Stick a fork in me, I'm done!

Current Paris time: Sunday, July 16, 2006, 10:00AM.

Well, I'm only beginning... My first flight just took off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris (after a €50 taxi ride!) and many many MANY hours later, I'll be home.

Paris was amazing. The timing was great because I was here during Bastille Day (French National Day. Think Canada Day, if you're still confused. Well, more like the American Independence Day...) on July 14. On the eve of Bastille Day, several of us spent the evening sitting on the lawns below the Eiffel Tower. It's indescribable just how cool that is! It just didn't seem real. The Tower was lit up and a light show lit up the sky on the other end of the lawns. To end the night, we took the RER/Métro (THAT was an adventure!) back to the hotel and got a drink in the bar. There, we met a group of older Aussies and a Kiwi who were rather... drunk. It was quite entertaining. After a few of us left to get a bit of sleep, apparently one of the Aussies kept asking Jason (from Brampton, Ontario) if he knew Neil Young and singing... then forgetting and asking him again. The things that happen while on vacation...


The next day (Bastille Day), we went off to the Château de Versailles... in Versailles, just outside Paris. Very nice palace, and I have a souvenir book to prove it. Afterwards, a few of us hit the Louvre... in about, oh, 30 seconds. Well, a little longer than that, but it was definitely a fast tour. It was a fast tour because it took so long to get back from Versailles. Entry was free (normally €8.50) thanks to the holiday. We saw the two most famous exhibits, the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, and a few others. The Mona Lisa is a relatively small portrait, especially considering some of the massive paintings that cover the also massive walls of the Louvre!


After dinner (at an Italian restaurant in Paris, drinking German and Dutch beer...), we went back to the Eiffel Tower for the fireworks. OMFG, the fireworks were spectacular! They made the Canada Day fireworks (in Victoria) look like some kid with a sparkler... a sparkler that won't light. Imagine watching fireworks light up the sky, the Eiffel Tower on the side, and a giant sea of people all around. It's a unique experience.


After the fireworks, we made our way onto the lawns (we were on the side) to hang out under the Tower again and enjoy the ambiance. Firecrackers, Roman candles, and other miscellaneous fireworks were going off all around. One bottle rocket even flew a couple feet DIRECTLY over our heads!

Getting home was not so fun. Not surprisingly, getting a taxi (for five of us) was nigh impossible. I think we started wandering home at about 2AM (when a couple fights were brewing around us) and we finally got a cab on the way a couple hours later. I got into bed at about 4:30AM and was up for breakfast at about 6:30AM. Joy.

And I woke up for the worst tour ever! EVER!! We went to a perfume shop/'museum'. Museum in quotes because it consisted of a few glass cases of old bottles and other crap. Our guide spoke the worst English with French accent EVER. EVER! To make it worse (or better?), she spoke very quickly. The only good thing about the tour was that it was over in about ten minutes. Ten minutes I'll never get back. After that, she sprayed sample sticks with different scents for us to try. Another ten minutes I'll never get back... Fuck. What an utter waste of time, especially with the 30 minute wait for the coach. Take me to a winery next time!

After this, we went to climb the Eiffel Tower. The view from the top (320m) is stunning! It was a beautifully sunny day, so you could see everything (including the hazy smog). It was a free afternoon, so I walked down the stairs of the Tower and headed to the Arc de Triomphe. That's another stunning view. Watching the giant roundabout and all the streets radiating out is a great way to kill some time. And it 'only' cost €8 and 183 steps...



The Métro back to the hotel, shower, and we were off to the Moulin Rouge for dinner and a show. It was pretty expensive, but worth it. The dinner was good, but not spectacular. The show was very good. There were amazing displays of strength, agility, and comedy. The dancing and singing (mostly by half-naked women) between acts was great. What a great way to finish off a trip to Paris!

And now I'm in London waiting for a 9.5 hour flight to Vancouver. I'll see you all soon! And if you want, I can bombard you with hundreds and hundreds of pictures and video clips...

That is all.