Thank you also to those of you who have been emailing but not commenting [Sal, Hayley - you come to mind straight away]. It's great to know that my blog is being read & enjoyed by friends :)
Now to Paris, where we had perfect weather for the weekend.
Day 8: Friday 08/02/2008. My day started in Aveda's reduced-service salon. I went in for a half-hour wash & blow-dry, and walked out nearly 1.5hrs later with a head of curls, a full face of make-up, a loyalty card and a bag of products. I can't help it. The products are just so fabulous (and I'm not even getting a commission to say that!). Then I had to race home to pack for Paris. Yay!
The 1.5hrs between apartment and airport disappeared into a time/space vortex. Tamara & Robbie, you would be so proud of my packing efforts - one carry-on bag (that also fitted my handbag!) for the 2-night stay.
Now I wish I could say something glowing about Heathrow, but I can't. Hayley, Shane and I entered the departure lounge through two different entry points - yet we all managed to get selected for 'random' body scans. Great start. Terminal 4 shopping is limited and dismal at best. I couldn't even be impressed by the sensor taps in the bathrooms because of the state of the toilets. Icky.
One thought occupied by mind as we boarded the delayed flight to Paris: at least we all ate the same garlified pasta sauce for lunch.
The flight itself was short and sweet. Our seats were barely warm beneath us before we had to give them up. From the time the plane landed, Paris felt different. No one waited for the seatbelt light to go out before unbuckling [shock, horror! You will be pleased to know that my compliant nature, and my seatbelt, stuck fast]; each 5cm gap in the line for passport checks became an entry point for new passengers [what queue?]; drivers are all over the road and don't respect lines between lanes - worse than in the UK [road rules? What are "road rules"?].
The taxi ride to the hotel was longer than expected in more ways than one. Parisian drivers seem so erratic, yet we passed no accidents on the way. Maybe it was our lucky day. It also wasn't cheap, at E45 [sorry, can't figure out the pretty Euro symbol on the keyboard. It is there...].
Our super-cheap hotel was, however, a pleasant surprise. For 3-star accommodation, the hotel was quaint(the decor and the one-person lift), comfortable and central. We were pretty darned pleased with ourselves, especially when we found out that the daily tariff is ordinarily E210. We booked the Hotel de Neuville through lastminute.com as a package deal with our flights and the entire package came to £185pp. One unexpected thing: we were told that the hotel had only double rooms, however both of our rooms came with 2 single beds.
After settling and refreshing ourselves, we foraged for a late dinner and discovered San Remo, a little Italian restaurant around the corner from us (and there were so many restaurants just around the corner. It was fabulous). I was impressed with the fact that we were greeted with a complimentary glass of white wine/orange juice. Not realising how huge the servings were, we ordered entrees and mains. Hayley and I had the eggplant parmigiana for starters and, with its 1.5cm-thick layer of melted mozzarella and parmesan, it was way too much. Shane's garlic bread entree was actually a full-size garlic-tomato pizza! I don't know how we got through our mains - we did have to be rolled out the door. Even with the huge tax (TVA)/service charge additions, the E25 (apiece) meal represented good value.
We tipped our waiter for his excellent service, for teaching us tipping protocols in Paris, and for extending us beyond our please/thank you/sorry vocabulary.
An annoying thing: the heavily perfumed ladies' rooms in Parisian restaurants. You have to be hypervigilant; it comes out in regular puffs near eye-level.
Day 9: Saturday 09/02/2008. On our walk to the Arc de Triomphe, I ate a pastry that looked and tasted like a giant fruit loop. Decadent but not nearly as special as the Arc. I couldn't believe the enormity of this celebration of Napoleon's triumphs, particularly the scale of the scupltures & carvings. I felt sad that Napoleon did not live to see the finished product but it warmed my heart to know that the unknown soldier had a home there.
From the Arc, we wandered down the 1,800m length of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. The shops were just opening and I felt a sense of what the excitement and bustle that would follow in a couple of hours. All the big names lined the streets, with a huge Louis Vuitton store perched proudly on a prominent corner.
My discovery of Parisian "differences" continued here, to my horror, as I realised that the power lines were woven into the branches of the trees that lined the streets. They crossed over each other willy-nilly and some were within reaching distance. I shuddered and hoped that the wires were well insulated.
