Paris was the place I was given the most varied and mixed reviews. So, I tried to stay open-minded and create my own opinion of Paris, because that’s what travelling is all about. An Asian proverb says:
Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.
The Parisians were very proud, you’re in France, you speak French. Trying is encouraged and appreciated. Our weak French was stretched and mis-pronounced, but we attempted it and got by. If we struggled they spoke in English, reluctantly.
Central Paris was amazing. The Eiffel Tower was majestic, so tall, strong and finally right there in front of my eyes, completely unbelievable. But I think I was most impressed by the Notre Dame Cathedral, it took my breathe away. The intricate detail was phenomenal and the stained glass was stunning from inside. The gothic style was strong in Paris and made you feel like you were back in time. All the other buildings were several storeys high, very pale in colour with shutters and detailed railings across the windows. Very Parisian, exactly how you’d expect all the wee side streets to look.
We spent a couple of hours in the Lourve Art Gallery, but more time is needed if you’re wanting to fully experience the art and history of this incredible building and gallery. We spent most of our time in James’ favourite area; the Greek and Roman galleries. Amazing statues filled many rooms, larger than life at times. Although most of the signage was in French, there was enough English to grasp the stories and James’ high school classics knowledge came in handy.
Then, there was the famous Mona Lisa. All I’d ever heard about it was it’s a tiny painting in the middle of a large room and prepare to be disappointed. Funnily enough after preparing myself for this minuscule painting and moshing ourselves to the front of the pushy, sweaty, selfie-stick-holding crowd, I was pleasantly surprised. The Mona Lisa was about an A3 size (reasonably standard for a portrait, from my extensive art gallery knowledge I’ve acquired from the three art galleries I’ve visited in the last week), the colours worked well together and it was lovely to look at. We walked away satisfied.
Food is a human necessity and Paris does food well. We found some cute wee bakeries and supermarkets near Notre Dame to stock up, before picnicking in view of the lovely church. Bagettes, ham, cheeses, éclairs and my personal favourite, macarons. All delicious, all perfect picnic ingredients, eat the rainbow people, it’s amazing.
I liked the Paris metro, the trains were nice and it was efficient. We only had one whoopsy. We didn’t understand the switching trains situation and thought we’d have to buy another ticket. So in a bid to save money we got off a stop slightly further from our accomodation than we would have liked, and decided to walk home. This stop ended up in a less than stellar neighbourhood. We managed to navigate ourselves back to our hostel eventually, we were safe, no one was aggressive or overly intimidating, but next time we’ll just switch trains.
The most surprising thing about Paris was the traffic. It was hectic, there didn’t seem to be any rules, and if there were, they didn’t seem to be followed. We weren’t able to cross willy nilly like we would in New Zealand. It was a big decision to cross the road, and always at a pedestrian crossing. The round-about that encompasses the Arc de Triomphe was insane, cars facing all kinds of angles, tooting, honking, sirens going. There were no lanes so just go where there is space. Safe to say I do not want to be driving the car in Paris.
Overall, Paris was my childhood dream come true. The Eiffel Tower was on my school books at age 7, so 7-year-old Ash is stoked. Present day Ash is also pretty stoked. The architecture was beautiful, very Parisian, the landmarks lived up to and exceeded expectations and the food was so delicious.
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