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...

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