2010 Trip: Paris Day 2

7th June 2010

I headed out a little later today than yesterday, my first stop was the Galeries Lafayette, specifically the food court - the height of French gastronomy. Well at least the closest that I know of as a tourist in Paris. They have lots of delicious stuff and after wandering and drooling, I bought a loaf of bread, some veges, and delicious cheese and headed down to the Jardin des Tuileries where I sat and people watched while gluttonously indulging in an early lunch.

From here, I wandered (fairly purposefully) in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. It was a little further than I had imagined, but that wasn’t a problem. Queuing for tickets took about an hour, and then by the time one catches two sets of elevators (the stairs were closed), queuing again each time, another two hours had gone by by the time I got back to ground level!

The views were great and I was glad to have gone all the way to the top and prove to myself that the only thing that stopped me going to the top last time was my mother (she, understandably, gets a little timid at the top of tall buildings). From here I caught the subway back into town and watched a movie. Yes, because I could. Yes, it was in English, with French subtitles.

From here I headed north to Sacre Coeur on foot, it was a pleasant walk, passing through Clichy and up into Montmatre. Sacre Coeur is a basilica built on a hill that over looks all of Paris. From the top, the view over the city is stunning, as is the brilliant white domed shapes of the church itself.

On the steps in front of the church, people sat out and chilled in the dimming sun. There was a fair bit of drinking and a few drunkards who thought it would be awesome to roll glass beer bottles down the steps dispersed most of the crowd. I wandered through the narrow streets on the top of the hill and then headed back towards Clichy, stopping for a excellent pizza on route. I then caught the subway back to the hostel for my last night’s sleep in Paris.