Paris!!!

3 times a charm.

16 years ago I was in Spain studying Spanish and planned on visiting Paris before I went back home. Unfortunately for me but fortunately for France the World Cup was going on and they won and there wasn't a way to get in or out, nevertheless accommodations.

Next time.

Then 14 years ago I was supposed to go to Paris to visit a family friend during some European travels, everything planned. Unfortunately, a couple of days prior to my arrival, the mother died. It was too last minute to try and book anything (back then, there wasn't all this online booking it was old school with books and travel agents). So passed Paris and continued through Lyon and a couple of other towns in Paris.

Next time

No here I am, the 3rd attempt was finally successful! Back when I decided to do get this Certificate in Orthpedic Manual Therapy (COMT) in Portugal, right away, I thought, "hmm... maybe I can finagle a long weekend in Paris?" It was something that alluded me for all these years. And pretty much everyone that knows my extensive travel history would say, "wwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhaaatttt!!?!!! (or as I like to say in Eastern European accents, "vaaaaaaaaat!!???") YOU've NEVER been to PARIS!!??!" I guess it does sound strange knowing that I've been to places like Turkmenistan and Antarctica, but not Paris. Actually, speaking of, when I went to Antarctica in Dec 2012, I met this lady that I connected with (she's a Taurus also, always helps!) and she happens to live in Paris for 6 months out of the year. She's an amazing photographer and really interesting person, and we mostly kept in touch over facebook (which I have to say, although people have their opinions about FB, it really is a good tool for connecting with people). So back when the thought came into mind, I wrote to her about my thought of going to Paris... and basically waited to hear if she would be in Paris then, and of course the (hopeful) invite to stay with her. Soo.... I am super grateful and thankful it all worked out!!!

I arranged my brief itinerary there to fly in fairly early'ish on Thursday and my flight out was Sunday late morning. Then came all the comments of "you're ONLY spending 3 days in Paris?" After being there for those few days, yes, you really do need to spend at least a week if not more just to soak it all in. So in preparation for what I knew would be a whirlwind tour, I did a couple of things in advance. I visited this website called "visitacity" (Paris) and it was awesome, it basically gave you potential itineraries based on what you wanted to see, and then you could add or take out things based on your interests and it would map out the most convenient route for you. Awesome! THEN, as Paris is known for their amazing museums, it is also known for the huge lines to get in these museums and sites. So I then went ahead and bought a Paris Pass, basically this card that allows you access to most ALL the big sites in Paris and you get kind of VIP access and can go straight into places without waiting in line, because when you have .2 days like I did, wasting hours standing in a line could really eat up a lot of precious time. And I have to say, that was the smartest thing I could have done. Even though it didn't save too much money, maybe a wee bit, the time saving was well worth it!

Day 1:
I took an overnight flight to get there all nice and early, but then looong story, had some blonde moments and didn't meet Laurie until almost 11am. I already thought I would be out and about by then. I washed up a bit, and off we went to get my Paris Pass, stopping for lunch at this cute pedestrian friendly place. Although I have been off dairy and even coffee (which I don't drink anyway), I was sooo tired from not getting good sleep on the flight (but on a side note to that, I flew Qatar Airways and my patient works for them and bless him, hooked me up with the Lounge area in Dubai as well as an Exit seat for that long flight. It.Was.Awesome! So much space!) that I had to have one to wake me up:

Now full of energy, I was set to go about my day. To be honest, I hate to pull the age card, but really, I don't have the energy I used to and lack of sleep really gets to me. My brain was totally foggy the whole day, and besides getting lost a few times (which I guess is expected, ha ha), I just felt out of it. So what was supposed to be a full day, ended up being a bit more relaxed and I did the Big 3 (of 209342034): Arc de Triumph, Eiffel Tower, and Seine River Cruise. I guess the 4th, probably the most Paresian of them all, is had a lengthy dinner with Laurie and her friend Alex, on the street with a nice glass of wine and nice company :-)

Here are a few snaps:

Arc de Triumph, 1836, in the world’s largest traffic roundabout and is the biggest and tallest triumphal arch in the world - about 49 meters (161 ft.) high and 44 meters (144 ft.) wide.

There it is, the iconic Eiffel Tower!

Below: Pics along the Seine River Cruise:

Orsey Museum

Notre Dame (above and below)

France is known for it's duck, above is my duck meal with lots of gravy sauce!

Caught the light show from afar!

Day 2:

This I would definitely have to say was Totally Nazi. Although I have NOT done this in a long long time because these last years have tried to spend longer in one place and really take my time exploring, I admit I did have my checklist. I started with the museums, Rodin (considered the father of modern sculpture) and Orsey Museum (housing one of the largest collection of Impressionist paintings, my favorite!):

Orsey Museum below:

I have to say, I loooooooooooved the street performers of Paris. I actually feel bad even calling them "street" performers because you can tell these are professionals - excellent! This one was a French jazz group, I bought the CD!

And more running around... over the famous "lock" bridges. What seems like a cutsy thing (loved ones leave locks on the bridge and then throw the key in the river), is actually quite controversial because it is getting so heavy the bridges are failing and also the locks are tarnishing the river. D'oh! 

