Posts tagged with “Montmartre”
Netherlands and Paris tour 2018 – Part 3
Part 3 – Paris
September 25th– 27 th
Paris
Shortly before our departure to Europe, we had contact with a relative who is living in Paris temporarily. He offered us his flat to stay in as he would be out of town during the time of our tour.
So with our Dutch host as guide we left Schiphol for Orley airport South of Paris. From there we caught a bus that took us to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. We found the flat a 340m walk from the far side of the Arc de Triomphe. Or if you want to be pedantic, 300m from the near side of the circle.
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe turned out to be a massive thing. Twelve big streets connect at the circle around the Arc de Triomphe, with no traffic lights to regulate traffic. Although I found it entertaining to watch, I would not want to drive there!
[Source: Imagery 2018 © Google, map data © Google]
Big bus tours
We got tickets for the hop on hop off Big Bus Tours bus, valid for two days. We were told that if you start your trip on the bus past 16:00 in the afternoon, then that day does not count. So we trundled down the Champs Elysees, whiling away the time until four before boarding the bus.
We considered this to be an exploratory trip, so we did not hop off. We wanted to get the feel of the route. Just as I got to the Eiffel tower, my camera memory was full, and I had to resort to some picture with my phone instead. The bus does not wait.
Eiffel
The next day we did the tour again, this time getting off at the Eiffel tower to begin with. As we got to the Eiffel tower, I realised that I have not put the camera batteries back after I charged them the previous evening. Fortunately I found a set of back-up batteries in the camera bag that I actually forgot about!
It’s really no use describing the details of a tour like this. It’s like taking pictures. I later gave up on taking them. Paris is massive and old, with a seemingly endless supply of really impressive old buildings. And as far as the Eiffel tower is concerned, every ten meters that you walk in any direction from or around it, you find a better angle for a picture. You just can’t win!
What left me in awe was hanging around these highly recognizable landmarks in the world such as the Eiffel tower and the Louvre and the Notre Dame. Just being there was just amazing.
According to the running commentary on the bus, the Champs Elysees is a rather expensive street to run a business from. I was thus surprised to find, tucked away on the Champs Elysees, even a MacDonald’s.
It turned out to be the start of fashion week in Paris. Everywhere girls in bridal or other fancy dresses got photographed against the backdrop of the Eiffel tower or other exotic views.
Lafayette
Between changing from the Red Bus to the Blue Bus (for different routes) we visited one of the Lafayette buildings to get to the rooftop which offers a commanding view of Paris – for free. Getting anything free here is noteworthy. Even toilets require payment. Speaking of which, I was initially rather surprised to find a female cleaner going about her business of cleaning the gents’ toilets, unperturbed by the gents using the urinals. I never quite fancied taking a leak as a spectator sport.
Sorry, I digress. To get to the top floor of the Lafayette building, you pass a number of exotic stores. At some of these outlets you can buy yourself some really hideous outfits for €1800 and upwards if you are so inclined. Not even the sky is the limit – very much like with stupidity.
We gave Louis Vuitton a skip because we did not want to do queues. Apparently they had a new range of handbags which is so exotic that you had to queue up just to be let into the shop. I guess they contact your credit provider before letting you in, just to prevent embarrassment to both you and them. Crazy Store never does that when we go looking for a handbag there.
Sacré-Coeur, Montmartre
We took a walk to the next bus stop. This turned out well for the increasing of the number of steps on my step counter, but it was disastrous from a navigational point of view, even with Google maps. With the sun sitting south of centre instead of north of centre as is the case in the Southern hemisphere, I had difficulties getting my direction. Eventually the answer was to enlarge the screen of your Maps, and to start walking so that one can see in which direction one moves on the phone screen. Eventually we did get to the right bus stop to get to the Sacré-Coeur.
The church is perched on a hill. A steep hill.
Having survived the steps, you are at the top of Montmartre. They had a funicular for the faint hearted who could not do the uphill walk. In spite of the sacredness of the institution one had to contend with all manners of hustlers. Some had these three upside down cups moving around a coin, and for a few Euros you could incorrectly guess were the coin was – and of course, lose your money. I was saved by my wife from a chap who started tying a rope to my finger. I assume he would have made some ornament which would be impossible to get off and then expected to be paid for it. I was also for the second time urged by lady to “just sign here” on a collections form. Apparently that is just the diversion to get into your pockets – literally.
Place du Tertre
Close by is the Place du Tertre, where you will find a huge collection of artists, many of whom offering to draw your picture while you sit there. There is a square, and the streets joining the square are very narrow, with a proliferation of restaurants and curio shops. It …