Paris

When I first arrived in the UK I never really had great intentions to go to Paris, well I would have always gone, but it wasn't at the top of my list for places to see and I thought if I left it to the last minute that would be fine, as long as I saw everything else first. So when I booked my tickets, it was a bit of a off the bat decision. I'd booked bus tickets which is a bit of a painful way to get there, but the cheapest by far, so I booked an overnight bus to get there and the afternoon bus for my return. So on Wednesday night I was all packed and on my way to Victoria Coach Station ready for my long bus journey. I can't say I had the best sleep in the world, but it was enough. Waking up and being in France is an amazing feeling, it was dawn as we were driving south towards Paris and along the highway was hundreds of Blossom trees, I've never seen anything like it, it was beautiful, and a wonderful way to spend a sleepy morning on a bus. 

After a 10 hour bus journey, not much of a sleep and a very sore bum from the seat, I was in Paris!

I had arrived, jumped off the bus and made my way to the Metro, managed to get a day pass and a map for the train and I was sorted. Now I was on my way to get lost in Paris! I had a little map of Paris and a map of the Metro (the underground in Paris), so you would have found me sitting on the Metro trying to work out which would be the best station to get off at. I got of at what seemed to be like a central-ish station and just thought I'd walk around and see what I could find. With no sense of direction, a backpack on my back and a small tourist book and map in hand I just walked, and I must have looked like a typical tourist. The bag I had to carry around for the day as I wasn't due to meet my cousin until after 7pm that evening, but I was so grateful that I had a comfy fold out sofa waiting for me that a day with a backpack on my back was no problem.

Not knowing where I was walking to and what direction I was going I thought I should perhaps try and find a popular landmark. I'd started to walk through some gardens when in the distance I could see the top of the Eiffel tower, so I thought I'd track that down. I was walking the long way there, but it was worth it, because before I knew it in front of me was the Arc De Triomphe. It was great to come across this, a little something unexpected on my walking journey. After discovering this and then looking over to the top of the Eiffel Tower, I thought I'd take some back streets now. Walking through the back streets I started to feel completely lost, but having the whole day in front of me to find work out where I was, I wasn't too concerned and it wasn't too long before I found the Seine (the river that runs through Paris), and then sure enough over the other side of the river was the Eiffel Tower. Saturday was the day I'd arranged to go to the Eiffel Tower and see the view from the top, so I didn't head over to check it out, instead I thought a nice little stroll along the river would go down a treat. 20 minutes must have been about how long I'd walked along the river for when I came across a nice pond with chairs all around followed by gardens and old buildings. So now was the perfect time to take a break and rest for a while. It must have been just before midday when I managed to come across the famous Lourve. A giant glass pyramid with fountains around the edge then surrounded by the huge old Lourve. 7 hours was about how long I still had before I had to meet Clinton, my cousin, so I thought a good way to spend some time would be to get a ticket and see everything the Lourve had to offer, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo.

The Notre Dame, that was my next destination and the last for this day of walking around, I was shattered now and had done more than enough walking around for one day. Notre Dame has to be one of the most amazing churches I've ever seen, the design of it is just out of this world, I took countless photo's. It was so nice to walk around this area. I came across this bridge where the whole side of it was covered in locks, love locks, and now you're wondering what are love locks. So what you do, is you and your loved one get a lock and either engrave or write on it both of your names, then you bolt your lock to the fence then throw the key in the river below. Locking your love together. I thought it was so sweet, but then every now and again I like cheesy romantic stuff like that and Paris is meant to be the 'City of Love'.

Another sunny spring day in Paris, and this day I had a lot in store. Montmarte is where I was headed for the start of the day, an area just north of central Paris. First stop in Montmarte was the Sacrè Coeur, a great big white church at the top of a hill. Stop number two was the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge wasn't as big and glitzy as I thought it would be, but was definitely worth the walk. If I ever go back to Paris I'd love to go and see a show there, I do imagine that at night it would be very well lit up and sparkly, but during this sunny day it seemed like nothing too special. The first half of the day was over and now I was back on the Metro on my way to Père Lachaise. The largest cemetery in France, Père Lachaise is the home to many famous people. I spent a good part of a couple of hours wondering through this cemetery, there are so many amazing tombs and graves and as gloomy as it sounds, it's actually extremely picturesque. So I stopped by Jim Morrison, I did get a wee bit lost trying to find him, but then in the distance I could hear Doors music and I knew I was getting close. There were lots of people around Jim Morrison, but I guess that's to be expected. I also found the tomb of Oscar Wilde, again with a lot of people sitting around. Père Lachaise may not be at the top of every one's list of places to visit while in Paris, but I'd definitely recommend it, as a place to go and spend a couple of hours walking around in, it is very nice.

Dusk had been and gone. I'd eaten dinner and now I was ready for a wee night adventure, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It was a mild night, not too cold and clear skies, I could have walked around much longer if I wasn't so worn out from the day I'd already had of walking around. The Eiffel Tower at night was something I've always wanted to see and to see it sparkle was great. Managed to get another tone of pictures, my poor camera was getting the most use I think it's ever had! After seeing a very bright sparkly Eiffel Tower I was headed back home again for bed, great way to spend a Friday night huh!

Saturday, my last full day in Paris, up early in the morning I was going up the top of the Eiffel Tower today, and trust my luck this would be the only cloudy day I would have on my trip, all in all it was still a spectacular view. It's funny though how you don't really think your scared of heights until you're in this tiny lift with about 6 other people with full view of your trip up to the top of the Eiffel Tower! Once I was up there though I came right, still a wee bit on edge about the fact that I was so high off the ground. The pictures I took while I was up there didn't turn out to be the best thanks to the cloud, but still they are great for me to look at and think that I saw Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
With my feet firmly planted back on the ground, and feeling much safer, I was heading just around the corner to Les Invalides, where I would get to see Napoleon's Tomb.
Next stop was a cafe called Angelina's, a famous cafe in Paris. Anyone who goes to Paris must go here. I meet Clinton, as he told me that he wanted to make sure I'd had a Chocolat Chaud or as you would say in English a Hot Chocolate, and this would be the Hot Chocolate that rocked my world! I think now every time I'll have a hot chocolate since it will never be the same. Out of this world amazing would be the best way to describe it.
The rest of my time in Paris was spend exploring some more back streets, eating plenty of pastries from cute French bakeries. But before I knew it I was packed and on my way back to catch the bus back to London.
All in all Paris was simply wonderful, a lot more older and unique than London and I would recommend Paris to all. I have much more exploring around the world, but I would definitely like to see Paris again.