Paris
I'm not really sure what to write about Paris that will be interesting or different from what millions of other people would write about it... Like Prague, Paris in the middle of summer is full of tourists, and the more touristy parts of the city (particularly the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and Versailles) were swarming with large, pushy tour groups that were determined to make sure that you spent more time looking at the backs of people's heads than at anything of historical significance.
Despite the tourist crowds, I actually quite enjoyed Paris, it has manged to retain a sense of intimacy that is often sadly lacking in large cities. I was met at the station by Laura, a friend of mine who lives there, and she showed me around some of of the Paris neighbourhoods that tend to get left off the tourist trail, which was nice. She lives in an old Parisienne house in a nice part of town, and although she says that she hates it because of all the old furniture, the place felt full of history, and had a nice 19th century charm to it...
I also met up with Joel and Jonesy, two friends from the Coast, and it was good to see them again. We were able to get to the last day of the Tour de France, which was really exciting, and something that I've wanted to do for quite a while. The anticipation of the crowd on the Champs-Elysee as the peleton gradually approached Paris was almost better than the thrill of watching the yellow jersey fly past. I'm glad I was able to be there, and hopefully one year I'll be able to go and see some of the mountain stages and be in some of the smaller towns as the tour comes through.
After a few days of looking around Paris I met up with another friend of mine: Lea, a French girl I worked with in Sydney. It was great to see her again, and we spent the last night in Paris sitting on the hill in front of the Sacre Coeur at Montmarte, looking out over Paris and drinking wine...
On the Thursday night I said goodbye to Laura (thanks for showing us around), and then to Lea (thank you for everything, too). I get sick of saying goodbye to people, it's the part of travelling that I like the least. I know that saying goodbye is inevitable, but I always feel a bit crappy when I have to be farewelled by good friends, because you never know exactly when you'll see people again - hopefully sooner rather than later.
Despite the tourist crowds, I actually quite enjoyed Paris, it has manged to retain a sense of intimacy that is often sadly lacking in large cities. I was met at the station by Laura, a friend of mine who lives there, and she showed me around some of of the Paris neighbourhoods that tend to get left off the tourist trail, which was nice. She lives in an old Parisienne house in a nice part of town, and although she says that she hates it because of all the old furniture, the place felt full of history, and had a nice 19th century charm to it...
I also met up with Joel and Jonesy, two friends from the Coast, and it was good to see them again. We were able to get to the last day of the Tour de France, which was really exciting, and something that I've wanted to do for quite a while. The anticipation of the crowd on the Champs-Elysee as the peleton gradually approached Paris was almost better than the thrill of watching the yellow jersey fly past. I'm glad I was able to be there, and hopefully one year I'll be able to go and see some of the mountain stages and be in some of the smaller towns as the tour comes through.
After a few days of looking around Paris I met up with another friend of mine: Lea, a French girl I worked with in Sydney. It was great to see her again, and we spent the last night in Paris sitting on the hill in front of the Sacre Coeur at Montmarte, looking out over Paris and drinking wine...
On the Thursday night I said goodbye to Laura (thanks for showing us around), and then to Lea (thank you for everything, too). I get sick of saying goodbye to people, it's the part of travelling that I like the least. I know that saying goodbye is inevitable, but I always feel a bit crappy when I have to be farewelled by good friends, because you never know exactly when you'll see people again - hopefully sooner rather than later.
posted by Steve Phillips at 5:03 am
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