Paris seemed like the place to be, with weather being fine and flights cheap. I flew in late on Friday night and struggled from the moment I landed.
The automatic ticketing machines do not accept Australian credit cards and of course there was one last train leaving in five mins!! An assistant there must have seen the look of horror on my face to think that I would be stuck in the airport overnight so gave me a free pass on the proviso that I bought a ticket when I got into the city. I thought, no problem. Wrong. Same issue in the city and no atms. Stress city. A lovely person swiped her card and let me on to the platform and I snuck through behind someone else on another. I felt awful but desperate times call for desperate measures! Made it to my station after three trains and just after 1am as my hotel was a fair distance out of the city. Luckily a cafe was open and an exasperated waiter sighed loudly and assisted with directions. Thankfully the hotel was only four blocks away and open when I finally arrived. I have to say, if you go to Paris and don't mind being on the outskirts of the city, the classic hotel is lovely and the staff are helpful. Their breakfast was divine which I was surprised about as I am not a huge fan of buffets but real, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, mini toast and croissants topped off by juice and coffee. Magnifique!! So first day's schedule was to the Eiffel tower then Disneyland. Found a cash machine close to my apartment so I had my two day travel pass and was set to go. Using my metro map - which I have found in every other country refers only to the underground trains threw me into a heightened state of confusion. The trains, buses and trams are all on the one map but not marked in any way to note differences between which or what you need to catch. Oh gawds. So one tram ride later I was stuck in a station with an arrow pointing to a small empty room and apparently marking where my bus would be. Hmmm. Asked info desk, unhelpful as they pointed to the empty room and said that it would be there. Asked someone else, unsure. Running late at this point so figured it would be quicker to walk. Still scratching my head about that one. Maybe it was French humour to have English speaking visitors running in circles. If you see me in YouTube let me know. So I walked halfway- twenty minutes and found a train station with a direct to the tower. 9.26am and I may make my appointment time of 9.30! Maybe. Get out at the station and ran. Made it at 9.32. Phew! Crowds weren't too bad at this stage and I was at the summit in ten minutes from arriving. Funnily it was mostly Australians in the tower, I winced as I heard one really laying the accent and slang on thick. It is nice to hear another Aussie, but really we don't all sound like Steve Irwin in reality, I promise. Lol.
Spoke to an Aussie couple at the bottom and compared travel tips. They, like me, loved Austria. They are on a long European trip seeing most of the continent. They believe they have seen enough churches to fill a lifetime.
On to Disneyland. After getting lost down several different streets trying to find the right station and fighting off the street hawkers and charlatans conning unsuspecting visitors out of their cash. There are a lot of them. Everywhere. There is warnings everywhere about pickpockets too. Something I am not used to as Romania has such a low crime rate.
Disneyland was cool. After getting over the homicidal feelings towards other people's screaming kids, I really started to enjoy the atmosphere. I missed my girls terribly but wandered around taking lots of pics and buying them presents. I wasn't able to go on many rides with the queues to most being over an hour and a half. I did go on the river boat ride, the haunted mansion, and all of the movie tours though which were all pretty cool. I missed out on big thunder railroad -again!! Stayed for the night show which was pretty amazing, the castle doubles as a huge projector screen and they use coordinated fireworks, projection and music. Amazing. Different to America that had the street parade instead. Late night again getting home after 1am. Paris was still very much awake at this time, even more so than the daytime!! Cafes were bustling, bike riders everywhere and the atmosphere was buzzing. But i had to go home after a huge day. Went to the train station and of course, my two day pass had expired. Wtf? The lady on the information desk sighed loudly, but did not hang up from her phone call and fixed my card. I was getting used to people being frustrated with me at this stage! Haha
I enjoy the unplanned visits more than scheduled events - frustrated by having to be at designated areas at designated times. Much happier just playing a day by ear and seeing where fate takes me. This was my Sunday, and I loved it. the metro card worked with no issues, the weather was fine, perfect!
First stop I decided would be the Louvre. Didn't go in as I was happy just being outside in the sunshine. No queues from the metro entrance though! Do you know that there is 35,000 pieces of art work and if you saw each for only 30 seconds, it would still take you over three months to see everything!!! I mean wow! Ate more pastries, figure it may be a while before I have any like that again. :-).
Went to the Moulin Rouge, just to see where it is an check out the seedy neighbourhood (as described by people on trip advisor.) you know what? It is a really awesome area- sure it is dodgy but full of cool bohemian types, very relaxed. I liked it.
Went on to the Arc de Triumph, I didn't go up - I figure that I was doing things on the run. It was nice to see the places but limited time to spend at each. That might annoy some but I really don't mind the fly by visits.
Next stop - I wanted to see Notre Dame, I ended up changing my mind when I got to the river though and did a cruise instead - it was nice to sit in the sun on the water, take pictures and totally chill. Saw many bridges, I particularly liked the lock bridge which sparkles like it has been spray painted in gold. It is covered in padlocks from the lovers, signifying a seal on their love for ever. Saw where Marie Antoinette lived and died, saw Notre Dame of course, the Eiffel Tower and several other beautiful and key sites.
From here I went for a stroll through Paris, where I was asked by a street artist whether he could draw me for free - I declined, it always seems very dodgy to me and he said he would pray for me. I get that a lot, evil must simply seep from my pores. Lol.
Had comments from locals on my tattoos, very complimentary, not many European women get tattoos or so I have been told. I then headed to the airport, and shock horror, train was on time so I made my flight with plenty to spare.
Paris, although troublesome in terms of transportation, about 75% of the locals locals genuinely seem to hate tourists (get this, we help pay your wages and bring income to the city!!), and service is so slow in majority of the restaurants I visited, I liked it. I really did. It is a pretty city. Akin to Bucharest (as it is known as little Paris) it has different areas but all cool and unique in its own way. I still have so much to see and do, I hope I get the opportunity to return - I agree with a comment made from a friend, don't do it solo if you can help it, Paris is really a city to share.
(Oh and as a PS, I was waved over to the European line in border control when I returned to Bucharest. The guy raised his eyebrow when he saw all the stamps into the country, said 'you're enjoying our summer?', I replied 'I love it so much here, I am applying for my visa next week!' he then said 'welcome to Bucharest!' first time for everything! Aww, it's like my second home, it really made my weekend. :-D)
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