Europe - Paris - Day 8

Wow, I hibernated a little too long. Is it really February?! My last Europe post is dated back in August. Oh well, let's carry on to Day 8!

Monte Carlo was a complete blur. Miguel and I were ready to push past Nice, Monaco, and the vast dichotomy this area had to offer. Imagine if you will, the serenity of a Hollywood set selling rich visions of the perfect community. Now imagine the dirt, cables, behind-the-scenes type of work that goes on to provide that picturesque view. Hiding behind the yachts, famous people, and one famous stretch of road is the underworld that festers in the dark alleys. That's Nice in a nutshell.

Look at me, I'm in a nutshell and I can't get out...this is crazy. (Name that movie)

I digress. The focus, Kevllar, is Paris.

I was very excited to begin the midnight journey to Paris. I have been anticipating a visit to Paris for years. There is a magnetism about this city that has captured my interest and I've been wanting to find out about it for quite some time. I was only 10 hours away from hopefully learning more about that interest.

Miguel and I took turns driving through out the night. Driving for eight hours from Nice to Paris guarantees one thing. How you got from point A to point B is a little fuzzy, but you stop asking questions since you made it. I would have to say most of it was a blur. The kind of blur that doesn't make mothers happy. :) However, with a quick pit stop for some sleep, we were finally pulling into Paris morning traffic. Those poor frenchies were going to work while we came to soil their land with our American sneakers.

First order of business was determining if we were directionally challenged or the navigation system was. Paris is such an intricate web of roads that the navi wasn't sure if we were on one road or the other one sitting right on top of it. Paris better have more to offer than roads that strip this city of the title, City of Light. Because I don't see anything brilliant about their civil engineering. I swear the civil engineer let his eight year old draw the plans.

Alrighty then.

Miguel has been to Paris before and found a great tour bus company. So, we decided to head straight for the bus. It's similar to the London double decker. You jump on and off as you please and listen to taped stories of Napoleon's influence throughout Paris as it correlated to the attractions the bus passed by.

Notre Dame was our first stop after crossing over the Seine River. The city is chock full of attractions, it's scary. After a quick tour of the magnificent Notre Dame, I was thoroughly impressed with the dominating presence of the organ in the back of the church. However, they had a recorded organ playing softly every 10 minutes in place of the real one. Maybe next time I will coordinate a trip out to Paris just to hear it in its full glory.

There is so much to see, we had to jump on to the bus and begin our first tour of Paris along the Seine River as it headed for the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. I wasn't sure what to expect out of either, but I was thoroughly entertained with just crossing over the Seine and looking down the river. There is something very romantic about Paris, even it is simplest state.

We started to head up Champs-Elysees and in the distance was the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is very impressive from afar, but when we got off the bus and made our way to the Arc, it was even more incredible to be standing in it.

Paris has a great presence of monuments.

The Eiffel Tower was equally impressive. The tower is lit at sundown which draws out a crowd of people who spend their evenings lounging on the lawn through the sunset to see the tower come alive with color. Such a simple attraction, yet very capturing. It would be a mistake to visit Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower...let alone at night.

Miguel and I found our way through many areas which hold their own power and require their own thread. There was too much to see and too much to write about.

However, I will say that the Moulin Rouge district is a must for night activities. It's one of the areas in Paris that doesn't close down early. It awakes as the sun goes down. All the shops are open and facing the streets inviting people to come and sit, the neon lights draw people into the area, and the general feeling is of elegance and beauty. Now just take away the tourists in their shorts, sneakers, and cameras and you have a timeless attraction of Paris.

Before this thread becomes a book....

You are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.-Ernest Hemingway