A Year Ago Today
A year ago today, August 11, 2014, was our first, and only, full day in Paris.
Our First – And Only – Full Day in Paris
With the frustrations of actually getting here quickly fading in our memories, we looked forward to the only full day we would spend in Paris.
Our Hotel
Before we get started, we’d like to tell you a little bit about the hotel – the Luxor Bastille, with the wonderful manager, that waited until nearly 2:00am for us to arrive.
Traveling through Europe, one of the things that we most noticed is that almost everything is small – houses, kitchens, hotel rooms, etc. But our hotel took “small” to a whole new level. And this was apparent starting with the elevator before we even got to our room.
So, how small was the elevator? Well, we couldn’t both use it at the same time. As a matter of fact, neither of us could fit in it alone with all our luggage. What we had to do was, one of us took the elevator to our floor and then sent the elevator back down. Then the luggage was loaded into the elevator, the button pressed, and the luggage took the ride alone. The one at our floor removed the luggage from the elevator and sent it back down. Then, the one still on the ground floor got on the elevator for the ride up to our floor.
It was the only way in such a tiny elevator. Really.
When we opened the door to our room the “small” theme continued. While the room was small and basic, it was clean, comfortable and all we really needed, not to mention one of the best deals in Paris (yes, we did our research).
The bathroom did not disappoint on the “small” theme, either. Or, should we call it compact or an efficient use of space? Whatever description is used, the bathroom, though fully equipped, was definitely tiny and the bathtub, if you could call it that, was really just a deep shower base. Trying to actually take a bath in it would be futile.
Almost as a joke, I stuffed myself into the bathtub and there was almost no room left for water and my knees were up at my chin! Truly, I don’t think it was meant for actual bathing at all, just a receptacle for the shower water. But it added to the enjoyment of our Paris adventure.
Convenient Location
Aside from price (we got another screaming deal at €68.00/night), one of the other reasons we chose the hotel we did was because of its convenient location. It was in the Bastille district, close to the Seine, close to Notre Dame and close to the Gare de Lyon. The proximity to Gare de Lyon meant we wouldn’t have to take a cab the next day to catch our train to Lyon as it would only be a 10-minute walk.
Exploring Paris
As we were only spending one full day in Paris, we wanted to be sure to pack in as much as we could. Anxious to begin our day, we grabbed a quick coffee and headed for the Seine, only a couple minutes walk away. (Yes, of course, I had printed out some Google maps so we, hopefully, wouldn’t get lost.) We thought that maybe we’d pick up a pastry or something once we got to the Eiffel Tower.
BatoBus
We had hoped to get the BatoBus (a hop on, hop off boat service plying the River Seine) from somewhere along the Seine, to the Eiffel Tower. That was the plan. But plans, when traveling, are always fluid, whether you want them to be or not. And this was one of those time.
We did come across a BatoBus stop on our walk along the banks of the Seine, heading in the general direction of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, the boats did not begin running until 10:00am.
That wouldn’t do, as we had an appointment for a tour of the Eiffel Tower booked for 10:45am. So, that didn’t leave us nearly enough time. And, aside from that, why would we want to just wait at a hop on station when we could be exploring? So, we carried on.
As we walked we realized that we would need to gain much more speed in order to get to the Eiffel Tower with time to spare to find our tour group. So we decided to ask for some directions and suggestions as to local transit so we didn’t have to enlist the services of a taxi cab.
Security Everywhere
We noticed during our walk that there were security forces everywhere – very well-armed security forces. A little intimidating, really, but all too understandable for a city like Paris.
We approached one group and, much to our relief, one of them spoke English. We told him we needed to get to the Eiffel Tower and didn’t have the time to walk all the way, from where we currently were.
He took out his cell phone and did a Google search for the best local transit option. He found the bus we would need and where the nearest stop way. But, he didn’t stop there. He actually walked with us to the appropriate bus stop, reminded us of the bus number we would need and then wished us adieu.
We are pretty certain that, without his help, we may not have found our way to the Eiffel Tower in a timely manner. Local transit from our hotel to the Eiffel Tower was not something that I had researched because I thought we could take the BatoBus. I guess I didn’t research that option well enough or I would have known that the service didn’t start until 10:00am.
Oh, well, all part of the adventure and we wouldn’t have met the amazingly helpful and friendly security guard!
Bus to the Eiffel Tower
We caught the #72 bus at the Hotel de Ville (city hall), for a cost of €3,00 (for both of us) and headed off to the Eiffel Tower.
Along the way, we passed The Louvre (we weren’t going to have time to visit on this trip) and Pont Neuf (and we would visit that after our tour).
