Paris
Quick tips on public
transportation: Other blogs tell you to buy your metro tickets by the carnet,
but I didn’t see that word anywhere. I did see T+ which I only saw once in my
research. So buy those by the 10s which was about 14euros and didn’t come out as
a booklet like I expected. Don’t use your last ticket to get back to your
hotel; not every stop has a vending machine and you’ll want that ticket in the
morning.
My favorite day in Paris: We got
up before sunrise to beat the crowds to Notre Dame. The payoff was huge. The
square was empty and the sunrise was dramatic. The tours don’t start until
later though, so after walking around the cathedral taking in the warm early
light, we found a café on the a corner in view of Notre Dame. Café’s in Paris
situate their outdoor seating theater style so the people watching is easy and
natural. And like much of Europe, it’s perfectly acceptable to occypy a table
for a couple hours with just a cup of coffee. We enjoyed watching commuters and
workers naviget the intersection along with luggage laden tourists. Bicycles,
scooters, cars, and trucks using 2 lanes, merging easily, threading where
necessary and allowing others the right of way. It was beautiful chaos. This
was my favorite Paris experience. A couple hours later we queued with other
tourists to see the inside of Notre Dame, which was breathtaking. Use Rick
Steve’s audio tour to easily learn and appreciate some otherwise overlooked
details.
To climb the tower, queue on the
north side of the building. Use the recommended app and wifi provided at the
kiosk there to make your reservation, which, at your appointed time, only gets
you in to the gift shop, where you purchase your ticket to climb. You won’t see
the gift shop again, so do your shopping now. A flaw in the experience, in my
opinion; I like to get my souvenirs on the way out. You climb at your own pace,
there is no guided tour or anyone to keep up with. There is a prescribed route
and the occasional worker, ostensibly to make sure no one misbehaves. You’ll climb
many stairs and at one point you can choose to go down or continue up. If you
have a fear of heights, this might be a turning point for you. I pressed on and
was rewarded. At the top, I stood near a lightning rod as it started to rain.
Pretty exciting! The views though…
There are lots of famous sites in
Paris and that was our focus for this trip so next was Pont Neuf. Walk under to
see the many faces carved into the bridge. A detail that is often missed.
Montmartre attractions include
Sacre Cour and the art market. We arrived at Sacre Cour before sunrise. The
funicular opens early. Buy a transit ticket for this. There wer several runners
and a few photographers on the hill early. We got our pictures with a bland
sunrise then hit a café for breakfast. After the magical morning at Notre Dame,
this was all pretty bland. Montmartre was definitely more interesting in the
middle of the day. But early, on the steps of Sacre Cour, overlooking the whole
of paris, a young german man asked me to take a picture of him and his
girlfriend. They posed, I snapped. Then he knelt in front of her and brought
out a classic little ring box. As I continued snapping, she said yes.
Beuatiful! What an honor to be part of their moment.
MontMartre, known for its
part in the impressionist movement, is still home to a thriving art culture.
Lots of talent and unique souvenirs. The art market continues to grow
throughout the day as artists arrive and set up. Most speak English and sell
small and/or packable pieces. They know their clientèle.
Ready for another tower climbt? At Sacre Cour, you
must go down to go up. Theres like, a moat around the cathedral and you go down
there for entrance to the climb. Like other towers, this climb is loaded with
tight stairs, amazing architechture and views.
From here we had to visit one of
Paris’ large and famous cemeteries. We chose Pere Lachaise, famous for all the
trees. It was like walking in the woods with dead people. We got out from under
the trees the trees quickly because of the chestnuts trying to fall on our
heads. The mausoleums are amazing, uniquely designed and beautiful.
During our visit there was this immersive Klimpt/Hundertwasser thing at Atelier Des Lumier (they're going to have Van Gogh in 2019). Wow. Do it. It felt
like a collective experience we were having with everyone else in the room.
Even though we didn’t actually interact with anyone. (look for video to see how amazing it is)
