Paris for the Day

January 2

I had a little trouble sleeping last night but made it to bed by three.  We woke up at ten to get ready and take the bus to the train station.  We bought tickets for the 11:50 to Pairs making our arrival time 1pm.  The train smells like wet and soup. 

Thus far the stereotypes of the French being smelly and rude are proving...true.  The buses are still on break so we only have five hours to get to everything on today's list - The Opera House, the Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tour.  Our map only shows a few major roads but we are confident.  We make our way from the Gare du Nord to our first stop - The Opera House.  It takes us an hour to walk there but your first pancake is always burnt right?  The city is full of sights and smells...some pleasant and some not.  When people say Paris is a dirty city they are not lying - spray pant, dog shit, weed, cigarette smoke, trash but it also has other charming smells like flowers, fresh breads, and sweets.

I wish I could stop in every patisseries but we barley have enough time to see everything as it.  Good thing I can walk and take pictures at the same time.  I don't know who invented the stereotype of French men being attractive but they are very stylish!  We pass an H&M and McDonald's.  Its funny to see things you know...even though many sore signs are in English anyway.  We also pass street venders selling roasted chestnuts and the upscale stores - Coco Chanel, Prada, Gucci, etc.  For some reason, the store windows are filled with puppets...martinets - each with different themes:  space, airplanes, Hollywood.  I think they are slightly disturbing but apparently the children love them.

Finally we reach the Opera House.  A mammoth structure, it includes statues in bronze and the inside houses the Grand Staircase.  I wish we could have seen it but the line is miles long.  The outside is just as decadent and beautiful thought and it is nice to recognize the structure form my classes.  We walk to the Moulin Rouge and again I can appreciate having the knowledge of the demi monde or the "small world" of Parisian life in the 19th century.  This area is where artist like Gauguin and Van Gogh spent their nights among friends and artists alike, attempting to capture the humanity of the social outcasts.

On our way to the Arc de Triomphe it starts to pour and a man asks if Shena and I are Russian or Polish while we pass attempting to cover ourselves with our hoods and umbrellas.  I'm not surprised that is is raining yet again.  C'est la France.  What can we do but keep walking so on we trudge though the wind and rain.  Finally we arrive at our last monument - the Eiffel Tour.  Its peaks over buildings as we make our way toward it.  I tell Shena the things I know from class:  how it was built in the 19th century, it was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it was inspired by Asian influences such as the architecture of the pagoda, how it was originally painted and was the highlight of the world fair Paris hosted.  She laughs at my nerdiness.  The symbol of France!  Finally we are at it's base.  Even in the rain this moment cannot be ruined.

It is 4:40 now and our train leaves at six.  It will take too long to walk back so we navigate the metro.  I pay special attention to this as I will need it in the next few weeks.  I think I have it.  We switch lines once and emerge from the metro very close to the Gare du Nord.  Now, which way to go?  Shena pulls out  the map but I wonder up to two girls and trying hard to get the French correct, just ask.  They answer in English (Shena explains my accent was the give away) but they are polite and we only have to walk five blocks before arriving at the Gare du Nord with thirty minutes to spare.  We grab dinner at Asian Express and hop on the train home.  I pay attention on the bus back to the dorm as well to make sure I can put that in the experiences column for Italy.  Wet and cold, we arrive at Shena's dorm at eight.  Tonight I will sleep well.  The Catacombs at the Louvre tomorrow!