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Eden |
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Rating
:  (4.1)
(31 votes)
Pros : Paris
is most assuredly the unexpected Eden of the trip so far.
Cons
: None
Paris, France
September 11, 2004
They always said that the French hated Americans, especially, the
Parisians. How could they be so wrong??? Paris was the one place
on the itinerary that I thought I'd blaze through and enjoy but
not think twice about...How wrong was I? The second I stepped into
the streets I was surrounded and succumbed to something that one
never finds in America; CULTURE. It seeps out of the pores of every
student walking in the street, a couple drinking coffee at a cafe,
a woman munching a baguette as she walks. America has no culture.
We are the mixing pot of MANY cultures which is something cool and
unique in and of itself, but to be so uniformally surrounded by
one culture is truly a treat.
We walked through the streets talking in the sights and sounds;
the sweet, buttery scent of fresh croissants, dark chocolates blended
by hand, very stinky and creamy cheese, etc. We stayed at Hotel
Eber Mars right by the Tour Eiffel and could see the top of it from
our 5th fl. balcony. We walked around the champ de Mars for a while
and then turned in early.
No one would ask, Since you love Paris so much, why leave the city
to go climbing after 12 hours? That answer is simple: Fountainebleau.
The boulders of Fountainebleau are nestled in a forest area spreading
over several miles about 40km south of France.
Gerald and Sara {from ATL} and I took a train and then a cab to
get the are known as Le Cuvier. We met 2 more climbers along the
way {one of which had a crash pad...SWEET!} The boulders averaged
about 3-5 meters in height and were Sandstone of the HP40 variety.
Lots of the problems were VERY VERY hard, but we all had a good
time and just enjoyed being able to climb in such a gorgeous setting.
I felt that I climbed fairly well considering that's it's been almost
2 weeks since I touched rock, but my head was strong, and that's
what made me the happiest. I even topped out a few boulders that
would've terrified me in the past. After about 3 hours we needed
to head back and meet Michal so we began {what we thought would
be} our 5km walk back to train station. Within 1 min. of trying
to hitch a ride a young lady picked us up and drove us all the way
back to the train...{my feet thank you too}
The evening included a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tour. On the
menu: baguette, sausage with big pieces of fat in it, Camenbert
and a bottle of red wine. Dinner was great until some drunk guy
came over and "joined" us. He was pretty out of it, slurring
and stumbling and wouldn't take our hints. {Although I didn't try
Piss Off!} Eventually I got annoyed with the whole thing and packed
up our food, and then quickly relocated. Later that night, Michal
and I went half way up the tower and enjoyed the night-time view
of Paris.
The next day was a big one. I forgot to mention that Michal happen
to drop the camera on the lens and break it. Fixing it was impossible,
and a new one {at the only store we could find} was close to $500
USD. I worried that the photo-making part of the trip was over!!!
Gerald lent me his camera the next day {thanks again} and I was
able to get some shots of Notre Dame and the city. We checked out
another camera shop and were told to go to Fnac an electronic department
store. I found a Canon A75 for about 200€ after the VAT tax
refund. So basically I bought a new camera for about $20 more than
it would cost in the US...no big deal. So the pictures will continue!
Around 2.30pm we said our good byes to Gerald and Sara and walked
around the Louvre. I realized {yet again} that I'm not really a
museum "type" and get rather ancy after an hour. So we
saw the Mona Lisa {much smaller than I thought it'd be} 17th century
dutch painting and lots of Mesopotamian sculpture. The coolest part
was definitely Napoleon III's apartments still furnished and intact.
{Think SWANK} If you are the museum type, the Louvre is highly recommended
by Ari and Michal, and even I'd go back again.{with lots of "breaks"}
Paris is most assuredly the unexpected Eden of the trip so far.
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