The first market we stopped at was one of the largest in Paris. Unfortunately, it was not exactly what we were looking for, more of a local market, mostly cheap clothing, housewares, rugs, and other trinkets. We were probably the only non-Parisians in the place! For the most part, we were left alone, no one really shouted at us or urged us to come to their stand, as is common in many markets. After a quick half-hour, we decided to head else-where.
Else-where happened to be two different shops we read about in our "Lonely Planet France Travel Guide" -- one was a fun perfume/kitchen/house-ware shop (Fragonard) and the other a bakery (Le Notre). As we tried to locate Fragonard, we found ourselves wandering through a cute shopping district between Notre Dame and the Bastille. We peered through the windows but did not dare enter some of the stores as our bank accounts could not accommodate the steep prices. [One store we went into, I looked at a jacket that turned out to be 527 euros... maybe another time!]
When we reached Fragonard, it was a small but lovely shop. They had many scents and very cute housewares. In the book we read that what they had did not last long as they were always getting new pieces. I got a mug to add to my collection (I try to get a mug or cup from every country I visit) and two dessert plates. The prices were more than reasonable and gave me unique (and functional) souvenirs.
From Fragonard, we set out to find Le Notre to satisfy our sweet tooths. As you read, we had been burned the previous day from lack of sun screen and an abundance of sun. This caused us to choose our outfits wisely for the day, making sure we were almost completely covered up. Although they were light layers, it was still a bit warm. We tried to stay to the shady side of the street when possible, but it was easier said than done. By the time we reached Fragonard, we were in desperate need for a drink of water. With none to be found, we settle for croissants. Such is the rough life of the traveler.
After we enjoyed our treats in the shade, we wandered around as we so often do and came across another market. When I titled one of the earlier posts "The benefits of wandering" I meant to explain the meaning. Often times, just wandering around a place often produces fabulous results. As you can see from our tales, this happened to us often during the course of our trip. Although we may have started with a plan, going with the flow always works best - I suppose this is true with vacations as well as in life.
The second market of the day was the kind of market we were looking for. It had sellers from many different nations with a unique set of goods. Julie picked up some fun hand-made bracelets for herself while I just perused. It was not very busy - very enjoyable to stroll around.
Following the second market, we made our way to La Tour Eiffel (The Eiffel Tower). Rather than approaching it from the closest subway, we wanted to walk through the large park on the East side of the Tower, that gives a good background for pictures. On our way to the park, we stopped at a Carrefour (Walmart's French equivolent and global competitor) for some snacks. We settled on yogurt, pistachios, and water! This was one of our cheapest meals by far!
We took our snacks and found a shady park bench to enjoy the scenery on. In the shade, the heat was quite managable. As we sat, a few pigeons came up to us to check out the possibility of sharing our snack. I'm not sure how many of you have had encounters with pigeons, but they are disgusting creatures. Every time one makes a move at me, I either duck, run away, or both. Julie has made fun of me on numerous occaisons throughout this trip, but I take the jokes and continue my ways. Well today, karma caught up with Julie. Rather than being cautious, she assumed the pigeons would always move out of the way. As we were walking, a pigeon was startled and flew into her head!!!! She was not hurt, just a brush, but I could not contain myself! My funny tactics proved to work! Julie had not said a thing about them since! I only wish I would have caught it on video. Never trust a pigeon. They are not smart creatures. Not even cute.
On to happier topics, we took some shots of the tower and asked a girl about our age to take a shot of us so we did not have to hold an arm out in an awkward way.
After our stroll through the park, we entered the very short line to purchase a ticket. From the time we entered the line to purchase a ticket until the time our foot hit the first step to climb up, not more than ten minutes had passed. Hardly any lines! We really just seemed to luck out on our trip. Here is a tip to anyone visiting the Eiffel Tower -- RIDE UP, the entire way. You have the option to walk to the second level then ride the elevator up or ride up from the base. Take the second option. You will enjoy yourselves more. During the day, they only have one leg of the tower open for going up and down. Or maybe just on days that are not as busy. Either way, the staircases are narrow and the climb is very long. This is coming from two girls in their early twenties, in pretty good shape, at the end of a two week trip where we walked at least 2-3 miles a day, usually more. Seriously, just take the lift.
By the time we reached the second floor, we were a little winded. The Eiffel Tower does not look that tall from a distance, but the top observation deck is at about the same height as the observation deck of the Empire State Building. So it is tall. Even the lift ride from the second floor to the top took some time. Jule was a little nervous about the heights, so she kept her eyes closed. There was another woman on our lift who was also quite nervous. There are 4 lifts that take visitors up and down to the top deck, they are quite small and do not move very fast.
The view from the top was very nice. I would not say extraordinary because there was not much to see. The Eiffel Tower is the most famous landmark in Paris - arguably in the world - and we were on top of it. That in itself was fascinating to think about. (We really enjoyed our view from L'Arc de Triomphe as we could see the Tower.) Everything looked tiny from so high up. We have included some pictures below to give you an idea.
After making our way carefully down, we headed back to the hostel to prepare for our night. We had decided to go on a Seine dinner cruise! The cruise would last two hours and would show us all the famous sights along the river while we enjoyed dinner. We got ready and headed out in what we thought should have been enough time to get there. (We know now we should always give extra time when it comes to foreign trains/transportation). We hopped our first metro with no problem but after we transferred to our second metro, it stopped after the second stop. We were confused as we could not understand the announcements the French woman gave. After waiting for about a minute without moving, we decided to ditch the train and try to get a taxi - we were cutting it close. (Two things to note: 1- I decided to wear some super high heels that night, not a good idea and 2-taxis are not as readily available as they are in New York. There are specific locations they like to pick passengers up at and many are not willing to pick up to foreign girls on the street!) We finally hailed the third taxi that pulled over for us. The driver did not speak English but I just pointed to him on the map where we wanted to go. Thank goodness for maps. We thought we would make it on time but traffic was not cooperating. The boat was scheduled to take off at 8:30pm and we got there at 8:31pm. I had read online that it had been late and thought we would have a chance of making it, but sadly, as Julie looked out over one side of the bridge it was gone. I looked over the other side and it was literally passing just underneath me. We missed it by 1 minute. How unlucky. We were really disappointed but decided to settle on a one hour sight-seeing cruise that proved fun anyway! (Note: We were not charged for missing the cruise, you are only charged if you make it on board... apparently people miss quite often)
While the cruise was ending and the boat getting ready to dock, the sky was turning dark and suddenly the Eiffel Tower lit up in a burst of lights. It was one of the most breath-taking scenes of my life. After exiting the boat, we crossed the bridge and were able to get some shots with the tower in the background. It was so enchanting.
After the photo-shoot, we searched for a place to eat as we were both starving. And by searched, I mean Julie walked and I hobbled. We could not find anything close-by with seats on the river in order to look out over the Eiffel Tower, but we found a street with numerous restaurants that were full of life! Our meal was not the best we've had but it was the company and the surroundings that made it worth while. Although our last night in Paris did not go as planned, we went with the flow and made the best of it.
When we finally made it back to the hotel, we decided to pack our things as we did not want to be rushing around in the morning. We also wanted to give ourselves enough time with our luggage and just in case the trains decided to stop working, that we would not be late to Amsterdam. By the time we hit the lights, it was 2:45am. We had to get up at 5:45am. Naturally, I was terrified that we wouldn't wake up to the alarm, even though I had set three!
But tomorrow is Julie's story to tell - and there is a story, as always, even though we were seeing famous sights, we always manage to have an adventure!
Love to all,
Lauren & Julie
LOVE the Eiffel tower nightime video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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