Paris Day 1 (32,918 steps, 25.5km)

It wasn’t a particularly early morning for us (around 9), but we moved like it was. We needed to be in town to meet the free tour at 11am in St Michael’s square. The train ride in took only about 30 minutes. Although Julie and I couldn’t help but think that we could have purchased an unlimited daily trip ticket, rather than the one way with return tickets we bought. We aren’t planning on using the subways or busses in Paris so we weren’t too concerned. The market square we entered was very busy and lined with streets and restaurants. Once up the steps we could easily spot the free tour guides, as they were amongst the very large group, but that didn’t stop people from being friendly. We met two guys from the US. Luke, our guide, was pretty good at summing up all of France’s often bloody history and how Paris itself fit into it. We started the tour off in St Michael’s square which had a huge fountain for the Saint, but we were also shown how Napoleon placed his mark on it. We would see this on many of the buildings in Paris. We then crossed over to the Ile de la Cite that Notre Dame and the Louvre are on, amongst other attractions, using the Pont au Change. The Ile de la Cite is where the first settlement of Paris was, in the 3rd century BC. From the bridge we could see the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris and we were also shown the building that held Marie Antoinette before she lost her head. Apparently she was treated so poorly during her imprisonment that her hair turned white and she looked to have aged 10 years. One torment that stuck out to me was when they placed her best friends head on a stake outside her cell so that was all she could see when she looked outside. We then walked along the Seine River and from this vantage point we got a great look at the Pont Neuf (oldest bridge in Paris, 1607). As the story goes, Henry the III dedicated this bridge to his friends and nobles, but he wanted it funny so he threw a party for all his friends where they proceeded to get sloshed. Then he had all the artists and stone sculptures come into the party and sketch portraits of all his inebriated friends. One of the faces looks like he wouldn’t make it to the bathroom in time. We then made our way over to the Louvre and entered the Jardin du Carrousel. From here we went north to the Jardin du Palais Royal where the French Revolution started. After a quick bite to eat at what Luke referred to as a “traditional” French restaurant (they served sandwiches on baguettes) we made our way through the Jardin des Tuileries. The gardens are large and beautiful so it was nice to walk through them rather than along a city street. From here we then went to Place de la Concorde where all the beheadings took place during the French revolution. Apparently they had two platforms in this large open area (it also happens to be in the middle of a very large roundabout) and when Napoleon came into power he had the area cleaned (because over 38 beheadings took place each day during the Revolution and no one cleaned up, could you imagine the smell?). In place of the platforms he stuck to very large and beautiful fountains which are unique because they shoot water into the centre of the fountain, rather than the water coming from the centre. He also placed the gift he received from Egypt here, an Obelisk. We then heard a story about a safe sex promotion and how they made a huge condom to go over the Obelisk. We were also told that one of the two buildings on the north side of the plaza was the most expensive hotels in Paris (both buildings looked alike; the other was a government building). On a side note, the campsite we are staying at offers WiFi and since we arrived we had been trying to download NOFX’s Champs-Elysees song and have had no luck. Alas, Julie and I didn’t get to listen to the song before or after we took our stroll on the 2km road called the Champs-Elysees. Our first stroll was just after the Place de la Concorde. The section we walked along was wide and “park” like. Our guide told us that when we were to cross the road, if we stopped in the middle we could see the Arc de Triomphe and have a great photo opportunity. It did offer just what he said. But with the street being as busy as it is, all 30 of us were crammed like sardines at the middle of a small crosswalk, avoiding the passing cars (the Parisian drivers didn’t seem to mind if they hit us or not). It’s a shame we couldn’t get a photo of the tour group stuck in the middle of the Champs-Eylsees. From here we stopped in front of the Petit Palais which sat directly across from the Grand Palais (both have exhibitions, though the Petit Palais has permanent collection too) and also provided us with a view of Hotel des Invalides where Napoleon is buried for the end of our tour. From here we had an option, either to head to the grave site of Napoleon and see how he designed his own grave or visit the Eiffel tower. We chose the Eiffel tower (during the tour we were able to see it the entire time, almost), as we decided to meet another free tour provided by the same company.
The extremely long climb (700 steps) was very strenuous for us but that was probably because we had already walked for a good portion of the day. The views from on top of the tower are worth it though, but Julie and I wished they had more ticket booths open, as we wouldn’t have had to queue for so long. The Eiffel tower is really worth while to see and spend the 4 euros to climb the steps, but don’t expect to be blown away by it. With everything we had just done, you would figure the day to be finished. But we are hoping to finish Paris in just 2 days, and that includes the Louvre. So we had a quick bite to eat from a snack shop at the Eiffel tower (where Julie lost 40 euros, we didn’t find out until much later) and figured out where exactly we were and how to get to where we needed to be. The tour started at 6 and was of the areas known as Montmartre and Pigalle. Pigalle is a red light district, and is where the Moulin rouge is located. Montmartre is home to many artists and was home to Picasso. It is also where the Basillique du Sacre Coeur is. The tour was interesting, but not at all like the first tour of the day. We started off in front of the Moulin Rouge and then proceeded to walk up the hill towards Montmartre. We saw where Picasso lived, clarified the ear story and then proceeded to the Basilica. When we arrived at the main entrance we could hear music playing. On the steps below the basilica’s main entrance was a guy playing in front of an audience of bystanders. The music was good, the view of the city was fantastic, and the sun was just starting to set. The tour ended a little further down the hill but still in front of the Basilica. During the tour I had been talking to a couple of Canadian guys (one from Calgary, the other from Quebec) and I had hoped to join them for a few drinks, but with us loosing the 40 euros earlier, and it being such a long day, Julie made the decision to call it a night. For whatever reason, we decided not to take the subway back to St Michels, but to walk. This was the longest walk of the day yet. We did however get the train back to the campsite only remembering on the way that we did not know the punch code for the gate into the campsite (we didn’t know it because we weren’t checked in the proper way earlier so nothing was explained to us). Luckily two other couples were heading towards the campsite as well, but as we were so tired from the walk, we couldn’t keep up with the older couples. It didn’t matter though, the gates weren’t closed up and we were able to just walk right in. Tomorrow we have a huge day, and then we have to see the Louvre too.