Paris is a funny one. Don't get me wrong, it's charming, and fun, and has loads of beauty and history, but I reckon Paris isn't quite the place is used to be. Constantly branded as 'the most romantic city in the world' it has an awful lot to live up to, and in turn I feel like I have a lot to live up to aswell! What I mean by that is, the first time I visited Paris, I felt like I should've been having a lot more fun than I was, and in a way I kind of felt guilty. ''I'm in Paris! eat baguettes! Fall in love! Be fashionable! (even if its nearing the minus' and all I want to be wearing is my big puffy dog walking coat) It's hard to not notice the major poverty issues that this city has. Last May, I witnessed a whole family sleeping out on the street; to witness a mother cradling her baby out in the street in the rain, is pretty upsetting. I don't want to be on a total downer for Paris here, because I'm not. Infact, Paris is really beautiful if you know where to go. My favourite part of Paris has to be the Louvre, the modern glass pyramid that takes pride place in the centre goes surprisingly well with the classic elegance of the Louvre itself, I highly reccomend once you're done there, taking a walk through the Jardin du Tuileries towards the Place de la Concorde. this time around, Me and Nick stayed outside of the city in Brunoy in our own apartment, again through Airbnb, and took a half hour train ride into the city. I say it took half an hour, it didn't. We had instructions by the guy who we rented the apartment from to take a train to Melun, so unaware that this was the directions BACK home, we ended up in the service area of Melun station being the only ones left on the train. So it wasn't so fun, having to climb down from the train and call for help, to then be took into the train drivers carriage to be rode back to the station. *sighs*. We got there eventually however, arriving at Gare de Lyon. Another tip, if you can avoid Gare de Lyon, do so, we found this quite far from the main attractions and there isn't much to see near the station so the walk isn't too exciting. In terms of getting around the city, A tour bus is a must! Foxity is the cheapest option, if you book online, you get a 10% discount, and at 18 Euro, it's not too bad. It takes you to all the major sites, which is great if this is all you want. However, in the past I have took the L'open Tour Bus courtesy of my family, a day pass is 32 euro, and prices go up from there, but with many lines crossing almost every single attraction you could think of across Paris, this tour is better for a longer stay. We decided to climb the Eiffel Tower to the second floor, which was tiring to say the least! but it was all worth it when on the first floor we were welcomed to an ice rink and Bob Marley started up. (what the hell?!) it was a pretty awesome moment. For a more stress free stay, I would recommend that booking a hotel in the centre would be more ideal, as the transport is not so pleasant. I would recommend eating in a corner cafe by the river, it makes for an excellent view, so defintely add that to your list. Paris is the only place you will see a korean bride harrassed by a pigeon man, and the only place you'll see a guy reading out spoken word poetry to his girlfriend on a bridge. It is also, one of the only places you may see a person with only a cloth to cover his private parts sleeping in a bin bag, so bear in mind people, if you're expecting a romantic weekend in Paris any time soon, don't ignore the blatant poverty of the city either, or the severly high risk of being pickpockected, as I don't think it's something that should be shoved under the mat.
Please enjoy the photo of myself looking like a gorm below.
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