Day 8: or The Day I First Took the Train to Paris

Saturday, amen. Today was my first official day off and I was ready to take advantage of it. Now, I hope to get up earlier on my other days off, but I hadn't slept in yet, so first I took advantage of no alarm clock. I got up,and started the internet research on what I should do today. I hadn't heard from Zoe about whether she was free or not, but I decided on a day in Paris anyways. I took the 1:00 train into Paris, camera in tow. It was going to be too late to do any real museum exploring, the lines are tremendous. On Saturdays, for people under 26, they have a pass for 6.80 euros that allows you a trip in and out of town, plus the metro all day. Pretty good deal. 

Champs Elysees, away from L'Arc de Triomphe

By the time I reached the station at 1:45, Zoe had texted me and we had a plan for me to go to her place at 4:00 for some tea. She had plans tonight, but I wanted to see her place so it worked out perfectly. I wasn't sure how much I would being using the metro, I had planned on walking, but I find it much easier to navigate the city that way. I have been told that some find the metro confusing. I don't see it that way. I believe taking your time really helps. Just follow the colored line to the next colored line. 

Arc de Triomphe

I first decided to walk for a bit, but since I didn't have a map, I just walked in the direction of the Seine. I think I would have hit my mark eventually, but the lack of parallel streets makes intersections a little more difficult, so when I saw a metro stop, I got on and exited exactly where I wanted to be, where the Champs Elysees meets the Arc de Triomphe. Good job. I spent 5 minutes figuring out where the tunnel under the roundabout was, and the next 20, walking around taking pictures. I considered going up to the top, but that is another 6 euros, and who has that kind of money. Maybe when I have visitors, I will treat myself. 

A statue on the Arc, check that face out.

From the Arc, I had about an hour, so I went to the Eiffel Tower. Again, going to the top wasn't going to happen but a couple good pictures couldn't hurt. It was out of the way, and I knew could get directly to Zoe's from the Arc, but today was Caitlin's tourist day, and what's a tourist day in Paris with out Gustave Eiffel's steel structure. It was of course the busiest place, and I was glad to stand on the bridge and away from the rabble. And then the one hiccup of the day occurred.

I'm not sure what this place was called

I had plenty of time to get to Zoe's, and I knew the lines I needed, but there isn't a station right at the tower, so I had to walk. Again, I had no map, so I was just assuming I would find one on the main road. I knew there would be one at the next landmark, so I wasn't looking for a needle in a haystack, but looking for anything in a haystack has to be annoying, and that is where I was at. I found the station, and made it Zoe's around 4:30. She came to pick me up at the Metro stop, and we walked to her very cute Parisian apartment. We had tea and cookies, which were delicious of course. Those Brant's can bake some cookies. We talked about France, and the differences we find annoying or nice. The winner, and I think some of you will agree, is of course, the lack of roaches. Linden, Anne, do you hear me? No roaches. It is a beautiful, beautiful thing.


I headed to the station for the 6:30 train, which is what I am on now. I brought my little laptop for the trip, in case I got lost or lost my phone. I was fairly sure I cold find an internet cafe if I had a real emergency. The train is very nice. It isn't that convenient from the house, a little over 1.5 miles away, on a dark forest road. The distance really isnt the problem, but it is dark, and you do need to factor in an extra 20 minutes. But who can complain about a little 1.5 mile walk when in 40 minutes, they are in central Paris. It is dark outside now, so the Eiffel Tower is lit up. I'm not sure if my pictures do it justice, and I know some Parisians think it is an eye sore, but it looks pretty spectacular to me. I'm just going to go ahead an admit it.

The view from the train.

Two and a half hours later...


I just got back from dinner. On the train ride home, Kristina, a German au pair texted me and invited me for dinner. There is a small Italian restaurant in my village and they have good pizza. She had a British au pair with her and we had a nice dinner and made plans to go on weekend excursions together. Which is perfect because that was my one, main goal while here in France. All in all it was a great day.