Paris – Part Two

Saturday was a slow start for me. I woke up around 12:00 PM, after the previous day’s adventures catching up with me. I headed to the McDonald’s down the road to use the wi-fi to map out the day. I took care of the tourist sights on Friday, and still had a few things left on my list to accomplish on my last full day in Paris.

The weather wasn’t as warm as it was on Friday, but it was still warm enough to enjoy walking wherever I went.

My list for Saturday included the locations where “Inception” was filmed in Paris. For some students on this study abroad experience, sights like Stonehenge and Parliament were the selling points that made them study in London for the semester. For me, the selling point was that I’d be a few thousand miles closer to where “Inception” was filmed (only joking). My first stop was the cafe, where Leo DiCaprio and Ellen Page discussed the very basics of creating the world of the dream.

This scene was located at Rue Bouchut, just a 20 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower.

Rue Bouchut

The cafe, Da Stuzzi, that the exploding fruit stand/street scene was filmed.

No exploding fruit from this fruit stand on Rue Bouchut, though.

After seeing this scene, I moved on to the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, where, while in the dream, Leo and Ellen Page are confronted by Leo’s dead wife, “Mal”.

The Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

No massive mirrored doors to be found, however…

The next location I went to was just at the opposite end of the bridge, which is a small overpass, which in “Inception”, Ellen Page constructs in a dream to cross a street to reach the Pont de Bir-Hakeim.

And finally, just 100 feet away, at the base of the underground stop, Passy, are the large doors where Joseph Gordon-Levitt enters to access an abandon warehouse, where he and Leo temporarily set up base as they instruct Ellen Page.

The door of the abandon warehouse Joseph Gordon-Levitt enters in “Inception”.

Being able to see these places in real life was truly an… Earth-shattering, borderline religious experience. Only half-joking. But in all honesty, it was beyond cool.

From here, I headed down to the Champs-Élysées, which was another sight to behold. One of the most famous streets in the entire world, the Champs-Élysées is also home to some of the most expensive retail and real estate in the world. I could have spent all day walking up and down Champs-Élysées, just taking it all in. The streets were packed, but just window-shopping and seeing concept cars from high-end automobile retailers was enough to hold my attention for a better part of the afternoon.

Champs-Élysées

At the end of the Champs-Élysées sits the Arc de Triomphe, which stands at just over 160 feet. Constructed between 1806-1836, the Arc de Triomphe stands in the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, which is the meeting point of twelve straight avenues connecting to form the shape of a star.

The Arc De Triomphe

I walked back down the Champs-Élysées towards the Louvre to see my last location on my list – “Club Silencio”, owned by American filmmaker David Lynch. Knowing Dave like I do (I don’t), he wouldn’t let just any riffraff in. So I got a photo, and poked my nose around the corner hoping to catch him there doodling over a new script… Alas, to no avail. The club operates on a subscription service, where members pay a yearly fee to gain access. Here’s a short description take from the website…

“Until midnight, Silencio is reserved for its members and their escorts. Membership card allows access to concerts, films, and other performances. It is offered primarily for international creative scene (Cinema, fashion, music, visual arts, etc.)… Concerts by artists, distinguished guests, and eclectic DJs. A new experience of cinema with films in preview, showing, or retrospective.”

Club Silencio

Having seen everything I intended for Saturday, I meandered through the city for another hour or so before I headed back to the hotel to pack up and prepare for departure on Sunday. The following are just some photos I collected from Saturday… Mostly of the most tempting sweets you’ll ever lay eyes upon…

I started walking back to the underground stop, when I turned to catch the Eiffel Tower just as it was exploding with flashing lights.

Come on, in Paris, you’re looking at these nearly everywhere you go… And the fresh bread and the crêpes… To die for, my friends.

Whereas in London, I’m looking at this on the walk to school…

Fried chicken and kebab joints like this are like the weeds of the eateries in London.

Paris was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the entire semester so far. It’s a shame I only have this upcoming weekend left to travel outside of the UK, and I have a preexisting engagement, however, I would head back to Paris in a heartbeat and spend an entire week there. London is great and I’ve seen amazing sights here, do not get me wrong. But in Paris, being challenged with a language barrier that I’ve never experienced before, taking in the different sights on the streets, and everything else I don’t normally experience in London, made Paris one of the most exciting and memorable places I’ve been in my life. I look forward to the day when I have the time and the means to travel back and spend more time in of the most breathtaking cities I’ve seen during this semester.

Paris – Part One

I left for Paris in a rush on Thursday night. I was waiting for our British Life & Culture professor to come around and explain in detail our next two assignments. Nonetheless, I was able to get to Victoria Coach Station in time for my bus, which left London at 9:30 PM.

The bus ride there wasn’t bad at all. I had a seat right up at the front of the bus, which made getting on and off for border patrol quick. We got on a ferry for 90 minutes to cross the English Channel, and then proceeded on to Paris upon arriving.

I got into Paris around 6:45 AM (Scheduled to get in at 7:30 AM). Despite being a little early, I was able to gather my bearings at Gallieni before I headed out for the day. The smell of urine and stale body odor greeted me as I descended into the subway to catch the next train. The undergrounds were not nearly as clean as the underground in London, but it didn’t matter, I wasn’t sleeping there. Besides, I doubt there would have been any room for me at all… The homeless were taking up space.

From Gallieni, I took the underground to Reamur-Sebastopol, where I switched lines and continued on to St. Michel. It was just under an hour after I arrived in Paris  as I headed out along the Seine. The St. Michel underground stop was just a short walk away from Notre Dame, so that’s where I went first.

A view of Notre Dame with the sun rising.

