Eurotrip Day 5 – Paris

Thursday, June 25th, 2009 :: 11:50 pm

We continue our Eurotrip journey the next day departing London, UK, to our second country, France. In France, we’re only staying in one city just like the UK, and of course it is Paris! For the next four days Paris will be our home and we’ll be touring all around the city.

Paris was definitely on the top of my to-visit cities in the world. Too often you see it portrayed as one of the most romantic and luxurious cities in the world, on posters, billboards, TV, and movies (of course, Da Vinci Code). With a bit of conversational French under my belt and slightly better reading comprehension of the language, I hope that it would come in handy.

Something I’ve always wanted to do when and if I reach Paris – speak with the locals in (poor) French, and have a cup of coffee on the streets of Paris, haha.

One thing I should mention is that there is free admission to all the museums in France on the first Sunday of every month, so that’s basically what we planned this whole trip around. There are way too many museums and sights to visit here, but we kept it at a decent pace, not wanting to rush through anything (learning from our experiences in London – rushing burns us out way too fast!).

Continue reading and we’ll start off the day early at 5:30am departing the hostel for the morning train…

Île de la Cité on the Seine

Ile de la Cite

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Last minute packing at the hostel

Generator Hostel

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8 bags all lined up

Backpacking bags

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Group shot right before we leave

Generator Hostel group shot

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Just after sunrise

London Streets

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Last minute post card mailing!

London postcard

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Andrew passing the customs gate to the Eurostar

UK Eurostar customs

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We’ll be travelling on the 6:22am Eurostar to Paris, which can travel at speeds of 300km/h!

Sleek designed train

Eurostar

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Eurostar platform

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Eurostar ticket for $104 CAD

Eurostar ticket

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Eurostar speed

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Eurostar

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As I brought along my small camera, I was able to take some movie clips along the trip, so I’ll try this out to see if video incorporates well with the photoblog.

To start off, that’s where we’re located geographically, at the edge of England, almost going across the English Channel.

Andrew capturing landscape zooming by

Eurostar

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Photo buddies on the trip!

Eurostar

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Train hitting almost 300km/h in France countryside!

Eurostar speed

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French countryside

French countryside

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Here’s a video of us speeding along the rails.

Arriving at the train station in Paris

France train station

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Aboard the metro en route to our hostel to check in

Metro

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Metro exit

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First look at French architecture!

Voltaire Region

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Finally reaching our Hotel for the next 3 nights. We found out that they messed up and thought we were coming in the next day. Oh boy. So they transferred us to another hostel for the night…

Hotel Garden, Paris

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Pressing

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Parking is down to the centimetre

Paris parking

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Lunchtime! Chicken Baguette + Apple Pie + Fruit Punch for just €5.50!

Paris lunch

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Dog in park

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Lady in pink

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Paris streets

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After a couple of metro stops and some walking with our heavy luggage, we finally reach our place for the night, Hotel Paris Magenta Strasbourg. Actually the photos make the rooms look nicer than it is…

Hotel Paris Magenta Strasbourg

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Hotel Paris Magenta Strasbourg

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Once our packs were dropped off, we set off towards Notre Dame Cathedral

Gare de L’est station

Gare de L'est station

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The police carries FAMAS here!

Gare de L'est police

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Gare de L'est station

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Cite metro station

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Ile de la Cite

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Ile de la Cite

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Ile de la Cite

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Cute small traffic lights

Paris traffic lights

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Ile de la Cite panorama! (click to enlarge)

Ile de la Cite panorama

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We’re finally here at Notre Dame Cathedral!

Notre Dame Cathedral

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I think he’s in the wrong… country?

Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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The inside of the cathedral is absolutely magnificent!

Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral ceiling

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Surrounded by stained-glass windows

Notre Dame Cathedral windows

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral windows

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Notre Dame Cathedral sculpture

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Offering candles

Notre Dame Cathedral candles

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Miniature replica of Notre Dame Cathedral

Miniature Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Collectible souvenir coin of the Notre Dame

Notre Dame souvenir coin

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Mark of the Notre Dame on the ceiling

Notre Dame Cathedral ceiling

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Most of the cathedrals have a similar architecture shape – a cross shape if viewed from the top down.

Notre Dame Cathedral

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Notre Dame Cathedral panorama lengthwise (click to enlarge!)

Notre Dame Cathedral panorama

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Notre Dame Cathedral

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Cute dog alert!

Dog licking owner

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Double-decker metro trains!

Double decker trains

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On the second deck :-)

Paris metro

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Transfer trains at the Eiffel tower station where we’ll be on the third day

Bir-Hakeim metro station

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Paris buildings

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We arrive at the famous Arc de Triomphe, which is a war memorial monument in the middle of Charles de Gaulle Plaza. It’s one of Paris’ most recognized landmarks with its unique design which cars circle it (with no traffic lines between the lanes!). It is also directly parallel to the Louvre via the famous Champs-Élysées (expensive shopping!).

Arc de Triomphe

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Arc de Triomphe

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Panorama is a must!

Arc de Triomphe panorama

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Arc de Triomphe

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To get to the monument is certainly interesting. You can only get to the centre of the circle by going in an underpass and coming out the other side. As traffic is almost non-stop above ground, it is usually not advisable to run across the street :-P

Underneath the monument

Arc de Triomphe

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War soldier names

Arc de Triomphe

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Soldiers are here for a ceremony

Arc de Triomphe soldiers

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Fire memorial with fresh flowers for the ceremony

Arc de Triomphe

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Arc de Triomphe

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Majestic monument

Arc de Triomphe

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Arc de Triomphe

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Looking down the east facing street

Avenue de la Grande Armée

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Arc de Triomphe

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Walking down Champs-Élysées

Champs-Élysées stores

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Sitting down at Vesuvio restaurant for dinner

Vesuvio restaurant

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Vesuvio restaurant

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Louisiana Pizza. Pricey @ €14.20

Pizza

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Just after sunset

Arc de Triomphe sunset

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McDonald's on Champs-Elysees

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Champs-Élysées Swatch

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Champs-Élysées

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Still lots of activity late at night

Champs-Élysées pizzaria

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After dinner was finished and we walked a bit of Champs-Élysées, we decided to head over to the Louvre for some night shots. It was getting late at 10:30pm, but we didn’t want to miss the night scene. And it didn’t disappoint at all. If you’re ever in Paris, you definitely need to visit the Louvre at night.

Just a part of the Louvre

Louvre at night

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Through the opening we can see…

Louvre at night

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As I walked through the arches that lead to the main plaza of the Louvre, and there stood the pyramids, right in front of me. I paused for a moment and looked in awe. This is one of those rare moments during the trip where I got the shivers. I thought to myself, “so this was what it looks like in the movies, on TV, but much much bigger.” The lit pyramids were so beautiful.

The Louvre pyramids!

Louvre at night

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Just under the half moon tonight

Louvre and half moon

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Louvre at night

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Louvre pyramid at night

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Louvre pyramid at night

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Perfect symmetry

Louvre pyramid at night

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Night panorama, though the pyramid looks a bit round :-P (click!)

Louvre pyramid night panorama

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Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel night

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Louvre and moon

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Louvre at night

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One last look at the pyramids before heading back to the hostel at 11:15pm!

Louvre pyramid at night

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We can only wish… lol

Hotel Du Louvre

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To be continued…


3 Responses to “Eurotrip Day 5 – Paris”

  1. jeff Says:

    Perfect symmetry, very nice!

  2. carol Says:

    I had been to Louvre many times but did not know the beauty of the night. Very enjoy seeing these~~ Very good!!

  3. a70 Says:

    Thanks :-) One of my favourite spots on this trip!

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