Melifluous
11-04-2005, 15:59
So I've just come back from Paris.
Lovely lovely place.
WARNING - I am spelling many French places how I THINK they should be spelt, often not how they should be spelt
Caught the Eurostar from London Waterloo on Friday morning and settled down with my new book "The Da Vinci Code". Found that it's set in Paris. Not a bad book, cheered up the anti-religious side of me.
Arrive at Gare du Nord at about 11.30am and then after buying a carnet of metro tickets hit the tubes.
From there its a trip down to somink Saint-Denis and then change and 2 stops along to the Grande Boulevards. Out of the metro and my hotel is opposite. Nice one.
Staff at the entrance are very friendly. Bloke on reception looks like Sidney Poitier (didn't tell him that though).
The room was lovely, bathroom has shower and bath and a foot bath. Nice one.
So straight out around Paris and we walk to the river stopping in the BHV for a quick cheap lunch on the top floor (nice view!). From the Hotel de Ville we wander over to Notre Dame and follow the crowds inside. Some kind of ceremony going on, apprently the pope was buried that day or something.
From there we walk along the Seine to le Jardin des Plantes and we catch the Batobus (river boat) from there to le Tour Eiffel.
Christ Almighty that thing is big. Now I aint no great lover of heights but I'm going up there. Catch a lift to the first stage and have a look, its quite high up. Help someone take some photos and continue up to the second stage. Now this is getting really high. Stop for a Chocolat cos its cold up here. Next comes the scariest fuckin lift I've ever been on. It goes straight up to the top and you have a great view (yeah thanks for that) all around from the lift. I have my eyes shut for most of it. We get to the top and thank God there is like a little room here where you can look out, I dont feel so bad. I alternate between swearing at fucking rude tourists and looking out the windows.
Next we go back to the hotel and freshen up ready to find a restaurant near the hotel. Most say you need a reservation but eventually we end up in a lovely restaurant called The Kitchen near the Rue de Saint Marc. To my embarrassment we find the owner/waiter is Irish and helps us with the menu. The restuarant itself looks just like someones kitchen and we are all sat at the kitchen table.
Finish our meal at about 12.30 am and head back to the hotel.
Next morning get up and fight our way through breakfast, damned self service continental breakfasts I hate them. Then its quickly out and via the Metro again off to the Louvre. I'm still not sure about that Pyramid but its an easy way to find the entrance. Queuing takes about 15 minutes and we're off. We race through the museum straight to the Mona Lisa. It's lovely but very small and there is a massive scrum around it now that it's moved. After that wander round getting dirty looks from proper arty people as we laugh as some of the stupider paintings. Apparently laughing isn't the proper appreciation of art.
Get bored of the paintings (Oh look another brown portrait of someone we dont know) and the religious iconography. Head off to the Ancient greek/roman/Egyptian bits. Much more interesting. Bore the ass of my wife talking about first century roman conquests [:P]
Leave the Louvre at about 2pm and head for the Samaratiens (sp?) department store. Head up to the top floor (9th floor) and consider eating on the terrace but its too damn cold. Head back down to the 5th floor and have the nicest food yet. I have pumpkin and bacon soup followed by Belly Pork and my wife has a mackerel cake followed by proper blue Steak.
Only thing of concern here is the fact the staff refuse to believe we are in fact English and speak french the whole time. Je suis desole mais nous sont Anglais. No effect.
Leave here and walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. Long way.
Wander around the Arc de Triomphe area a bit and find a nice street market. Buy a few bits and pieces to eat and drink and then catch the metro again at Ternes and go via Charles de Gaule Etoile back to Hotel de Ville. We have a mission to find le Chapel de Saint Sulpice and hopefully see the Rose Line.
Point of Interest - The Meredien Line wasn't always at Greenwich, we stole it from the french in 1888 aparently.
We wander over to the Notre Dame island again (sorry I dont know this islands name) and try and find a bar. hmm. wander off the island and over to the Latin Quarter. Eventually find a bar we like and realise that the road we are on is the Rue Anglais [lol]
Pay 15 Euros for 2 beers (they saw us coming) and then wander through to Saint Sulpice. We get in only to be turned out again as a private concert was planned for that evening (so the dudes in red coats with the brass instruments aren't normally there, ok). Catch the metro again from Mabillion (should have gone from Saint Germain de Pres) and eventually get back to the hotel. Leave the hotel again at 10pm to find a place to eat near Saint Sulpice.
End up in a place called le Meridien (busy on a Saturday night in Paris) and eat the worst meal in Paris yet. Still better than any English restaurant though [:P]
Just make it back to the metros at about 12.15am and get back to the hotel. Do you normally have buskers on the metro itself? Let me tell you some bloke playing the trumpet in a carriage aint fun. I prefered the 40 year old Algierian rappers personally.
Then we made it home early Sunday.
Paris is fantastic, if you havent been go.
We will be going back again to do the Louvre justice. No way we could see anywhere near all of it. Also want to see Jim Morrissons grave next time.
Thank you Krys, lovely place, love people.
Kept getting asked directions from french people though.
