Iron Eyesore?

Paris in less than two days - Episode Five

The tour guide books mention the negative attitude of some (many?) Parisiens to all the hype about its most recognizable feature. I have long thought of the Eiffel Tower as just one of a number of great emblems of beautiful Paris. I did not realize the local attitude that this creation of a somewhat recent World's Fair cannot compare with the sheer elegance of older attractions.

Nonetheless, the tower is striking and was a big hit with our group. After all, we made three separate trips to the tower to gaze in awe. Despite the lack of appreciation by some locals, the iron structure is impressive. Even if one thinks it lacks artistry, one must still marvel at this majestic architectural triumph on the south bank of the Seine.

More on the "Iron Eyesore" later...

The local bistro

Paris in less than two days - Episode Four

Managing to please the eclectic culinary tastes of a group of twelve who range in age from 14 to 77, with a little of everything in between, and varying backgrounds, is an amazing feat. Yet, our leader(s) happily herded us into a lovely little bistro just down the street from our hotel.

The atmosphere was unmistakable. We heard chit chat en francais from other tables. The menus in your hand and on the wall challenged the uniligual English reader. Our friendly bilingual waiter took our orders with his beautiful French accent.

After finding the right place to eat, the individual challenge was what to order. I won't bore you by repeating my account of ordering the foie gras, which you can re-read in an earlier blog. The best money was on the french onion soup and the hot chocolate. Sorry, Lucille, that they kind of forgot to cook your omelette all the way through.

There was still an excited buzz among the exhausted group, that we were actually dining in Paris! And that our fascinating European experience would continue.

More later... (Okay, okay, last entry I promised "More tomorrow", and it has been three days. My apologies)

The Cold Marketplace

Paris in less than two days - Episode 3

Our team was happy to find a nifty Parisian market just down the street from our hotel. Although we were tired and hungry on our first afternoon in Paris, we were spellbound by the various souvenirs, funky clothing and culinary delicacies in the outdoor market.

Dave could be seen making deals on various headgear as we had our first experience dealing in Euros. Despite the cold, the market was busy, especially with people buying bread. As the market stretched on for several blocks underneath the Metro, I marvelled at the high quality of the fresh produce, the bountiful supply of fresh seafood and the scrumptious looking pastries.

For our group, this was a great way to begin our odyssey in Paris, to fight the crowd a bit amongst all the vendors in the French marketplace. Our cross cultural experience had begun, and it was wonderful.

More tomorrow...

Lounging at L'hotel Grenelle

Paris in less than 2 days - Episode 2

Arriving at one's hotel hours before check-in can be problematic. We were all so tired, and so desperately wanted to shower and lay our weary heads down for awhile. However, first we had to create a number of piles of duffle bags and roller suitcases in a conference room adjacent the the hotel lobby, and then go off the see the sites of Paris through half open eyelids. We were grateful that the hotel, against policy, allowed us to store our 48 or so bags (remember episode one?) in the large room, even though it could not be locked.

After returning to our two night abode from our brief walking and eating tour (accounts of that to follow in subsequent episodes), we finally got to crash. David and Marvin were blessed to share their room with a dozen drab green and blue duffle bags, but in doing so, also got to stay on the main floor, and so avoided having to climb the steep and narrow winding stairwell to the upper floors. The stairway was so fascinating and beautiful, that one had to be careful not to stumble and fall as one gazed about, while ascending to the rooms.

The rooms at the Grenelle were spacious enough. The bathrooms were interesting, with the smaller but deeper bath tubs. We also got to experience the double cylindrical pronged outlets for the first time.

All in all, the hotel location was great for our team. We were within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. A fantastic outdoor market was virtually outside the hotel door. We could catch the Metro just across the street; thus we could easily and quickly access the portions of the city we wanted to visit. And for David, the hotel was close to McDonald's. What more could one want?

More to come...

Sixty-one in the Shuttle

Paris in less than two days - Episode One

Our team really maxed out the shuttle from the airport. Twelve of us, each with two large checked bags, and each with two carry on bags, plus our fearless driver, made for some extremely cramped conditions in our 15 seater shuttle.

Marvin anticipated seeing the driver holding a sign with Marvin's name on it, just outside the arrivals doors, but, alas, Marvin was off looking for a payphone when others from the team spotted the sign LUTHER, MARVIN. Okay, it was not that special, but I do watch lots of movies where air travellers see their names in print at the airport.

I had heard that Barb Barr was an important member of our team because of the French Connection, that is, the french language connection. Despite a three minute pronounciation dispute with the bilingual driver over one location name, Barb carried on a marvellous conversation with our friendly driver for nearly a half hour. Over the next two days, we came to appreciate and depend on Barb's linguistic gifts.

It was so cool to zoom up and down the freeway to our hotel in Paris. The sky was overcast, the traffic heavy and the sites intriguing. We sped past the Stade de France and soon found ourselves in view of the Eiffel Tour as we zoomed alongside the Seine. We finally stopped in front of L'hotel Grenille and began the long process of unloading the shuttle.

As I stood beside the bus during the unloading, a 60-something man walked by me, and with a loud voice shouted "PAR-DON". I stepped aside, not wanting to offend any of the locals. The driver then smiled at me and said "Welcome to Paris. The first Parisian you meet is rude!"

Nonetheless, it was great to be in Paris and we looked forward to resting for awhile after our overnight flight from home.

More later...

Paris in less than two days

Bonjour. Welcome back to our blog.

Paris in a day and a half? Mais oui. Impossible? (That is, "em - pos - seeb - la") Not really. A crazy idea? You bet!

Welcome to our Niger team's new series based on group experiences, and entitled Paris in less than two days. We will share some accounts of the day and a half that set us up for a major time change in Africa and helped our team to bond in the early part of our trip. Stay tuned!