Paris, France, city of lights. One of the oldest cities in Western Europe, its cultural allure draws from its reputation of art, love, and politics. Wide boulevards lined with magnificent edifices branch off limbs of snaky cobblestoned lanes lined with little shops and cafés. Ah, the cafés! The French love to sit and eat, or stand and talk, or snuggle and kiss. It’s definitely a city where the lips get a workout. Arriving in Paris one traverses one of the world’s largest airports, with moving walkways rambling at angles like a roller coaster. See photo 1 Paris Airport, where covered moving walkways at all angles form a sci-fi scene of people moving tubes. For this seven-day journey, we traveled with only carry-on luggage, breezed through customs, and out to the metro in less than an hour. Paris’ metro system (Photo 1 Subway) is one of the world’s best, traveling throughout the city quickly, cleanly, and cheaply. Well, cheap compared to a taxi, for nothing is cheap in Paris. The metro from Charles de Gaulle to central Paris costs 13 Euro, about $15. Around the city each metro trip costs about $2. Our plane arrived at 0700, which was midnight in Gulfport of the day we left, and we “enjoyed” only two or three hours sleep in those non-reclining Coach seats. Consequently, our first scheduled event was a nap. Our hotel, a 3-star boutique (the Tim Hotel, as in Tiny Tim), sits just across from the Gare Lazare, the railroad station where we’ll take off for Normandy tomorrow. We’re on the top most floor (Photo 1 Hotel – well, that’s the hotel across the street, but it gives the same effect) with open windows and a view of the busy street below. By one p.m. we were ready for our explorations. On the Paris streets people walk everywhere, and everyone is skinny and beautiful. Particularly the women. Ooh la la. No photos of the long legged beauties to share, though. We walked past scores of sidewalk cafés where in the early afternoon the French gather over beer and cigarettes (Photos 2 A sidewalk café and Beer). Incredible architecture grace every nook and view (Photos 2 Bld Tower, Door, & Street Bldg). Cassie thought it cute that the unattended Gas pumps sit on the side of the road, easy access for a quick fill-up. (Photo 2 Gas pumps). Statues are everywhere. I know I went a bit overboard on the photos here, yet their presence speaks so much to French history, mythology and architecture I enjoyed viewing them and imagining how they represented the eras of their construction. (See Photos 3) The opportunities for tourists stretch the possibilities of time. Of course we HAD to see the Eiffel Tower. One can ride to the top after standing in line for an hour (or make reservations and skip the line), in any case, we skipped that adventure to tour more of the city. We took in only one museum, the Maritime, not even time for the Louvre. The Louvre, by the way, displays over 35,000 pictures, less than 10% of its collection, and takes a minimum of two days to tour. Seeing the Mona Lisa is considered a “Must” by most visitors. In the evening we enjoyed a lovely night cruise on the Seine. Under the “Lover’s Bridge” you’re supposed to enjoy a prolonged smooch with your love, while making a wish. Cassie wished she’d given me a breath mint. Tomorrow we’ll have a few hours for touring before meeting up with Isabelle Parker, our French guide (from Gulfport) and Kathy Hughes Shaughnessy (Biloxi’s Shaughnessy Printing) for our trip to Normandy.
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 10:14:01 +0000
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