Paris Day 1

We packed so much into each day that I had to separate them and of course 100's of photos were taken !!!

Tuesday 6th August saw us board the Eurostar High Speed train to France travelling under the English Channel, then working out which train we needed to get to our hotel.

Paris can I say is a whole different world all together. Everything is different not just the language. For the first half day I could not speak. I was completely overwhelmed by the whole place and could say that I did NOT feel at home at all !!!

There were people everywhere, the streets were crowded with people, push bikes, mopeds, motorbikes, dogs, buses you name it. It was chaos !!! The buildings though were beautiful, we have nothing like it in Australia nor have I seen anything that comes close to it. You can always look at books but nothing compares to seeing it all with your own eyes.

St Pancras International Train Station in London.

All Aboard !!

Goodbye England !!

Jim had warned me from the very start that everything in Paris would be small but even he was surprised by just how small our hotel room would be. The other surprise was that there was no railing in the bathroom to attach the shower head !!! What fun that would be to have a shower as you will see from the next few pics !!!

Hotel room and I am standing at the door to the room !!

Not so bad except for the shower and no extraction fan !!!

Nice view out the window to a small 2 way street !!

When we walked into our hotel Jim introduced himself and the woman just put a key on the bench and said 4th floor lift is over there. No hello no identification or paperwork needed !!! Now as I said Jim did warn me that things would be small but nothing quite like this .......

Yes that is the lift door and Jim is leaning up against the opposite wall !!

I just had to take this pic, there is only room for my backpack behind me !!

It really was a one person lift !!!

Day 1 again was all about finding out where we were located in the scheme of things. Again it was a full day of walking !!! and trying really hard not to get run over. Even when the lights change to walk there are still vehicles coming through so you really have to triple check before you walk. No one really pays attention to any light signals nor do they have road rules. No wonder when there are no lines on the roads !!!

This was our first stop and what a place it was. It just took my breath away. The place is Place de la Concorde and is the central location for everything. From here it is the beginning of the Champs-Elysees and my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.

Here I had my first Baguette and my first experience with the French language. I didn't do badly and got what I wanted !!! After lunch we headed into the park next door which leads straight down to the Louvre. It was so strange being in this place and seeing all these things with my own eyes.

My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower

And the Champs-Elysees

Our travels next take us to the park that leads directly to the Louvre. The sun was shining and everyone was out enjoying themselves and relaxing by the fountains in the park.

We didn't have to pay to sit in these seats !!!



And yet another place to cross off the list !!!

The Louvre is a bustling place even on a day when it is closed !! The police patrolling the area all wear rollerblades !!! More walking to be done and when we walked through the arch ways leaving the Louvre we found all the tourist shops !!! Yippee and were greeted by the buildings in the next picture.

All the same one way

and all the same the other way !!!

The Paris Opera House

So the concludes our first day in Paris. The buildings are fantastic and so detailed. By the end of the day I had found my voice and was excited about what is to come while we are here. Stay tuned for Day 2 !!