Be ready! Now you have an opportunity to read a rather long story!
My return to Paris!
Day 1
I could never imagine that I would come back soon. Hello my dear PARIS! It's incredible! Awesome! Ehxilarating!
But as it always happens with me some things went out of my control.
At first, I forgot my insurance at home. Yes, that sounds funny now but that moment I wanted to cry. But, fortunately, the situation was solved, and everything fell into place. And then everything went perfectly you think. Ha! I wish it did. Now I have learned one lesson: if you fly with a transfer flight, take at least 2 hours break between the flights!!! Believe me! I know what I am talking about. As usual flight arrived 20 minutes late (flying via Riga and it turned to be like Moscow-Riga-Paris) we had 20 minutes before the flight of the second plane to Paris ... FASTER! FASTER! So here is a little advice: have a break between flights! It is better to sit and wait than to rush through the airport with untied bots, suitcase and bag on your shoulder ... That was exactly my case! The only advantage in this situation was that I didn't travel alone. But that was me who should be blamed in the most part part of problems.
But how beautiful the city lights from the sky were ... ... The small islands of light and life... And you float above it all and you realize how small our world is in fact. It seems to be a countless space. Tens of thousands of kilometers. But from above it all seems insignificantly tiny...
And then the arrival in Paris was!
Unbelievable! It was like I have never visited the city. First we arrived, wandered around the airport. Then we bought some tickets and went on the train to Paris!
Let's not idealize this city. For the great capital, known by the whole world, it is quite dirty ...
And I realized that I could not live in Paris anyway. Too crowded. Too little. There is not enough space for wide Russian soul!
But ... How did it all begin?
We arrived from the airport and took a subway. About this type of public transport I should say some words. The Metro there works like the Canadian one (those who have read my notes from Canada will understand, others need an explaination: in Moscow there is one platform and two tracksé Here there is an opposite situation. There are two ways and they are merged, and there are two platforms on the sides. To choose the right direction, you need to focus on the endpoints of each branch. For example, we need to go to the Blanche station and so we focused on the final station Porte Dauphine. But there is one thing. Do you know the electronic board in the Moscow metro trains on which lights indicate the distance that has been already passed? So everything is exactly the opposite way in Paris! Funny, is not it? We didn't understant the point at first annd wanted to change the train. Well, that all was resolved.
Well, after the subway we went outside and saw the Moulin Rouge!
Then we walked along the small streets and, as they say - have breathed the Paris air! Shops, restaurants, baking flavors, everywhere scurrying people, sound of moped engines. Yes, this is it - the real Paris!
After the arrival to the hotel (ha, that's a very strong word for that building), we have seen once again in the main principle of French people: in close quarters, but with love (russian proverb, kind of a proverb); We threw the bag and rushed to meet the January French capital. By the way, in Paris it was + 9 °C. Perfect for me in fact!
So, we started with small streets that meander like a labyrinth corridors, which have 3156 possible exits and entances. Among one of them (the streets I mean), we came across a very interesting sculpture. The man passing through wall. Monument in honor of Marcel Aime, the story of which I found on the Internet in the evening. So should do you. That one is rather intresting.
We went from the alley to alley, from house to house. And here we finally reached it - the Sacre-Coeur! For me, this is probably one of the most important symbols of Paris, maybe even more important that the Eiffel Tower. A beautiful view of the whole Paris opens from the top. A delightful panorama, which are difficult to convey in words. The whole of Paris is in front of you. It looks wonderful. And the musicians performing a wide variety of compositions lifted the mood. One of them even played the melody of the song Haleluya (John Cale). And it was fascinating.
Then we explored the whole neighborhood. But the flight made us feltsleepy and tired. After a walk around the Moulin Rouge, we returned to the hotel to gain strength before tomorrow's giant-up!
Day 2
This second day deserves a detailed description.
It all started at 9am. The plan was the following: from Montmartre to the Opera, and from there to the Louvre, then walking through the Tuileries Gardens, and after the Île de la Cité. Some have argued that such a program for one day would be really difficult and even impossible ... HA! We came all this way by foot! 7 hours! Seven hours of walking, of which only 30 minutes were spent on a break in the Jean XXIII park near Notre Dame de Paris. In fact, it was very interesting. As we walked to the building of Grand Opera we bought fresh croissants (they're just superb here as a baguette, which we have tried the day before). It is interesting that in Paris all the buildings are made in the same style. The city seemed to be frozen in time. If you even went back for 2 centuries, nothing would change as I think. Somehow, walking along these streets and taking photos, I imagine the black-and-white pictures, with a few colored spots. We even saw a picture today of this type. Very stylish one in my opinion.
