Paris
Posted on 07.02.08 to Travels by Joan
East Meets West: my french friend’s apartment in Paris. She brought back most of her things from Singapore.
The beginning of this trip was rather frustrating. From forgetting to turn off my phone battery during my 13 hour flight where I found myself crouched in a corner at Heathrow Airport charging it for 15 minutes to give it some juice (I set it to flight mode so it wasn’t searching for a network!), to nearly dying from a major dust attack in the Eurostar (it felt like I was suffering from asthma), to getting stuck in the damn Paris metro because somehow my card decided to invalidate itself and thus wouldn’t let me out and no one was manning the information booth.
At that point, I was getting utterly miserable and was *this* close to getting on the next flight back home because I missed my family so much. Everything was in French with no English subtitles and I was really kicking myself in the butt for not signing up for French classes when I was thinking of doing so a few months ago.
Till a really nice French lady came by and helped me get out of the train station. She couldn’t speak a word of English but breaking the law comes in one language so she managed to help me sneak out of the metro by squeezing out with her. And mind you, that lady took my luggage and shoved it through too. She was really awesome and simply brushed off my endless stream of mercis.
The Louvre
After leaving my luggage with my friend, I headed to the Louvre which was really near her office. There I was thinking that it was my lucky day that there were no queues, only to find out that it was CLOSED.
I watched ‘The Da Vinci Code’ on the way to London and am now rather excited to view the exhibits inside.
So I hopped onto L’Open Bus Tour and roasted in the sun for a two hour ride around the city, to view the main attractions. Apparently, I arrived on the hottest day of the year. Imagine my luck!
To top it all off, I got horribly lost when I headed back to meet my friend and had to hop into a cab to get me to a place that was less than 5 minutes away. I really, really suck at reading maps.
Typical Parisian scene — people sitting at the outdoor cafe; bicycles and scooters.
Complaints aside, Paris is indeed a beautiful city. The architecture, the history, the statues, the super wide boulevards, the food… I feel like I’m in a movie set. On top of that, I have the greatest friends in the world who have been nothing but superbly hospitable towards me. I actually feel quite bad, almost like a leech for being too cheapskate to book a hotel room. I really am so lucky to be so well-taken care of.
I’m going to do actual walking and some shopping tomorrow, and desperately need sleep now as I’m about to pass out from the jetlag.
Browse Timeline
Comments ( 4 )
Is the ceiling of your friend’s apartment really that high? That’s really beautiful.
Yes, don’t let travel hiccups get you down! There’s more to Paris than that!!
Nevertheless: Eeyur, how can the Louvre be closed???
Tym added these pithy words on
Jul 02 08 at
11:16 AM
Must be a Monday.
What’d I tell ya about the French?? ;) They don’t speak any language except their own!!! But yes you were very fortunate to meet a lady who was kind enough to help you. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
areya added these pithy words on
Jul 02 08 at
11:36 PM
A little french goes a long way. I used to start conversations with “bonjour” and suddenly everything would all seem … better, even after i continued everything else in english. Also, i don’t know if you managed to get a hold of a map of paris with metro routes; I got one at the Gare du Nord Station and it really helped me throughout my stay. (if not, there’s always googlemaps)
beware the train tickets! i’ve no longer how long they last either, i hope your friend can help you!
Joan Anna added these pithy words on
Jul 03 08 at
5:44 PM
Tym: The apartment is small. It’s pretty high though, but I think it looks much higher in the picture.
Areya: Most of the frenchies are nice. ;)
Joan Anna: Hello! Thanks for the tip! I greet them in french and ask them if they could speak english in french.
Joan added these pithy words on
Jul 05 08 at
5:27 PM
