Final leg of Paris

Downstairs of the Boat

My forth day in Paris and a fine looking day its was, hoping to complete the rest of my sight- seeing I headed out early with the crew. First stop the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

Located at the summit of the butle Montmatre, the highest point in the city. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) is a Roman Catholic Church and a minor basilica dedicated to the Scared Heart Jesus.

The inspiration for this Basilica arose in the decades following the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society between devout Catholics and legitimist, royalists on one side and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other side.

The Basilica today is asserted to be dedicated in honour of the 58,000 who lost there lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale 24th July 1873, repsonding to a request of the arch bishop of Paris.

I was recommended to visit sight by Nico (one of my friends from the boat), and is definitely worth the time :)

The building has stayed a magnificent white due to the travertine stone it is built of, the stone exudes calcite which ensures the Basilica remains white even in weathering and pollution.

The view from in front of the Sacred Heart is awesome, being the highest natural area it is a great vantage point. For a small fee you can enter the catacombs and roof area, the catacombs were closed the day I went so only got to visit the roof.

ascending the spiral stairs
Sacred Heart

After ascending the (yet another) spiral staircase I finally came out at the top. NB: while descending these stairs I actually got dizzy, there where so many of the forkers.

The view is quite spectacular, you can still see the Eiffel Tower and a lot of the surrounding land.. It is totally worth it for the €5 entry fee.

lift up the hill to the Sacred Heart

Leaving the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, I missioned down the hill and passed a store where I found the cheapest postcards i had come across, and thus purchased a few.. it is funny how many different prices you can get for postcards in a city, it is definitely worth spending the time (if you have it) before purchasing anything, you can save a considerable amount of monies.

@ Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

 I continued down and headed for the metro. From here I went back to Notre Dame and covered off what I missed yesterday.

Please Note: this has been covered off in my previous blog so will skip to my next stop.

I left Notre Dame to 'We Will Rock' blaring out the front. There where some break dancers about to start, and this was there I wanna get your attention song...
They could really bust a move... This is the second time I have witnessed this in 2 days, they where also at the Eiffel Tower when I was leaving it..

out front of the Catacombs

Next stop the Catacombs, this was only a short journey from Notre Dame.
I got there to another line up, (this seems to be a given while in Paris)... we did move quickly and I wasn't standing out there for very long.

the walk to the Catacombs

The Catacombs are a famous underground ossuary in Paris located south of the former city gate at the Barrière d'Enfer, today's Place Denfert-Rochereau. They where created in 1786 due to a need to house the dead somewhere else other than the city's cemetery's.

map of the Catacombes

From the Roman times the dead were buried in the outskirts of the city, this changed with Christianity and its practice to bury its followers in the consecrated Church grounds. With the rise and growth of Paris these places soon became over crowded with only the rich being able to afford burial plots, leaving the poor to be buried in a mass inhumation.

The residues from these mass graves began to effect the ground water (which is the primary water source in Paris) created by the mix of decaying organic matter and limestone. Thus some other practice was required.

The ossuary fills a section of tunnels and caverns that where stone mines underneath the Paris streets. You descend a narrow spiral staircase of 19 metres into the darkness and take a long twisted dimly lit corridor of mortared stone with the only noise the dripping of water.

First thing you stumble across are sculptures that has been there before the ossuary existed the first being a model of Paris's Forte-Mahon fortress created by a quarry inspector. These are very impressive
Passing these sculptures you are nearing the sepulture.

The catacombs are an eerie and morbid place, when you reach the actual human bones the trepidation has built.
There are stacks of body bones framed with skulls, you can actually touch the remains (if you wanted to). Out of respect to the dead no flash photography is allowed, so you can only get good shots near the light.

The consecration ceremony for the exhumation and transfer of all Paris's dead happened on the 7th April 1786 by a procession of chanting priests with a parade of black covered bone laden horses. This precession continued for years.

There are sections that have some specific designs made out of the skulls, such as crosses and hearts. These can be seen throughout the entirety of the catacombs.