Enjoying enough the buildings, squares, streets, we passed the opera house and headed to the Louvre. You will see an incredible building (the palace I mean) and immideately your only desire is to go back to the 17th century, to be a part of secrets, to feel yourself a part of this era. But not for a long time! Honestly, I cannot imagine how you could live that time. You need to heat, to keep clean etc such a huge building. But it looks impressive and beautiful from the outside. But we did not go inside:
a) there were loads of people
b) we have been already inside - there is a simple museum over there.
And we would like to walk more! After we went to the garden Tyuiliri and Ferris wheel. A walk, a cool breeze, the sun. Beautiful day in January. By the way, another interesting feature of Paris: here is not only a lot of mopeds and bicycles, but also a lot of people that do sports, simply do jogging for example. In Moscow, I personally do not often meet in approximately similar amounts of such people.
Looking at the Ferris wheel and do not want to ride on it, we went for a walk along the Seine. Along the coast there were funny and sometimes quite interesting boats. The next stop was the island of Cité. Very nice piece of Paris in the middle of the river. And on the island Notre Dame Cathedra is stunning which is beautiful inside and outside at the same time. I've always loved the gothic style, Paris - a real gothic museum. Inside the cathedral you can admire the colorful stained glass windows and many firy candles - the only two sources of light. And the sounds of the organ music that filled the silent cathedral. Stunning atmosfera. Immediately I remembered the concert of organ music that I was lucky enough to visit in late December in Moscow.
Well, after Notre Dame, 30 minutes later, we went to the Hotel de Ville, which lay on the way to our hotel. On the way, we came across a few Gothic churches, who certainly did not escape the attention of my camera.
But there is another interesting point I would like to conclude iin today's short story. As we walked by the hotel, we noticed an interesting paradox. I think if I say the Chinatown, nobody will be surprised. So when we went back, we came across two quarters of Chinatown types: quarter with shops wedding dresses and suits, that lasted several streets in a row, and quarter full of sex shops and a variety of bars with a "special" service (I do not think it is necessary to describe which ones but the variety judging by the signs was a pretty big). Although I was told that in Amsterdam you can find a row of boys and girls on a call, a church and a kindergarten as neighborhoods buildings. To hand over the children to the garden, to pray to the good customers and to apologize for this way of life, and forward spend time in a sex shop, bar and stuff.
But this is European lifestyle.
But the impression despite this intresting fact stays positive!
My return to Paris!
Day 1
I could never imagine that I would come back soon. Hello my dear PARIS! It's incredible! Awesome! Ehxilarating!
But as it always happens with me some things went out of my control.
At first, I forgot my insurance at home. Yes, that sounds funny now but that moment I wanted to cry. But, fortunately, the situation was solved, and everything fell into place. And then everything went perfectly you think. Ha! I wish it did. Now I have learned one lesson: if you fly with a transfer flight, take at least 2 hours break between the flights!!! Believe me! I know what I am talking about. As usual flight arrived 20 minutes late (flying via Riga and it turned to be like Moscow-Riga-Paris) we had 20 minutes before the flight of the second plane to Paris ... FASTER! FASTER! So here is a little advice: have a break between flights! It is better to sit and wait than to rush through the airport with untied bots, suitcase and bag on your shoulder ... That was exactly my case! The only advantage in this situation was that I didn't travel alone. But that was me who should be blamed in the most part part of problems.
But how beautiful the city lights from the sky were ... ... The small islands of light and life... And you float above it all and you realize how small our world is in fact. It seems to be a countless space. Tens of thousands of kilometers. But from above it all seems insignificantly tiny...
And then the arrival in Paris was!
Unbelievable! It was like I have never visited the city. First we arrived, wandered around the airport. Then we bought some tickets and went on the train to Paris!
Let's not idealize this city. For the great capital, known by the whole world, it is quite dirty ...
