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| The HOHO route |
Hopped on the HoHo bus Yellow Route (there was a stop not too far from the hotel) about 9:30 - 32€ for 2 days. Drove past Opéra Garnier (the primary home of the Paris Opera from 1875 until 1989 - a beautifully designed building by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style and is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time) and L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (a Roman Catholic church designed as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army).
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| Opera Garnier |
Got out at the Moulin Rouge to buy tickets to a show. Figured if we were going to see a show in Paris it better be one that doesn’t depend on being able to understand French. And it is a part of France’s entertainment history, having been around for 120 years. We have tickets for Saturday night.
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| Moulin Rouge |
Had a coffee at Starbucks across the road. Figured that they would have soy milk, which they did, but it didn’t get many points for taste.
Back on the bus and completed the circuit past the railway stations and back to Le Madeleine. Here we swapped to the green route (the main tourist route) but as it was beginning to rain we had to go downstairs. It was very crowded so decided to get off at the next stop and have lunch at one of those fancy little street-side brasserie places – the prawn salad was nice but at 15€ was a bit more expensive than an English pub. A glass of wine for Jill and a beer for me added to the bill.
The rain had stopped by the time we got back on the bus. Drove through the Place du Carousel (part of the Louvre). The Louvre is huge and will obviously keep us very busy when we visit on Saturday morning. It was then across the Seine to the island (Île de la Cité ) and past the Palais dé Justice and Notre Dame before crossing again to the Left Bank and heading west past Musée d’Orsay then crossing again for the run up the famous avenue, the Champs Élysees, to the Arc de Triomphe (built in 1806 to honour those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I).
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| Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe |
We got off the bus at the Trocadéro so that we could walk to the Tour Eiffel (or Eiffel Tower as we know it). We had seen it peeking above the trees for some time but when we walked up the steps to see it in its entirety for the first time we realised just how big it is – the whole 324 metres of it (about the same height as an 81-storey building). It is truly an amazing sight.
The tower, built in 1889 for the World Fair and named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, is still the tallest building in Paris and apparently the most-visited paid monument in the world. Not that we paid anything as we didn’t feel the need to climb it (particularly after looking at the length of the queue). When built the tower was much criticised by the public and was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership reverted to the City of Paris. However, by this time it was proving invaluable for communication purposes so was allowed to remain.
We hopped back on the bus and off again when we got back to La Madeleine. We had a look at the church and then headed back towards Mericourt (after a sorbet/ice cream for sustenance), having a closer look at the Opera House on the way.
Grabbed a chicken salad roll with chips and a drink and had a picnic on our bed back at the hotel.
Observation of Paris so far:
The Interesting:
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| Tour Eiffel |
The tower, built in 1889 for the World Fair and named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, is still the tallest building in Paris and apparently the most-visited paid monument in the world. Not that we paid anything as we didn’t feel the need to climb it (particularly after looking at the length of the queue). When built the tower was much criticised by the public and was to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership reverted to the City of Paris. However, by this time it was proving invaluable for communication purposes so was allowed to remain.
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| La Madeleine |
Grabbed a chicken salad roll with chips and a drink and had a picnic on our bed back at the hotel.
Observation of Paris so far:
The Interesting:
- The amazing architecture, carvings, figurines, statues – this truly is a beautiful city.
- The fact that when they renovate buildings (and there are quite a few being renovated) they put up a covering on the scaffolding which has a picture of the building stencilled on it.
- The surprising amount of open space, parks etc
- Parisians really do dress well
- Despite what some people have told us Parisians are usually friendly (I guess we have been using bonjour and merci a lot which helps. I can even ask for our room key – deux zéro quatre). And the fact that many can actually speak English.
- Great sorbets and ice creams
- That the Seine is still a working river and that barges are part of the transport system.
- The number of people who smoke – particularly in outdoor eating areas, bus shelters etc and the fact that many just throw their buts on the ground when they have finished.
- The amount of graffiti – much more than what we saw in Britain. We thought Australia was pretty bad!!
