Another day on the move with me needing to get to St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. After arriving in plenty of time I had something to eat before checking in.
I was surprised by the number of people here but as it becoming much easier to use the train to get to many major European cities I can understand.
After standing in line to put my per-paid ticket through the gate I found that I needed to see and attendant first. Given that I was really early, she warned me that once I went through I could not get back. After saying that was fine I went through.
After passing a security and customs check I found myself in the large area underneath the platforms. While having some breakfast before checking in I discovered that the station provides free wifi access. What I needed now was a power point. As it turns out they have a whole dedicated bench with power outlet where you can hook up and enjoy the benefits of free wifi. This allowed me to make good use of the spare time I had.
Finally, it was time to board the train for what turned out to be a quite enjoyable and relaxing trip to Gare Nord in Paris. I had mapped out my route to the hotel, which was near Gard Nord but somehow I managed to miss the street. I always think the streets are wider than they are. So after walking father than I knew I should I whipped out my trusty HTC TyTn II handset and used the built in GPS.
The only complaint that I have about this GPS unit is that it takes quite a while to locate you. Eventually I was headed in the right direction. I was a little taken aback as to how far I had missed my turn but the GPS put me straight and I was soon checked in.
An interesting little room on the first floor. Given that the hotel is near the station I didn’t expect anything sizable but the really good thing is that it has free wifi.
Given that it was now late afternoon, and wanting to make the most of my time here in Paris I headed off to the Louvre. Having used the Paris Visite pass previously I had made sure I obtained one for this trip. The card allows unlimited use of the Paris Metro so a number of days. The other must have item is the Paris Museum Pass which allows you free access to many of the best attractions including the Louvre.
The other great thing about the Paris Museum Pass is that it allows you to bypass the ticket lines which is great at the Louvre, because even late in the afternoon there is still lots and lots of people wanting to get in.
I basically decided to wander around aimlessly and even doing so I managed to come across the Mona Lisa and the huge crowd of people that is always there flashing away madly even though you aren’t suppose to use flash photography.
As closing time for the Louvre approached I headed out and decided that another trip up the Eiffel Tower was a the go. In my experience it is always best to go at dusk so you can see the city in day and at night. I walked along the Seine River in the direction of the Tower passing a number of site along the way.
However, when I arrived I couldn’t believe the crowds already there waiting to go up the Tower.
Having already been up the Tower a number of times and not wanted to wrestle with the crowds in the queues and in the Tower I decided to give it a miss and instead to the Arc de Triomph, which you can also scale.
I made my way back across the Seine and towards Trocadero, which was the nearest Metro station. Even hear is thick with tourists and hucksters.
I am honestly amazed at the number of tourists both here and in London. Admittedly the weather is perfect and it seems to me that the ‘global financial crises’ is well and truly behind us.
After arriving at the Arc de Triomph, once again the Paris Museum Pass allowed me to bypass the ticket line and get immediate access. Again, I have never seen lines as long for tickets here, but thanked Paris Museum Pass for makign things so easy.
You have a pretty exhausting hike up and spiral staircase to get to the top levels of the Arc. You are then inside the Arc.
After a few more sets of stairs you emerge onto the top of the Arc where I could watch as the lights of Paris came on.
One thing I would recommend if you visit the Arc is simply to look down at the traffic. The rules are that traffic already in the roundabout must give way to traffic entering. This makes things pretty chaotic as the video I took demonstrates.
Yet in end it all seems to
work and everyone gets to where they are going. I heard that when you enter the Arc roundabout your insurance is suspended until you exit, because the likelihood of and accident is so high. Even though it may not be true I can understand why it might be!
As night fell I headed back to my hotel managing to takes these two rather excellent shots (in my opinion) before jumping back on the Metro.
As I walked back to my hotel from the Metro station I realized I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast so I found a local restaurant that had English on its menu and had something to eat. It allowed me to practice my very poor French but it was nice way to end my first day back in Paris. Tomorrow will be another serious day of site seeing.
