I wouldn’t feel like we had been properly welcomed by a city if we didn’t have some sort of issue getting to our lodging, and Paris certainly did not want us to feel unwelcome. Because travel is hard we arrived at our Airbnb an hour later than originally planned, and missed getting our key from the host, so the first three hours of our stay in Paris were spent staring out the second story window of a Starbuck’s overlooking Sacre Coeur (not a bad view), and waiting to be let in our studio.
Once we finally met our host, we were shown the smallest living space I have ever seen, and I’ve watched Thumbelina!
Seriously, The Borrowers would have found the space cozy.
Eiffel Tower
Paris was beautiful and wonderful and Paris. We lucked out with our location in Montmartre. It was far away enough from the city center to not be overcrowded by tourists, but just a minute walk from the metro which was remarkably easy to navigate, comprehensive, and cheap. And, it has the added benefit of the moment you walk up the steps exiting the platform, you’re greeted by sights like this:
Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person was just as wonderful and emotional as I thought it would be, but as it is with most things, not nearly as glamorous. I actually think the industrial reality of the tower is even cooler than the romanticized vision we all seen to have in our heads.
And if you’re willing to wait in line for a bit, you get a view that looks a little something like this:
After seeing the tower, we walked around and stumbled upon this beauty of a garden. We never could figure out what exactly it was, but I’m sure it used to be the private garden of some King or something equally ridiculous.
To me, that was one of the strangest and most wonderful things about Paris. There was so much history all around the city, but that history doesn’t keep people from living their lives normally, right now. Everything changes, and they don’t fight it. I can’t count the times on tours that a guide would say something akin to, “This 16th century building used to house the king’s mistresses, and now it’s an H&M!”
BERKS!
At the very top of both our lists was a visit to Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. To the confusion of many, the current Shakespeare and Company is not the original, frequented by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce; that was closed during the German occupation. The shop that currently stands was opened years later under a different name, this time frequented by Beat writers, like Ginsberg and Burroughs. This fact doesn’t keep hundreds of visitors from filling in by the hour to this tiny and meandering store filled to the absolute brim. We definitely visited this store more than once, and I left Paris with a few books and a mean looking tote bag to my name. The store had a strict “no inside photos” policy, which nearly killed me and I didn’t understand, but, I’m a rule-follower (especially when books are involved).
The Louvre
Okay, I cannot believe I’m about to put this into type, and I write it with full acceptance that I will have my Art History diploma revoked and void, but I was not the biggest fan of The Louvre. I’ll give everyone a moment to express their disbelief and confusion…I’ll wait.
The best way I can explain my dissatisfaction with what is probably the most well known and visited museum in the world, is with a picture.
This isn’t even really that accurate considering there is not ONE selfie-stick in the photo, and this is after a few minutes of throwing serious elbows to move this far forward. It was like this for all the well known pieces, which made it impossible to really see anything and was just all around frustrating. If you fought through the crowds to the upper levels with the less popular works, the rooms were nearly empty. So those were nice, but overall there were just too many people and selfie-sticks for my liking. Don’t even get me started on selfie-sticks.
Actually, never mind, do get me started. I need a new cause, and I’ve just decided what it is going to be – to criminalize selfie-sticks.
Despite my throwing shade at The Louvre, I still spent seven hours there, so I guess I didn’t hate it too much. 🙂
Walking Tours
If I’m considered seasoned enough now to give any kind of travel advice (I’m not, don’t listen to me, I have no idea what I’m saying), it’s to always take the free walking tour. We have found these in every city we’ve visited. It saves a load of money (you just have to pay the tip to the guide), and gives a fantastic introduction to a city or specific neighborhood. Led by locals, you get to see things off the tourist path, restaurant recommendations, and, with a good and passionate guide, great stories and history.
In Paris, we took two of the five tours offered by Discover Walks, which I highly recommend, of the neighborhoods of Montmartre and Marais. We also booked a Paris Ghost Tour for one night, and it was totally worth it.
The Catacombs
We had read horror stories on TripAdvisor about 3-4 hour long waits for the Catacombs, so we woke up early to be in line a little less than 2 hours before opening, and were fourth in line. An hour in we were glad we rolled out bed as the line had already wrapped around the block with no end in sight. They only allow a very small amount of people into the underground tunnels at a time, probably to protect the structure and the contents of the tombs, but also to make it SUPER CREEPY.
Now, intellectually, I knew what the Catacombs was going to be, and what I was going to see while I was there, but actually going through it was a whole other story. I’m conflicted about the experience as a whole, because, while I enjoyed the quiet, dark, narrow, meandering tunnels, and the overall spookiness, walking through the burial place of hundreds of thousands and seeing actual remains was a bit too much for me.
We were in Paris for a total of 10 days, and could have easily spent 10 more. That being said, you didn’t sign up for a Tolstoy novel here, so I’ve decided to divide Paris into two parts. I’ll be back soon with more!
Adventures in Wonderland 