Today marks the beginning of my month (and a few days) long trip of Western Europe. An 8 hour bus ride from Amsterdam to Paris got the whole trip started.
I did not get into Paris till late, so I went right to my hostel and crashed.
11 July 2015
I started off today by heading to the Louvre.
The above photo is of one of the few bridges left in Paris with locks on it. The city of Paris removed the "Love Locks" bridge.
Head
I got around Paris by using the metro. I bought a 3-day pass and went from there. However, what no one told me was the ticket cannot be next to electronics, zippers, or credit cards. Why? The card will fritz and stop working.
It took me going to the help desk four times and getting a new ticket each time before the man told me what was going wrong with the ticket. Oops.
Paris Metro Stop
I do not remember which stop this was, but it was cool.
I spent the whole day in the Louvre, but I did not have my camera with me. For some reason, I left in in one bag, and took the other.
Now, here's a little tip for the Louvre. If you have a student ID (and a residence permit) for a college in Europe, you should get into the Louvre for free. And if not for free, at least for not full price.
Once I got out of the Louvre, I went back to my hostel and retrieved my camera.
Pont Alexandre III
After I went back to my hostel for my camera, I walked around Paris. I walked from Pont Alexandre III to the Eiffel Tower, and back.
Eiffel Tower
After my stroll along the River Seine, I found myself at the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower is beautiful from a distance, but the closer one gets to it, the more tourists one has to deal with. Along with tourists, there are the tourist traps.
I did a ridiculous amount of walking today, so I enjoyed the Eiffel Tower from afar, and called it a night.
12 July 2015
Today started off with breakfast at the Arty Hostel and an adventure to find band-aids.
Graffiti comes in all shapes and sizes. My favorites are the ones you have to look twice to see what they are, and they are usually easily overlooked.
This sign was near the Madeleine Church.
Madeline Church
I walked around the Madeleine Church.
The Sacre-Ceour
This church was my first panic stop in Paris. I wound my way up to the hilltop and made it only a few steps inside, before I had to leave.
Getting out of the church involved dodging people trying to sell me things. Well, to and from the church involved dodging people.
Notre Dame
The line to get into the Notre Dame was crazy long to get in every time I walked passed it, so I never did get inside.
I walked around the Notre Dame and enjoyed it from the outside instead.
Saint Michel's Fountain
After I meandered around the Notre Dame, I walked over to Saint Michel's Fountain.
The rest of today had me riding the metro and walking around Paris.
13 July 2015
This morning, I went to the Arc de Triomphe. However, I went to the wrong metro stop.
Instead, I found this. This is Le Pouce or The Thumb by Cesar Baldaccini. The Thumb is a 40 foot tall sculpture.
Arc de Triomphe
Back onto the metro and off at Charles de Gaulle Etoile stop. The Arc de Triomphe is in the middle of a crazy roundabout that has about 6 lanes of traffic whizzing around it.
Louvre
I passed through the Louvre grounds with my camera and took a photo.
Pantheon
The Pantheon was pretty cool. It was not as busy as some of the other places I visited, so I took my time walking through it. The Pantheon is in the Latin Quarter of Paris.
Order on the metro in Paris. I was not expecting the metro to be this ordered. Well, when the metro got close to tourist attractions, it got crazy, but the rest of the metro that I experienced was very ordered.
Fontaine Saint-Suplice
This fountain is in the same square as the Saint-Suplice Church.
Saint-Suplice Church
This church is right next to the fountain. The Church of Saint-Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris, right behind the Notre Dame.
On my way back to my hostel, I noticed this tiny street art. It was up high on a building and the only reason I noticed it, is because I was looking for a street sign (to figure out where I was).
Shakespeare and Company
I spent a good 45 minutes in this bookstore, just browsing the books. I walked away with only two books: Portrait of Dorian Grey and The Humpback of Notre Dame.
I walked along the river until it got dark and made my way to the Eiffel Tower one last time.
14 July 2015
I started my final day in Paris by taking my luggage to the Gare de Lyons train station and then I made my way to the Musee d'Orsay.
What I forgot was that today is Bastille Day in France. For those who do not know the significance of Bastille Day, it is the French National Day. Kind of like Independence Day in the US.
Musee d'Orsay
The Musee d'Orsay used to be a train station. The d'Orsay houses Europe's largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The collection includes paintings by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and van Gogh.
I could only spend a few hours in the museum before I had to get to the train station to catch my train to Venice.