Hi from Paris, home of the original versions of all the place names in Montreal.
I arrived here this morning. That means that, for anyone who placed a bet, yes, I managed to get out of the office in time. I jumped on the brand-new STM 747 express bus to the airport from downtown, saving the $40 cab fare. It’s about time, is all I can say.
When I arrived at the airport, the agent at the check-in counter informed me that the flight was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take the next flight, which departed two hours later. I would be placed on standby on my original flight, and compensated with my choice of $200 in cash or $400 in flight credit either way. Being in no particular rush, I of course readily agreed. My lucky day. As it turned out, I had to stand in line for a while to get the credit voucher, and then stand around even longer to find out whether I’d make the original flight – which I did. So, I got to Paris at the same time and $200 richer. Score!
The flight was uneventful. No screaming babies on this one, thank goodness. I managed to get a few hours of sleep, though not enough to stave off the jetlag (I’m exhausted at the moment).
Upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle, I claimed my bag (it made it, too!) and headed to the RER station, only to encounter 2-hour lineups at the ticket window. Luckily, I’d happened to notice that the tourist information booth where I stopped off to pick up a city map also sold transit passes. I headed back into the terminal and got my 3-day travelcard in about 5 minutes flat. When I bypassed the insane lineup on my way back into the train terminal, I couldn’t help but wonder why more people didn’t figure out that trick. Oh well, not gonna complain.
My Parisian host was working today, so I left my bag at the train station on the way into Paris and headed out to explore the city. First stop was the Musee d’Orsay. I’d never made it there on my last (and only other) visit to Paris nearly eight years ago. Time to make up for that oversight. Unfortunately, there was no avoiding the long line to get into the museum. Fortunately, it was worth the wait. I spent the next few hours looking at priceless works of art by the likes of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and too many others to name.
By then it was mid-afternoon, and despite my messed up timeline, my stomach was telling me it was time for food. Luckily, Paris is a most excellent place to resolve that problem. I found a little cafe that made excellent bruschetta and hid out from the rain for a bit. Afterwards, I stumbled upon one of Paris’s top chocolateries, and treated myself to some chocolate mousse in a cone. Yep, they serve it up ice cream style. It was heavenly.
Crossing the Seine, I fought my way through the tourist crowds near the Louvre, the Hotel des Invalides, Les Madeleines, and the Opera House. Oh, who am I kidding? I contributed to the tourist crowd. My camera, my backpack, my jeans and hiking shoes… let’s just say, nobody was going to mistake me for French. Oh well, at least my feet didn’t hurt at the end of the day. I browsed in Les Galleries Lafayette, more to see the dome and the panoramic view than for any shopping purposes.
Finally, I was getting tired (and rained on), so I jumped back on the metro, stopped off to pick up my pack, and went to meet up with Julien, my host for my stay in Paris, at his apartment in the northern part of Montmarte. I’m ideally situated near an open-air market in a neighbourhood that’s not at all touristy, which is perfect as far as I’m concerned.
After a quick rest, we headed out to meet up with some of Julien’s friends to see a play that they were in. It was a bit of a “Before Sunrise” moment (I kept wondering who was going to play the cow) but the play turned out to be really great. Sort of an offbeat conceptual philosophical look at the nature of time. Not to mention, I actually speak French (well, more or less… my Quebec accent and expressions are a great source of amusement here) so it helped that I actually understood what was going on. Afterwards, we all went out for dinner and a few beers at a local pub. I was half falling asleep in my beer, but it was a good night.
Now I’ve been awake for more hours than I can count at the moment. Time for sleep. More tomorrow!