It’s amazing how refreshed and ready for the day you can be when you get 10 glorious hours of undisturbed sleep! The lady made me some toast & coffee while I showered and got ready, then we ate together and attempted to have a conversation. I spoke my best Frapanese (french japanese mix) because apparently my brain lumps all foreign languages into one area. I hit the road by 9am with a detailed plan, but not a detailed map. I looked for the Opera house, but it was so amazing, I walked right padt without noticing it. No worries, I thought, I’ll just continue on to the Louvre. A street artist asked me if he could have the pleasure of drawing me, no cost. I told him he could have the pleasure of drawing me from memory instead! I took my pictures of the outside, then paid for a one-day pass on the Batobus (water bus). Once cruising the Seine, I started to enjoy Paris. I saw the Eiffel Tower from the boat, and hopped off. I got in line at 11:40, and 10 min later decided to buy a croissant & juice for the wait. We were entertained by a guy in plain clothes wearing a mask, inconspicuously coming up behind people and scaring them. I was not as entertained by the Gypsies who walked around asking if you spoke English. I planned to speak in Japanese if they asked me, but they didn’t. I’m not sure if I was happy or sad about that – haha.
After 45 min in line, a family tried to butt in line near me and another family. I told them where the end of te line was, and the man replied in French that they were just very tired. Surprisingly, my French came back enough for me to retort “moi aussi fatigue mais…” Myself and the family made sure they were at least behind us 😉
Start time: 11:40
First security check: 12.35
Ticket window: 12:47
(At which point they informed me that the top was no longer open, highest was 2nd floor only! Grrrr…)
In the entrance: 1:01
Walk around the 2nd floor, took pictures.
Entered second line: 1:17 (to see if I could get to the top)
Left second line: 1:24 because it wasn’t moving at all. I had too many other things to see that day. Turns out the window wasn’t even open for business.
Started down the stairs: 1:44 because the line for the lift down was even longer!
When I got to the bottom, my legs were wobbly because of so many freakin’ stairs! What was I thinking??
I hopped back on the Batobus, and got off at Musee d’Orsey. This is my new favorite place in Paris. Why? Well, for one, there was NO LINE! And secondly, it had a lot of cool stuff in it! Such as
Paul Cezanne‘s Portrait of Gustov Geffroy
Monet’s Harmonie blanche / bleus / grises , nympheas bleus
Alfred Sisley‘s la neige a louveciennes
Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Seurat’s garden scene

When I felt sufficiently cultured (read: tired feet, sore back), I left the museum and walked to Champs-Elyees. It had every store you could imagine, and you could even drive a Lamborghini for 30 min for the low low price of £85. Somehow I resisted, but I couldn’t resist the Kashmi Tea shop. But when I went up pay, my visa said declined! I paid with cash, then went on a panicked hunt for wifi or a phone. There should have been no reason for the decline, and I needed the visa for Iceland yet! All the payphones required a visa, but finally I located a McDonalds that had free wifi. So I used the last little bit of Euros on my to buy something so I could use their wifi and Skype visa. Turned out it was the store’s fault and my visa was fine – phew! Crisis averted. Took advantage if the wifi and skyped my mom & Esme, then headed back out. I saw the Arc de Triomphe, and something that resembled a very small version of a Remebrance Day celebration, complete with vets and a military band. I’m not sure why they were there, but it was cool all the same.
I headed back down to the Seine, and caught the Batobus again, this time using it to see Paris at night. I got off at the stop closest to my place, and walked another 20 min home. I said a brief goodnight to my hosts, and fell into bed at 11:00pm.