28 hours of travel was worth it to see the Eiffel Tower

So as some of you may know, I took a 14 hour bus ride to and from Paris. The ride back was harder, we left Paris at 3PM and I was full of adrenaline from actually finding the bus (it was not at the bus station, just on the street) and full from my greasy Middle Eastern sandwich. I miss Middle Eastern food.

Getting there was scary, as any new international city usually is. I was dropped off on a street in the 10th district when I expected to be dropped off in Gallieni, the bus station. This completely thwarted my perfectly planned out itinerary to get to the hostel. But I managed to get to the hostel just fine, sweaty and really smelly. My first thoughts of Paris were "wow, it's really beautiful here, all of the windows have beautiful wrought iron terraces... I feel inadequate." And that's basically how I continued to feel for the duration of the trip.


Paris is very opulent, especially so in the city center (which I guess is to be expected). I felt that even in Montmarte, it was the Upper East Side in NYC, just elongated... huge glass windows, beautiful curtains, and so many dogs... But for such a classy city, it was hard not to notice the smelliest subway stations (very comparable to NYC) and dog poop everywhere. As our tour guide told us, "as you will notice, Parisians don't like to clean up after their dogs." No, no they don't. While the dogs are beautifully groomed and adorable, the image is tainted after dodging more than a few piles during my three days in Paris.

So by the time I was showered and ready to take on the day, it was about 4PM and I was in serious need of food... I'd avoided leaving the bus in order to catch up on some much needed sleep and was STARVING by 4. Luckily the man at reception spoke perfect English (and was, in fact, American) and directed me to this little place across the street that served me some fantastic Lebanese food... can't get that in Prague. I felt foolish just hanging out in the hostel waiting for the rest of the party to show up so I went on a walk and eventually stumbled into the Sacre Coeur. At this point, I'm kind of churched out... especially after Rome but I can still appreciate beautiful things. The view from up top was really nice though I couldn't find the Eiffel Tower from way up there. And as I made my way inside, this French man immediately appeared next to me and thought that I was the kind of American girl completely enthralled by a French accent. He creeped me out actually, and I told him I would stay in the church and listen to the mass instead of going with him to see the "painters" in Monmarte. Before I went out to explore Paris, the man at reception warned me about perverts. Guess I found one of my own.

There was also an Israeli living at the hostel who took a liking to me because he overheard I was Jewish and took me for a walk around Montmarte and took me to a place where you could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up from a distance. He bought me a drink and we discussed how different life is in America. It was interesting to hear an Israeli say he never wants to move back there again and will stay in Paris... despite having to learn a completely new language. That's one thing I can say I really love about being abroad... the people you run into are so completely fascinating to me and live what I deem really exciting lives. I met a Lithuanian girl yesterday from my Czech class and as we walked back to the metro together I couldn't stop asking her questions about life there... and what brought her to Prague... and I can't get over how all of these students learn English as little kids... Maybe it's just me.

Friday was a day meant for touring. We found a flyer in our hostel that said FREE TOUR which we were immediately drawn to.. sure enough, it's a free tour and the tour guide only works off of tips. We missed the first tour but were luckily able to make it to the 1 PM tour with full intentions of going to the Louvre after. The tour was 3 1/2 hours and man I felt it. So much walking. But it was good to kind of learn the lay of the city. A few things we just passed by but I guess I wasn't expecting too much from a free tour. And it was nice to catch up on some French history. The tour guide was handsomely rewarded.

I should also mention that we got crepes in a cone before the tour began and also found a Starbucks for Chris. So all parties were happy. I should also mention that Starbucks in Paris require you to make a purchase in order to get the password for the bathroom. So hold onto those receipts, friends.
So the tour ended and by that time we were all Eiffel-Tower crazy and made the long walk over and it was so worth it. Probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, especially at night. We waited a significant amount of time to pay an obscenely large sum of 12 euros to go up top for about 15 minutes but it was worth it. When in Paris...
We collectively decided that the Louvre wasn't necessary and went to Musee D'orsay instead and even though I usually hate museums, the audio tour was really helpful and I'm thinking I should start doing that from now on. I was also proud of myself for recognizing certain artists and certain works of art. Then I saw Whistler's Mother and realized I recognized it from one of those Mr. Bean movies. But it's such a cool museum and I'm certain that I walked out of there considerably more intelligent. Or at least aware.

After the museum we all decided that one could not leave Paris without going to Notre Dame but unfortuantely all I think of when I think Notre Dame is the Hunchback. We went inside and it was perfectly beautiful and I appreciated it's Gothic architecture (thanks, Chris) but like I said.. I'm churched out.
The group split up and Chris and I walked down Rue Saint Honore which is the most expensive street in Paris, followed by the Champs Elysee. I was on a quest to find the Louis Vuitton store which we never made it to... but saw every other designer store in Paris. We later learned that the Louis Vuitton Megastore is not on Rue Saint Honore but on the Champs Elysee. Foiled. Also, I had big plans to get a falafel from L'as du falafel but then I realized it was a Saturday and that the entire Jewish Quarter was not open for business. Foiled twice. It was a good walk, however.

We reconvened later that night in Montmarte and looked at Moulin Rouge for a good two minutes for before exploring what I can only describe as dozens of sex shops. The fondue place I had so wanted to go to was of course packed and we ended our last night in Paris with an inexpensive dinner and some well deserved sleep.

Berlin this weekend and then I finally get to rest in the city I'm growing to love more and more as the sky clears up.

S.