Tag Archives: Eiffel Tower

Eurotrip 2012: Everything in one place

Eurotrip 2012: The route (click for more detail)

Reliving our trip in April digitally over the last few months has been amazing. Sometimes I wish I’d taken more photos and other times I wish I had spent less time behind my camera. Either way, I have loved capturing the trip here.

I’ve summarised the posts below in chronological order of events, with the photo galleries  (for those days where I could just not get around to writing) below the story of our trip. I hope this helps ease navigating the month long trip! Continue reading

Advertisement
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eurotrip 2012: Day two in Paris, France

23 – 27 April: Paris, France

Continued from part 11: Day one in Paris

24 April – Of plans and schemes comes naught

Our plan for the day is to visit a rather vast area riddled with tourist attractions in the 7th and 17th arrondissements of Paris. These include the École Militaire, the Champs-Élysées, the Champ de Mars and a trip up the Eiffel Tower. I’ve found Tripomatic an invaluable asset in planning what to see in our unknown destinations, and would highly recommend it!

The first stop on our tour (no matter what that plan may say) is the House of the Invalids. We chose a Metro stop on the far end of the Ponte Alexander bridge and the view is stunning walking over it. The bridge is one of the oldest in Paris and is adorned with quite a few wonderful details.

It seems as soon as we arrive at Les Invalides it starts pouring down with rain again. We meander around the courtyard looking at the displays of canons and the like whilst keeping out of the rain as best we can, though after three weeks of constant rain I have to admit that I’m no longer feeling the love.

Together with a gaggle of other tourists, we spend the next 40 minutes or so hiding our in an alcove. At this stage it seems abundantly clear that the skies won’t be relenting their watery assault any time soon, so we make the tough decision to go back to the hotel and have lunch. The rain has been somewhat like a toddler with a light switch, and the constant on-off on-off of the torrential downpour has at least been constant in its unpredictability. It has now become clear that our already short-listed version of the sights we want to see in Paris, will have to be cut again and again in order to fit in with the weather’s schedule.

During another dry spell we grab the opportunity to visit the Eiffel Tower. Instead of leisurely strolling through the surrounds, we act like true tourists and take the Metro to the closest stop to the tower and get in line straight away. Through some fluke we end up buying 2/3 tickets, meaning we have to climb the first two levels of stairs before we can take the elevator to the third level. Though the views are amazing and it’s a rather nice experience, the wind is biting and horrible as one ascends.

The view from the top is amazing. The only hill in Paris proudly boasts the Sacré-Coeur and the Louvre is clearly visible. Having studied the lay-out religiously in preparation of our visit tomorrow, this offers an amazing bird’s eye view. In the distance the Arc de Triomphe is visible with its adornment of crazy traffic, but over it all lies a bank of cloud threatening everyone with its seemingly ever-present gloom.

Esplanade du Trocadero, with Paris CBD in the background

La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre

Les Invalides

After descending the steps and reaching ground level, Francois requests that we take a stroll down the Champs-Élysée, at least for a while before we get wet again. The gardens are beautifully kept and it’s a great experience walking down these well-worn stones, but in the light of wanting to save some time we find the next Metro stop and head to the Arc de Triomphe, as the rain is holding out on us for the moment.

Knowing that I may be judged severely for this, I have to admit that the arch itself is not all I expected it to be. The symbolism is great and the detail on the structure itself fascinating, but as a whole I felt rather underwhelmed. As far as unique experiences go, the arch itself doesn’t make it to my list of top 10s. However, while we were standing around looking at the traffic and being told to stay away from the arch, it seems that some military procession was taking place and we were caught up in the middle of it. This did make up for the lack of great weather a bit!

After our long day of (mis-)adventure, our final stop for the day is meant to be the restaurant we found in Montmartre last night. We get dressed in our finest, non-tourist garb and settle in for a wonderful meal of foie gras, duck and chocolate fondant. The service is impeccable and the wine lovely, perhaps all the more so because of the beautiful setting.

After dinner we realize that we may still catch the 23:00 light show on the Tour de Eiffel is we hurry, and as the weather is behaving we take the longer route across the Champ de Mars towards the tower. The lights start twinkling as we walk hand-in-hand towards the tower and I have to admit, that it is every bit as wonderful, romantic and clichéd as one could ever imagine. The perfect ending to a less-than-perfect day.

Next: a day at the Louvre.

