After being in Rome which seems like I have been here forever, I feel a little holier if not more blessed?  Not cause I visited the Vatican… Dan could attest to the fact that the holy feeling didn’t go very far that day…  Today I was graced by the presence of his holiness.  I’m not sure what is going on around here but there are a lot of politicians and clerics in town. 

At first I just noticed a low flying helicopter buzzing around and then all of a sudden the Carabineri lined up along the street preventint pedestrian from crossing, and a number of motorcycles flew by with one stopping off at the intersections to stop vehicles.  A series of police cars, and unmarked Mercedes and Alpha Romeos drove by with the sirens going all lit up.  A couple of Mercedes passed with what appeared to be bishops passed, then a Mercedes S600 surrounded by motorcycles approached… it was the flags with the Vatican crest on it that appeared and people started realizing it was the Pope…  All of a sudden people started screamming… like kids at a Hannah Montanah concert “THE POPE!!!!…. IT’S THE POPE”….  and before the tourists could get the autofocus on their cameras to capture a shot, he was gone… with more bishops behind and more police. 

I’ve seen the motorcade for royalty and politicians when they came to Vancouver to visit work, but that was nothing.  Helicopter, about 10 motorcycles, and another 10 cars with an additional 5 that carried the party… this was the mother of all motorcades in my book.  Makes our motorcades looks like the Disney Parade of Lights….

Also, I had the best pizza EVER in my life last night, and then this afternoon I had the second best pizza ever.  I thought I was getting sick of pizza, but after that I think I’m okay.  The scary thing was they were both vegetarian pizza…  First one was just tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.  The second was just a mushroom pizza.  Soooo good.  Now I just need to find the best Rissotto EVER.

Bring a lunch and wear comfy clothes, there is a lot to cover as one day probably isn’t enough to see everything. 

With that said, upon visiting the Louvre, I kind of wished that I was a art history major instead of going to business school…. well for a very brief millionth of a second maybe.  None the less all the art and culture there was lost upon me.  There were a couple of things I wanted to see.  Call them my favorite pieces; no, not DaVinci’s Mona lisa or Venus de Milo.

Oh and there is also like a gabillion (that’s one higher than bazillion) people there… some of them who I hope do not drive like they walk. 

The Louvre has some pretty interesting exhibits, one of them being the recreation of Napolean’s residence.  Wow… talk about grand.  Here is an idea of how grand.  This is the main hallway.

Moving right along…  One of the statues that I wanted to see was Winged Victory of Samothrace.  For those who is wondering who or what this is, it is Nike, the godess of victory.

Personally I find the statue to posess a very powerful presence.  I was surprised that most people just walked by it…  I guess they were all rushing to see Venus de Milo. 

For all those who prefers Venus here’s a shot.

The other paintings I wanted to see…

Eugène Delacroix’s  La Liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty guiding the people).  A painting of the french revolution.

And Hippolyte Delaroche’s Bonaparte Crossing the Alps.

So what about the Mona Lisa?  Well I went, I saw, I left.  To be honest, yes it’s a nice piece of work, but is it that much nicer that everybody and by everybody, I mean half of the tourists and visitors at the Louvre crowded around  to catch a glimpse?  Personally I don’t think so, but while you’re there, you might as well…

N.

The first McDonald I saw in Paris was nice… in fact all the McDonalds in Paris were pretty nice looking.  A couple of things that did catch my attention though. 

Within McDonalds, they have a seperate McCafe line up.  I suppose it makes things a lot easier if you just want your coffee and go. 

The McDonalds in Chinatown is actually in chinese and has that gawdy bamboo theme to make it “oh so asian” *barf*.  Funny, this must be the only McDonald outside of China that is in chinese… weird.  Perhaps like the Quebecois, the Chinois population is worried about losing their identity too and thus require their McDonalds to be in Chinese…. yeah a bit of a stretch there. 

Oh and by the way, the French folks were staring at me as I was taking thesephotos thinking I had never seen a McDonalds before.   

There isn’t that huge of a Chinese population either… majority of Asians are Vietnamese… since Vietnam was a French colony back in the day; makes perfect sense to me.  Why is it in France the Vietnamese is “Vietnamois” where as in Quebec it’s “Tonkinois”?  What is up with that?  It just supports my theory of how Quebec just tries that hard to be different.  Anyways, I digress… where was I?

Right, McDonalds in Paris also have a seperate take out window… kind of like a drive through for foot traffic.  I suppose it’s to compensate for the lack of a drive through window…

As I progressed through the trip in Paris, one question kept popping up that I didn’t think of when i took photos of the McDonalds…  It turns out that John Travolta was right.  The quarter pounder IS “The Royale” in France…lol.  In fact you can have The Royale avec Fromage, the Royale avec Bacon, and my personal favorite… the Royale deluxe (that just means fancy dijon with a slice of lettuce and tomatoes). 