First Look at the Eiffel Tower
I’ve got to admit that I did not realize just how big the Eiffel Tower actually was. Nor did I know that the Champs de Mars (a roadway) runs right underneath it.
We had arrived in plenty of time to find out where our tour met and that gave us the opportunity to wander around for a while and also to take the requisite “selfie” in front of the tower.
Our wandering around also included several encounters with souvenir vendors and food vendors as well.
I’m sure you’ve all heard that the food in Paris is very expensive, whether it’s from a street vendor or in a restaurant. And you know what, it’s true!
After checking out what was on offer from the various vendors, and the prices, we decide our hunger could wait and, after our tour, we’d hunt down a grocery store rather than pay such ridiculous prices.
Remember – we’re cheap frugal!
Decision made, we headed off to join our tour group.
Waiting for Our Tour Guide
We had booked our tour online, from Canada. When we were ready to book, we thought we had left ourselves lots of time. Apparently not.
Even though we book many weeks in advance, the tour was almost booked up. As a matter of fact, our order was put in “pending” until the could confirm there was room for us on the day we wanted, at the time we wanted. But within 24 hours of booking, they confirmed our reservation. Phew!
So here we were, tickets in hand, waiting for our tour guide.
Not Just the Eiffel Tower
Our tour included much more than just the Eiffel Tower. Our guide explained a lot of the history of the tower as well as guiding us through a radio/military bunker, very close to the tower, that was used during World War II.
We also got to see the inner workings of the tower including some of the hydraulic pistons and cables that run the elevators and inclinators.
However, for me, one of the best parts of the tour was that our guide kept changing character as we went through different eras, including costume changes that were accomplished with little to no disruption of the tour. Some of his characters included a WW II aviator and a worker during the building of the Eiffel Tower.
He would simply say he was called away for various reasons and would return as a new character. It was very well done and we would recommend the tour to anyone.
Final Stop of the Tour
Our tour included the cost of getting to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower and that’s where our guide said his farewells.
There is an amazing view of Paris from the second floor and we took the time to take it all in.
We chose not to go all the way up to the third platform of the Eiffel Tower as the line up was very, very long and we were getting a bit tired of standing as the tour had been over 1-1/2 hours long.
We decided to check out the restaurants on both the second platform and the first platform. If you think restaurant prices are high in Paris, then you certainly wouldn’t want to eat here – and we didn’t. Although the restaurant on the first platform is slightly cheaper than the one on the second.
We made our way back down to the ground via one of the inclinators and there were people there to make sure that there was no wasted space and packed us in like sardines!
It may have been the end of the tour but it was really only the beginning of our day in Paris and we still had so much more to pack in.
The BatoBus
We mentioned that BatoBus and its route early in this post, so we won’t do it again here. However, one stop is pretty close to the base of the Eiffel Tower and that’s where we decided to purchase our tickets.
While the line up for purchasing the tickets wasn’t too bad, the line waiting for the next boat was huge!
The boats arrived either every 10 or every 20 minutes depending on who you asked. We waited for a bit for the first one to arrive, and we didn’t make it on that one because of the size of the line up. The wait after that one left was at least 15 minutes before the next one came into view.
Fortunately, we made it on that one and were very glad to just sit for a bit. Since we left our hotel this morning we’d walked a fair distance before getting a bus to the Eiffel Tower, then we walked around the general area for about an hour before our tour started. The tour as over 1-1/2 hours long, then we lined up for our BatoBus tickets and then to get a seat on a Batobus. Yes, we were very glad to sit down for a while.
We were also lucky to get a seat on the Batobus. There were several people that had to stand.
So, in order to get a bit of a rest, we decided to stay on the boat for most of the circuit, which included eight stops. Leaving from the Eiffel Tower stop, the stops were:
- Musée D’Orsay
- Saint-Germain-Des-Prés
- Notre Dame
- Jardin Des Plantes
- Hôtel De Ville
- Louvre
- Champs-Elysées
- and then back to the Eiffel Tower
We chose to stay on the boat all the way to the Champs-Elysées.
Champs-Elysées
As we walked along the Champs-Elysées we began to wish we had a lot more time in Paris. We were discovering that it was a beautiful city, with clean wide streets and amazing architecture. We certainly hope to come back again soon and spend more time.
As we slowly drifted towards the Arc de Triomphe we soaked in the sights and sounds and marveled at the mix of restaurants, fashion houses, stores, fast food joints (unfortunately) and even a Toyota car dealership – yes! – right on the Champs-Elysées.
But, before going all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, our tummies began to remind us that it had been quite a while since we’d last eaten. As mentioned previously, Paris restaurants are notoriously expensive and, on the Champs-Elysées – well – you can imagine.
