Paris, France

Today I was scheduled to go to the Terezin concentration camp, but that didn't end up happening unfortunately. The good news is this gives me time to do some much needed catching up on the blog. Last I left off, we were in Marrakech. So our plane arrived in Paris CDG around 11 pm and we bought train tickets after picking up our luggage. No more than ten seconds after buying the tickets, a voice comes on the loud speaker and informs everyone that the trains aren't running because of a problem with the line or something. So we had to go in search of the bus that would take us to Gare de Nord, the main train station, and from there, get a cab that would take us to the Hotel Andre Gill. Well, we ended up waiting for probably around an hour or so outside the airport for the bus to come. When it finally did come, these Indian businessmen who arrived after everyone else, cut the line. I'd be damned if they were going to make me wait another hour for the next bus. Luckily my Oghuz friend and I were the last ones to be let on to the bus. However, I had to sit next to the Indian businessmen who kept asking me when the Gare de Nord stop was. They couldn't go a minute without looking at me and saying "Gare de Nord? Gare de Nord?" Then they started dancing in an odd manner in their seats and looking at me and smiling. Somehow we made it to Gare de Nord without any bloodshed, got our bags, and hopped in a cab. Without the Indian businessmen of course. It was a fairly short ride to our hotel which was situated in the Montmartre section of Paris. There was some kind of club on the street next to ours, and there were several drunk kids loitering outside our hotel. One had his head in his lap and you could tell it was only a matter of time before he would puke. Sure enough, as the concierge (who also happened to be an Arsenal fan) was showing us how to get to the nearest ATM, the kid stood up and started barfing relentlessly. The concierge summed up the mood of that night as he muttered in dismay under his breath "uhhh shiiit." Here's a picture of our hotel:

The next day we decided to explore our home turf and basically walked all around the Montmartre hill area. We saw Sacre Coeur from the inside and out; wandered through the Salvador Dali exhibition; got thoroughly lost; and went through the sex museum. Here is a picture of Sacre Coeur during the day, and one at night:


My favorite part about the Dali exhibition was the statue collection, and this one in particular:

His work is just bizarre. That's why I can kind of dig it even though I'm not a huge fan of art in the sense of paintings and sculptures. I thought this drawing of his was particularly humorous. I kind of feel like it belongs in a Nickelodeon cartoon (back when they were good and in some cases, slightly disturbing):

I'm not even going to post any pictures from the sex museum in this update, if you want to have a look, you can see one or two in my Picassa album. There was one floor that was totally devoted to this one artist that has some sort of obsession with violent porn. If you're going to look, please don't do it while eating something. This is how I looked for an entire day after seeing those horrible pictures:

After reconciling what I had seen, the next day we headed to the Louvre. It is just as bit as impressive as everyone says. Since the Louvre I have been in other Museums, and all pale in comparison, save for perhaps the Pergamon Museum in Berlin which I will detail in a later update. Of course we saw the obligatory things like the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa:


The Mona Lisa was much smaller than I expected. It was also the busiest attraction in the museum so it was somewhat difficult to get a clear picture with everyone crowding around it. We walked just about every wing of the museum, which after a while gets both physically and mentally tiring. As a result, you tend to find things less impressive than they really are. Looking back, I realize again just how amazing almost every single piece in the museum is, and that I was just a bit art weary at the time. That night we ate at a restaurant that Kevin, our friend we met in Morocco, suggested to us. However, we didn't get there at 7 like he advised us and ended up waiting longer than an hour. It was fine though because we met the nicest french couple who were also waiting outside. They didn't speak much English, but it was really nice of them to make an effort to hold a conversation with us, especially given we didn't speak ANY French. They were seated before us, as they should have been since they got there before us, but then we started seeing groups of people being seated who had arrived well after us. We went inside and asked the bartender who also acted as the host, but he just blew us off. The couple saw this and started arguing our case to the bartender, asking him why he hadn't sat the Americans yet. I'm not sure it did much, but it was an incredibly appreciated act of kindness. Eventually we were seated, but we could only pay in cash, so I had to go find the nearest ATM. I walked in the general direction our waiter told me to go, until I reached a corner when I saw this grown man coming up the hill on a razor scooter. I thought he was French so I spoke very slowly and asked him where I could find an ATM. Turns out he was just about as American as they come, and it was one of the surrealist interactions I've ever had. He left with, "I will see you up there," meaning at the top of the hill, but the way he said it sounded like he was making some kind of prophecy like, "we are fated to meet in another life." Anyways, he gave me good directions and I managed to find the ATM with ease and get back to the restaurant. The Oghuz and I both had the veal dish on Kevin's recommendation and it was indeed very good. Here's a pic of me in action eating it:

The next day we went to the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph. The Eiffel Tower was impressive, but the wait was brutal. First you get on a line to use the stairs to walk up the tower, then once you reach the top floor, you pay even more to get on another line and take an elevator to the very top. The views are pretty spectacular at every level, so now I know it isn't worth the time or money to go to the very top. Everyone knows what the Eiffel Tower looks like, but here's a picture I took of it anyways:

After the Eiffel we went to the Arc de Triumph which was, like most things in Paris, much better than I thought it would be. I guess it pays to have low expectations. Not much to say about it other than it is an impressive monument and provide you with a picture of it:

The next day we made an excursion out to Versailles which was like a 30/45 minute train ride. We also planned a picnic with bread, cheese, cold meats and all. It started to rain, but we still went through with the picnic even though it was one of the sorriest picnics you will probably ever see. Versailles itself was pretty cool, but part of it was closed because of renovation. Also, all the rooms looked the same after a while. The hall of mirrors was probably the coolest part of the interior. I myself preferred the outside architecture with all the gilded-ness of it. I wouldn't say it was a total disappointment, but I think it would have been much better if it had been sunny and the flowers had been in bloom in the garden in the back. Here's the hall of mirrors:

Some golden architecture:

The garden in the back:

That took up the better part of our day, so when we got back to Paris we didn't do a whole lot, besides the normal walking around for a bit. The next day, I went to Notre Dame which was alright. To be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed. I kind of thought the abbey in Caen was better. It might also be that it was the first big cathedral I saw on my travels since I've been over here, and everything else is going to seem more and more familiar. That's not to say Notre Dame is a slouch of a cathedral by any means. It is still a very impressive structure and well worth seeing. Just stay away from the Romanian gypsies in the square right outside it that ask you if you speak English. If you say yes, they hold out an index card that outlines their life's struggles written on it in English, and then they stare at you with a blank look expecting money. That in and of itself isn't bad, but if you don't give them anything they get nasty and insult you. After chilling on the Champs de Elysee for a bit, we caught a train in the evening to Paris Orly and got on our plane to Berlin. I shall leave you to reflect with this picture of Notre Dame: