Desperately Seeking Gina

…ahhh….gay Paris in the evening. Our first night in Paris included an additional excursion (fancy word for~~ pay extra if ya wanna come along). We took a river boat along the Seine River. It was extraordinary. People~ tourists and locals~ lined the banks. There were dancing spots…dancing lessons, restaurants on barges floating on the Seine. And…there were homeless people. Although…technically, are they really considered homeless if they’ve built themselves houses made of cardboard? So it’s not conventional…it’s a place to lay there heads, right? And some had tents…little tent cities along the Seine. I can imagine the view they wake up to every morning.

Anyway…so night fell as we motored down the Seine. I was taking spectacular pictures of the sites on shore including The Louvre, and Notre Dame. Too bad I had loaded the film incorrectly and ended up losing an entire roll of my whole first day in Paris….ahhh….C’est la vie, as the French would say.

The Eiffel Tower was awesome at night. And if the lights weren’t already fantastic enough, on the hour, every hour, twinkle lights sparkled up and down the tower which brought on oohs and aahhs from the crowd.

Next was a night time tour of the city and then we were back at Hotel Terminus Vaugirard for a short night of rest. The hotel was very minimalist in style and our room was done in orange and brown. Very cute. No air conditioning. View of the street and the hotel entrance.

Day 2 in Paris found us touring the city by bus, visiting the Pantheon, Luxembourg Palace, Hotel Des Invalides, and the left and right banks of Paris. We drove, but didn’t stop at the Champs -Elysees.

We arrived at The Louvre around noon and stayed until 5:30. The Mona Lisa was interesting…not very big at all..but interesting to see in person. I most enjoyed standing in front of Da Vinci’s works. Amazing to actually be standing in front of the real things after having looked at pictures my whole life. Breathtaking. At times I think I even had tears…I was overwhelmed to be standing amongst so many great pieces of art.

Dinner on Night 2 was not good. The service was horrible and the food wasn’t that great. Heather and I, along with five other people from our group ventured to the Eiffel Tower so we could go to the top at night (the first day we arrived too late to actually go up the tower). I was disappointed by the trip up. Maybe it would have been better to go up with a boyfriend or something. The view was okay..not great…I wasn’t impressed.

The trek back to the Metro was an adventure…meaning we got lost 🙂 Eventually we found our way back to a Metro station and back to Porte Des Versailles which is the Metro station just outside our hotel. ( I was able to use a little French to buy tickets and ask for directions)

…the rest of Paris….to be continued.
Au revoir!

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Our tour of Paris began immediately after we stepped off the plane. I was so stiff from being crammed into a little seat that I got charlie horses in the back of my legs. Not fun when you’re struck while crossing a busy Parisian street. Linda took me to a little restaurant called Le Petite Pont so I could eat properly and fill up on water and potassuim. We missed the tour of Notre Dame…but the group was gracious enough to wait while we quickly walked through.

Paris was unusually hot….88 degrees on the first day. I wasn’t impressed by the welcome we received from the French and by day 2 I was really frustrated that the French just don’t smile.

All the tourist sites were as wonderful as I thought…and I liked Paris a whole lot more than I thought I would.

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