After skipping this post to draft up my next few, I’m finally facing my less than exciting thoughts about Paris. For no particular reason, I didn’t fall in love with Paris as so many people do. I don’t think it helped that the weather was pretty crap the whole time I was here, cold and miserable.
On my first day, I set out and completed a solid 30,000 steps. I mapped out a route on Google maps that would allow me to see all of the notable attractions. From my hostel I walked through the Le Marias neighbourhood, where I grabbed a croissant for breakfast – it felt compulsory when in Paris. Then made my way to the Notre dame, even though it’s still under rebuild, and has a ton of scaffolding. This was one building I was really impressed with the magnitude of, I can only imagine how spectacular it would have looked pre fire, or even more so, while on fire. I strolled along the Seine River, taking in all the bridges, and then through the Tuileries Gardens, before reaching the Concorde Square. Here they were still dismantling the last of the Rugby World Cup village. Next up was a walk down the ever famous Champ-Élysées, a street full of shops that lead to the Arc de Triomphe. Thankfully due to the time of year, and the weather it wasn’t too busy. For some reason, I (incorrectly) assumed that there would be an elevator to take you to the Arc de Triomphe rooftop. No idea why I made this assumption, but those stairs came as a sudden shock to the system. The views were cool, but I couldn’t get over just how flat the entire city is. It was so weird. My final stop for the day was the Eiffel Tower, from a few different perspectives, to complete my personal & private walking tour of the city. The Eiffel Tower was almost exactly as I imagined, I’m happy to have seen it but it was certainly not life changing. At night, it was more impressive but the rats trying to steal picnic food off all the couples really stole the show. If anyone is looking for Ratatouille, I know where to find him!
At this point I know I’m not a lover of museums, regardless I decided to visit the Louvre. Mostly just so I could see the Mona Lisa painting in person, and say I’d been. The queues were as crazy as expected, even off peak, and the inside was just as chaotic. I got so lost within this museum, even with a map. It was so confusing, and overwhelming, so after completing most of 3 floors, which consisted of a lot of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiques I hunted down the Mona Lisa. The painting was much smaller than expected, and the room so full that you couldn’t even get close. But that sums up my time at the Louvre.
Next stop was the Paris Catacombs. I will preface any further comments by saying they were definitely creepy, and firsthand seeing all those bones was like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. But I did find them fascinating. I enjoyed learning about how the tunnels under Paris were originally dug for limestone mining, until the city began to collapse and slump. Then in the late 1700’s the Parisian cemeteries became overloaded, and this lead to the bones being shifted into the mining tunnels. Effectively creating the catacombs. Overtime, instead of the bodies being buried elsewhere, and then moved, they were put straight down into the tunnels. Although my knowledge of French history is limited, something that has really stuck with me is that amongst the 300+ kilometres of catacombs under Paris there are many important historical figures resting. This includes revolutionaries, historians, soldiers, artists, and many others. Yet, they are indistinguishable. All the bones, are exactly that, unknown remnants of what once was. I was only in the catacombs for around 45min, as the tour only allows access to a very small part of the tunnels but it was well worth the experience! Taking the 131 spiral stairs that wound 20m down under the city was an odd feeling, I couldn’t help but feel at least slightly claustrophobic. So probably not the best activity for those bothered by enclosed spaces.
It was during my time in Paris that I had my first negative travel encounter. I got followed along the metro platform, and then onto the metro, where this guy would not leave me alone. He was clearly mentally unwell/not quite with it, and followed me through the carriages, and then began kicking in my direction and grabbing for my arms/shoulders. Fortunately for me, a French lady stepped in here and put me behind her while someone else got security at the next platform to remove the guy. I am very grateful for these people, as I was starting to freak out about what to do next, if I should stay on the metro or get off. While it was pretty terrifying, it definitely could have been a lot worse and I’m surprised it was over 3 months before I had an encounter like this.
On my final day in the city, I spent it cafe & bar hopping with a friend. It was pouring with rain, so we alternated hot chocolates & beers as we made our way around the Latin Quarter of the city. It was a nice way to end my time in Paris! To me, the city was dirty, rude and overrated so I won’t be going back in a hurry.
~ Nikita’s Nomadic Notes
Nikita’s Nomadic Notes 