Paris – They put their money in the left bank.
Last year a friend and I were able to experience Paris when it sizzles as part of a Globus week in London and Paris package. Our hotel was on the left bank of the Seine, steps from the spectacular Eiffel Tower and numerous metro lines.
While our leader (who delighted in pointing out pickpockets and the exact spot where Princess Diana died) warned that the Metro was a confusing, potentially dangerous way to travel, we found it cheap, fast and easy, as well as being a great source of entertainment. Buskers perform right on the trains, playing guitars or wheeling around Karaoke machines, complete with large amplifiers and microphones.
Within hours of arriving in Paris we had ascended the Arc de Triomphe (shorter than expected, but halfway up the stairs you begin to think it’s huge), strolled the Champs Elysses and people watched at a charming little sidewalk bistro.
A half day bus tour was included in the package the next morning and it was great, complete with a guided tour through the dirt-stained glory of Notre Dame, and a ride up to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.
The tour dropped us off at a perfumerie near the Opera House (of Phantom of the Opera fame) for an optional shopping trip, but we chose to break away from the pack and take the RER rapid train to Disneyland Paris so we could compare it with the one in California. When the tour leader found out where we were going, he actually turned up his nose at us and refused to speak with either of us for the remainder of the trip.
Paris was in the middle of an unseasonable October heat wave and I was thankful for the pair of shorts I had packed at the last minute. It felt, though, as if I was the only person in the country wearing them, as I got lots of stares and a street vendor followed me down the Rue de Rivoli making unsettling kissing sounds. The Louvre heated up quickly, it’s only source of air-conditioning being large grates in the floor, and groups of tourists battled to stand on top to escape the oppressive heat.
Our finale in Paris was enjoying a lunch of baguettes and cheese on the banks of the Seine, followed by a nighttime boat tour of the City of Lights. The Eiffel Tower literally sparkled, a surreal sight that just makes you smile and realize “this is Paris.”
A city of history leaning up against a modern world, I still see that glittering tower when I close my eyes – awesome enough to make dealing with the snooty tour leader worth it.
Originally published in the Vancouver Province
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- Quintessentially cute residential Parisian street
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- Me and my tower
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- Bienvenue a Disneyland Paris!
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- Lumiere tells me it was their 15th anniversary
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- The teacups are so pretty!
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- L’arc de Awesome (I mean, Triomphe)
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