Outside the St. Michel underground stop.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame was beautiful. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos inside the cathedral, but I can assure you, it was breathtaking. Notre Dame is actually getting ready to undergo some serious renovations beginning this year and ending in 2013. The renovations include changing the five bells and general restoration to stained glass windows and the ceilings.

After walking through Notre Dame, I headed outside to… No, not the opening song from “Beauty and the Beast”, but the square bustling with everyone heading to their respective work/schools/crêpe stand. Simply being in the middle of all of these people speaking all sorts of foreign languages, watching children being dragged along by parents to go to school, or the homeless rise, only to take a pull from their booze. I continued walking along the Seine, away from Notre Dame and the rest of Paris, just to see more of the area outlying the main tourist attractions. Just from the first 30 minutes of walking, it was clear, the streets in Paris were built with motorbikes and bicyclists in mind. There was enough room on the streets for the actual vehicles, plenty of room for those on bikes, and even room on sidewalks for pedestrians.

I turned around and headed back towards Notre Dame as more and more people started to join me on the sidewalk beginning their respective days. I didn’t mind arriving in Paris this early, as opposed to getting into Amsterdam at like, 5:30 AM. I didn’t mind because, everyone was out and about with me. Whereas in Amsterdam, it was my three travel companions and myself wandering the streets until stores started opening up. It also helped that the temperature reached a high of 75 degrees…

I continued walking along the Seine, stopping at whatever caught my eye. I walked through a small park with the Saint-Jacques Tower right in the middle.

Saint-Jacques Tower

I found myself on the other side of the Seine after the Saint-Jacques Tower.

A view of the Seine.

I proceeded up the Seine towards central Paris. Soon, I saw a sign for the Louvre, and I figured it was still early, I had better get over there before the lines started getting long. A few friends had visited earlier in the semester, and they said the line outside the Louvre was unimaginably long. I was able to get into the Louvre with just a 30 second wait. That had to be around 9:00 AM, no later than 9:30 AM. Just seeing the Louvre made me stop in my tracks and just be like, “whoa, there it is”. Like Stonehenge, it’s something I remember learning about in middle school, and here I was, about to enter. I had access to all three wings inside the Louvre – the Denon wing (Italian and Spanish paintings, 19th-century French paintings, and arts of Africa, Asia, and the Americas), the Richelieu wing (14th-17th century French paintings, French sculptures, Islamic art, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance), and finally, the Sully wing (Pharaonic Egypt, History of the Louvre and Medieval Louvre, and 17th-19th century drawings and pastels).

Outside of the Louvre.

The Mona Lisa

Inside the Louvre

Tuileries Gardens

I have dozens of other pictures I want to upload, but I’ll do that once I have more time at my disposal. I want to get Part One written before the battery on my computer runs out.

After about the length of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Cut)” (200 minutes), I had barely scratched the surface of all of the material inside the Louvre. There was still so much to see, but it was time to get going, seeing as the museum was filling up. After the Louvre, I headed out to the large park directly outside of the museum. The temperature was picking up, and the travels through the night were starting to catch up with me. I found a clear spot on the grass in the park, and closed my eyes for a few minutes. Being under the bright sun, hearing people laughing and conversing, and the light breeze put me out, and I awoke a new man, with purpose renewed. I walked through the park (Tuileries Gardens) towards the rest of the city.

My nap spot in the park, after I left the Louvre.

As the sky, still hazy from the early morning, began to clear, I could begin to make out the Eiffel Tower on the horizon, and I knew where to go next. It was such a beautiful day, it would have been a crime not to walk everywhere! I take the bus and the underground all the time back in London, and with the weather I had on Friday, it would have been a waste not to take advantage of it.

A view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

I headed towards the Eiffel Tower, stopping for a ham and cheese crêpe, which was delicious.

After waiting in line for nearly an hour and a half, I was on my way up the Eiffel Tower… To the very top.

The Eiffel Tower

Going the the top of the Eiffel Tower was exciting… And nerve-wracking. You’re in this elevator, looking out at the city shrinking beneath you as you climb higher, with nothing but the glass, and what seems like rinky-dink support rods that make up the upper part of the tower. It was worth it, though. Being at the top was breathtaking. The whole of Paris was sprawled out at my feet. As I walked around the top, couples kissed, infants cried, and tourists were steadily redefining the order “pose for the picture!”. There was even  a small champagne bar where you could nice and liquored up 1,063 feet above the ground.

Champagne Bar

A view from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

The shadow of the Eiffel Tower from the summit. One of my favorite photos from Friday.

I stayed up at the top for about 10-15 minutes before I took the elevator back down to the next level on the tower.

A view of the Trocadèro from the second level on the tower.

The Trocadéro, site of the Palais de Chaillot.

The Champ de Mars, just next to the Eiffel Tower.

After the Eiffel Tower, I did more walking, and general sight-seeing. There was some kind of small auto show happening at the Trocadéro on Friday, and what looked like some of the most expensive cars I’ve ever seen were parked out front on display.

I walked back along the Seine after more sight-seeing towards the St. Michel underground stop, and headed back towards where I was to be staying for the weekend. My hotel is just a stop away from Galliene, so that will make Sunday easier. The neighborhood I’m staying in is not as inclined to English speaking tourists such as myself, but I’ve stumbled my way through basic conversations without insulting anyone, so that’s a good thing, I suppose.

I forgot to bring an adapter for my charger to fit the European electrical outlets… Such a rookie mistake, I know. Fortunately, I was able to get on the Internet to do some writing and look up directions. I’ll post more pictures from Friday and have “Part Two” up tomorrow night upon returning to the flats in London.

My first day in Paris was great, and I can’t wait to share more of it with you tomorrow.

Thanks for reading, everyone!