Paris: Europe Trip 2010, Day 2

We finally got up and running around 11a.  Well, we were woken by Liz’s alarm at like 9am.  The entire hostel (our room of 6 + the entire room of 4 with which we were joined) yelled at her about it.  Some Argentinian guy, that apparently was very concerned at Liz’s state when she came in at 6a, eventually turned off her phone, which was hidden under her pillow.

It was a struggle to get up and moving, but we did.  We went to some market that Angelica knew of in Latin Quarter.  It was just full of cheeses and meats and vegetables and textiles.  We loaded up.

Liz got some great goat cheeses, and I bought the strongest brie that I’ve ever had.  We rolled into some bakery called Boulangerie Blavette where I had a life changing éclair.  It was really the best pastry I have had in my entire life.  Worth the cost of the plane ticket.

The decision was made that we needed some liquids and carbs if we were to manage the rest of the day.  We went to a restaurant around the corner- basically just the first place we saw.  The waitor here was probably the only truly rude experience we had in Paris.  We attributed it to a barrier in understanding about our order, but he was grouchy!  Frances had the crepes nutella which was quite tasty. 

After lunch, we started hoofing it toward the Notre Dame.  We walked by The Panthéon, but decided we wouldn’t have time to stop in.  Paris is a great city to walk around in.  I wish I weren’t as exhausted as I was, I know I would have enjoyed it more.

Notre Dame was really beautiful.  We went inside the church, and lit prayer candles.  (Of course, this is Europe, and they charged €2 for it.)  I was really happy we were able to actually walk around and appreciate it’s splendor. 

Another objective of finding the Notre Dame, was that it was a jumping on point for the hop-on/hop-off bus we had been trying to catch.  We took the bus all along the Siene and Champ-elysses where we hopped off. 

We came upon a group of very impressive street performers.  We ended up spending twenty minutes watching their performance.  They earned their keep.

We walked up Champ-elysses to the Arc de Triomphe.  Due to the strike, we were unable to go up to the top.  It was still pretty cool to see under the Arc, and check out the tomb of the unknown soldier.  It is definitely afforded less solace in Paris than it is in Arlington.

The Arc

We then went on a search to find the best place to buy cheap wine between the Arc and the Tour Eiffel.  We end up getting pointed to some supermarket where I proceeded to stuff my backpack with four bottles of wine.

Rocking the classic American tourist look (jeans, tennis shoes, backpack), we headed toward the Eiffel Tower.  I’m not a huge monument person.

Maybe it comes from living in DC, but I’m usually underwhelmed by some huge falic human construction that was made just for the sake of creating something distinctive and tall.  But, the Eiffel Tower is so representative of all things tourism in Paris, that it was still really beautiful.

The Eiffel Tower is as touristy as imaginable.  There are a lot of pesky vendors seeking to take advantage of American tourists.  I still bought a mini- Eiffel tower.  One of the most memorable parts of the Eiffel Tower experience was Angelica’s “don’t mess with us” face that scared away a vendor seeking to harass us without saying a single word.  Classic.

We decided to carry through with our plan for a classic Parisian picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower.  We had some trouble finding a corkscrew, but luckily we convinced one of the vendors to open our wine for us.  The picnic was quite lovely.  

We whipped out all the cheese and bread and wine we purchased throughout the day.  Even though it was murky out, we still had a nice view of the tower.

The grass was being re-sodded or something so we had to walk pretty far to find a nice spot.  It reminded me a lot of the national mall in front of the Washington Monument in DC.

During the Picnic we tried to coordinate with Isabel, who spent the day in the Hostel because she was feeling ill (not that 3 Ducks is a place to gain health), to set up the plan for the evening. After some back and forth, Alyssa, Frances, and I decided we wanted to try and get over to the Lourve. 

It started raining, and we had some trouble finding a cab, but we got over to the Lourve an hour before it closed.  The line wasn’t too terribly long, and we found out that since we were under 26 years old, we could get in for free.  We sort of raced through the museum to get up to the Mona Lisa.  It was crowded with tourists, but still cool to see.  Alyssa and Frances wanted to stay to check out as much of the museum as possible before it closed, but I knew it would take me longer to get ready, so I headed back to the hostel.

I could not believe how long it took me to find a cab.  It even started raining harder.  Then I had to figure out how to explain where the 3 Ducks hostel was, but figured it out.   

When I finally got back to the Hostel, I found Isabel, Angelica, and Liz downing wine in the room.  All that I wanted in the world was a nap, but had to get ready for the evening.  We also got to meet a few of the other people staying in our suite at the hostel, all of whom were very nice.

We had dinner at a restaurant down the road from the hostel.  I think I was the only person dissatisfied with the food.  Even then, it was likely because they were confused about how I requested by steak cooked.  They went for well done and I found it inedible. 

The main event of the evening was the burlesque show at Crazy Horse, on the right bank just down from Champ-elysses.  We got there a little early, and went for a bottle of wine at the restaurant around the corner.  After enjoying a nice Bourdeaux, we went back in for the main event. 

It was a little more risqué than I had expected.  I mean, I knew it was a burlesque show, but I wasn’t prepared for this.  It was mostly couples, and it wasn’t trashy or anything, but I have had my fill of naked women for the rest of 2010.  Some of the performances were really impressive, and we had seats right up front for the performance since we got the VIP package that included Champagne.  The show ended around 1a; Isabel, Angelica, and Alyssa headed back to the hostel.  Liz, Frances, and I headed out.  

After getting a little turned around by Champ-elysses, we decided to go with the recommendation of the bartender earlier in the night to check out Feliz Pigel.

The bartender recommended Feliz Pigalle because it was supposed to be very close to Crazy Horse.  We decided that he must have confused Crazy Horse with Moulin Rogue because Feliz Pigalle was way up in Monmarte, a notoriously shady neighborhood.  The bar held up to the reputation of the neighborhood. 

The cross-dresser working the door somehow convinced us to pay €20 each as a cover charge that included one drink.  After much consideration we decided to go for it.  It was already around 2a, and we didn’t want to wander around lost.  So, we checked our coats and went for it.

There were so many men in this club that we thought we wandered into a gay club in Paris.  Turns out, there were just that many men.  I’ll be brief and say just that things got weird and we decided to jet.  We had a little trouble getting our coats, and were very happy when we got in a cab. 

Since it was only 3a and we weren’t ready to head back to the hostel, we pointed ourselves toward Violon d’Inges, our tried and true club from the previous day.  Not that I’m some expert on clubs in Paris, but I would recommend this place to Americans looking for something fun.  We met some Parisians led by my new friend Julian.  

When Violon d’Inges closed at 4:30a we headed to some place named Bablyon with our new friends.  Bablyon didn’t open until 5a, so we wandered and tried to get into some music studio in the interim, but failed.  Bablyon was pretty dead so we split not long after we got there. 

We got back to the hostel and were very proud of ourselves for a remarkably quiet entrance.  Liz still didn’t use sheets since she passed out with her shoes on.  All around, a successful day in Paris.