I left in awe, feeling strangely quiet and contemplative, it was a moving experience.

I came out a few blocks from where I entered, so I whipped out my trusty iphone and using the CityMap2Go ap I made my to the train station past a McDonanlds (in which I had also used my phone ap to find) and happened to be on the way.

My day was complete, this is all I had set out to see while in Paris, I started my mission back to the houseboat for the night.

On my way home as while waiting for the train I noticed a Chemical Brothers advert. Having missed them in Aus I decided to look into it.. I msg my friend Kayne to tell him about it.. and he compelled me with this very persuasive argument... and i quote...
''Morty...there are some events in life where you are either there or you are not. I try very hard to be one of the few who are there more often than not. Being able to see the chemical brotehrs in beautiful Paris is one of those momnets. Don't be a fool. Just be there!!''

And it was done, tickets booked, I now need to be back in Paris on the 14 Jan 2011.. Woot!!! Thankyou Kayne :)

I had also been deliberating as to what my next stop would be and how I was going to get there.. After throwing a few ideas around with some of the 'Crew' and hearing some recommendations I decided it was to be Lyon while on the way to Nice.

Having looked into the exuberant prices of individual train journeys, and finding no bus major bus services in France... I opted for a Eurail Pass, costing around $700 AUD, I got a Select Pass which covers me for 3 countries, I chose France, Spain and Italy in first class travel.

 - I should have bought this before I left as it would have been cheaper, but having no major plans sometimes causes these small hiccups...

As I ordered it while traveling I needed a postal address. I contacted the hostel I was going to be staying at in Nice, and confirmed with them that it was ok to get it delivered there... This was my first contact with the amazing hostel 'Villa Saint Exupery' (which you will find more about later :)

NB: Now I am further down the track travelling I feel it has sometimes been restrictive, due to it only being for the 3 countries, and my erratic travel behaviour (lol :)

It does however give me 10 days of travel in 2 months so I will hopefully get to maximise its use.... At times it has been very convenient with little prior booking times needed, you do have to pay a reservation fee every time you use it though, which brings the overall cost of the Eurail pass up substantially

I had one more day in Paris before I was to leave, which I used for a down day- washing my clothes, doing some blogging and just taking it easy.

That night with a big thanks to Nico I had my first taste of escargot (snails), which I found to be very tasty... it is all about the garlic butter!! They have the texture of mussels but without the seafood taste.

Again a huge thankyou goes out to everyone on Péniche Marie Joséphine- Marc, Nico, Romona, Florian, Marco and Sabine, I had a wonderful stay on your amazing floating home and look forward to seeing you all again in January. Also thanks must go to Emil whom made this all possible :)

Goodnight Paris, I will be back.... Next stop Lyon, France

Paris - the continuing adventure

Having adjusted fairly easily to Paris, it was time to see the sights. It was my third day and I had a plan of attack to see everything that I wanted to see. All the places I pinned on my citymaps2go map on my iphone, and lined it up with the Paris metro map, easy :)

Arc de Triomphe

First stop of the day was Arc de Triomphe, it is the second largest triumphal arch in existence, and was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. It is so large that in 1919 Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it

Arc de Trimophe

It honours those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary & Napoleonic Wars.

It is a very impressive sight and is huge, in fact you can in fact get up the top of it (for a price).

While I was taking photos of this landmark, I saw a pick-pocket who had a ring that he would pretend to find and then give try to give it to you.
Apparently the do this then ask for money for the ring, if you give them monies it shows then where you are keeping your wallet which they may try and relieve you of later.

I have been lucky so far and had no problems, so fingers crossed :) you just have to be aware of your surroundings and be sensible. (at least fairly sensible, you still gots to have fun:)

Eiffel Tower

Next stop la tour Eiffel - the iron lady. This is the most prominent landmark in Paris and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. Built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch to the worlds fair.

It is the tallest building in Paris at 324m tall, same height as an 81 story building and held the recorded as the tallest building in the world for 41 years. It weighs 10,100 tons with the iron structure making up 7,300 tons of this.

