Day one in Paris

July 2 – day one in Paris

Well after transporting ourselves via tube to the train station and scrambling to have our tickets reprinted (some Eurostar glitch w/ a seat change leading to printer issues), we had moments to check in and head off to Paris.

Upon arrival at Paris Nord we attained some Euros and caught a cab; the entertainment in the taxi line was the station drunk w/ big beer in hand trying to help patrons in exchange for a few Euros for more tall beers.

Our driver was a woman who spoke limited English but did her best to point out the important stuff on the way: The Arc de Triumph, the Champs Elysees, the Eiffel Tower. Hard to miss.

Our fine Crowne Plaza Champs Elysees location rocked. We found it to be a boutique hotel (good thing we have a whole passel of points from our residency at CP in India).

From the front of the hotel we could look to the right and see the Arc de Triumph. Not bad.

The staff told us they really get to know their guests; given the size of the lobby and small capacity, no doubt they knew our every move.

We had the concierge point us to a casual café nearby for lunch, scored on pasta and the chicken dish of the day, served w/ a delicious bright orange/red risotto.

Afterward we walked to the Arc de Triumph, which stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (“Place de l’Etoile”), with 12 avenues radiating from it. It honors those who fought for France; the names of generals and wars fought are listed on the inside and top of the arc. Beneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI.

Famous victory marches past the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1918, the Germans in 1940, the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945.

Designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, it is the second largest triumphal arch in existence – so large that 3 weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of WWI, Charles Godefroy flew his biplane through it.

BTW I learned that the eternal flame at JFK’s grave was inspired by the one at the Arc (Jacqueline and he had visited the Arc in 1961).

From the Arc we hoofed it over to the Eiffel Tower, which we could see a few blocks off in the distance. The breezes along the Seine felt good as it was hot in Paris, and the lines around the Tower were huge. We jumped in, though, enjoyed the mister as we wound our way through the ticket line. Then onto the line for the lift. And another lift line as we’d opted to go all the way up.

All those lines later we had a fabulous view of Paris and the river, which was full of tourist boats and people strolling along its side.

The Eiffel Tower, named for its designer Gustave Eiffel, is the tallest building in Paris. It was constructed in 1889 and is the most visited paid monument in the world. Every seven years 50 to 60 tons of paint is applied to protect it from rust (three separate colors are applied so it has a uniform appearance, darkest on bottom).

Originally Eiffel planned to build the thing in Barcelona but it was vetoed as it didn’t fit into the city design.

The tower was criticized in Paris as an eyesore and it was intended to be torn down after its permit to stand for 20 years was up, but because it was used for communication purposes it remained.

(FYI: bit of interesting trivia from wikipedia: Upon the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, the lift cables were cut by the French so that Adolf Hitler would have to climb the steps to the summit. Parts to repair it were allegedly impossible to obtain because of the war.

In 1940 German soldiers had to climb to the top to hoist the swastika, but the flag was so large it blew away and was replaced by a smaller one.

When visiting Paris, Hitler chose to stay on the ground. It was said that Hitler conquered France, but did not conquer the Eiffel Tower. During the German occupation a Frenchman scaled the tower to hang the French flag.

In August 1944, when the Allies were nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Choltitz, the military governor of Paris, to demolish the tower along with the rest of the city. Von Choltitz disobeyed the order. The lifts of the Tower were working normally within hours of the Liberation of Paris.)

So that’s Eiffel in a nutshell. The green areas around the Eiffel Tower, also created for the world’s fair, were lovely, particularly from above.

Upon exiting we made a beeline for ice cream, having made our poor children suffer with hundreds of other foreigners in line (frankly it wasn’t all that bad – had it been in India, it would have been hotter without mist, dirtier, more crowded with much less personal space amidst people wearing layers of clothing…not the most perfumed experience we would have had).

Plus we would have been, 2nd to the tower, a site to behold: white people in western clothing. At the Eiffel we just blended in w/ everyone else from somewhere else, most dressed in western style clothing.

Anyway…after ice cream on the banks of the Seine, we hopped one of those touristy boats for an audio-guide tour of Paris via the water. Lovely, relaxing way to see many of the major sites along the river – Louvre, Notre Dame, Palais de Justice, a number of gorgeous bridges, etc.

We sat on the outside for the breeze and better view and watched Paris go by. Ava enjoyed it so much she fell asleep.

Upon return to the Eiffel Tower area we wandered down river to a restaurant near the water, opting for a table by an open window. Joe and I shared a cheese plate (Ava discovered she likes brie).

Every one of the cheeses was good, bread of course being perfect – simply baguettes but the ideal blend of chewy, crispy, soft, just the right amount of salt. How do they do that? We also had a beef skewer w/ Dijon sauce and prosciutto/melon/sundried tomato salad. Wonderful blend of flavors – who would have thought?

For dessert we shared molten chocolate cake and ice cream, then wandered back to the hotel to collapse.