PARIS!!

EArS glued tO: ‘Operator, the line is dead’ by Jason Lo

I’m back!!..........

Paris was absolutely AMAZING!!!!

5 days is definitely not enough.

I want more!!!!....hehe. When I looked out the plane and saw the Effel tower poking through the sky, I knew we have arrived at Paris.

I’ll try to sum up what we see and did in Paris. Here goes:

Day 1: Monday, 17th July 2006

Took a 3:15pm Easyjet flight from Newcastle airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Reached Paris at 5.55pm(France time). First thing that came to my mind: Paris is HOT! Not exaggerating. Hotter than Malaysia(or could it be that I am too used to British weather).
Bought a one week train travel pass(30€) and took the Metro to our hostel. Luckily we got the room at the attic. But it was still HOT. I was practically sweating as I was doing nothing at all. Heard that’s a heat wave going on around Europe this summer. Anyway, the room was spacious, seven beds in a room. My first time sleeping in a youth hostel. The concept is quite cool, except that some nights people just kept on walking in and out of the room disrupting those who are trying their very best to sleep(me!).
Since it was kind of late, we didn’t do any traveling that night except walk out to the supermarket to buy raw food for dinner.
Didn’t sleep at all that night.



Day 2: Tuesday, 18th July 2006

Let the show begin! We started off by taking a walk to the Eiffel Tower. The buildings in Paris are so adorable, with the little balconies outside every window. And there are cafés everywhere. I was really soaked up in the atmosphere of it all, I still can’t believe I was actually in Paris. The Eiffel tower does deserve all the attention it has been given. Three were three tiers of the tower where visitors can take the lift or stairs to. The queue for the lift option was loooonnnggg. So, I climbed to the first tier. Had a good bird’s view of Paris from up there.
Next stop, the Arc De Triomphe at Champs-Elysees. We had a spectacular view of Paris from the top of the Arch. From there, off to Notre-Dame cathedral. It really is an architectural work of art, especially the stained glass. Later in the night, we took a ship cruise down the river Seine, passing by it’s beautiful bridges ahead and it’s buildings at each side illuminated by the lights. It was my first taste of Paris at night, beautiful.
Slept like a pig that night.

Day 3: Wednesday, 19th July 2006

The Lourve! I saw Mona Lisa with my own two eyes, I still don’t believe it. Well, she was smaller than I expected her to be, and very popular. There were crowds of people clustered in front. I had to wait about 15 minutes to reach the front of the crowd to get my 5 minutes glimpse of her enigmatic smile. We didn’t get to see the whole muzium though, it was just too huge.
We had kebab for dinner by the river Seine, eating while watching the ships sail by, surrounded by French people strolling around, and couples kissing, how romantic…sigh. Slept like a sick pig that night.

Day 4: Thursday, 20th July 2006

First place, the Château de Versailles, one of the palaces belonging to Louise XIV. We didn’t enter the palace to save our Euros. However, we spent the day exploring its garden. It was huge! We then went to Madeleine Church, built in the style of a Greek temple. Later, we did some (window)shopping at Galleries Lafayette, followed by a night stroll in Paris before calling it a day.
Slept like a pig-who-just-had-her-meal that night.

Day 5: Friday, 21st July 2006

Went to Montmartre hill, the highest point in the city for a bird’s eye view of Paris. Located on the hill is the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a roman catholic church and popular landmark in Paris. After that, it was off to Moulin Rouge to take pictures. A show would have cost us 100€ each, so we skipped that(understandably). Next picture taking destination, Paris Disneyland.
I spent my last night in Paris walking about and sitting in the Place de la Concorde.
Slept like a dead pig.

Day 6: Saturday, 22nd July

My final day in Paris. Felt sad to leave such a beautiful place, although I was feeling dead tired by then. 5 Days of non stop walking under the blistering sun and only 6 hours of sleep a day has taken its toll on me. Did a little more exploring before heading to the airport. Fast forward a few hours and I am back in Newcastle.

Verdict: Paris is beautiful! I really do not mind going back there again. The people in my group were fun and streetwise. We didn’t get lost even once. Although I could not join the others in Spain and France, I wish them all the best in the rest of their journey. Learned some French: sortie=exit, merci=thank you.
A little sick of Barguettes(been having them for breakfast everyday in Paris (courtesy of the hostel), a shade darker(sunburned at my neck, red and itchy), rashes on my leg, but……TOTALLY HAPPY!!

Paris-Where dreams are fulfilled and new ones borne…