27/4 - Boats, Buses, and Cathedrals

Based on Krissoulas guidance from Thursday we felt up to the task of getting into, around, qnd out of Paris by ourselves, and thats what we did. ((Aside: I am using a French keyboard which has a subtely rearrqnged keyboard - most notably a repositioned a/q, the m in a different location, punctuation all over, etc. So please forgive any typos qnd perform the transliteration in your head when you see things like qnd - read as and)).

After a quick and simple breqkie in our hotel room we wandered down and caught the bus and "regional/country" train that tqkes us from Sannois (where we are staying) into St Lazare station in Paris itself. It is a trip in total of some 30 minutes only - ignoring wait times. Again a truly beautiful dqy - shorts qnd t-shirts weather all day.

The plan for the day was to travel qround on one of the open topped double decker buses, getting off and seeing whatever sights interested us, visit Notre Dame cqthedral, and stay in Paris till qfter dqrk so we could see the Eiffel Tower lit up (Paris - City of Lights). Pretty much we did exactly that.

We grabbed a metro (Paris underground - a truly great and easy to use system - but so is all the other French public transport we have used) over to the Opera stop...which is, as its name suggests, the Opera House. This is one of the 9 or so stop locations for these bus tours that we wanted to join - once you hqve bought your ticket you cqn hop on or off these buses for the next 2 days. They come by every 15 minutes or so, are lqrge qnd red, give an alternqte view from on-top to what you see at ground level, and hqve an audio commentary system (in about 7 languqges) that has about a 50 % chance of working - depending on the seat you are in.

So we took a quick look at the Opera House - extremely austentatious - even the French of the time criticised it - with all its busts and statues, and lqck of sufficient seating for an audience (see, in hindsight I can say the bus audio commentary was useful). Then we chased the tour bus round and round the block (opera house is its own block) until we caught up and were on. Phew. Maria and I plugged in (audio), within 10 minutes Grant "jacked-in" and was deep in his DS game.

I was interested in Notre Dame, and more generally the island on which Paris was founded. These were at the other end of the bus route, so we stayed on for an hour or more - going past sites we hqd visited the day before (e.g., Arc De Triump), and others we hadnt visited. By the time we got to Notre Dame it was lunchtime. So the first order of the day - after gawking at the cathedral exterior qnd the lqrge crowds outside, was to find some lunch. Like true Parisians (of the I-hqve-no-money-kind, those that are cashed-up dine in the little cafes and restaurants) we grabbed some baguettes, a quiche, and water qnd sat between the Seinne river qnd the cathedral - enjoying the sunlight and the food.

Then into Notre Dame. Admission is free (it costs to climb the towers or visit the tresury), and you could even tqke confession there if you zere so inclined. The cathedral is extremely beautiful qnd awe inspiring with its high vaulted veilings and exquisite stained glass windows cqtching the early qfternoon light. I cqn only imagine what effect seeing such an edifice and artwork must have had on medieval residents of the city and their belief system. Its quite qn experience joining the swirl of tourists as they traverse the cathedral counter-clockwise, and one I highly recommend.

Then its outside if you wish to climb the towers for the famous views, and even more famous gargoyles - each different. Access is in groups of 20 at a time, with qbout a 10-minute wait at eqch of the "way-stations" (shop, bell room, lower tier etc.). The system works quite well but does mean you wait outside in a line for some period. The climb was surprisingly strenuous - very narrow winding stone stairs thqt seem to ascend and ascend. However the views truly were great and I loved all the different gargoyles (most qre sheltered but some uncovered show the ravages of the elements). The bell loft with its massive wooden beams was also wonderful.

The climb back down left us hot qnd sweaty. After a long drink break followed by some souviner shopping (Don, I found a hat to replqce the Pork-Pie hat I lost in 1983 one night at Wgong Uni) it was back on the bus qnd qll the way over to the Eiffel Tower in the early evening (around 6pm).

After a bit of a sit on the grass just people and tower watching, and an envious look at a nearby group that had brought picnic supplies, we headed down to the Seinne (only the matter of 200 metres or so) and straight onto a 1-hour cruise on one of the large flat boats that specialise in these things. Maria and I love the movie Charade (Cary Grant - my favourite actor, and Hepburn) which is set in Paris and features a river boat cruise - so this was a must-do for us. Certainly the experience was highly enjoyable qnd gives yet another perspective on this wonderful city (yes - I am another one of its admirers/victims) - but not only the romantic side such as boqt restaurants and strolling couples but qlso the seamier such as homeless under some of the famous bridges.

Back qt the tower and with dusk fallen we went up to the Trocadero (famous area up-hill from the tower) and found a tiny store from which we could buy the makings of q picnic dinner - tatziki dip, bread, ham, lettuce, juice. Then back partway to the tower to find some "comfortable" grass with a view of the tower. Of course, there qre lots of other people with similar ideas, as well as skqters using the hillsides for high-speed slalem practice, the every present police qnd militqry (walking about with assualt rifles), the "Afgan-women-beggers-with-their-postcard-messages", the guys hocking key-rings of the Eiffel tower etc. etc. - the light show is almost an after-thought ... but not quite. Lying on the grass, in the warm evening air, gazing at the golden tower (just the scale of the tower qnd the "open spqce" it implies tends to draw your eyes back to it again and again) is yet another of those special memories to be slotted away.

Just before 10pm we realised the light-show was not going to improve (wed had hopes thqt the fountains of the Trocadero would be lit qnd running) we decided to head home. Getting back to Sannois proved no difficulty - metro to St Lazare, then the regionql train. However in the final leg we hit a hitch. No buses running, the station very quite qnd almost "dead" and no taxis at the taxi stand. Public telephones here need a card - and we had no card (so couldnt call a cab). So we decided to "leg it" - walking the 3 or 4 kilometres bqck to the hotel qnd qrriving tired just before midnight. The walk was particularly hard for Zoe as her stomach had continued to play-up throughout the day...but she soldiered through and I was very proud of her.