The big mac of course is just the big mac… but later on (I’m in Rome at the moment so there’s a lot of catching up to do) in Rome, I found out that the big mac is “Il Mac” which is served on a ciabatta with a slice of ementhal, and again lettuce and tomatoe… kind of like the grown up sirloin burgers they serve up back home. 

Oh and the best part of McDonalds here is…. *wait for it*… *wait for it*…….

You can have your choice of your regular bevies, which includes beer.  That’s right!  McDonalds in Europe serves beer to go with your meal.  Sweet…  I’ll have that meal supersized; or as they call it here “Maxi sized”.   This however only applies to France and Rome… I can’t recall there being beer in London.

N.

This has got to be the biggest vending machine I have ever seen.  It’s the size of a store front and sells everything from drinks, to sandwhiches, cigarettes, and full on frozen entrees…. just in case you have an urge for turkey breast stuffed with brie and broccalli.

Those are 2L cokes… just in case the cans or the 500mL bottles isn’t enough to quench your thirst.

So seeing this vending machine piqued our curiousity.  Armed with a pocket full of change, we decided to demo the machine and see how it works. 

Strolling through the market, we realized that it was the perfect place to find food for breakfast… (can we consider this brunch?).  After foraging at the market, I walked out with some pate, salami, and a bit of cheese, and an assortment of fruits… yes!!!  muskat grapes!

Those who knows one of my passions is spending time in the kitchen must realize that I was like a kid in a candy shop.  See all these fresh new foods was inspring.  Unfortuneately I didn’t have access to a kitchen otherwise, there would be a full on spread served.  

Yes that is fresh rabbit at the butchers.  Something definately worth trying if you haven’t had it.  Watching them trim the rabbit definately isn’t a sight for the week hearted.

Salted fish (Cod).  All the Chinese readers out there knows what I’m talking about.  Just don’t stick it in the microwave….

Fresh Oysters and champagne.. what a combination.  The streets of Paris is littered with Cafes and Oyster bars (okay Falaffel/Shish stands are up there but they’re not very romantic, or interesting) where one can pick the oysters and the man at the counter will shuck them for you .  Served with champagne and a touch of tobasco sauce makes it quite the treat! 

I have no idea where Dan found falafels…

A brown sarcophagus housing the remains of Napoleon is placed in the lower levels. Surrounding the sarcophagus, the walls display carvings in marble different aspects of Napoleon’s rule; his laws, his achievements, his life.

Carving telling the story of the repatriation of Napoleon’s remains.  If you remember from your history class, Napoleon was excommunicated from France. His remains were later repatriated and the tomb where his remains have been placed in the lower levels where it resides today.

Napoleon’s Laws and code of conduct.

Napoleon’s victories and conquests.

Brief history lesson: The tomb was once the church of King Louis (XIV?… not sure). Napoleon had converted the church into the necropolis originally to house the remains of former generals and military figures.  There are a total of 5 other tombs surrounding Napoleon’s.

Within the same grounds as Napoleon’s Tomb is L’Hotel d’Invalides which was built on Napoleon’s order as a hospital to house amputee soldiers. The structure is now Musee de l’Armee (Army Museum). For you history buffs out there, there is a lot to see. Art,uniforms, arms, video footage, and stories of the past are on display. The exhibits focus on a few key eras in France’s military history; the colonization of Africa, the First World War, and the Second World War. I was amazed at the collection myself, and surprised the amount of Nazi paraphernalia that was on display.

Then further down the street I came across this row of bicycles all identical to the ones I saw earlier, and they were all attached to these funny looking stands.  Well, these bikes were secured via mag locks to these stands.  It turns out that there is this “Velocycle” system which is equivalent to “Zip Cars” but for bicycles. 

You basically apply for a pass and load it up with euros.  Depending on how long you ride the bikes, they deduct the amount owing.  There are a number of these stands throughout the city.  What a novel way to tour and see the sites…. with the exception of the overly agressive drivers on the road.  Perhaps it’s safer to just walk…

N.

1. Bring your camera.
2. Don’t go when it’s raining…
3. If you’re able bodied, take the stairs.

The day started out damp and cool.  Dan and I thought it would be a good idea to attempt the Eiffel tower even though it was a Sunday (as you know tourist attractions and weekends go hand in hand with looooong line ups).  With the possibility of a slight drizzle we took our chances and hoped for minimal line ups in the morning.  Hopefully everyone was sleeping in, in church, or at brunch.  As it turned out we lucked out but still had to wait 15 minutes in the shorter line up.

Once there the visitor will face two options… one of two elevators could take you to the two observation decks, or you could walk it.  If you decide to take the elevator from the ground up, it is €14 which works out to be about $21. 

