Paris, France...Five Visits (World)
Trip Start
Unknown
1
34
73
Trip End
Ongoing
Paris, France
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Paris, my favorite place on the planet (so far anyway). Many other people must feel the same, since it is the most visited city on earth. What's not to love? It's vibrant, it's full of energy, history, fashion, wonderful food, art, shall I go on? I like the people there too.
I have often been asked what I think of the French people, since there still seems to be an idea of rudeness or something. But I have found the French people very nice and helpful. This is certainly true of Parisians, anyway.
As far as the "Top Ten Sights" listed by the author, I have seen or gone to the following: Arc de Triomphe, Hotel des Invalides, The Louvre, and Notre Dame. As far as her other "Must-Do's": I have taken a Bateau-Mouche Cruise on the Seine, seen the tuileries, gone shopping at Marche aux puces des Clignancourt (Paris flea market)--which was disappointing, I must say.
As in the London section where she did not mention pubs, she also did not mention the bistros of Paris in general. You can find them everywhere, and each one is a treat. If you are tired, thirsty, hungry, or just want a break, the bistros are a wonderful place to stop for awhile, and they will never kick you out.
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Our trip to Paris in 2008 led us to more of the places within the book.
Although we had seen the Arc de Triomphe before, this time we went all the way up. And up, and up, and up. I thought I was going to die from those stairs. It was worth the view though. It was also fun to be in the middle of the Etoile (the roundabout) with the crazy cars and motos zipping by.
We made it to the Musee d'Orsay also, at DH's request. I was very glad we went; it's a wonderful, doable museum (especially if you don't have time to do the Louvre).
As with the Arc de Triomphe, we had seen the Cathedral of Notre Dame, but had not gone inside. This time, we did. It was definitely amazing, and the long line to get in goes quite quickly. We did not wait in the long line to be admitted to the upper areas. We saved that for another time.
We also walked through the Jardins des Tuileries on a cloudy day. It was quite beautiful, even though it was still in Winter mode.
We also took part in the "Cafe Scene" of the St. Germain area (that was where we were staying). One of the cafes mentioned in the book is Les Deux Magots where we ate dinner on our first night.
