Today was our first full day in Paris after arriving on the fast train from Geneva, or Genève as the locals spell it. We started off the day by walking along the Seine River looking for a way to get to the Metro. As picturesque as the walk was, it still hurt our weary and injured legs. Eventually we found the Metro, hopped on a train and after three stops arrived at our first destination of the day; the Australian embassy where we had a photo opportunity and Mrs Hayes explained that diplomats had short days and long lunches, but also could help us quite a bit if we ever got into strife. While out the front of the embassy, we got our first view of the Eiffel Tower and the anticipation built.
When we arrived at the actual tower there were talks of how big it could be. All I thought was “how are we going to get into it with that massive line?” No lie there were more people in that line than people down the street in Tumut on pay day. The executive decision was made to try tomorrow and get in early.
We then headed to Saint Michel to have some free time for about half an hour where most of us went exploring. Many of us tried crepes, basically a rolled up pancake with filling in the middle, like banana and Nutella or ham and cheese.
We then walked across the bridge to Sainte Chapelle, a gothic styled chapel opened in 1248 with a small lower floor and a grand upper floor with magnificent stained glassed windows that took our breath away when we came out of the twisty stairwell that led up to it.
Notre Dame was the next destination with some people choosing to climb the bell tower and others had lunch on the stand facing the church (if you were wondering I had spag bol and it was good, not as good as mums). The cathedral took 182 years to build from 1163 to the opening in 1345. I didn’t really think it was that cool when I first saw it. “I thought it would be bigger” were my first words, but as I sat on the stand and ate my lunch looking at it I thought “that IS pretty big”. It then hit me that THIS was NOTRE DAME, THIS is PARIS and THIS is where the HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME WAS FROM. I began to take on the real beauty of the church, of the gothic architecture, of the detail of the sculptures and of the amount of work it would have taken to complete the building.
From Notre Dame we then headed through the Marais district and found remnants of the ancient Roman wall. We spent about 45 minutes relaxing in the colourful, vibrant concrete jungle that was comprised of massive vents and open spaces on the forefront of the Pompidou Centre.
We then observed what French people do on a Sunday arvo, absolutely nothing. I mean, the French did nothing but sat back in cafés and enjoy the entertainment on display, such as the soccer juggler who showed off his amazing control of the soccer ball with an array of tricks that left the crowd stunned and them reeling in the euros.
We then headed off on a 20 minute walk to dinner where snails awaited us…
Snails tasted alright but the texture didn’t exactly float my boat and I could only manage two. I think Wortesy (Andrew Wortes) ate the most with a grand total of 26 snails. The main course was Beef Burgundy where Wortsey (after eating 26 snails) said that it tasted yucky, but everyone else didn’t seem to have a problem with it. For dessert we had apple pie which tasted scrumptious.
We then headed back to the hotel to try and get some washing done as we smell pretty bad. This proved too difficult a task as we couldn’t work the machines until after the curfew of the washing machine, which was 8:30.
So after that adventurous day we may have a smelly time tomorrow, but we will still have a grand time exploring Paris.
Sam out.