For the sake of the experience (and not wanting to wait in the line ups) we decided to take the stairs up.  Well, being a tourist attraction I wasn’t surprised there was a fee to torture oneself with the stairs.  Admission for the hike up was  €5.  If you walk up to the second observation deck and purchase your pass it’s an additional €4… plus you had your exercise for the week.

The trek up to the first observation deck isn’t too bad, but by the time you get to the second observation deck it’s starting to feel like you’ve just done the grouse grind.  Mind you I was carrying a pack with my cameras, tripod, and rain gear… additional weight none the less. 

As we made our way to the very top of the tower, rain became a little heavier, and the wind was blowing hard.  At a couple of points you could feel the tower swaying as a gust pushed through the tower.   This with the rain felt like you were getting sand blasted by the elements. 

The view is definitely worth it; and if you’re on a trip with the significant other, just to make it more romantic, there is a champagne bar at the top.   Here is some of the view from above.

Champ de Mars and at the very end L’Ecole Militaire

Napoleon’s Tomb and the Pantheon in the distance

Paris Neighborhoods from a birds eye perspective:

A different shot…

The Siene river..

The Champagne bar…

The Eiffel Tower has also been outfitted with strobe lights…. lots of strobe lights for the evening.  I believe starting at 7:00pm every hour the Eiffel Tower is set up to shine and sparkles like a stadium during a Kodak moment.   The light show consists of seizure inducing strobe lighting followed by momentary darkness leading to a multicolour lightshow where the tower turns different shades of blue and green that lasts for about 15 minutes overall.

If there are photos you would like, ask me, I may have high res versions that are too large to upload… some of these photos are over 5 megs and in large formats.

N.

Once out of the metro I was completely awestruck at the beauty of the city.  The buildings, the streets, the presence…  very grand indeed.

We’re staying on the Ave de Saxe which is just on the otherside of L’ecole Militaire, Hotel d’Invalides, and the other end of Champ de Mars where the Eiffel Tower is.  You can see it from our street. 

The neighborhood where we stayed is quite nice, convenient, and really nice.  A lot of older buildings gives it a cultural vibe…

Wandering around the neighborhood, you soon realize there are staple types of businesses that makes up the neighborhoods.. 

Le Patisserie… or bakery, one of my favorites…  Yeah, I’ve stuffed my face with my share of the delectable goodies. 

La boucherie… the butcher.  Great place to pick up cured meets such as salami and procuito for a quick lunch.   They usually have a great selection of pate and my new favorite… Magret de Canard… it’s like proscuito but with duck… yum.  You can also find various cuts of meat which they will dress for you.  The french take their butcher shops quite seriously and watching them trim the meet, it’s a lost artform that you don’t see in Vancouver very much.  For those of you who know that one of my passion is cooking, I was able to spend quite a bit of time staring at the window at their presentation and thinking what delicious dishes I could make….  so much different variety.  Oh and the presentation doesn’t stop at the windows either…. the butchers themselves are dressed quite professionally… shirts, and ties et al.  Chic comes to mind.

Other businesses that make up the neighborhood staples include:  The neighborhood pub (brasseries), cafes, Chinese Tratorias…. (deli style restaurants), no I’m not kidding either…. Sushi restaurants (I swear there is at least one in every neighborhood.. and they’re definately not cheap).   There should be no excuse for starvation in Paris… 

N.

The train system in Europe is so cool. It’s like nothing we have at home, their train terminals are quite impressive as there are a large number of platforms with a multitude of trains coming and going to various places through Europe. It makes our train system looks like the train ride at Stanley Park. Leaving from St. Pancrass Station in London heading for France, it is understandable why trains would be the mode of transportation of choice for most. Fast and convenience is the key, with the train station located within the city centre, it is merely a 15 minute journey through rush hour traffic by Taxi. I can’t imagine how painful it is to commute with our backpacks through the subways… the thought of attempting to fight rush hour traffic makes me cringe. We decided to travel via first class as the price difference between first and standard was approximately £20 ($30 CAD). Q: So what does the extra £20 get you? A: Comfy reclining seats vs. The standard non reclining bench seats, a meal, and a bit more leg room. Since the price difference isn’t substantial, you may as well travel in comfort. Cost for the various modes of transportation: Flight from London to Paris is approximately $250 CAD Train: £142 for first class ($230 CAD), £125 for standard (approximately $202 CAD) I’m not sure how much to travel by bus, it is substantially cheaper. If I recall it’s about £30, but it would take you about 9 hours including the ferry ride. Q: How long is the journey? A: The train ride is 3.5 hrs long, with a 10 minute stop at Stafford for additional boarding. The train is definitely the way to go if you’re travelling to Paris from London. The train itself takes you all the way into the heart of Paris arriving at Gare du Nord. Flying to Paris may seem fast but overall with the hassle of commuting between airports and dealing with traffic, you’re better off with the train. The added bonus of enjoying the picturesque countryside is more enticing than staring at the clouds above.