a particularly big night, but it was still a late night.
As the most popular attraction in Paris (source not needed I assume), the line for the Eiffel Tower was predictably long. We attempted to somewhat beat the queue and save some money by taking the stairs to the second level rather than getting the elevator all the way from the bottom to the top. It was cool to see a slightly, if lower, view, and obviously good to save a few bucks as well. However, there was still a significant line from the second level to the top (plus the time climbing the stairs), so I’m not sure if we actually saved any time.
I absolutely loved the view from the top. I often go up a tower in most cities I visit to get the lay of the land, but the symmetry of Paris was unquestionably one of the coolest I’ve ever seen. I was mesmerised.
We did a driveby of Les Invalides, which houses the tomb of Napoleon, back towards the Jardin du Luxembourg and then the Pantheon. The Pantheon was actually a highlight of my time in Paris. Its function has changed since its neo-classical construction completed in 1790 but it is now used as a mausoleum for some of France’s most notable citizens. The centrepiece is a large pendulum that hangs 67 metres from the main dome and tells time. The swing of the pendulum moves 11.3 degrees per hour and demonstrates the rotation of the earth. Truly fascinating.
Day Trip to Versaille
Any time spent in Paris deserves a day trip out to Versailles. The Chateau de Versaille is absolutely magnificent palace located about an hour out of town. We took the train, which was fine, but it was one of those times when you think that renting a car in Paris might just be a little bit more convenient. Nonetheless, we got there. It took some serious queueing to get in, but once we did (at 12:30pm no less) we were in awe the entire way through.
High marble walls guided us through chapels and bedrooms. Paintings adorned every wall and even some ceilings. The detail on every wall, every cornice, every painting and every last piece of furniture inside.
We didn’t even hear the rain roll in. I won’t say it was absolutely pissing, because it was light enough for us to wander. But the stroll was certainly hampered by the weather, and we were very glad to have a raincoat and umbrella handy. On a blue, sunny day, the gardens would be spectacular. You couldn’t possibly explore all of it in a day — you’d be exhausted. The gardens are exquisite and are covered in intricate hedges.
We hopped back on the train and had another spectacular dinner from the convenience store (yeah, our budgets didn’t really allow us to experience any actual French culture). We split a cheap bottle of wine (sans glasses of course, ok clearly we were actively avoiding any semblance of culture altogether) at which time we thought we were in the right state to visit one of the most famous museums in the world: the Louvre.
The Louvre houses many thousands of artworks and sculptures… I assume. I mean, if I’m being honest, we really only went to the Louvre because you have to go to the Louvre when you’re in Paris. Art Museums didn’t do it for me then, and they do nothing for me now. But we were determined to see the Mona Lisa, most famous for getting stolen. Honourable mention also goes to the Venus de Milo.
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