Cheryl's Visit - Partie Deux

Paris

3rd - 6th March

Before I start this blog, can I just mention how much I wanted to write the whole entry, then put it through Yahoo Babelfish and translate the lot into French.. Why you might ask?? Because it would be fitting to put Cheryl through that, after she put us through her attempts (and consequential) butchering of the French language throughout our four days in Paris!!

Our trip to the continent started very early on Wednesday morning when we made our way to Kings Cross Station and jumped on a busy Eurostar train. 2.5 hours later and we were in Paris and after a very short walk we had checked into the hostel. Cheryl found it amusing that we were handed sheets when we checked in and were expected to make our own beds. Something that Dan and I have become accustomed to during our stays in hostels…

We made beds, dropped bags and made our way to the Ile De Cite and the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was nice that we actually were able to make it inside this time (It was Easter last time we were in Paris and couldn't get near it). Again, a very impressive church, but still similar to many that we'd seen before - our required standards on churches has raised again.

After a café lunch (and a large number of souvenir shops) we strolled down to the Louvre where Dan and his mum had some quality time together. I chose to do a spot of shopping and a wander around the street before having a little rest back at the hostel. Dan and Cheryl arrived back to the hostel around 7, and I'd earlier scouted out a nice nearby restaurant for dinner. We all chose to have the 3 course meal - Dan and I were tame and had a plate of hams and salamis for entrée, whilst Cheryl was brave and got the snails. Cheryl had one, Dan enjoyed one, and then when it came to be my turn, I scratched it out of its shell, forked it, and shoved it in my mouth. The garlic sauce was awesome, but after a few chews I had the thought of a snail in my mouth and couldn't bring myself to swallow. The poor old snail got spat out and buried under my lettuce. I did give it another few chews after, determined to eat the damn thing, but again I couldn't bring myself to swallow.The remaining two courses were absolutely delicious too. After dinner it was back to the hostel and off to bed.

Next morning we arrived to breakfast at the hostel to find the croissant basket empty. The nice girl decided to get us some cake for breakfast - we sent Cheryl to the bakery instead to get us some fresh croissants. There is nothing better than a fresh croissant in France. Our list of sightseeing today included climbing to the top of the Arc De Trimphe, and then slowly strolling down the Champs Elysees, stopping for a classy lunch of McDonalds. We made it all the way to the end and found ourselves at Concorde, before walking through the nice park and then along the Seine. We decided to take another river cruise because it was so nice and relaxing last time we were in Paris.

After our cruise we metro'd back up to the Eiffel Tower. It was not far off sunset, so we booked our tickets and went up. Just as we reached the 2nd floor we had the most beautiful sunset, which made for some lovely photos. I bravely ventured right up to the top again, but it didn't sway about as bad as last time, so it was OK. We stayed up there and watched the sun go down and lights of Paris come on. It was really lovely. After we came down (Whilst visiting all the souvenir shops on the tower, and then on the ground) we watched the sparkly purple lights on the tower, and took the required photos.

We travelled back out to our hostel and ate at the little French Pizzeria on the corner. Cheap and delicious pizzas for the hungry and weary travelers were just what the doctor ordered. It was off to sleep not long after!

Friday morning we navigated the Paris train network and made our way out of the city to Versailles. After I battled for a few minutes with the ticket man, trying to prove that I was a British Citizen (In the end he accepted my train card and Tax card, combined with my Victorian Drivers license to prove my age) I was allowed free entry as an EU citizen under 26!!The palace was incredibly over the top: Gold everywhere with the most extravagant curtains, furniture, light fittings, everything. We did the audio guide tour that included the famous Hall of Mirrors and the State Apartments. After our couple of hours in the palace we did a nice stroll around the gardens. Spending about an hour in the gardens we didn't even to manage to get through a quarter of them, they just seemed to stretch on forever. We decided to leave and get some lunch as we were all starving.

We set off into the small township of Versailles in search of the perfect baguette. After much walking through towns we were disappointed to find that nearly all of the bakeries had sold out (It was edging into later afternoon), so we had to go back to the chain baguette place opposite the train station. They turned out to be bloody nice. After lunch (and some more souvenir shops) we jumped on a train back into Central Paris.

We took a walk past the Moulin Rouge and through Montmartre (again stopping at the souvenir shops and costume shops). It was a really lovely walk as it neared nighttime. We ended up finding ourselves at a well-known restaurant Chartier - recommended to us by Matt and Jodie. Definitely a unique dining experience: Massive big old art deco building, with heaps of tables and waiters who write your order on the paper tablecloths. The meal was OK, I wouldn't give it much more than that - and Cheryl even had to send back her cold and tough steak to get a better one! By the time we left the restaurant there was a queue of at least 100 people outside and around the corner waiting to get in. Glad we got there early! We finished off our dinner with a mega crepe each from the street vendor and walked it all off on the way back to the hostel.

Our last day in Paris was another busy one. We first stopped off at the Sacre Cour, and did the walk up the hill and took in the views. We had a bit of a look through the church, but there was a service on, so we didn't hang around that long. On the way back down the hill we grabbed a sight of a guy all decked out in snow gear, in skis on the top of the hill. We all thought he was going to somehow ski down the stairs, but I think they were just filming an ad of some sorts. After the church, we made our way through the gauntlet of more souvenir shops - we did have to start tugging Cheryl along - and down into the metro station.

Next stop was Invalides to visit Napoleon's Tomb and the War Museum. Dan and I spent an hour or so reading in the courtyard while Cheryl explored the museum. We rejoined just before lunch and did a walk through the suburbs through to the Luxembourg Gardens. These are probably my favourite gardens that we've seen so far. And even though it was so cold, there were a surprising number of people just sitting or strolling.

We grabbed a Quick burger for a late lunch before walking up to the Pantheon (again stopping at most of the shops on the walk!). We didn't bother with going in and then moseyed on back to the metro.

When we got off the train at the metro station, we took a wrong turn and some how ended up miles away from the hostel - we must've come out the back exit. We had to run the gauntlet though little Muslim town: People selling anything and everything from the streets, with the most eclectic shops lining the streets. After much longer than necessary, we navigated our way back to the hostel and collected our bags, before walking up the road back to the main train station. We had about an hour or so of a wait until we could board the train, so we grabbed some baguettes to have as dinner as we travelled home. I was completely shocked at how vacant and deserted the train was. I think I was able to count 6 other people in our train carriage. Arrived back into London around 9.30, but with planned closures on the tube being a nightmare, we ended up having to catch replacement buses and didn't make it back home until after 11. It was straight to sleep for 3 tired travelers!