Parlez-vous francais? Paris, Je t'aime!

"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life." - Thomas Jefferson

Foodie moment

When you think of foodie Paris one thing springs to mind - gourmet picnics. We decided to try our own, so we visited the fromagerie and picked up a hard goats cheese with rosemary and a soft brie, then to the boulangerie for a fresh baguette and a quiche lorraine. Final stop was the supermarket to pick up a cheap bottle of red wine... and Voila! Parfait!

I suggested to Mark that we grab a crepe to eat from one of the roadside stalls. He wasn't too interested , saying crepes are for desert... to which i replied, not in France! We chose a crepe with cheese, egg and minced meat with onion - 5 Euros and it filled us for the rest of the night!

Cultural moment

We have one positive and one negative cultural realisation for our first day in Paris.

1. Even though Paris is idolised by people from all over the world, the Parisians themselves really do not look after it at all. There are cigarette butts everywhere, rubbish on the side of the road and in the rivers and there are parts of the city that literally reek of urine. It's a shame because I love the 'look' and vibe of Paris but these little things do stain your perspective.

2. There is a well known stereotype that people in Paris are rude and unhelpful. We may have been lucky but from our experiences we found this very untrue. Every person we dealt with (excluding one young lady who sold us our quiche, and just seemed to be a not very nice person generally) were friendly, helpful and willing to slip into (perfect) English once they realised we weren't French speakers.

Wow moment

Until you actually see one of the monuments of Paris, you don't fully believe you are here, this is how we felt when we turned the corner onto the Champs Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe straddling the 12 road Charles de Gaulle round about in the distance. Yep, we're in Paris now!

And just to enforce the fact that we were in Paris, we took a long walk to the Seine River to the Base of the Eiffel Tower. Not the typical approach, we could catch glimpses of the tower peaking over the buildings. But once in full view, wow what a sight! You see it in photos, but until you see it in person, you can't comprehending the size. Amazing both during day and night!

Sacre Coeur was always one of my favourite memories of Paris. Definitely not because of the stairs you have to climb to get up there, not even for Sacre Coeur, the church itself.. but for two other reasons, the view of Paris and Artists corner. The view is still great, such an amazing perspective of Paris. Unfortunately, Artists corner is nothing like i remember as it now full of bistros and bars, not the quaint little square overlooking Paris with artists sketching people in Paris... Oh well, i guess things change!

What we learnt today

Paris' skyline is incredibly flat, with all its skyscrapers confined to a small area over to the side of the city, and most buildings in town no higher than 4 stories. This means such monuments as the Eiffel tower really stand out from any vantage points in any part of town. Having said that, when walking around the streets of Paris the apartment blocks and trees surround you, and you will often not see the towering monuments you are looking for until you turn the last corner, and there they are!