On July 19, 2000, Corey and I went on a day trip to Paris during the time we had come to England. (Les had not wanted to come on this trip, so we left him back in the U.S.).
We had to get up very early to make the train at 5:00 a.m. I'd made arrangements the evening before to have a cab pick us up at our Bed and Breakfast (B&B) because Waterloo Station was too far to walk and too confusing to try and ride the subway which is called the "tube."
We were picked up at 6:00 a.m. because we had to be at the train station and checked in by 6:30 a.m. since we were part of a tour group. After checking in, we went to get us some breakfast. Corey ate his first French Baguette - a hard crusted bread sandwich of meat and cheese which was very good.
Once we boarded the train, it was a 3 hour trip to Paris, sometimes at speeds of 189 mph. You'd never know you were going through the "Chunnel" until it was announced and then you were in a dark tunnel for approximately 20 minutes. One you saw light again, you were in France. What an exciting feeling to realize you were in France!
Our guide, Lena, came and spoke to the members of our tour group to let us know what would be happening once we arrived in Paris. Most of the group members were from North Carolina.Upon arrival at the station, we boarded a double-decker bus and Corey and I went to the top level which was a great place to see the sights of Paris. The bus took us all over Paris for the next couple of hours and the guide had a running commentary about the various sights.
I took lots of pictures, no idea what happened to some of them, but we saw all the "tourist sights". We did see: The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Paris Opera House, the Grand Palais which was built for the World Exhibition of 1900 and now houses temporary exhibitions and the Jardin des Tuileries which are enormous formal gardens which lead toward the Louvre. We also saw the obelisk at Place de la Concorde where over 1,000 people, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinett were guillotined in the early 1790's. The obelisk, a gift from the viceroy of Egypt, originally stood at Luxor and was erected in Paris in 1833.
This was where all the expensive jewelry stores, perfumes, etc. are. I'm sure I couldn't afford anything in any of those stores.
What a wild city! Drivers just drive where they want to with no regard to lanes. The "roundabout" at the Arc de Triomphe is the largest in the world and the Louvre is the largest museum in the world.
Around lunch time we were dropped off at the Louvre told where to meet at a certain time and then left on our on. Corey and I made our way to Samaritaine's, one of Paris' largest department store. (Different departments are house in different buildings which are several stories high). I had to buy a new camera. While at the Eiffel Tower a rowdy peddler caused me to drop my camera and it broke something inside. So, I needed a camera and wound up buying a new one for about $27.00 even though I spoke no French and no one spoke any English.
Corey and I then went looking for some lunch and decided to eat at one of those outside Paris cafes situated next to the Seine River. It was so Parisian! The weather was wonderful and the atmosphere was just unbelievable. We just sat with smiles on our faces marveling at our location and situation. South Georgia sure seemed a long way away.
We ambled our way back towards the Louvre. This is a massive size place consisting of several buildings. We would up sitting in the courtyard near the infamous "Pyramid" watching people. Corey napped some until it was time to go inside and meet the group again.
One of the buildings we saw this day had bullet holes in the side of it. These were made when the Germans invaded Paris during World War II and a scrimmage broke out between the soldiers and the French Resistant soldiers.
I had been told that the French people were not very nice to Americans. All the French people we came in contact with were very nice and treated us kindly.
Coming home on the Eurostar that evening, the train back into London was delayed for several minutes. When we finally arrived at the train station and went to the underground station, we found out the tube to Victoria Station had just recently reopened after being closed for security reasons. We finally arrived about 10:30 p.m. and found out there had been a bomb threat. A parade for the Queen Mum's 100th birthday had been held that day and apparently some terrorist had not wanted it to happen.
After stopping by and picking up some "take away" food, we finally made it back to the B&B at 11:30 p.m.
The receipt is for my camera purchase.
