Paris

"I write as we make our way by train from Berlin to Prague. We have had a great time so far. We left Toronto on April 20th. A quick stop in Montreal and then off to Paris. It was difficult to sleep on the plane despite purchasing our 3 euro "zoom" blanket & pillow. We arrived in Paris France at 11am and were greated with a friendly border guard who told me it would cost a smile to enter Paris.

We quickly found the correct train, after spending 38 Euro's each for a 3 day transit pass. Expensive, yet we made excellent use of it. It was quite easy to find out hotel "Le Quarter Bastille". We were greated by Vianny (or Fransois". Our hotel on the 6th floor was the smallest hotel room in history, but very cute and comfortable with a balcony opening to the street. The elevator to get to our room was equally small. We barely fit the 2 of us, along with our packs.

We showered and changed into clean clothes before venturing out. Our first stop was the Notre Dame. I suppose first we had to find it, and along the way, found a french version of a hot dog (which was a hot dog/bun, with cheese broiled on the top). It would have been excellent, except the hot dog was cold...oh well.

We came across a beautious building which turned out to be an old prison. Finally we stumbled upon the Norte Dame & Sat down to finish our hot dog where Troy was greeted by a crazy man who insisted Troy feed me the hot dog. The man kept touching Troy and did not understand when Troy told that he did not understand.

Inside the Notre Dame was very beautiful. I thought for sure that the guidebooks suggested viewing the treasury, so we paid the 3 Euro's each. After viewing the treasury, I concluded, the guide books must have said DON'T go see the Treasury, because it was boring and lame.

Our next stop was the romantic Eiffel tower. We made sure we found some kisses in the park and took loads of photo's. We were exhausted from the jet lag, so decided to head back to our hotel, to get some grub.

We soon found out that all restaurants don't open until 8pm, how crazy? We found an open pub, but could not order meals. So we ordered some drinks, and then a cheese platter (when in Paris, do as the French do). We tried each cheese -- Troy nearly barfed. It was a great experience and I discovered my love of Brie Cheese. We stayed until 8pm, and then headed out to find an open restaurant.

We looked for a french looking restaurant, but our tired feet, and jet lagged eyes got lazy and we did with what we could find. Italian.

Troy ordered pizza, with a raw chicken looking meat on it, and I tried to get gnocci with cream sauce, but I got salmon in there too. Dinner was great and the culture even better. Our servers spoke only a little English.

We had a good night's sleep, and then headed for Versaille around noon the following day. Lucky for us we found a vendor selling tickets which allowed you to skip lines. She said that no one ever believed her, and told us there was a ticket office closer to the palace, for when we discovered she was not lying. Once at the palace, we believed her about the waits, and bought tickets. The palace was beautiful as were the gardens. We grabbed a bite to eat in the garden and then headed back to Paris.

Montmare was our next stop & after wandering through a few busy streets we found Sacre Couer. What a beautiful building. We walked the million or so steps to the top for a breathtaking view of Paris & then set off to find the painters.

Many shops and vendors are everywhere, selling anything and everythign you could want. Finally the painters. We circled the painters probably 10 times, looking for the perfect and yet affordable painting. No luck. The most beautiful was 480 Euro's. BOO.

Instead of paintings, we bought crepes, I got a Nuetella/banana one, which was the yummies thing I've ever eaten. Troy had citron.

We made our way to the Arc Du Triumphe, the ceremony of the unknown soldier was going on.

As if you have to pay to walk up 280 steps...only in Paris. We paid the money, and made the circular climb. It was worth all 280 steps. :)

Beautious views greeted us. It is easy to see why everyone loves Paris. We spent quite a while up there, and took loads of photo's.

The Champs Elysse was our next stop, and our feet hurt a lot. We stopped at Quick burger, more-so to rest our feet, but who doesn't want a burger every once in a while. The metro stop was very close, and we decided we were ready to get back to a cozy bed.

The following day, Wednesday, we slept in, and ate a yummy breakfast in the hotel. We departed to Berlin soon after.

Note - beware of people who ask you "Do you speak English". When you tell them yes, they will hand you a note, with an English version of a sob story begging for money. After the first experience of this type, we pretended we did not speak English.

Second Note - When in Paris, making out in public is ok. We didn't, but saw others...loads of others. Maybe we should have given it a whirl."