The Tuileries Gardens Paris takes its name from the fact that this area was once populated with rood tiles factories, made in a special oven called tuileries. The Tuileries Gardens were well documented by many impressionists’ painters such as Monet and Renoir which seems to love the lively colors reflected by the many flowers, grass and water.

Angeina's. No joke, BEST hot chocolate in the world. Decided to have lunch there with this amazing quiche. Both were certainly amazing and delicious, but 23 euros worth? Eek!

From there it was off to the BIGGEST sight of all of Paris, the Louvre!

The Louvre Museum was originally built as a fortress around year 1200 and was reconstructed again around 1650 for the personal use of the king. It was in 1793 that the French revolutionists have decided that this should become French’s first national museum. Now it is the world's largest museum with more than 30,000 pieces of art!

I actually wasn't intending on going into the Louvre (gasp) just because I knew I was so short on time and couldn't do it justice. This museum is even bigger than the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and I spent a good 3 full days there. But alas, wanted to test my Paris Pass. Let's just say it took a whopping 30 seconds to get in! I couldn't believe it! So if I were to see anything there, it would have to be the famous Mona Lisa. Impressive!

Next I headed to the Opera House - built by Louise the XIV in 1669, and one of the most famous opera houses in the world.

From there it was off to Montmarte - a different area of Paris and much more.... authentic with it's rich artist history as well as being perched on top of a hill with fab views of the city:

The Sacre Coeur is a church and a basilica, located in the top of the Montmartre which is also the highest point in the entire city.

Dali Museum, what a character that Dali!!!

Talented artists at the Montmartre square

Then somehow still made it to Notre Dame Cathedral. Unfortunately, it was too late and the stairs to go to the top and see the Gothic figurines was closed :-(. Next time (hehe!).

Notre Dame Cathedral - It took 182 years to complete this building in the summer of 1345. At some point, the cathedral was already scheduled for deconstruction. It was mostly due to the incredible popularity of the book Hunchback of Notre-Dame (by Victor Hugo) which restored the interest in the Gothic period, the cathedral was stayed untouched while eventually restoring its original glory.

If my day wasn't buy enough, even made it to a beautiful piano concert in a church, the guy was amazing, played Chopin and Lizet brilliantly (bought another CD!).

Okay, hot chocolate and quiche for lunch, but what about cheese? Ordered a cheese platter, one of those things I had to do in Paris, and got this gigantic platter. Laurie and I shared, and both of us were almost sick after! (was still delicious!). 

Day 3:

After my VERY accomplished Day 2 and somewhat Day 3, I had hit MOST of the big sights So it was supposed to be a relaxing day of sightseeing with Laurie and her friend Alex. However, we somehow ended up walking 12 miles still! Phew! 

Started Luxembourg Gardens, 23-hectares of grass, flowers, trees, and beauty.

Then, because Alex hadn't been, we went to a satellite Angelina's.... and I had another amazing and delicious hot chocolate. Hehe. And to top it off (sugar overload anyone), realized I hadn't had a macarone yet, so "had" to have that as well :-) 

More awesome street performers...

More pasterie shops (which we just passed by, thank you very much!),

Walked along the Berges, formally a car highway, now a nice pedestrian area along the Seine River:

Hehe, I was fascinated with these self cleaning toilets!

Engagement pics at the Berges pathway along the Seine River

Notre Dame in the background

Entrance to Place des Vosges is the oldest and arguably the most beautify of all Paris squares (built by Henri IV in 1612 as place Royale to celebrate the wedding of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria). Located in the Marais district.

Place de Vosges

An opera street performer!!!

Laurie, Alex and I taking a break from all the walking for some lunch. I almost fell asleep at the table I was so tired. Or maybe it was my sugar levels falling? hhaha

We decided to go back up to the Montmarte area, this time via funicular (before I climbed the steps). 

A small vineyard! In the "middle" of Paris!

Okay, I admit the first day I had one off the street, but gasp, because I didn't take a picture, "had" to have another crepe with nutella!!

Laurie is a great photographer and here is one of her shots. Alex and I people watching in Paris :-) 

Beautiful view of the Basilica at dusk

And finally, Paris is the most beautiful at night:

Soo... phew! I feel fairly accomplished with what I did and saw, although quite a whirlwind! I really don't know what people are talking about though, I found the people very nice and friendly. I love the sing-song way they say "bonjour." It's great to be in a culture where the people really live and enjoy life. Many countries and hence people are in gloom because of economic situations, but the people of Paris live their lives. I also loooooooooooved how.... cultured the people are! They are VERY polite and really do make a stink about manners. I am ashamed to say, I had a couple of incidences where I was in fact the one who was seemingly rude and I felt horrible about it! I guess in the Middle East I have been accustomed to rude behavior or just being pushy. Not so in France! I also loved, as most people do, the street life of Paris. You would walk by busy areas and you don't hear loud music blasted and one place trying to out-noise the other one. You actually had soft music in the background and instead you just heard the chatter of people... people are there to enjoy each other companies and just to talk! I loved just sitting for hours on the street, people watching, and not having the waiter being like "are you done yet?" It is so relaxing!

So thank you Paris, 3 time a charm and it was worth the wait.

Next stop - Portugal!!!