At the end of the Champs-Elysees, we ate our first French crepes (E3ea) and they were awesome. Shane definitely ordered best (Nutella vs Hayley's apple & my apricot) and Hayley & I vowed to have a Nutella crepe before leaving Paris.
From there we walked to the Louvre, found it was open from 9:30am on Sunday [so we decided to 'Louvre it to tomorrow'. Sorry, very bad Paris joke...], and decided to take an afternoon bus tour instead - but first we sat and sipped coffee on the Seine. The cafe was layed out for serious people-watching, with all the outside chairs facing toward the Seine in two rows, interspersed with tiny round tables.
This view came at a premium. After our hugely expensive coffees [E16.20 for 3 coffees! I had to laugh or I would cry - it was my buy], we bought our tickets and enjoyed the 2.25hr circleroute tour.
A funny thing we saw while waiting for the bus: a white French poodle with matching owner. Seriously. They looked exactly the same.
The bus tour was excellent. We sat atop the open double-decker bus and absorbed the magnificent day and uninterrupted view, took too many pictures and learned (via audio commentary, accompanied by classical music I recognised from high-school music studies) a little of Paris' expansive history. Just after Notre Dame Cathedral, we toured through the oldest Parisian settlement - dating back to 200BC. I saw bikes for hire here. This is something I would definitely have done for a day given more time and appropriate clothes.
The Opera House, built in 'Napoleon III style', was stunning. It is now used for ballet; the Bastille is really Paris' opera house. I would have loved to have seen a ballet in Paris.
I found the history of the Champs-Elysees fascinating. Apparently, it is historically where people met up after death to live in joy and harmony. Now, as a playground for the rich and curious, I guess it has a similar purpose.
We disembarked for a too-big 3-course lunch (E25ea; the onion soup and creme brulee were delicious; none of us enjoyed our mains) near to where we started our tour. This was followed by a tour of Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral itself was a massive spectacle, not as imposing or grandiose as St Paul's from the outside, but possibly more ornate. Life-like religious figures adorned the outer walls; inside was simply incredible.
We were allowed to take pictures in the cathedral, which I felt a little odd about, especially as we arrived in the middle of a service. The singing and foreign sermon made the Cathedral even more enchanting, and I think each of us had a spiritual experience. I promise that pictures are on their way!
After being given very poor directions by a local on the Metro [I think this was partly attributable to the fact that we asked for the Eiffel Tower rather than the Tour du Eiffel], we trekked to our final planned destination for the day.
The Eiffel Tower was awe-inspiring. As soon as we were up close and personal, I knew I wouldn't even be able to make it to Level 1 without freaking out, so I left Hayley and Shane in the 2hr queue while I took photos and sought out a cafe.
I found an outside table (by now, I had learned to ask for a table in French!) directly overlooking the Tower at the very delightful Cafe du Trocadero. From my box seat, I watched as the light faded and an unexpected Eiffel Tower light show dazzled the city exactly on the hour. As I waited for Hayley & Shane, I drank the best hot chocolate ever and ate toast with jam and butter (almost tea with jam and bread!) - all for the bargain price of E9. I realised that, after the tip, it cost me about the same to watch the Tower from afar as it did for Hayley & Shane to travel to the top.
I don't know why they don't make hot chocolate like that in Perth: a rosette of chocolate syrup in a cup accompanied by a jug of frothed milk and individually-wrapped sugar cubes. Heavenly.
I learned a new French phrase everywhere I went in Paris and, at this cafe, I learned how to ask for the ladies' toilets. Very useful!
An online review I read while writing this post states that the waiters at Cafe du Trocadero are "rude even by Parisian Standards". I found the opposite to be the case. My weekend experience of Parisian people (including waiters) was generally very positive.
I have to admit, as the waiting time drew out, I started to wish I had asked for an indoors table [my search for a decent beanie in London continues]. It was here that I pondered over the shopping in Paris, wondering if the shops would be open as late as in London, or open early on Sundays.
