The old signs for the underground stations in Paris
On Tuesday my sister and I made our way to the trainstation to catch the train to Paris. We missed the first one due to the line in front of the ticket machine (nobody understood what to do), but we finally managed to get a ticket each and we caught the next train. On arrival in Paris, we grabbed some lunch and then made our way to the metro station. The system is similar to the London system, but I still found it confusing. It was a good thing my sister was with me! We finally alighted properly at the Louvre and from there we took one of those open double decker buses. It was a two hour + ride through Paris and the temperatures weren't much better than the day before: at the end we both were freezing yet again! But Paris is loaded with souvenir shops and I managed to find a nice fitting sweater.
Photo taken from the Trocadero, the highest natural point from which to see the Eiffel Tower
After our dinner we walked back to the Louvre for some more photos, then we walked to the Place de la Concorde, where we took another metro. This time we were heading towards the Trocadero so we could get some great photos of the Eiffeltower! There were loads of people there, including lots and lots of African souvenir sellers. They were a bit in your face, but ignoring them worked well enough. After that it was back home again.
Some of the graves in 'La Cimétière Montmartre'
The next day we went back to Paris. This time to visit Montmartre. However we were already feeling three days of walking (remember I am a busdriver: I don't walk, I drive) and our pace had slowed down considerably! Especially in hilly surroundings. But we managed to get to the Sacré Coeur and even went inside. After our Starbucks coffees we visited a massive cemetery in Montmartre. I had never seen anything like that before. There were several famous people buried there as well, but we only saw one of them: Alexandre Dumas (the Three Musketeers). After a shortened trip on the River Seine (it might have been better at night with all the lights twinkling away) we headed towards the Hard Rock Café where we had our dinner.
To be continued...
It sounds like a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having a lovely time there Mara. I love Paris but haven't been for several years. A
ReplyDeleteOne can put a lot of miles on the feet in a holiday like that.
ReplyDeleteI've visited Paris with my sister when I was 17, so a long long time ago. Walked everywhere. Never took the Metro. Loved it. Apart from the sore feet and the street sweepers waking us up extremely early in the morning.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy ;-)
How I wish I was with you. I am enjoying this through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteI must make this trip sometime.
The pictures are beautiful and I know I would love that cemetery.
Can't wait to see what the rest of the trip was like.
Enjoyed your Paris tour. A few years ago my prince and I got "stranded" in Paris by missing a flight to Yerevan, Armenia. We were in transit and since Yerevan is not a metropolis with lots of international traffic, we ended up having to wait two days for the next flight out.
ReplyDeleteSo, we FINALLY, managed to see Paris. It was great. And a few months later we were back for more, this time on purpose!