I was last in Paris in the summer of 2007 with my sister Ruth. We spent 10 days in Paris, the longest I think we spent anywhere on our 7-week whirlwind trip around Europe, and it was possibly my favorite overall time on that trip. Maybe it was because we actually had time to settle in and feel more comfortable in the city, but I think that Paris is also just special.
Because of this, I was quite eager to have a day in Paris on my way to meet the Pattons in Normandy. Meeting them on Friday night already required me to take the day off of work, so I decided to head to Paris after work on Thursday, spend Friday there, and then take the train out to Normandy and the Pattons. It was a good choice.
The train ride to Paris was rather uneventful, although I was sitting behind someone who was watching what I determined to be colonoscopy videos the entire trip. It was only slightly revolting.
I, as per usual, got spectacularly lost on my way to my hotel, but eventually managed to find myself and check in. And then realized that I had left my credit card at the grocery store in Zürich that day. Not exactly the best way to start out the vacation, but, a few phone calls later, I had the card canceled (and it hadn't yet been used), and I came home to a new credit card in my mailbox. So, all's well that ends well.
On Friday morning, I got up early, enjoyed the hotel's breakfast, and then headed to Gare St. Lazare to drop off my suitcase so that I could wander Paris footloose and fancy-free. The major problem with this plan was that St. Lazare doesn't have luggage lockers, so I had to track down the nearest lockers, at Gare du Nord. Luckily, the Paris Metro system is well-equipped with escalators. Unluckily, their ticket turnstiles are not well-equipped for luggage, so this involved a lot of flailing and wrangling of luggage.
But, with my luggage happily stowed away, I was ready to explore Paris. I had discovered a site called Mosey a week or so earlier, which is a website where people can post their favorite activities and itineraries for whatever place, which usually involves very specific instructions. I decided to go on this walk through Parisian Passages.
The walk started out at the Porte Saint-Dennis, where I enjoyed a coffee in a sidewalk cafe. After all of that luggage schlepping, I was ready for a little break!
Properly caffeinated, I started the mosey in earnest. I saw Passage Brady, which was being renovated, Cité Trévise, a super cute little park on a side street, Les Folies Bergère, which had a pretty cool exterior, and À la Mère de Famille, which might've been the cutest (and oldest) candy shop I've ever seen.
Then the passages started in earnest, with Passage Verdeau, Passage Jouffroy, Passage des Panoramas, Place de la Bourse (old stock exchange), and, finally, Galerie Vivienne, which had beautiful mosaic tiling. Everything was quieter than I expected, with many shops closed for holidays. I was disappointed to be denied the chance to go in to all of the bookstores that I saw: all of the books were so pretty! Although, I guess they'd be all in French, so maybe it wasn't the end of the world...
Finally, I ended the Mosey at the Palais Royal. I strolled through the cool tree lane, and ended up in a courtyard with a very interesting art installation. That was pretty much the end of the planned walk, and I was on my own after that.
I was relatively pleased with the Mosey. I got to explore a part of Paris that I hadn't seen before. There was nothing outrageously spectacular, but it was just Paris being Paris, which is nice enough.
My mosey ended pretty much at the Louvre, so I passed by, and then headed to the Tuileries Garden for a picnic lunch. The weather was really gorgeous, and I enjoyed sitting in the sun by the fountain, watching all of the other tourists (many of whom spoke either English or German).
After lunch, I walked down the gardens to Place de la Concord. I caught a tantalizing glimpse of the Eiffel Tour, but decided to promenade down the Champs-Élysées instead, towards the Arc de Triomphe. I had just enough time for a stroll all the way to the Arc (where some nice man offered to take my photo if I took his), before heading back to the Gare du Nord to pick up my suitcase, and then catching my train from St. Lazare to Normandy.
Although it was pretty short, I did really enjoy my day in Paris. I love the fact that I live in a place where Paris is only a 4 hour train ride away! I'm already looking forward to going back when my mom visits me this fall...
Because of this, I was quite eager to have a day in Paris on my way to meet the Pattons in Normandy. Meeting them on Friday night already required me to take the day off of work, so I decided to head to Paris after work on Thursday, spend Friday there, and then take the train out to Normandy and the Pattons. It was a good choice.
The train ride to Paris was rather uneventful, although I was sitting behind someone who was watching what I determined to be colonoscopy videos the entire trip. It was only slightly revolting.
I, as per usual, got spectacularly lost on my way to my hotel, but eventually managed to find myself and check in. And then realized that I had left my credit card at the grocery store in Zürich that day. Not exactly the best way to start out the vacation, but, a few phone calls later, I had the card canceled (and it hadn't yet been used), and I came home to a new credit card in my mailbox. So, all's well that ends well.
On Friday morning, I got up early, enjoyed the hotel's breakfast, and then headed to Gare St. Lazare to drop off my suitcase so that I could wander Paris footloose and fancy-free. The major problem with this plan was that St. Lazare doesn't have luggage lockers, so I had to track down the nearest lockers, at Gare du Nord. Luckily, the Paris Metro system is well-equipped with escalators. Unluckily, their ticket turnstiles are not well-equipped for luggage, so this involved a lot of flailing and wrangling of luggage.
But, with my luggage happily stowed away, I was ready to explore Paris. I had discovered a site called Mosey a week or so earlier, which is a website where people can post their favorite activities and itineraries for whatever place, which usually involves very specific instructions. I decided to go on this walk through Parisian Passages.
The walk started out at the Porte Saint-Dennis, where I enjoyed a coffee in a sidewalk cafe. After all of that luggage schlepping, I was ready for a little break!
Properly caffeinated, I started the mosey in earnest. I saw Passage Brady, which was being renovated, Cité Trévise, a super cute little park on a side street, Les Folies Bergère, which had a pretty cool exterior, and À la Mère de Famille, which might've been the cutest (and oldest) candy shop I've ever seen.
Then the passages started in earnest, with Passage Verdeau, Passage Jouffroy, Passage des Panoramas, Place de la Bourse (old stock exchange), and, finally, Galerie Vivienne, which had beautiful mosaic tiling. Everything was quieter than I expected, with many shops closed for holidays. I was disappointed to be denied the chance to go in to all of the bookstores that I saw: all of the books were so pretty! Although, I guess they'd be all in French, so maybe it wasn't the end of the world...
Finally, I ended the Mosey at the Palais Royal. I strolled through the cool tree lane, and ended up in a courtyard with a very interesting art installation. That was pretty much the end of the planned walk, and I was on my own after that.
 |
| Cool Metro stop. |
I was relatively pleased with the Mosey. I got to explore a part of Paris that I hadn't seen before. There was nothing outrageously spectacular, but it was just Paris being Paris, which is nice enough.
My mosey ended pretty much at the Louvre, so I passed by, and then headed to the Tuileries Garden for a picnic lunch. The weather was really gorgeous, and I enjoyed sitting in the sun by the fountain, watching all of the other tourists (many of whom spoke either English or German).
After lunch, I walked down the gardens to Place de la Concord. I caught a tantalizing glimpse of the Eiffel Tour, but decided to promenade down the Champs-Élysées instead, towards the Arc de Triomphe. I had just enough time for a stroll all the way to the Arc (where some nice man offered to take my photo if I took his), before heading back to the Gare du Nord to pick up my suitcase, and then catching my train from St. Lazare to Normandy.
Although it was pretty short, I did really enjoy my day in Paris. I love the fact that I live in a place where Paris is only a 4 hour train ride away! I'm already looking forward to going back when my mom visits me this fall...