And I realized that I could not live in Paris anyway. Too crowded. Too little. There is not enough space for wide Russian soul!
But ... How did it all begin?
We arrived from the airport and took a subway. About this type of public transport I should say some words. The Metro there works like the Canadian one (those who have read my notes from Canada will understand, others need an explaination: in Moscow there is one platform and two tracksé Here there is an opposite situation. There are two ways and they are merged, and there are two platforms on the sides. To choose the right direction, you need to focus on the endpoints of each branch. For example, we need to go to the Blanche station and so we focused on the final station Porte Dauphine. But there is one thing. Do you know the electronic board in the Moscow metro trains on which lights indicate the distance that has been already passed? So everything is exactly the opposite way in Paris! Funny, is not it? We didn't understant the point at first annd wanted to change the train. Well, that all was resolved.
Well, after the subway we went outside and saw the Moulin Rouge!
Then we walked along the small streets and, as they say - have breathed the Paris air! Shops, restaurants, baking flavors, everywhere scurrying people, sound of moped engines. Yes, this is it - the real Paris!
After the arrival to the hotel (ha, that's a very strong word for that building), we have seen once again in the main principle of French people: in close quarters, but with love (russian proverb, kind of a proverb); We threw the bag and rushed to meet the January French capital. By the way, in Paris it was + 9 °C. Perfect for me in fact!
So, we started with small streets that meander like a labyrinth corridors, which have 3156 possible exits and entances. Among one of them (the streets I mean), we came across a very interesting sculpture. The man passing through wall. Monument in honor of Marcel Aime, the story of which I found on the Internet in the evening. So should do you. That one is rather intresting.
We went from the alley to alley, from house to house. And here we finally reached it - the Sacre-Coeur! For me, this is probably one of the most important symbols of Paris, maybe even more important that the Eiffel Tower. A beautiful view of the whole Paris opens from the top. A delightful panorama, which are difficult to convey in words. The whole of Paris is in front of you. It looks wonderful. And the musicians performing a wide variety of compositions lifted the mood. One of them even played the melody of the song Haleluya (John Cale). And it was fascinating.
Then we explored the whole neighborhood. But the flight made us feltsleepy and tired. After a walk around the Moulin Rouge, we returned to the hotel to gain strength before tomorrow's giant-up!
Day 2
This second day deserves a detailed description.
It all started at 9am. The plan was the following: from Montmartre to the Opera, and from there to the Louvre, then walking through the Tuileries Gardens, and after the Île de la Cité. Some have argued that such a program for one day would be really difficult and even impossible ... HA! We came all this way by foot! 7 hours! Seven hours of walking, of which only 30 minutes were spent on a break in the Jean XXIII park near Notre Dame de Paris. In fact, it was very interesting. As we walked to the building of Grand Opera we bought fresh croissants (they're just superb here as a baguette, which we have tried the day before). It is interesting that in Paris all the buildings are made in the same style. The city seemed to be frozen in time. If you even went back for 2 centuries, nothing would change as I think. Somehow, walking along these streets and taking photos, I imagine the black-and-white pictures, with a few colored spots. We even saw a picture today of this type. Very stylish one in my opinion.
Enjoying enough the buildings, squares, streets, we passed the opera house and headed to the Louvre. You will see an incredible building (the palace I mean) and immideately your only desire is to go back to the 17th century, to be a part of secrets, to feel yourself a part of this era. But not for a long time! Honestly, I cannot imagine how you could live that time. You need to heat, to keep clean etc such a huge building. But it looks impressive and beautiful from the outside. But we did not go inside:
a) there were loads of people
b) we have been already inside - there is a simple museum over there.
And we would like to walk more! After we went to the garden Tyuiliri and Ferris wheel. A walk, a cool breeze, the sun. Beautiful day in January. By the way, another interesting feature of Paris: here is not only a lot of mopeds and bicycles, but also a lot of people that do sports, simply do jogging for example. In Moscow, I personally do not often meet in approximately similar amounts of such people.
Looking at the Ferris wheel and do not want to ride on it, we went for a walk along the Seine. Along the coast there were funny and sometimes quite interesting boats. The next stop was the island of Cité. Very nice piece of Paris in the middle of the river. And on the island Notre Dame Cathedra is stunning which is beautiful inside and outside at the same time. I've always loved the gothic style, Paris - a real gothic museum. Inside the cathedral you can admire the colorful stained glass windows and many firy candles - the only two sources of light. And the sounds of the organ music that filled the silent cathedral. Stunning atmosfera. Immediately I remembered the concert of organ music that I was lucky enough to visit in late December in Moscow.
