PARIS
Arriving at Charles De Gaul Airport we sailed through
customs ( and had the damaged case fiasco) then after getting some Euro’s went
looking for a taxi. We were asked if we wanted one by three guys in suits, who
were holding those name cards for people being picked up, if we wanted a taxi.
We said sure. Next thing we were going out to the carpark and getting in this
flash car… no meter? I said in my best French, “it’s 35Euro right?” (Having
read it somewhere in our notes on the apartment.) He said what I thought was 35
Euro so we settled back and enjoyed the ride. We arrived at the apartment about
9.00 and he said 50 Euro! I argued for a bit and in French/English agreed to
pay 40. Afterwards we found out we were lucky not to have been taken to a
remote suburb and forced to pay a huge amount to be taken to the right place!
Also the price is normally 45-50 Euro. It is a scam used by non-metered taxis.
The driver was a big black guy as well. We got a bargain!
Now this next 6 nights in Paris is my treat to Cathie for
her xxth birthday, so she had no idea where we were going. I hoped she wouldn’t
be disappointed. I have to say I wasn’t feeling 100% either so just needed to
get to bed.
We left our bags and checked out the neighbourhood as the
apartment had not been cleaned. What an eye opener. It was all Iranian and West
African. Not a white face to be seen. Even the shops and hairdressers catered
for only these races. Have we landed in another country? Paris was not like
this! Trying to be Parisian we sat at a bakery on a street corner and ate a
baguette and had a coffee. Until the ladies at the next table started smoking!
Everyone smokes here, mostly girls, walking down the street thinking they look
sophisticated with a cancer stick in their hand. Yuk. This became quite an
issue for us, as the no-smoking around food law has not got here yet. They
don’t smoke in bars, but if you want to sit out at café seating on the footpath
and have a beer and food you have to share with the smokers, who are so
inconsiderate. If they have finished their meal they will light up without
considering whether others next to them have or not. Anyway, I digress. An hour
had passed so we went back to the apartment only to find the sheets hadn’t
dried and would be another 2 hours. Wandering the streets in the area of Sacre
Cour we were getting a bit worried about our neighbourhood. It was impossible
to blend in and not look like a tourist! We found a supermarket and bought some essentials
like wine and cheese. Why is our NZ cheese so expensive? As soon as we got back to the apartment, which
was a nice cute little one bedroom place, we went to bed. It was midnight
before either of us woke and sat up till 2.00am drinking red wine and eating
cheese and crackers before going back to sleep. I was still getting worse, and
it was Cathies birthday the next day. I wanted to take her to a show, but not
feeling like this, so I hoped the sleeping would fix it. We had good wifi, so
researched the things we wanted to do and decided to catch the metro and buy a
2 day hop on hop off Paris Tour. This was great and well organised with
different routes to see different areas. We went everywhere and hopped off at
all the usual sights. We went up the Arch De Triumph, went to the Eiffel Tower,
went into the Notre Dame Cathedral, walked the river bank and had a beer on the
footpath. ($32! ) The next day we finished the whole tour and left it a little
late to get back to where we lived so had to walk from the nearest stop. It was
Friday night and we had to walk through crowds of Iranian men all on the
footpaths in their suburb. Cathie found it quite intimidating, but I just found
it sad that Paris has lost its identity. Their immigration policy must be as bad
as England’s. The next day we had decided to walk the Latin Quarter and go to
the Louvre. We were getting good at the metro system now and found it quite
easy. The streets around the banks of the Seine are full of interesting buildings
and shops. Lots of eateries and pubs drew crowds of tourists and created a busy
atmosphere. It was raining and so we went to the Louvre. We queued for an hour
and a half to buy tickets and by then it was lunchtime so queued for another 30
minutes for food. It was afternoon and we still hadn’t seen anything! We had
bought a guided tour by a CD device and headset but after half an hour still
couldn’t hear it so Cathie took it back. They didn’t refund the money though,
Five quid down the drain.
Anyway we spent 4 hours in the Louvre and saw most of the
favourites, including the Mona Lisa, but it was so crowded and school groups
added to the cacophony of sound with their high pitched voices. Honestly, I
couldn’t wait to get out.
We had kept our tour tickets and headphones from the last
two days and used the busses to get around and to get home. No one bothered to
check that they were still valid. Good move.
Next day we organised to meet my Niece Kirstie and her
daughter Maddie at the Place du Tetre by the Sacre Cour. It was a really hot
day and we had a nice meal and a chat at the Café Catherine. It was wee Maddies
7th birthday and she wanted to go to Paris to see some museums. Kirstie
paid which was very good of her. It was great to catch up after so long. After
saying goodbye to K & M we went into the Sacre Cour and then visited the
Salvidor Dali Museum to see his quirky art and sculpture. The Place Du Tetre is
a hive of artists, and buskers trying to make a living. There are some really
talented people here but some are just plain pests that you just have to ignore.
We had a great day but had to go and pack for our train to London the next day.
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