Do we look French?
Melifluous
Lovely lovely place.
WARNING - I am spelling many French places how I THINK they should be spelt, often not how they should be spelt
Caught the Eurostar from London Waterloo on Friday morning and settled down with my new book "The Da Vinci Code". Found that it's set in Paris. Not a bad book, cheered up the anti-religious side of me.
Arrive at Gare du Nord at about 11.30am and then after buying a carnet of metro tickets hit the tubes.
From there its a trip down to somink Saint-Denis and then change and 2 stops along to the Grande Boulevards. Out of the metro and my hotel is opposite. Nice one.
Staff at the entrance are very friendly. Bloke on reception looks like Sidney Poitier (didn't tell him that though).
The room was lovely, bathroom has shower and bath and a foot bath. Nice one.
So straight out around Paris and we walk to the river stopping in the BHV for a quick cheap lunch on the top floor (nice view!). From the Hotel de Ville we wander over to Notre Dame and follow the crowds inside. Some kind of ceremony going on, apprently the pope was buried that day or something.
From there we walk along the Seine to le Jardin des Plantes and we catch the Batobus (river boat) from there to le Tour Eiffel.
Christ Almighty that thing is big. Now I aint no great lover of heights but I'm going up there. Catch a lift to the first stage and have a look, its quite high up. Help someone take some photos and continue up to the second stage. Now this is getting really high. Stop for a Chocolat cos its cold up here. Next comes the scariest fuckin lift I've ever been on. It goes straight up to the top and you have a great view (yeah thanks for that) all around from the lift. I have my eyes shut for most of it. We get to the top and thank God there is like a little room here where you can look out, I dont feel so bad. I alternate between swearing at fucking rude tourists and looking out the windows.
Next we go back to the hotel and freshen up ready to find a restaurant near the hotel. Most say you need a reservation but eventually we end up in a lovely restaurant called The Kitchen near the Rue de Saint Marc. To my embarrassment we find the owner/waiter is Irish and helps us with the menu. The restuarant itself looks just like someones kitchen and we are all sat at the kitchen table.
Finish our meal at about 12.30 am and head back to the hotel.
Next morning get up and fight our way through breakfast, damned self service continental breakfasts I hate them. Then its quickly out and via the Metro again off to the Louvre. I'm still not sure about that Pyramid but its an easy way to find the entrance. Queuing takes about 15 minutes and we're off. We race through the museum straight to the Mona Lisa. It's lovely but very small and there is a massive scrum around it now that it's moved. After that wander round getting dirty looks from proper arty people as we laugh as some of the stupider paintings. Apparently laughing isn't the proper appreciation of art.
Get bored of the paintings (Oh look another brown portrait of someone we dont know) and the religious iconography. Head off to the Ancient greek/roman/Egyptian bits. Much more interesting. Bore the ass of my wife talking about first century roman conquests [:P]
Leave the Louvre at about 2pm and head for the Samaratiens (sp?) department store. Head up to the top floor (9th floor) and consider eating on the terrace but its too damn cold. Head back down to the 5th floor and have the nicest food yet. I have pumpkin and bacon soup followed by Belly Pork and my wife has a mackerel cake followed by proper blue Steak.
Only thing of concern here is the fact the staff refuse to believe we are in fact English and speak french the whole time. Je suis desole mais nous sont Anglais. No effect.
Leave here and walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. Long way.
Wander around the Arc de Triomphe area a bit and find a nice street market. Buy a few bits and pieces to eat and drink and then catch the metro again at Ternes and go via Charles de Gaule Etoile back to Hotel de Ville. We have a mission to find le Chapel de Saint Sulpice and hopefully see the Rose Line.
Point of Interest - The Meredien Line wasn't always at Greenwich, we stole it from the french in 1888 aparently.
We wander over to the Notre Dame island again (sorry I dont know this islands name) and try and find a bar. hmm. wander off the island and over to the Latin Quarter. Eventually find a bar we like and realise that the road we are on is the Rue Anglais [lol]
Pay 15 Euros for 2 beers (they saw us coming) and then wander through to Saint Sulpice. We get in only to be turned out again as a private concert was planned for that evening (so the dudes in red coats with the brass instruments aren't normally there, ok). Catch the metro again from Mabillion (should have gone from Saint Germain de Pres) and eventually get back to the hotel. Leave the hotel again at 10pm to find a place to eat near Saint Sulpice.
End up in a place called le Meridien (busy on a Saturday night in Paris) and eat the worst meal in Paris yet. Still better than any English restaurant though [:P]
Just make it back to the metros at about 12.15am and get back to the hotel. Do you normally have buskers on the metro itself? Let me tell you some bloke playing the trumpet in a carriage aint fun. I prefered the 40 year old Algierian rappers personally.
Then we made it home early Sunday.
Paris is fantastic, if you havent been go.
We will be going back again to do the Louvre justice. No way we could see anywhere near all of it. Also want to see Jim Morrissons grave next time.
Thank you Krys, lovely place, love people.
Kept getting asked directions from french people though.
Do we look French?
Melifluous