There are 2,500,000 rivits holding it together and is repainted every 7 years. Apparently the Eiffel Tower was only supposed to last 20 years but due to the work and experiments that Gustave Eiffel did in the tower it is still standing today

looking up through Eiffel Tower

Being a weekend there where lots of people, I joined a line to climb the tower, this took about 2 hours... During this time I was constantly harassed by people trying to sell me stuff (this happens a lot in Europe, some places are worse than others).

View from Eiffel Tower

I finally made it to the entrance and started the ascent. There are 1665 steps in the tower of which only 704 are walkable by the public, you can take a lift but that's no fun...

When you get to the first level @ 57 metres it is a good start, the legs had started the burn, the next level is 115m up and you could defiantly feel you had climbed 700 steps :)
= totally worth it, the Eiffel Tower is such an iconic landmark, which has had some interesting history throughout its lifetime.

View from Eiffel Tower

The final section has to be done via a lift. The day I got there it was so busy they had shut the lift down due to overcrowding. I waited for a little while to see if it would re-open, while enjoying a beer... but decided to go after about 30min (I did make up for this later on in the day :)

Gustave Eiffel statue @
base of Eiffel tower

Next stop Notre Dame.

Notre Dame

Only a few stops down on Yellow Line RER C is Notre Dame which is French for Our Lady of Paris. It is a Gothic style Catholic Cathedral and has some amazing history...

Notre Dame is the official Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris and contains the 'cathedra' (official chair) of the Archbishop of Paris.

Inside Notre Dame

Notre Dame de Paris is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in Europe, its construction started in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII and spanned the length of the Gothic Period (to be completed finally in 1345).

The church Saint-Étienne (St Stephen's) founded in the 4th century was already in the same site as Notre Dame and was knocked down as it was deemed unworthy of it role by the then Bishop of Paris 'Maurice de Sully'.

It was among the first buildings to use the flying buttress (arched exterior support) due to cracking caused from the thin walls of the Gothic style as the building grew higher and the walls pushed out.


The building is epic. I was moved by my time spent there, there was a choir singing which could be heard throughout its vastness and added to its magnificence.

I now have visited many a church and have been blown away at the effect these amazing buildings have on me. I am not particularly religious, but these buildings create a certain sense of 'awe' of 'inspiration' and of 'contemplation'... about ones life, goals, future and direction.

They are a place where epiphanies are made :)

I can see why one would go to church (not that i'm going to start) I now have a deeper respect for these buildings and there history.

There is awesome stone detailing all around the building both inside and out.. you miss it if your not careful.

I got to Notre Dame about 4:30 in the arvo, and missed the opening hours to go onto the rooftop. I came back the next day to complete this..

Flash Foward to the next day @
Notre Dame...
I arrived back to the cathedral just as it started raining, and thus ducked inside to get some shelter. I strolled through the sanctity again breathing in its splendour, thankful to get out of the rain without having to buy an umbrella from a dodgy looking street vendor.. (they would just appear on the street when it started raining trying to sell umbrella's). After a what appeared a short time, I (made like a baby and) head out (soz travel joke) the rain had stopped.

I went to the Roman Ruin archaeological site that has been found 'under the Parvis' in front of Notre Dame. For €5 I was able to walk around the ruins, got to see a Roman street plans and development of Paris.

It was interesting place to visit to see the Paris streets as the once where. There is only a small section to walk around but it tells a story. I didn't even know this was there the first time I visited the cathedral.

Exiting the ruins I headed for the rafters... of Notre Dame, you queue up the side of the building and pay €8 (adults). They only allow 20 people up at a time, so there is usually a wait.

It is well worth it! its well wicked to get up close to the gargoyles, and has a good view of the surrounding city, and the square in front.

square in front of Notre Dame

You pay the fee and get to walk the myriad of spiral stairs. They hold you on the way up, in a small room which holds a conveniently placed tourist shop. After about 10 minuets they open the doors and we could continue on our way.