Well, after Notre Dame, 30 minutes later, we went to the Hotel de Ville, which lay on the way to our hotel. On the way, we came across a few Gothic churches, who certainly did not escape the attention of my camera.
But there is another interesting point I would like to conclude iin today's short story. As we walked by the hotel, we noticed an interesting paradox. I think if I say the Chinatown, nobody will be surprised. So when we went back, we came across two quarters of Chinatown types: quarter with shops wedding dresses and suits, that lasted several streets in a row, and quarter full of sex shops and a variety of bars with a "special" service (I do not think it is necessary to describe which ones but the variety judging by the signs was a pretty big). Although I was told that in Amsterdam you can find a row of boys and girls on a call, a church and a kindergarten as neighborhoods buildings. To hand over the children to the garden, to pray to the good customers and to apologize for this way of life, and forward spend time in a sex shop, bar and stuff.
But this is European lifestyle.
But the impression despite this intresting fact stays positive!
Day 3
Morning. 9 hours. It's time to go out. It is raining outside. Yes ... But we are not made of sugar (as Russians say)! We went ahead! To tell truth will soon the rain began to make me nervous but still we continued our walking to the center of Paris. Today to the Arc de Triomphe! And so, walking slowly, we saw it while we came closer and closer! Sumptuously! Wonderful! Cool!
We went to it and slowed down. In my head there was one question: how to approach to it?! I explain for those who do not know. In the middle, a huge area from which the streets diverge in different directions, stands the Arc de Triomphe. And around it the cars drive... We stood, we thought and we forward. We stumbled on the move and decided to go ahead, or rather down (the transition). We went trought the underground tunnel and came out ont the opposite side of the street!!! "What a nonsense?" - We thought. And then we realizedthat to get under the arc you need to pay! No thanks, okay, that's fine. We continued. And then the Champs Elysees were!!! The song Joe Dassin Champs Elysees came into my mind. We sang it all the way. In fact it is just a street. The street with shops, shopping malls, cafes ... But there is this was a charm atmosphere over there.
Then we walked past the Great, Little and the Elysee Palaces, came to the Place de la Concorde, the Obelisk and the Ferris wheel, that we had seen the day before. And turning on the right, we went over the Seine admiring the view of the bridge Aleksander III and Eiffel Tower. Imagine the scene: the sun, the glare from the water, the silhouette of a Parisian character and the noise of passing mopeds. Paris. You're so Paris.
Walking around and looking closely at the Pont Alexandre III (the most beautiful of all the bridges that I've seen so far) we went through a quarter des Invalids to the Field of Mars. And as you know (if you know), it is the exact place with the most amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. But walking along the other side of Paris (another coast of the Seine) I had an impression that impression this was not the Paris that I had seen the previous days. That was a very different city, a different world. I do not know maybe it was te result of my fatigue, of the weather, but I had such impression...
Of course,I cannot not to mention the Eiffel Tower. The symbol of Paris. Yes Yes. But the funny thing is different. Sellers of all sorts of trinkets and selfie-sticks (advancement and progress, yes) were striking in their obstinacy. At the end, when one of the vendors began to offer yet another nonsense, we were so tired of repeating "Non, merci, non, merci", we just started walking silently. But the seller began to ask us where we were from. And here you can see our dialogue:
- from Russia
- Oh, Russia! How are you? (jn Russian Как дела?)*With an accent
- * losing patience* Thank you. Not interested.
- Wait a minute. What about? ...
- * Almost crying* Non. Merci. (Fr.) We are not interested at ALL! (Eng.)
From language to language, but the aim was achieved. He leted us go. Then after that we tryed to avoid the meeting with such people. Yes. That was funny. Looking at this situation was funny.
And then hell started. The weather was so bad. I wanted to cry. There was a terrible wind. Really. In this weather, I usually prefer to stay at home, and here we were in a two-hours walk to the hotel (public transport was not an option for us! We were for a healthy lifestyle and we were too lazy and greedy to spend the extra money)
But we walked and we didn't want to give up!. In fact at the end I haven't felt my feet. Something told me that after such 7-hours daily walkings I would need another week of the rest at home.
