Rating:
 (4.4) (31 votes)
Paris, France
June 07, 2004
Pros :
The Louvre was absolutely amazing and cheap red wine!
Cons
: None
I arrived in Paris jetlagged after, as usual, failing in my mission
to get a good night’s sleep on the plane prior to arriving
of a morning at my given destination. I had a hostel in mind, so
in my sleep-deprived state my only mission was to get there. I planned
to take Le Parisienne Metropolitain, but first I had to get a handle
on this newfangled currency, the Euro. When I lived in Europe some
years ago it was all Francs and Lira, so this was a bit of a novelty.
I got some cash out from an ATM and went to change it for some coins
in a Tabac/newsagent, but the man said he wouldn’t take my
hundred Euro note for a pack of gum. So I gave up on the idea of
using one of the ticket purchase machines to avoid the queues and
lined up with the rest of civilization who has just arrived at Charles
de Gaulle station in Paris. Then I helped a few people get their
oversized luggage through the turnstile before finally making it
onto a train.
I arrived at La Maison, a hostel somewhere near the Eiffel Tower,
and due to the hour of the morning was lucky enough to score one
of the last available beds. Then I was told I wouldn’t be
allowed in the room until four pm. Bloody European hostel lock-out
policies. So I wandered around Paris bleary eyed and miserable while
I waited for a comfy, quiet bed, and believe me by the time I got
there I was out for the rest of the day. By nightfall I was somewhat
perky again, and a bunch of people had conglomerated in a room on
my floor so I joined them. Most of them turned out to be Americans
on their school break, and they were as rowdy and drunk as you would
expect. I met Ben and Candice from Kentucky and Shaun and Hunter
from Alabama. Ben was in the US military and Shaun, prior to Paris,
had never been outside the Alabama tri-state area. They were so
unlike my normal travel comrades that it was a bit of a novelty.
I discovered I’d been lucky enough to land in Paris the day
before the Louvre’s one free day of the month. This was awesome,
as my only plan in Paris this time was to go to the Louvre, as I
hadn’t had the chance last time I was there. Then someone
recommended the Paris Jazz Festival, which was being held in a big
park for a mere four Euro entrance fee. I convinced everyone I met
that night to come the following day, as I think things are more
fun in a group – even if they are mostly Americans.
Luckily I had spearheaded the whole plan, as I mis-set my alarm
and because of jetlag didn’t wake up anywhere near the time
we’d planned to meet. Eventually someone came upstairs to
drag me out of bed, as I had been the official organiser and they
didn’t feel it was right to leave without me. So we went to
the Louvre and I think crammed more culture into Ben and Shaun in
one day than they’ve had in the rest of their lives. I dragged
them over the coals over US foreign policy, but the most horrifying
thing was that they didn’t actually know that George W Bush’s
decisions were having much of an impact outside of the United States,
and Iraq of course. I realised that it’s not that the American
people are trying to fuck the world over – they’re not
even aware of doing it.
The Louvre was absolutely amazing; beating the Sistine Chapel as
the most overwhelmingly magnificent art gallery I’ve ever
seen. The Mona Lisa is actually really small, and I couldn’t
see why the Venus de Milo was so much more famous than the other
beautiful statues around her, but I’m proud to say I’ve
seen them nonetheless.
When we tired of fine art we caught the metro to the park and chilled
out on the banks of a lake listening to Jazz all afternoon. After
twilight we headed back to our hostel to eat, then bought a dozen
bottles of red wine for some ridiculously low price. We took them
with a couple of rugs to the Eiffel Tower and sat on the grass drinking
and chatting, cheering as it lit up as if in stars every hour. I
don’t think I could have had a better weekend in Paris had
I planned ahead. |