As you walk around you notice the many different and ancient gargoyles that guard the perimeter it is very impressive you can also get up to the fabled 'bell' of Notre Dame and was half expecting to see a hunch back :)

the Bell of Notre Dame

~Flash back~
back to the first day after Notre Dame:
(are u confused yet)
From here I headed to the Catacombes but this had also finalised for the day... this left one last things to do to finish the day.

 

Tour Montparnasse, from Eiffel Tower

Tour Maine-Montparnasse is the highest skyscraper in France at 210m tall and is located in the area of Montparnesse. It is an ideal way to watch the sun come down over Paris and end a day of sight seeing and also makes up for getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

It is located above the Montparnasse-Bienvenüe Paris Metro station. I had timed my arrival perfectly, after a quick steak at a restaurant round the corner, headed up.

At the time of its construction it was the tallest building in Europe by roof height. It has been widely criticised as being out of place in Paris's urban landscape and 2 years after its completion all skyscrapers where banned in the city centre.

On the 56th floor there is a restaurant and a terrace on the roof top with public access. I had a coffee and chilled taking in the view, then went to the rooftop terrace to watch the sun come down... it was magical :)
Unfortunately my camera and my phone died, but I was at least able to get a few good shots to capture the moment....

The Eiffel Tower lights up like a Christmas tree and is definitely worth a visit at night. The lights sparkle brightly every few minuets and is quiet a spectacle. It is a little expensive to get to the top of Tour Montparnasse but at the right time of day is definitely worth it, €11 for adults and €8 for students. Here is a link of info for the tourist info - Tour Montparnasse

Paris by Night

That night I made my way back to the houseboat via the huge Auchan shopping centre and decided to buy a new camera. To this point I have been using a Olympus 3.5 mega pixel camera (and haven't been doing to bad, but change was definitely required) after a look around and some interesting conversation to a french man with limitied English I decided on a Sony Cyber-Shot 12.1 mega pixels camera for only €100, which was a pretty good price for Paris. This was a necessary expense and have not regretted it.

Me top of Montparnasse

Back at the boat I settled into with some more beers, wine and cheese :) another day done. I spent the evening chillin with the crew. The rest of the sights to wait until tomorrow, after all there is no rush...

Link to Facebook Photos of Paris
pour l'instant au revoir

Heading for Paris, France

Belushi's Bar n
St Christopher's Hostel

I finished out the week in London @ St Christophers, and decided that Paris would be next.

This idea was amplified after a suggestion from my German friend that I might be able to stay with his business colleague, on a houseboat on the River Seine :)


Unfortunately I fell ill - probably caused by to much partying, I was not 100% in Bath and deteriorated further. I went to stay my friends (Oli, Mat n Alex's) in Shebu for some down time.
After visiting a local Chinese Herbalist and getting some herbs, I spent the next week recovering on the couch, brewing some great tasting tea (lol - not)
NB: having been to a Chinese Herbalist before and contrary to popular belief this actually works :) and prevents the need for me to take antibiotics unnecessarily (it is just the taste which is controversial).

Some graf near Brick Lane

During this time I caught up with my cousin and his partner (Duncan and Elise - currently living in London) and my 2nd cousin (Chris Waitt who lives in London *check the link for Chris... DO IT!!). We went and had some Indian in Brick Lane (which is famous for its curry house's).

It was good to catch up with some family, while so far from home :) I am still meaning to catch up with my Great Uncle who lives on the Isle of White but just not sure when I am going to do that yet!

No photos allowed
(may or may not be before some -
tunnel to France)

I left London for Paris via bus as it was the cheapest option @ only about £40. Taking an early bus I arrived about 7 hours later just in time to travel through peak hour traffic on the metro... this is always heaps of fun in any country esp. with all my bags :s

NB: I do actually have a great backpack as it also has wheels :) this has saved me having to carry around over 20kg's of luggage everywhere.

