Parisian Perfection

There is nothing more memorable than going to a city that is in the throes of a mass transit strike. Both my friend Amanda and I were wondering how things would play out as we boarded our plane to Paris, but now that I have safely returned to my Budapest abode I can say that it really wasn't all that bad. Some of the metros were running, although we were never really sure which ones, and it worked out that we could get out of the city from a particular line that was about 8 blocks from the hostel (better than nothing!). We didn't have to pay a cent for transport either which was a bit of a bonus.

Early Thursday morning we flew in on a discount airline that lands about 50 miles outside of Paris, and then took a private bus from the airport into the city. It worked out perfectly for us because we didn't need any public transport to get downtown; some of our roommates who had flown into Charles de Gaulle had quite a fiasco getting into Paris because of the strike. Things were going smoothly as we hopped on the main artery line that was working normally, and it wasn't until we needed to transer to the second line that we walked down the steps and into a scene that looked exactly like a newspaper photo I'd seen the day before...

We tried to get on once but the crowd was rowdy and unhappy, so we decided to hoof the two miles to the hostel. We were blessed with clear blue skies all weekend, so even though it was rather cold it made the walking tolerable. On our way we stopped to gawk at the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Stravinsky fountain, two of the coolest modern structures I've ever seen. The Pompidou was built in the 70's with the look of being "inside out" so all of the pipes and reinforcements are on the outside, and the fountain was a playground of whimsical imagintation.

After checking in and dropping off our things, we set off for the Arc de Triomph. It was big, bold and beautiful, surrounded by traffic mayhem. I was so excited to just be there-- I was in Paris! I loved the energy of the city and the diversity of the people; so many colors and languages, races and faces. I got a great taste of people-watching as we walked down the grand boulevard Avenue des Champs Elysees. There were so many high-end fashion shops that I can see now why Paris is considered the fashion capital of the world. We made a right and headed towards the Hotel des Invalides, which we could see perfectly because of the linear layout of the city even though it was over a mile away. That was the other thing I loved-- every major point in the city lines up perfectly with another, which makes every view seem like a perfect portrait of Paris.

The sun was beginning to go down as we reached the ornate bridge of Pont Alexandre III. It was a gem of a vantage point, and we spent about 20 minutes trying to get the "perfect picture" of the Eiffel tower and cityscape at sunset. We both shared a bit of a love affair with the tower, getting excited every time it came into view, because it is without a doubt the idol and image of Paris; like a supermodel made of steel. Everytime I saw it I was awash with the starry-eyed feeling that I was really in Paris. It was getting a bit chilly, but we walked the mile and then some to the Eiffel tower. On our way over I looked up just in time to catch the dazzling display of lights that lit up the tower like a diamond tiara. It was beautiful! However, beauty could only justify our numb fingers for so long, so we made our way back to the nearest running metro to return to the hostel.

For dinner, we opted to utilize the kitchen in the hostel and stopped by a nearby grocer to pick up frozen pizzas and a bottle of 3 euro wine. Turns out the full kitchen didn't include an oven, but after a little improvisation on the stovetop, we sat down to a very pleasant meal. Finally retiring to our room, we met two of of our roomates Corey and Volcan who were from Turkey, but studying in Florence. They were heading out to see the Moulin Rouge, and thrilled with the opportunity to see the infamous red-light district with two bodygaurds, invited myself and Amanda along. Another student from the U.S. joined us as well, and we ventured into the seedy lowlife of Paris. It was fun, but something I only need to do once in my life.

The next morning we made our way back into the city to check out La Maison du Miel, or "House of Honey." It was a charming store that's been in establishment since 1908 and offers over 50 different varieties of domestic and imported honey. The experience was extra-special because one of the clerks spoke English and chatted with us about the fascinating process of specialized honey-making and the different varities we were sampling. This aspect was probably what made the experience the most memorable because there's a tremendous difference between simply sampling a product versus sampling and learning all about it's intricacies. Here in Hungary that just doesn't happen with the language and cultural barriers. I purchased their signature French Lavender Honey and left with that warm fuzzy feeling that the little things are what make a city truly special.

We then walked in the direction of the fountain of St. Michel, which is the meeting point of a free tour that our Turkish friends had strongly reccommended. On our way over we walked through the Jardin des Tuileroes, which stretches out from the Louvre. We met two girls who were students of American University studying abroad, and like us, visiting Paris for the weekend. It was so fun to meet and chat with other students and travelers, but with over 5 million visiting tourists a year, it was much easier to bump into them in Paris than Budapest!