But then the sun came out, we were lucky at once. And on the way home, we saw a beautiful Sacre-Coeur in the sun. The magnificent view. And another interesting point: day after day in a row, we encounter the names of streets and squares as follows: place de Stalingrad (Stalingrad area), rue de St. Petersbourg (St. Petersburg street), bd de Sebastopol (Sevastopol Boulevard) ... It's funny, huh? (All they are Russian names).
Day 4.
The time flies so fast ... But quickly it flies everywhere and always ... But now the weekends came and, as the French say, I wish you bon weekend: p
Today was probably the coolest of all the days in Paris. And it was not in the places that we visited, it was the mood and the atmosphere that surrounded us.
Firstly, there was an unusually good weather: + 13 °C and it was so sunny.
Secondly, theintresting topics about which my friend and I talked during the whole day.
Thirdly, the beautiful views that we opened completed the whole atmosphere of the day.
Today, in general, we did not visit anything supercool. Although the Sorbonne and the Luxembourg Gardens still stand apart. They were amazing. Yes, also we have seen Place de la Bastille and the Revolution Square. Yes who am I kidding? This is Paris! Everything is supercool over here. No, there is blind love of a youngn stupid girl (me), just these places are really known and cool!
But in fact it was nice to sit in the park, to talk about important things and enjoy Paris.
I cannot tell you anything else about this day. You just need to feel it yourself. You have to be me to understand, for whati do like this place, why will it warm my heart during the cold and frozen Moscow winter.
Day 5.
This day cannot be called a tourists one. No. All significant historical and urban places we had visited the previous days. Today we opened Paris as a city where ordinary people live.That may sound silly but we had got to the end of Paris, getting to its "banlieux", we went farther away from the center and the tourists sites. We saw the city as it is seen by its people every day. Our way layed through the streets, where everywhere the rubbish layed and the smell killed me during my every step. We have seen trucks queue from which the products were unloaded. On the ground suppressed tangerines, tomatoes, chunks of banana peel layed. We passed through a small quarter, where laying on the ground people sold the things. We walked past the people who sold from hand to hand almost for nothing iPhones 6 and "brand new" bags. The streets werefull of shops with different sherpotrebom, second-second-second hand, small cafes, in which I was really scaried to go as I wasn't not a local authority ... Yes. This is Paris...
But, despite all this (not just little thing, right?), We still continued to walk and enjoy our trip. We have been repeatedly asked the way, although we were not seemed as local residents but we were glad to help people and show them the right direction. And we were amazed about people caring about others. We sat on a bench, talking (in Russian), on the other side (two-sided benches) there was a man sitting. Suddenly he turned to us and said hello in English (as we were talking Russian, from his part that was correctly to start speaking the international language). I replied in French (my habit). He certainly was surprised, but, asking if I knew the language (French), and received a positive response, he asked if he would not interfere us with a smoke. Really I was amazed that a man asked absolutely unfamiliar people whether they feel comfortable. I was impressed. We also walked through a small grocery market, where there were pleasant aromas of fruit, mingled with the smell of fresh spices and herbs, and then it all passed in the flavors of sea products (the smell of fresh fish, mussels, oysters, algae, etc.). In general, our every morning begins with a wonderful smell of baking, that then gradually becomes a smell of cheese, and then to the aromas of freshly prepared meat and vegetables. We lived on the street, which was full of small shops and shops that opened their doors early in the morning and closed them late at night.
Here it is, the real Paris, with its bad sides but with a certain beauty and charm that are worth of seeing. Yes, cultural and historic sites are important, but you wouldn't get a feeling of the real city, just simply having a tour by bus
To conclude I' d like to say that each place has its particularities. As for me I am going to start an amazing adventure, the adventure of my whole life. I'm scared, I don't have any idea what's going to be next. I am confused. I am lost. But after all this stuff I wrote in this note I remembered how difficult it was over there 5 months ago in Paris but how amazing and intresting it sounds now. So be patient. Be strong. Never give up. And you will succeed! Good luck guys! I hope dreams come true. Soon in two months this blog will alive and you will have a possibility to read about the greatest adventure of my life!