Entrance to the Houseboat

PARIS

After missioning it across Paris I finally got to my destination at Brimborion station, (after 3 different trains and through many, many people). Marc (Emil's business partner) had put me in contact with Nicolas another crew member (as he was not going to be there when I got in), and after a quick call to the boat he came out and met me...........I had arrived :)

There are 6 German students that live on the boat and I feel really honoured to be able to stay with them, they are all really cool people. I was welcomed into there floating house and made me feel at home, A BIG Thankyou to Marc, Nico, Romona, Florian, Marco and Sabine :)

Marie-Joséphine

The Marie-Josephine is a steel Freycinit style boat built in 1949. She is 38.82 metres long, 5.05 metres wide and can hold a capacity of 125 people. = freakin sweet :) I got a tour of her spacious living area, it is magic and still very authentic... I loved staying there.

A lot of the house -boats on the Seine have a history and at some point in the past was used commercially before converted into a functional living entities.

the best bed on the boat

The local shopping centre is 2 tram stops away, and I went to grab some supplies then settled in for the evening. I bought some French wine (of course) and a selection of random beers which I really enjoyed -> Labiere - 12% Urbock - 9% Maudite - 8% and my standard (while in Paris) Kronenbourg -4.2% (I actually did this a few times while in Paris - get some food, French wine and random beers :)

Upstairs room, n Kitchen

Since I have been traveling abroad I have met some amazing people, heard many a great story, and recive lots of helpful hints... (such as great hostels and cities worth visiting, phone applications, pubs to visit and places to eat etc.


This first hand info is invaluable and having my iphone on me to take notes has been a great asset while I have been on the road. I have been recording stuff straight into my phone, which then sinks with my email. Another great thing about my iphone has been the applications. Two inparticular have been extremely useful - CityMaps2GO, and Metro maps of the relevant cities.

Out the side of the Boat

This really came into its own while I was in Paris. I used the CityMaps2Go to pinpoint my destinations then line these up with nearby train stations, and use the Metro Maps to calculate the best possible train route, and it even gives you your travel time.

down stairs lounge area

I was able to do most of my sightseeing in two days from the help of these apps. The CityMaps2Go even uses your phone signal to tell you where you are on the map and which dicection you're facing = awesome - and this is without using any Data roaming.

Now when I arrived on the houseboat, only two members of the crew where present, and I was thus able to sleep the most amazing bed a converted rowboat/ bed for the first couple of nights. This was sick :) welcome to the high seas... lol (This was actually the captains bed - thanks Marc :)

authentic toilet n shower

Marc and the rest of the crew got home over the next few days and I moved to a double pull out couch downstairs for the remainder of the week.

<- The downstairs toilets on the boat where classic, no doors, and no shower curtain, very authentic :) Still there from her working days.

Out the front of the Louvre

My first full day was taken up with housekeeping issues, ie. trying to re-charge my 7pound phone (which has caused me lots of trouble) plus answering emails, and doing some blogging. I did make it out in the arvo and headed out to see some sights. I travelled over to the Belushi's Bar / St Christophers for some friends back at the SheBu, recieved a free beer and then headed to Le Louvre to meet Nicolas and his friend.

Arc De Triomphe du Carrousel, from Le Lourve

Le Louvre is a spectacular place. You can see the Arc De Triomphe du Carrosel from here which makes a great night shot. The Musée du Louvre is one of the biggest, and the most visited art museums in the world.

It is a historic monument and the central landmark of Paris.There are nearly 35,000 objects prehistory to the 19th century, over an area of 60,600 square metres.

Firstly we made our way to the Mona Lisa, (a must do), then spent the rest of the evening wandering around trying to take in the vast amount of history in the place, it is enormous.

There is soo much history in the Louvre, so many paintings and soo many statues sooo much to see, the building itself is a work of art. I only ended up doing the one trip but could have easily gone back many times. Apparently if you spent 30 seconds looking at every painting in the Louvre it would take you over 3 weeks -EPIC.

Winged Victory of Samothrace
in Le Louvre

more of Paris to come...........