Ahh Paris, its the sort of place that you imagine stepping into and falling in love with everything all over again....but then you get a whaft of urine and that changes a few things. The city itself is rather picturesque but as in every major metropolis made famous in movies, the actual reality falls a little short. Parts of the city are exquisite while others are somewhat dirty and mildy sketched out.
Paris offers a variety of parks and areas to relax which from what we observed, Parisians do quite well. They eat French bread like its bubble gum and they smoke like its the last puff they'll take for a century (I think I even saw one chick smoking through her ears while on the phone).
The city streets as in most of what we have seen in Europe are very classic and offer a cafe on nearly every corner. The French are a new breed to us and in a way I can appreciate it. You see, they have the Eiffel Tower, The Louve, The Arc, Champ de Lysee, and Gerard Depardieu so theres not alot for them to prove to anyone. There's what seems to be the sort of notion that "like it or not, this is Paris, and we are French so take your pictures, enjoy our art, but please go home when you are finished". Its cool, I can understand that. The world is slowly being overrun by the influence of the western world, i.e; America and it is somewhat refreshing to see a place that knows who they are and has no intention of changing.
Knowing this, we pleasantly went about our touristy venture and hit all the spots (Eiffel, Louve, Arc Du Triumphe, Notre Dame and the famous shopping street of Champ de Lysee).
All were equally impressive and while we decided to pass on entry fees and just observe from the outside we did luck out and arrive to the Louvre on a freebee day.
Now, Nicole will disagree but for me, being in the presence of the Mona Lisa was fairly amazing. I mean, here in front of me is the single most famous piece of artwork known throughout the world. The piece that anything beautiful and worth looking at is judged against. I think for that, the 1 hour wait to get in was worth every second. The sculptures and Renaissance artwork along with the actual Dode of Hammurabi was equally stunning. I guess however, when the museum is open to the public for free, the crowds seem to dull the shine of these pieces but having the opportunity to be there was one i will always remember.
After a few hours of strolling the streets, parking it at the Park de Luxembourg for some lunch and observing Paris on the weekend, we decided to move along for more countryside en route to Bordeaux which is where I will leave you.
Thanks for reading...and a tout a leur!
-adam
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