Our tourguide, orginally from New York, had moved to Paris to live the life of a starving artist. He had lots of stories and theories about French history, as well as ancedotes from his own personal experience, that made the walk much more fun and interesting. Although we didn't enter any buildings, it gave us a good layout of the city and ideas for where we might want to visit. Halfway through we decided to go our own way, and headed back to Notre Dame because the doors closed around dusk and it was already past three.



Notre Dame is the quintessential image of 12th century Medieval architecture. It took over 200 years to build, and I loved the fact that each of its bells has a name (Immanuel is the biggest, weighing 13 tons). There was no wait to get in, and it wasn't absurdly busy, which made walking around and admiring the gothic interior quite nice. Again, I couldn't believe I was actually in the Notre Dame. While contemplating the multi-lingual confession room, a choir had begun to sing, so we sat and listened a while before heading back out into the cold. Just around the corner was a place that I had wanted to check out, so we made a stop at the english bookstore Shakespear & Company. It was a bohemian place crammed with books from floor to ceiling, like something you would see in a movie. By now it was evening, and we walked back to the Louvre. On Friday nights entrance is free for anyone 26 and under, so it was a great way for us to save a bit of money and still have a great weekend.

Presently, the museum has over 35,000 works, and if you spend about 10 seconds admiring each one it would take almost 7 months to see all of them. We did the more concise trip and saw the bigger works, like the Mona Lisa, Venus Aphrodite, sculptures of Michaelangelo, The Raft of the Medusa, the pharonic Sphinx on display and the Medieval moat excavation. I found the Da Vinci's small portrait to be rather anticlimatic, but I loved it nonetheless. I also saw the painting much closer, but I thought the paparazzi picture was much more entertaining. The building itself is a work of art, and all the while I couldn't believe I was actually admiring the works of the Louvre.

The next day we started with the Musee d'Orsay, which is home to an entire floor of French impressionist works. I was so high on this whole Paris experience that I could only drool and gawk at the works of Monet, Manet, Ronoir, Matisse, and Van Gogh (my favorite). I LOVED them! I was overwhelmed with this sense of wonder that I was actually seeing the real and very tangible paintings that I had only known through textbooks and art classes. I was really quite moved by the experience! After a few hours, we decided to enjoy the nice day (and warmth of the sun) and took a leisurly walk along the Seine


Finally reaching our beloved Eiffel tower, a lunch break was in order. It was our last evening in Paris, and we both were interested in climbing the tower. So, 700 steps later that's where we were! We started climbing around 4pm, and after a picture from every corner, we found a bench on the West face of the tower on the second level, plunked ourselves down, and watched the sun set. I can't really begin to describe how it feels to watch the orange hues melt into the Paris skyline from atop one of the greatest monuments in the world, but it was pretty darn cool. We decided to conclude the evening with a river cruise, and picked up some fresh croissants and pastries for the ride. It was quite Parisian, if I may say so myself. On our way back we met a young man from Morrocco who was studying in Paris and ended up walking with him and his friend a good ways because the metro wasn't coming anytime soon. I don't think we ever learned his name, but it certainly made the mile we had to walk go by much faster :)

The next morning we made a last venture to the nearby Sacre Coeur; only about 10 minutes from our hostel and perched the highest point in central Paris, it was built as a memorial to the 58,000 soldiers killed during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Our original intent was to watch the sunrise from its entrance, however it was very cloudy and overcast, so we opted to go inside the building to warm up. The interior was simple, but grand. Just before leaving, the nuns that had been arranging themselves in the front began to sing morning prayers. Instead of an organ, they were using something that sounded like a harpsichord, which made the arrangement of their prayer quite mild and harmonious. That they were singing in french made it a thousand times more beautiful. I was completely captivated, and decided that even though I had not seen the beauty of a sunrise, I had enjoyed beauty of another sense; their music was intoxicating.

On that note (pun intended) we munched on some hostel breakfast, chatted with a few Aussies, and set out on the trip back to Budapest. Our jars of honey, though measured in grams and not mililiters, had to be checked, and after a bit of running around everything was taken care of. Due to a bit of a delay, we ended up flying over the Austrian and French alps at sunset, and in all my flying experience I have never been so captivated by the window view.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend. I refused to say it until I our plane to Budapest had taken off, but now I can gush that it was everything that I'd imagined it to be, and more than I could have ever wished for. I love Paris!