Lucky for us, we noticed what we believed to be a grocery just down one of the side-streets and we decided to investigate.
Sure enough, the sign we had noticed that said MonoPrix was definitely a grocery store. We grabbed a small basket and began to look around.
It’s probably not a good idea to wander around a grocery store, with so many appealing items, when you’re hungry. But, that’s exactly what we were doing. All the while saying things like “Oh, look at this!” or “Wow, that looks good.” or “Mmmmm – pastry.”
In the end, knowing that we really didn’t want to be carrying groceries around Paris, we managed to be very conservative and only buy a wonderfully fresh and crusty baguette, a small portion of some lovely cheese and a small bottle of milk. It was all we really needed.
And, besides, we netted yet another cheap unique souvenir – a MonoPrix grocery bag!
Al fresco lunch in hand, we found the perfect place to sit on the wall of an underground garage ramp and happily people-watched as we at our lunch.
Arc de Triomphe
While eating our lunch, we could see the Arc de Triomphe from where we sat. As a matter of fact, you can see it from almost anywhere along the Champs-Elysées. And, that was our next stop.
Dodging Parisienne Drivers
Another thing we didn’t know – the Arc de Triomphe sits in the middle of a very large, very busy roundabout. How odd, we thought, and just shrugged our shoulders.
Before trying to cross the traffic, we attempted to take a selfie from the middle of the Champs-Elysées. Not quite as mad as it sounds. However, you can just barely see a piece of it behind us.
While traffic was whizzing by us, in both directions, there was a small (very small) island in the middle of the road for those that couldn’t get all the way across before the lights changed. And, that’s where we stood to take a selfie.
From the same vantage point, we took the picture posted here. However, it really doesn’t do it justice as to how busy this roundabout really is.
Mad Dash Across the Roundabout
We’re pleased to say that we are still here to tell the tale of our mad dash across the roundabout to get to the Arc de Triomphe. There were a few scary moments, and a lot of beeping and screeching of tires, that we thought we might not be. I believe there were a few choice phrases hurled our way as well, but we weren’t able to understand them – probably just as well.
Once across the roundabout, we saw a staircase to an underground walkway and realized that this was the proper way to get to and from the Arc de Triomphe. No wonder the drivers in the roundabout hadn’t been very happy with us. Dumb tourists!
We also discovered that there was a way to get to the top of the Arc. We’re sure it would have been a lovely view, but it was kind of an expensive thing to do (€9.50 each) and the budget was telling us, either do that or have dinner. Needless to say, dinner won.
Back to the BatoBus
We walked back down the Champs-Elysées to the BatoBus stop at Pont Neuf and, once again, had to wait for the second boat as there were already more people waiting than would fit on the first boat to arrive.
As a “hop on, hop off” service, this wasn’t working very well for us with all the waiting we had to do at each stop.
The plan was to stop at Notre Dame, but by this time we were both very tired from a long and busy day.
Once we got on a boat, it started to rain very heavily and the window above our seat was completely open and we couldn’t find a way to close it. We vacated our seats so that we didn’t get drenched and stood for quite a while waiting for dry seats to free up.
Headed Back to Our Hotel
Exhaustion was setting in and we decided to forego a stop at Notre Dame and just head back to our hotel and decide where we would have dinner.
We stayed on the BatoBus to the Hôtel de Ville stop – the closest stop to our hotel – and began the walk back to our hotel. It rained a little more and we took shelter under a bridge for a time and then carried on.
Stopping for Dinner
While walking back to our hotel, we checked out the menus of each café we passed and one in particular caught our eye.
The menu had Steak de Thon (tuna steak) with Riz Sauvage (wild rice) and the price seemed reasonable – for Paris, anyway. The price was €14.50. Really not bad considering on the Champs-Elysées a hamburger was €16.00!
At first we thought we’d go back to the hotel to clean up and then come back to this restaurant but, when we realized it was already 8:00pm, we decided to just turn around and have our meal at this restaurant. It was a lovely meal.
Once back at our hotel, Geoff soaked his tired feet in our tiny tub and when he was done, I tried to fit all of me in the tub. Kind of comical really, but the warm water did help ease the aches and pains from all the standing and walking we did.
In for the Night and Off to Lyon Tomorrow
Given that we were both so tired from the amazing day we had, we made the decision that we were now in for the night.
We also knew that we would be able to sleep in, slightly, the next morning as are train to Lyon the next day didn’t leave until 11:00am, from the Gare de Lyon, which was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.
We did as much packing as we could and then just relaxed and had an early night.