We set off for our first adventure in Paris by almost missing the train to Mulhouseville. We were running a bit late because we had miscalculated the amount of time it takes to get from our new apartment to the Basel SBB. Then we had a bit of trouble finding the right gate for the train, and ended up hopping onto it with what we thought was a couple of minutes to spare, only to have it leave about 30 seconds after we sat down! Luckily, the rest of our trip was very uneventful. We were on the 'old' slow train, which takes about 5.5 hours to get to Paris. There is a 'new,' fast one, that takes about 3.5 hours, but it is much more expensive.
The main downside I can see for train travel is the constant diesel smell that permeates the air. Anyone have any hints for avoiding this as much as possible? Perhaps an ideal car to sit in away from the engine? We were in the last one for the ride there, and the first one for the ride back, and it didn't seem to make much difference either way.
We arrived in Paris very late, about quarter to 11, and found our way to the hostel without much trouble. It is in a, shall we say, slightly 'questionable' neighbourhood, at least compared to Basel. The street was pretty noisy with cars driving by and it got even noisier when the French won their rugby match against New Zealand - there was much honking and drunken singing.
Amazingly enough, we managed to get a room alone together rather than being in separate dorm style rooms, which is what we expected. It had a bunkbed, which was the first time I've slept in one - I got the top bunk. I definitely prefer my nice big bed at home, but since we were on econo-budget, can't complain. We didn't plan on spending much time there anyway. The weather was beautiful, in the upper 60s and lower 70s (F) for the whole time we were there, and it only rained one night.
Friday, October 5, 2007
We started out our first day in Paris with a trip to the big white dome that towers over Paris and is visible from almost everywhere in the city - the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. It was built on the butte Montmartre, which is the highest point in Paris. There are many steps to climb up the hill to the basilica at the top. At the bottom, we had some of the African immigrants that cluster around the base of the hill try to get us to let them braid string on our wrists, but I was having none of that and stopped them from even attempting with a very firm Non! Apparently this is a common scam, where they accost tourists and tie these strings around their wrists then demand money from them. The basilica itself was very impressive, and though you aren't allowed to take any pictures inside, we did get some of the gargoyles that adorn the exterior.
Next we headed over to Notre Dame on the Paris Metro. I have to say, this is one of the most useful subway systems I've used, and one of the most crowded. Paris is huge and sprawling, and we found this to be the absolute best way to get around. We had obtained a Paris visité metro pass good for 5 days of unlimited travel, which was incredibly convenient. No stopping to fumble with change or the ticket machines. We also got the 6 day Paris Museums pass which was greatly appreciated when we were able to waltz ahead of the many lines we encountered at the museums and monuments. It seemed to be good for just about everything in Paris except the Eiffel Tower and the Catacombs.
As I am fond of Gothic architecture, Notre Dame has to be one of the most beautiful buildings I have encountered so far. The stained glass there was pretty amazing as well, and of course, the famous gargoyles.
(Side note: Unfortunately, I didn't realize until after I got home that the date stamp, which was also incorrect, was being embedded in the photos I took. I was able to crop it out of many of them, but I had to leave it in some or ruin the picture.)
Since it was now lunch time, we headed for the Musée d'Orsay, where we decided to try out their Cafe des Hauteurs. We had a very tasty meal, and I greatly enjoyed the spiced hot chocolate I ordered on a whim. It had star anise and cinnamon in it, and was very thick - best hot chocolate ever. All in all, the food in Paris is pretty outstanding, we didn't have any meal that we didn't enjoy, though we walked out on one restaurant, the Café Capucine, after waiting at least 15 minutes for a waiter without even any acknowledgement that one was on the way. We ended up at a much better place, Café Dada, more character and I'd like to think better value for the food, but of course, I can't compare since I didn't eat at Café Capucine. But I get ahead of myself....
Orsay has a really outstanding collection, and I would highly recommend a visit there if you're in Paris. It's like a distilled version of some of the best parts of the Louvre, unless antiquities are your favorite part of that collection. We discovered five exquisite pastels by an artist we'd never heard of before who worked in a variety of media in France in the late 1800s - Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer. He apparently was much admired as an artist in his time, but there doesn't seem to be much known about him besides an overview of his career. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of them, as they were in a darkened exhibit and I need a tripod for photos taken in the dark, but I did manage to find them on the website of a Math teacher in Minnesota so you can see them (thanks for posting them Professor Anderson!) Here are a couple photos from the Art Deco collection, and a mischievous looking Mercury as he 'invents' his caduceus.
We ended the day with crepes at Chez Nicos in the Quartier Latin, and also managed to find the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore, a Paris landmark frequented by numerous literary greats.
More on our further adventures later...
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