Header photo by Deon Joubert.
All other images by the author: © catterflyworx 2012.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eurotrip 2012: Day one in Paris, France


23 – 27 April: Paris, France

Continued from part 10: Lyon, France

23 April – Arriving in a wet (and somewhat dodgy) Paris
We’ve been packing and unpacking so much lately that I feel we could be awarded some kind of medal by the ‘Efficient Packers ‘r’ Us Brigade’. After bidding farewell to the lovely Lyon, we’re on the train speeding through the picturesque countryside of France. We’re headed towards Paris and, though it’s sure to be just as wet and rainy as everywhere else on our trip I can’t help but feel super excited about what awaits.

Our train arrives at the Gare de Lyon in the 12th arrondissement in Paris. It’s one of the bigger train stations we’ve been to in the last few days and even from the inside, the characteristic Parisian architecture is clearly visible. I’d booked tickets for us to visit the Musee du Louvre from South Africa and indicated that we’ll collect the tickets from the FNAC counter in the train station. Picking them up is easy and after tucking them away safely, we set off in search of our hotel.

Gare de Lyon, Paris, France

Gare de Lyon, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In our bid to stay within budget and have a hotel that’s conveniently close to the Paris Metro system, we seem to perhaps have overplayed our hand. Though the hotel’s site showed charming photos of a newly renovated older building, the reality is far from it and we arrive to one of the dodgiest hotels I have ever had to stay in. Oh. So. RIDICULOUSLY. Dodgy. If they didn’t have my credit card details, I’d just have turned around and left. The up-side of this is the fact that this will force us to spend as much time away from the hotel, and thus on the streets of the city, as possible.

The Sacre Coeur! This seems like a great starting point for places to see in Paris. I also really want to spend some time in Montmartre in the early evening visiting shops and walking these tiny artistic streets. Though it looks like a complete shambles on first inspection, the Paris metro is incredibly convenient. We pop out right at the bottom of the hill, only to find it windy and rainy. Hoping it will pass, we stop to have some coffee and strategize a plan of action for the next few days.

Our first attempt for the day to view the Sacre Coeur, Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge all fail miserably as the weather is terrible. The wind gusts raindrops into any small opening it finds from all directions and overall, the morning is a complete waste.

Sacre Coeur Montmartre Paris

A view on the Sacre Coeur from the streets of Montmartre

In a last ditch attempt to see some of the city while keeping dry, we head to the Galeries Lafayette centre. It is an insanely large, multi-level department store with anything and everything under the sun. The food court is an amazing assault on the senses with flavoured candies, coloured sugars, exotic spices and a plethora of exquisitely prepared foods from across the globe on sale. One could spend a week here and not find everything it has to offer.

After getting something to eat it seems the torrential downpour has slightly abated and we head back to the Sacre Coeur. The view from the hilltop is amazing and a must-see for a visit to Paris. The basilica’s interior is astoundingly beautiful and well preserved, and the exterior offers many intricate details.

Sacre Couer Paris

We stroll through Montmartre hand-in-hand, as if the inconvenience of the rain and dreadful events unfolding the morning are completely forgotten. In a little side-street, we find a pub with pints of beer for a decent price and decide to enjoy some drinks as a reward at the end of the day.

Montmartre Paris

Montmartre Paris

On the way to the metro station, we find a French bistro that looks promising, and earmark it as The Place to have our one eat-out in Paris tomorrow evening.

Montmartre Paris

Montmartre Paris

Enjoying the amazingly well-behaved weather and wanting to take advantage of it, we decide to visit the Moulin Rouge again and are rewarded with a beautiful light show, though the prices for getting in are laughable.

Moulin Rouge Paris

Moulin Rouge prices April 2012 Paris

Still not sated with our first night in Paris, we arrive at a beautiful view of the Eiffel tower at 21:50 just in time to enjoy the 22:00 show.

Eiffel Tower, Paris

We finally call it a day and head back to Dodge central for a night of rest, feeling well rewarded at the end of the night.

[Tip of the day for Paris: Download a map or mobile app of the metro for easy reference]

Followed by day two in Paris.

Header photo by Deon Joubert.
All other images by the author: © catterflyworx 2012.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
The Afrikaans Challenge

Learning a language in a year. How hard can it be?

The Internet Offends Me

Where everything is offensive

rockthatfrock

It's all about remixing...

Get Locally

Experience Travel - Vienna At Its Best

maplove

Just another WordPress.com site

See Thru' Lens

What I See (Mostly Thru My BlackBerry)

adrian alim

be back soon

Ray Ferrer - Emotion on Canvas

** OFFICIAL Site of Artist Ray Ferrer **

%d bloggers like this: