Paris - Libby's View

Imagine this: it's late on a Thursday, 11:30p when the train pulls into the Paris Nord station and you take your first step in this "city of love" and "city of lights". You smell the air, and it smells like a train station. You walk to the main building and are welcomed by a gentleman offering taxi service. He walks you away from the other taxis, you get suspicious. You were right. They wanted to charge double the going rate for taxi service.

You say no and walk away, wondering what's going to happen.

Well, that's what happened to us on Thursday night when we arrived in Paris. It was a little tense, but other than getting irritated that we caught on to their con, nothing bad happened. Then we found a taxi in the taxi line and got a ride to our hotel, no problem.

The hotel was great and the room lovely. Of course, we're not there for more than a few hours, but it was a good place for some sleep.

We woke a little late on Friday, but got ready and took the bus into the heart of the city to the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to reception for the recommendation to use the bus, we saved a lot of transportation money. Her statement, "it has the same traffic, but cost only 2euros per person."

The weather was gray, but not rainy. A little chilly, but I didn't need a coat. The Eiffel Tower, was taller than I expected and yet, at the same time not as large as I expected it to be. We walked around, took some pictures, ate a Nutella and Strawberry Crepe, crossed a bridge (twice) and did a little shopping before heading back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and get a taxi to the train station.

It may have been a short trip, but it was certainly long enough for us to learn a few things. Paris is called the 'city of love' and when you're standing on a bridge over the Seine with the one you love admiring, I can understand it. There were other people milling about and young men trying to sell souvenirs, but we were just there, the two of us, enjoying the sights and sounds together. I can only imagine if you were on a bridge away from all the hustle and bustle it would be even more romantic.

Paris is also called the 'city of lights' (though personally I'm sure Vegas has them beat). It was interesting to see the Eiffel Tower lit up on our taxi ride to the hotel on Thursday night, and it even had a search light at the top of it. The remainder of the city was lit, like any large city would be, but not to the extent you would expect for a place called the city of lights. Where you will see many lights, even that late at night, is on the roadway. There was so much traffic in Paris at midnight. My thought at the time was, "if it's this busy this late, I hate to think what it's like at rush times!"

Something else we learned: we would return, for a short trip, but unlike other places we've been, we couldn't see ourselves staying there for a longer length of time. Well, unless we ate fresh breads, cheese, and macarons every day. :)