La Ville Lumière

17 September 2018; Monday
Paris, France

I literally did EVERYTHING today and yet looking at the pictures I’m like.. what did I even do? I did make a few mistakes and walked in a couple of circles but I probably needed the exercise after all the Swiss chocolate.

My hotel was near the Eiffel Tower and also the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberte) that we gave to France in 1889! I went to see the statue first and then headed to the Eiffel. I got some good photos as I was walking up to it and then saw the massive amount of people. I bought a ticket online, unfortunately all of the tickets for the top were sold out (BUY AHEAD - this is what happens when you are lazy about your research) but I could still go to the second floor. It was about 1100 and the first ticket available was for 230pm so I bought a ticket for 3pm and figured I’d go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe in between. I had a two day all transit pass so that was nice to have even though Paris is actually VERY walkable (but also very large).

The Arc de Triomphe website warned that the lift (elevator) was broken so I had to google how many steps there were (284) to make sure I could do it. It is the biggest arch in the world and was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806; it is also home to the tomb of the unknown soldier. The spiral staircase was awesome and didn’t seem like that many steps at all. The view from the top was amazing and I took entirely too many photos.

I needed water at this point because of all the steps and that it was 75 degrees (F) and sunny out. I chugged a liter of water and ate a croissant on the Avenue des Champs Elysées. I walked back toward the tower but from the other side and came across Place/Jardins du Trocadéro which is home to the fountain where my friend Aarika had taken a perfect photo of herself at the tower a few months prior but unfortunately the area was under construction - whether they were prepping for a concert of some kind or renovations I do not know. Either way, I was a little sad because I really love that photo (the water cannons were making a rainbow!) and wanted one myself (but beggars can’t be choosy and I guess I got some good photos anyway). I entered the Eiffel Tower and went up to the second floor in the lift. It’s higher up than the Arc de Triomphe and the views were also amazing! However, there were TONS of people at the Eiffel Tower whereas at the Arc du Triomphe you had plenty of space to move around and take photos. I love how windy it is when you get up that high and I enjoyed looking out over Paris.

My next stop was the Hard Rock Cafe for my good friend Erica. The Rock Shop was packed so I had a happy hour margarita & plate of nachos (and two glasses of water). The bartender was very cool, must be one of the ones that enters the flair competitions - he was excellent! I also enjoyed the guy who sold me Erica’s pin, he was really funny and I think I may have gotten the last pin of this kind (that the store had at the time). Notre Dame was nearby according to Google maps (I just typed notre dame) so I walked there next. To my annoyance when I arrived it was not THE notre dame but Église Notre-Dame de Lorette. Also a beautiful church but not the one I wanted. I tried again and came up with Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires which sounded like the right one to me. On the way there I walked past the Opéra Garnier (or Palais Garnier), the home of the Paris Opera. What a BEAUTIFUL building and I caught it right when the sun was shining on the top! I also passed a funny bar called “American Dream” and went through the Ritz Carleton Paris (Hôtel Ritz Paris), home to The Bar Hemingway, a bar frequented by Cole Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gary Cooper, and of course Ernest Hemingway.

I arrived then at Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires… WTF GOOGLE MAPS. Wrong one… AGAIN. You can’t make this shit up. What idiot goes to Paris and has to visit three Notre Dames?! Let’s blame it on my dehydration and heat exhaustion. From there I stumbled through Le Palais Royal and enjoyed the striped columns in the courtyard. At this point I began rushing because I wanted to see the actual Notre Dame before the sun went down. I found the Louvre but couldn’t find the pyramid and then continued on foot past the oldest hospital in Paris (founded 651 AD), Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, (by the way I’m not sure if any of these French names are right.. I have lost all trust in Google after the church incident) before arriving at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, the real Notre Dame!!! It was as beautiful as I remember it from the last time and the area was full of people and I think also some street performers of some kind.

I still had some time so I attempted to find the Louvre pyramid again and this time I succeeded! I tried to channel Evans in some water reflection/mirror-type photos and also tried to find a bird perched on the edge of the fountain to recreate the picture I took in ‘99 (I think?) when I was there with my step-mom (unfortunately the birds did not cooperate).

I spent time in at least ten of the twenty arrondissements in the city of Paris and walked 36,304 steps by the end of the day. I bought myself a bottle of prosecco and a 1,5 liter bottle of Evian water and took a taxi to my hotel near CDG for my flight home the next day. I’ll see you next time, City of Lights!