Paris

Day 14 and we are saying Au Revoir to Paris and Guten Tag to the Father Land (in my case, my Father's land). Our initial impression of Paris was not brilliant. The inner Dutch in me found a hotel in a less popular area that was close to the main train station. Our other bad impression came from the shear number of scammers at the major tourist sites. We quickly learnt that if we say no in French, as soon as they come near you with your best French accent, they generally leave you alone. However, our initial impression didn't last long. We found Paris a beautiful city that was safe to travel around in, even at night in our slightly dodgy area. Saying hello, goodbye, yes, no, do you speak English and thank you in French seemed to go down well with the locals.

In three and a half days we climbed the Eiffel Tower and walked all the way around it where Chon acknowledged that it looks the same from almost every angle, however, it didn't stop her filling her camera with pictures of it. We visited Norte Dam, walked the length of champ de elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe and stopped for a coffee or two as it is a freaking long stretch of road. We cruised the Seine River then went to the Moulin Rouge to see some girls with their bits out, (which was a highlight for me but I failed to convince Chon that we should also visit the crazy horse). We also spent a day at the Louvre admiring some of the world's iconic paintings including being shoulder to shoulder with 100's of other visitors trying to capture a photo of themselves in front of the Mona Lisa. Chon wants to watch Mr Bean the Movie again after that visit.

Le Eiffel Tower

Norte Dam from the bridge covered in locks

Arc De Triomphe

Moulin Rouge (sorry boys but I wasn't allowed to take any other photos in there)

Le Louvre

Mona Lisa

Chon blending in

Appreciating some of the world's finest art work

The food here was brilliant. We ordered snails and lots of duck dishes and even had a small picnic with French bread sticks, camembert, salami, prosciutto and duck pate. Our favorite place that we visited was Mont Saint Michel; an abbey on a small rocky outcrop in Normandy (a 10 hour round trip from Paris). We nearly had a spectacular entrance when Chon decided to lean against the shuttle bus doors and upon opening, she did a cartoon style double arm swing with an imaginary skipping rope until she recaptured her balance. Mont St Michel has a small walled medieval town leading up to the spectacular Abbey at the top. It was well worth the visit. If you ever go please remember not to touch the display items in some of the shops there that are clearly labelled, in French, "Please do not touch" unless you want a French woman to yell at you and embarrass your wife for marrying a child who can not look without touching. By the way, if you are wondering, I showed a lot more restraint at Moulin Rouge.

Mont Saint Michel

Burgundy Snails

Picnic near Mont St Michel

Our next stop is Rudesheim on the Rhine river before catching up with relatives up in the North of Germany.

 

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