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| There she is |
Paris is still a bit of a blur as we tried to fit in as much
as possible. We became quite adept at the Metro jumping on and off between
lines to get all sorts of places – museums, restaurants, bike shops, internet
cafes, closed gluten free cafes you name it. Just saying but our major cities
in Australia could benefit from a Metro – cheap, fast, regular and very easy to
use. We certainly made use of and got our money’s worth from the Paris pass if
only with Metro travel.
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| Chocolatier at Choco-story - just had to visit there! |
Saw the sights – Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame,
Chateau of Versailles, Grand Palais, Pont Neuf, Latin Quarter etc etc and lined
up countless times with the thousands of other tourists. We joked that as the
lines were so long for people that had already bought their tickets, it was probably
quicker to not buy tickets because those lines were invariably shorter. A
number of times we seemed to get stuck behind American tourists who loudly
protested that they had priority tickets to avoid the lines – like we all did!!
To make things even more interesting at the Louvre they decided to move the
line for people who had tickets – we arrived at 8:45 found the sign for people
with tickets and thought we were doing extremely well with only about 20 people
in front of us and a long line forming behind us. About 5 to 9 an official came
along took the sign down and told the whole line to move outside to the area
which when we eventually got to the sign said for people without tickets. When
the officials were quizzed they said no that is the line for people with
tickets – I know my French is not much chop but I do understand the English in
which the sign was written. Needless to say several hundred people were then in
front of us. Didn’t really concern us but of course some were not happy. The
expected hundreds of people were around the ‘famous’ items but it was just as
interesting looking at the Egyptian antiquities and lesser known items as
fighting the crowds at Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa. We did however get the
photos to show we were there.
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| Versailles garden |
A cruise down the Seine at dusk (well it was before dusk
when we started but the cruise company only runs until 9:30) was certainly a
highlight. The Eiffel Tower looks much better at night as the lights come into
effect than it does during the day. It does make for late nights however
waiting for the sun to set and it was 11 o’clock before getting back to the
apartment to get to sleep. No wonder the Parisians don’t start the day until 10
o’clock in the morning!
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| Eiffel light show |
A trip out to the Chateau of Versailles (even though we
thought we were going the wrong way for a start – then it turned out we
actually did and took the long way round). Darn French have both Versailles Chateau and Versailles
Chantier (what do you mean we should read the whole sign) and so we had to walk
a whole 5 minutes further to get to the Chateau (which we eventually worked out
after again having to turn the data on the phone to check we were not
completely and utterly lost). Not a problem because we actually wanted to go to
a restaurant recommended for having gluten free options on the way to the
Chateau. We turned up to find out that Versailles is the only place in France
where lunch actually goes from 12-2 so it was almost 3 and they were closed.
Everywhere else lunch goes through to 4 at least! Actually just kept up the
record with Gluten free options for Elizabeth – so far we have tried three
specific destinations on the basis of reviews only to find them closed for one
reason or another. Needless to say Elizabeth has eaten plenty of steak and frites
and salad and Stephen has eaten far too much bread. The Palace of Versailles
explains without any documentary exactly why there was a French revolution. We
were pleased that we went to see it but also pleased once we left as it was
just too gaudy – you could appreciate some of the exquisite beauty but all in
all it was far too much and we left overwhelmed rather than appreciative.
Elizabeth’s Anecdotes.
Overall, we have had a wonderful time in France. The time
spent tripping around in our little “camping-car” was great fun and we look
forward to a repeat in the UK in a few weeks, although hopefully in a slightly
bigger version. The French countryside and villages were beautiful and we saw
all the things we expected. Paris was just as we expected too, very busy lots
and lots of crowds. I am finding the number of people trying to get money out
of you however they can a bit overwhelming. Knowing nothing of the social
security systems over here it is easy to be judgmental, but I am over people
rattling paper cups in my face, handing me slips of paper on trains with their
stories printed on them, rubbing their fingers together in the universal sign
for money if you look like you are looking in the direction of their street
act, fake babies in baby slings, fake petitions for drugs, orphans, and
anything else that ends with a donation. I have only been caught once, not
entirely my fault as the man had a shirt with a railway emblem on it and before
I could protest he had grabbed my bag and hustled me onto the train for Nice.
It all happened so fast that when we realised what had happened, we weren’t
even sure we were on the right train. I said thank you and then he demanded
payment for his “assistance”. So many of them have multiple dogs with them, we
figure because it may engender more sympathy for the welfare of their pets. On
the Champs Elysees we had to watch where we walked all the time, lest you trip
over someone lying on the ground with the paper cup waving at you. I guess it
makes you realise how sheltered a life we live in little old Bundy.
Love to all
S&E
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