Continued
Well, we got to our hostel no problems. We found some street parking and then went inside to check in. When we got to the desk inside, we were told that we could not get our key for another hour –until 3:00.
“But it is 3:00” we proclaimed.
“No” they said. “The clocks went back an hour yesterday night.”
We walked back to the car embarrassed and then whiled away the hour in the neighbourhood. After we got our key, we settled in. We went out and bought metro passes that allow us to ride on the metro, the tram, the RER and the bus as much as we want.
With a few hours we headed to a metro stop halfway along the Champs Elysées. When we climbed out onto the street I was blown away by my surroundings. I felt the same way I did when I first walked up into Piccadilly Circus. As we walked along the Champs Elysées There were lots of cool stores including Citroen, Mercedes and Peugeot showrooms. In the Citroen showroom they had 7 circular platforms on one central pillar, all with cars on them. I don’t know how they got them on there. I bought a miniature Citroen car as a souvenir. (They are a French company).
The Champs Elysée was extremely busy. It was hard to walk, as it was so crowded. When we reached the Arc de Triomphe, we noticed that the 8-lane roundabout didn’t have any lanes marked on the road. It was an everyman for himself scramble. We decided to take the underground walkway.
Because tomorrow is All Saints Day, there was a special memorial about to start when we arrived. 20 minutes later, when it still hadn’t started, we overheard that there had been an Al Qaida threat. We left and returned to the metro and set off for the Eiffel Tower.
As soon as we got off the metro at Bir-Hakeim near the tower we could see about 5 guys selling Eiffel tower key chains - 5 for 1€. As we got closer we saw even more. The price went down though - 6 for 1€. We were distracted by the real Eiffel tower which was bigger than I expected. There is a huge square between the pillars, jam packed with tourists as it was a holiday (All Saints). After walking around aimlessly for a bit we decided to go back to the hostel and get some seep. (Did I mention that we have a view of the Eiffel Tower from our widow).
Citroen Showroom
Arc De Triomphe
Tour Eiffel
Champs Elysées
...we found some street parking. Just like that... In Paris... Are you sure you are actually IN Paris? I am rather suspicious that this whole blog is a bit like those shots of men on the moon. It's just a huge Hollywood soundstage with back projection images. Don't worry Anthony, we're on to you... you may be able to fool most of the people most of the time, but you can't fool all of the people, all of the time. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice... shame on.. me? Hang on, I'm just going to consult George Bush for a second...
ReplyDeleteNo its true, it was a small miracle. We drove by the hostel and there it was, no joke!
ReplyDeleteAah... but will your car still be there in 2 days time?
ReplyDeleteIt was still here this morning.
ReplyDeleteSam, it sure is great to see how different your sites are from your parents. I love the fact that you take pictures of the car vendors. What are you going to do with a mini Citroen, French or not?
ReplyDeletenow now Janet... don't deprive my nephew of his little Citroën, they ARE the finest French automobile to this day! Sam, I took a photo of one this summer, one of those big old low-slung ones with the hydropneumatic suspension-too cool!!
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