I miss you Namibia.

I really enjoyed my quick trip to Paris. Luckily with Cyrlene's help I was able to quickly move through the must see locations of the city. It seems that every corner of the city has some icon of historical value. We brushed by a lot of the locations rather quickly. I was not here to visit museums and peruse art and history for hours. I was most interested as always in getting into the city and viewing the archetecture and the street scene for the average Parisian.

The Notre Dame de Paris


Inside church was in session, it being Sunday morning. It felt odd with all the tourists hovering around as the regulars attended their Sunday session.


River boats cruising through the city


The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur


Behind the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur was a great little neighborhood. This location is the highest point in the city so the views were splendid.


Views


My favorite urban street for the trip. It seemed to stretch for miles with no end to the apartment blocks. We finally did come to the end and there we found a wonderful little Turkish diner where we had lunch. I drank Effe which is an amazing Turkish pilsner.




The three towers of Paris. The one on the left is Cleopatra's Needle and was a gift from the Egyptian's to the Parisian's in the 1800's. It was quite interesting to find the instructions for transportation of the needle along with the hieroglyphics on the side of the structure.


The Moulin Rouge and the sex district were interesting. There was even a sex museum. It's all a bit shady with a touch of class.


At the Louvre


TheArc de Triomphe flanked by the nightmare which is the Paris traffic situation.


Inside the pyramid at the Louvre.


Hangin outside the Louvre. I did not visit any galleries.


Under the Eiffel Tower


Looking south towards the Eiffel Tower


Looking north towards the Eiffel tower


Rather than going up the Eiffel Tower in the cold and rainy weather, we opted for the Montparnasse Tower which lies just south. From here we were able to relax 56 floors above the city of Paris. There was also an observation deck but the weather was just not conducive to enjoyment.

We sipped French wine in the cocktail bar and witnessed the light sky turn dark. This was a very civilized sundowner in a rainy city.






On my last night we went to a traditional French restaurant. We ate French onion soup, house smoked salmon, and duck. For dessert we had a cheese tray and creme brulee.


This is an advert for a French pizza that we found everywhere throughout the subways in Paris. I was very tempted to try this interesting pizza. Smoked salmon and Raclette cheese on a UFO shaped pizza, ya!!! I never did get to try it, but I will never forget the double cheese invasion.

Woke up today to a very rainy morning in Rennes. But great news also greeted me with the start of this new day. Air France had found my luggage and the only variable now is whether its intact. I plan to pick it up at the airport Monday on my way home.

My flight from Johannesburg to France went very smoothly. I was not overly impressed with the Air France flight. Of all the long flights I have taken from Africa to Europe I can honestly say that the South African flights were the best in terms of service and seat layout. Won't fly Air France ever again as I got very bad news at the luggage pick up. Well basically I got no news, but that was bad news, because I had no luggage.

I had packed my luggage very carefully. All the stuff for my trip was carefully packed on top, including my jacket. So I was back in Europe in winter with no coat, no hat, no options! Filed a claim with the Air France office. There were quite a few people missing luggage from my flight. I suppose they forgot a whole container?!?!?

Caught the bus into Paris to the main bus terminal. I was already starting to feel embarrassed of my status as Canadian and pitiful French language ability. I had to get to the train station for a 10am train out to Nantes. The bus went all throughout the city offering me a quick city tour. I was amazed at the very advanced transportation system, yet traffic was still a major problem as we navigated through the city.

I reached the train station at 5 to 10am. Having lost my luggage already I was very concerned the whole trip was going to go rotten and I would get stuck, miss my train, get robbed and die in Paris, how romantic. I ran into the train station like a wild banshee (or silly american) and tried to determine where I might grab my train. The station was massive. I made an attempt to ask an older man if he could direct me. He brushed me off, shook his head and walked away from me. I was devastated. Never have I felt it so hard to communicate. Mostly due to my shame in not knowing French as a Canadian and my inability to make an attempt.

Needless to say, I miraculously found my train and boarded. I had some problems finding my seat on the train. Also I forgot to 'composter' or validate my ticket at the station so the conductor gave me a lecture I didn't understand. Regardless I was a bit spent with my travels and morning in Paris so I was very happy to be on this very peaceful journey across the French countryside.

This train was wonderful. Fast, quiet, clean, safe. I think we must have been going upwards of 250km at some point.

Got to Nantes and found my friend Anne. I now had a translator. Thank god.