I recently returned from a quick trip to Paris thanks to RyanAir and their cheap airfares. I figure that if I don’t see as much of Europe as possible while I am over here, then I’ve wasted the opportunity. Since I did not want to send my cat Dugal off to summer camp again so soon after his last stay, I opted to make it a 48 hour visit.
My flight arrived in Beauvais, a satellite airport to Paris, and I promptly boarded the shuttle bus to Paris. We arrived at the bus depot at Port Maillot around six. I made my way down into the Metro station and figured out where I needed to go to get to my hotel, then figured out how to purchase a ticket (€1.70, cheaper than bus fare in Edinburgh!). The workings of the Paris Metro are pretty standard; if you have been on the London Underground or practically any subway system, you will find the layout familiar.
I made it to my hotel in Montmartre and found it more extravagant than I had expected. I had been forced to pay more than I usually do for lodgings since Paris is expensive(!) and was pleased to discover that the little extra I had paid showed. I checked in and then changed out of my travelling clothes quickly since I had made reservations for dinner and a show. This was to be my major extravagance of the trip, an evening at Cabaret Paradis Latin.
Before the trip I had done my research and found that of the major Cabarets in Paris, Paradis Latin had both good reviews and the cheapest prices. I considered Moulin Rouge, but their prices are over twice what I paid. I simply couldn’t afford to go there, even though I would like to someday….when I’m rich.
I made it to the Paradis Latin just at 8pm when seating for dinner begins. I was seated with a nice view of the stage (if you are not purchasing dinner, you sit farther from the stage with a increasingly poorer view the later you arrive). Unfortunately, there is a strict no-photography rule so I have no photos of the show. The MC was charming and spoke several languages including English, so I had no problem following his jokes and patter. The show featured good looking women and men in a variety of costumes and lack thereof (there are topless portions of the show, so don’t go if this offends). The singing and dancing was quite good as were the interim acts. At one point between numbers, the “bartender” came out with an extremely tall unicycle which he jumped up on and proceeded to ride about the stage. His assistant tossed cups and saucers up to him and he used his feet to toss them up to his head where he proceeded to balance them atop one another.
The dance numbers included a variety from modern styles with techno-pop music to the traditional Can-Can and everything in between. The food was quite good and I enjoyed myself immensely. After the show, I walked along the Seine and across the bridge at Pont du Carousel, through the Louvre courtyard and back to my hotel.
The next day I was up bright and early, determined to make the most of my time here. I walked to Notre Dame Cathedral first. The interior is just as beautiful as the exterior. I was also able to climb to top of the bell tower, after an interminable wait, to get my first views of Paris from above, and close ups of the famous and not so famous gargoyles and chimére. Technically, gargoyles are creatures whose sole purpose is to direct water away from the building they are on, serving as gutters (which is where we English speakers get the term gargle),while chimére is a French term meaning “wild dream” and is used to describe some of the other architectural figures. I also discovered the Old French baboin refers to a “gaping figure” and is also used to describe the creatures of Notre Dame. Since gargoyles are of interest to me both as a sculptor and a student of macabre histories, I took a lot of photos of them.
My next stop was to be the Musée d’Orsay and to get there, I chose to walk the Rive Gauche along the Seine. There are two choices when walking the Seine, river level and street level. There is a wonderful, wide pedestrian way at the river level which has occasional areas where folks can sit and sun themselves or work out or just rest. I chose to walk at street level to keep an eye on the sights and the numerous booksellers. For centuries, booksellers have been plying their trade here, not in shops, but out of large lockboxes that fold out into stalls. I find this a brilliant idea and wish that more cities did this. The booksellers here have used and antique books, comic books, engravings, prints and small souvenirs which seem both reasonably priced and of better quality than you find from the wandering Eiffel Tower Keychain Sellers that roam the tourist areas.
The D’Orsay was pretty amazing. I was disappointed that they had a “No Photos” policy (which most people blatantly ignored). Although I was not able to get many good photos of the artwork, I did manage to get a handful of general photos. The D’Orsay contains a huge collection of impressionist paintings as well as other “isms” of that era. Paintings by Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Monet, Manet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, and so many others are arranged in little galleries off the main hall where they display sculptures. If you get to Paris, definitely visit the D’Orsay.
Historically, the building housing the museum was originally a train station, which gives plenty of room for the thousands of works in the collections. Their collections include not only paintings but also sculpture, photography, objets d’art, furniture, drawings, and more, all created between 1848 and 1914. If you are interested in 19th century western art, there’s no need to look further (although, the collection is understandably Francophillic).
After the D’Orsay, I continued along the Seine until I was near the Eiffel Tower, then turned in and headed towards the Champ de Mars. My plan was to try to capture the tower near sunset, so I decided to kill some time at the Bistro Le Champ de Mars. I had a cheese plate and coffee which was good, but like all food in Paris was more expensive than I prefer. Perhaps one of the reasons eating out is mores expensive here is because, not only do they pay the wait staff a living wage (it is even considered a career), but also the tip and tax are included in the price of the food. This means that when you tip in Paris, you only leave a small amount, and you only do so if you wish. They have a saying “to leave the shrapnel” which is basically tipping with a little small change.
I also found the Paris cafe culture quite alluring. When you get coffee and sit at a sidewalk cafe, you basically are buying the table. People will sit for hours with one cup of coffee and no one minds; in fact, it is expected. The philosophy of service here is different, too. In the U.S., we want fast service so we can get off to our next, stress filled errand. The French praise slow, unhurried service. You want to sit at your table and relax, undisturbed, so you can enjoy the afternoon and not feel that you are being pressured to leave. If you want the waiter’s attention, just catch his eye and he will be there as soon as he can. I found that all the waitstaff were both attentive and efficient if you adopt the philosophy of cafe culture: don’t be in a hurry. I think we could all use more of this philosophy in our lives.
From there I strolled up the Champ de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. It is huge; at over 1000 ft, it was the tallest structure in the world when it was built in 1889 and was not surpassed until the Chrysler Building was built in 1930. Since I had not pre-purchased tickets, I had to stand in line for 45 minutes or so. I entered through the north side which has an elevator that goes all the way to the top. From there, you can see a massive panoramic view of Paris laid out below you like a map. Breathtaking. Up top there are some souvenir shops and snack bar, both overpriced.
I took the stairs down to the second level which is about halfway up the tower. There are more shops there and a restaurant. It also looked like they were setting up for a musical event with a stage and dance floor. I bypassed all that and continued down to the ground.
By now, the sun was nearly set and the tower would be lit up soon. I walked across the way to the Jardins du Trocadero and climbed up to the Esplanade. From there I watched the lighting of the tower while listening to a live pan-pipe performance of the theme from Titanic. Like you do.
At the end of my second day in Paris, I took the Metro back to my hotel and slept.