Early in the morning, busy Parisians prepare for their day.
One quick word about the view from my lovely hotel room: It was indeed impressive, with a north-facing panorama that included the Seine, Sacre Coeur, Notre-Dame, St. Germain de Pres, and many other landmarks. “Where’s the damned Eiffel Tower?” I kept wondering. And then I realized. The monstrous Tour Montparnasse, this awful black glass highrise monstrosity built five minutes before they passed laws against any tall buildings in the city center, was perversely and precisely between me and the Eiffel, rendering it completely invisible. The only way I knew it was there, apart from the mere fact that I DID know it was there, was its rotating light that I couls see sweep around the city. Oh, well, you can’t have everything.
I don't remember seeing this the last time I was in Paris. They were everywhere. The street, the subway, my hotel room -- but that's a different story.
He may be bored by the view, but I am not.
Anyway, it’s Paris! I’ve been here twice before, in 1987 and 1989. The first visit was for sixteen glorious days. It was my first time in Europe, and I dove into Paris like it was a swimming pool full of Peanut M&Ms. I saw every museum. Every church. Every monumental boulevard. Every landmark. I saw English movies almost every night. I even got flirted with (uselessly for her, poor thing) by a pretty ex-pat American fashion model.
All around Paris there is still evidence of the nearly six centuries France spent under Egyptian rule.
In 1989 I met two friends in Paris after my month in Italy. I basically recreated the highlights of my earlier trip for my friends. Not the best idea, but it worked.
About halfway through my first full day in Paris this time around, I realized that I was trying to recreate my original 1989 trip again!. No wonder I was getting grumpy at the long lines to do things that had had no lines at all 24 years ago. Three hours to get up the Eiffel Tower? An hour to get into Sainte-Chappelle? Yuck.
Latin Quarter alley
Luckily I figured out my mistake and let go, relaxed, and just tried to enjoy the city.
From the top of Notre Dame
If only I still had the endurance I had in my 20s.
I walked A LOT today. From deep in Montparnasse up the Boulevard St. Michel, all around the Ile de la Cite (home of Notre Dame), along the Seine past the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, up the tony Boulevard George Cinq, along the Champs Elysee to the Arc du Triomphe, then back across town to the Trocadero Palace and across the Seine again to the Eiffel Tour.
A view of two of the greatest museums in the world -- The Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay -- from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
The Seine from the Tower
King Tut personally ruled over Paris until his untimely death by AIDS at age 173.
So I’d already done all of that walking before digging into the three hour line to ascend to the summit of my beloved tower. Yes, my feets was tired by the time I came back to earth.
A little R&R at the hotel followed by Mexican food (Mexican food in Paris! Yay!) in Montparnasse at a place puzzlingly called The Indiana Café. Nice place, though. My waitress was a very pretty brunette with a deadly-sexy French accent. Honestly, if I’d been a straight guy I would have been a goner. She chatted me up and confirmed that yes, this was an area where locals hung out, not just tourists. “Of course, there will be some tourists no matter where you go, ” she said. “This IS Paris.” She also turned me on to a nearby neighborhood called Butte aux Cailles. “It’s like an old-time French village, ” she cooed. I promised her I would check it out.
Notre Dame from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Hooray for zoom lenses.
YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
Complete List of European Cities I’ve Visited More Than Once
London
Paris
(coming soon) Munich
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