I thought I’d start my time in Paris with a free walking tour which was advertised at the hostel to start at 10am. I hadn’t consolidated my plans or looked closely at a map, so I thought this would be a nice overview and maybe a better idea of what to find in the area. At 10:15 a spunky girl gathered us together and told us in English and then in Spanish that she would not be our guide, but would take us to the tour and we would need to have a couple Euros handy for the metro. I panicked just a little bit since I wasn’t entirely sure where we were, where we were going or how to get back. I touched the maps from the hostel that I had picked up and hoped that I would be able to figure it out. The Paris metro looked a lot more complicated than New York’s but I’d heard it was easy to navigate. I felt like a hostage as I mentally noted navigation points and memorized the route in reverse so I would know how to get back: the 4 to the 7 to Crimee, 4 to the 7 to Crimee…
On the train I listened as a couple of guys from the hostel chatted with our guide: Where are you from? The US. Where? California. Really? Where in California? Sacramento.
What? Those were my answers!
I always feel a little uncomfortable answering those questions because I haven’t lived in California for over 15 years, New York is my favorite answer (but it’s been a while since I lived there too) and I don’t really live in Colorado anymore, so it’s complicated. In Italy I would rotate my answers between the three, but for this trip, I’ve just been saying California because it sounds cool.
Anyway, we had a little chat about how great the metro was and how you can’t get anywhere in Sacramento except by car (the guys were very excited about this concept of public transportation), the guys’ favorite local bar in Sacramento and then we didn’t really seem to have anything else in common.
This is the fountain where the tour started. Can you see the desk chair that shouldn’t be there?
This is the most narrow street in Paris in the Latin quarter. During the Revolution of Les Miserables, most of the streets were this narrow so they could build barricades. Then one of the kings knocked down a bunch of buildings to build wider streets so the revolutionaries couldn’t build barricades anymore. We were told that the main part of this neighborhood was a tourist trap- don’t eat here. And be wary of pickpockets.
Then we wove around some grand buildings, turned a corner, and there was Notre Dame!
We were given some time to take pictures on a bridge with a view of the Island in the Seine.
Here is a guy playing an accordion facing the other direction. This is the bridge where everyone put their love locks and the rails started falling off, so they had to put glass on the rails so people wouldn’t do that anymore.
We saw some other famous buildings that I didn’t take pictures of and the guide told us animated stories of the history of Paris which I enjoyed, and ended at a pub. I didn’t have a chance to eat anything before the tour, so by the time it ended at 2pm, I was hungry. I wanted a sandwich with vegetables and French cheese. The guide said this pub didn’t have traditional French food- more pub food- but it was fresh, and had really good beer. I ordered a half pint of ginger beer, which was good, and the veggie burger under the burger section. It was in French so I wasn’t sure, but I was pleased to find that it was really good cheese with grilled mushrooms and some other vegetables on a nice bun with fries and coleslaw. It was exactly what I wanted! I wove my way back through the streets of I’m not sure where we were and found the place that the guide said had really good chocolate and got a chocolate glace dipped in really good chocolate. I found the gardens outside the Louvre and a metro stop. I found a series of trains that took me back and opened up my city mapper app to help me find my way back to my hostel! I quickly checked my email (nothing from White Horse, an email of instructions to have my portable charger that I left behind in Amsterdam mailed to me) and then fell into a deep sleep for 2 hours. I woke up sure that it was 9pm but it was only 6.
I ventured out to walk along the canal outside my hostel and realized I was hungry again. I stopped in a bakery that had signs about sandwiches outside and was too scared to order. I walked a little further and found a grocery store with cheap meat sandwiches but no veggie, and salads, but I hadn’t brought my bamboo silverware. So I bought a half bottle of wine for €2.85 and went back to the sandwich shop and awkwardly ordered a pre made baguette with lettuce, tomato, cheese and a little meat (for €3). After my €25 Parisian-priced lunch I was so happy to find a cheaper alternative.
I took my cue from the locals: hung my feet out over the canal, watched the rented boats go by as the bridge went up and down and enjoyed my picnic.
This guy sat next to me painting:
And a ladybug landed on my bag and walked around for a little bit:
Other picnickers:
They played games throwing little wooden sticks or metal balls:
These guys seemed very different from each other, but came together to play music. I was trying to be sly with my photo taking, so I accidentally chopped off this guys head (but I hear they do that in Paris)