Hayley messaged me from the top of the Eiffel Tower just as I settled my bill. Perfect timing. I met them at the bottom, then we wandered to the Cafe Kleber for dinner. All I could manage was an onion soup [for comparative purposes. It was delicious] while Hayley & Shane struggled somehow through another 3 courses.
We finished our evening with a taxi ride around Paris, then headed back to our hotel rooms for much needed sleep.
Day 10: Sunday 10/02/2008. We took the Metro to breakfast and almost regretted the fact straight away. The air underground was sour and heavy, which made us walk very quickly to the train. Some quirks: the train doors close very quickly; there is no "mind the gap" [yes, Dan, I did notice that difference!]; the female voice telling you which station you are stopped at is a lesson in French pronunciation as she twice purrs the station name in a soft yet distinctive tone, almost as an invitation to repeat it with her.
Breakfast on Rue de Clichy was expensive and very French (croissant, hot chocolate, orange juice - for E9.50). Hayley really did have tea with jam and bread!
Our day was planned to start with Galeries Lafayette for shopping/perfume-making followed by the Louvre, however our pleasant waitress informed us that Galeries Lafayette was closed on Sundays and we then discovered that all shops worth visiting were closed on Sundays. Hayley and I were super-disappointed; Shane smiled a little too broadly when then waitress broke the news.
It may be the off-season but, with so many people around, I would have thought the shops would be open for longer hours than Perth! My feet were longing for flat shoes; I had only brought my high-heel boots with me to Paris.
So we went directly to the Louvre from the Metro, which turned out to be the best move ever, as we were able to purchase our E9 as soon as we stepped of the train.
The Louvre was fabulous and enormous. The very building was art. The roofs, pillars, walls - even the floors - were richly decorated. We could have stayed all day but were happy to seek lunch after stopped being so awestruck, which came after about 2.5hrs of wandering. I had seen the Mona Lisa and had my photo taken with Venus di Milo and countless of other artworks - and that was enough for me.
We taxied to the Latin Quarter for lunch at an interesting Greek shishkebab place, where Hayley & Shane started with a free cocktail. I am amused and intimidated by the fact that Parisian restauranteurs spruik so earnestly for your custom, promising drinks and larger servings. [Hayley & Shane tell me that you don't select a restaurant to eat at in Berlin until you are offered at least dessert and two bottles of wine with your meal.]
It was a little off-putting to see a cat weaving its way through the tables in the restaurant, but it looked clean enough and we thought we would be safe with our thoroughly-cooked menu selections. The grilled chicked (E11) was delicious and one of the few reasonably-priced meals I found in Paris.
Hayley was the only one to order dessert. She had never tried souffle before and couldn't resist the mandarin souffle on the menu. It came out of the kitchen super-quick and souffle-looking, then she discovered it was mandaring-flavoured icrecream in the shape of souffle! It looked so real. Poor Hayley has still never eaten souffle. Still, she took it well and gave Shane & I an amusing and very active chair-dancing lesson to Zorba the Greek while enjoying every mouthful of her icrecream (which we almost wore as a result :p).
We explored the Latin Quarter a little more then had dessert (Hayley's 2nd!) on the outskirts: Nutella crepes. They are possibly my favourite food in the world. I know I am not alone in this: a steady stream of people lined up for the same after they saw us enjoying ours so much.
Our day ended with another red bus tour, followed by drinks [I love Parisian hot chocolate!] near our hotel. Hayley & I still needed to shop, so we left for the airport early. This turned out to be a very bad move. I got 'randomly' security-scanned again and found a whole 5 shops in Terminal 2 and we had our first real encounter with rude French people - in the airport, of all places! To cap it off, our flight was delayed by 1.5hrs.
[I forgot to mention my disappointment at not getting my passport stamped when I entered Paris. I mean, aside from the hundreds of pictures, how would people know I had actually been? I made sure it was stamped on the way out - and I got the distinct impression that I was not the first person to make such a request.]
We left Paris full of sugar, butter, salt and happy experiences. There was so much more we could have done, like visit Montmartre, see Rodin's The Thinker or look through the Musee D'Orsay, but we were pooped. Having done none of my usual research or preparation, he weekend was perfect. I was sated.
I didn't feel at all like a third wheel [thanks, Hayley & Shane] and I will definitely visit Paris again one day. With more money.
