So, be me, with the time being 5:30am back home, a woman who is slowly creeping towards becoming a creature that has been awake for almost 24 hours and had been drinking for 7 of those hours...welcome to Paris. My friend and I debarked feeling like garbage, but we had a city to explore so we put our big girl panties on, waited in a fairly long customs line and went out to call an Uber out front of Charles De Gaulle airport. Upon reaching the pickup area, we found a couple of taxis that were willing to take us to our hotel...if we could withstand their curt and rude attitudes. The older man who we had the pleasure of flagging down immediately quoted us over 50 euros to take us to the city center at which we promptly scoffed and made our way back to the curb to call an Uber with my sketchy Sprint cell service (just a word of advice...just because Sprint SAYS they have unlimited data overseas, that doesn't mean it will work well or consistently. You would be better off with a burner phone). We were able to find a driver who picked us and a couple up (Uber Pool) for almost 40 euros which was the better deal, but we were cramped in the backseat of our drivers small car when we could have been in a taxi on our own. The day in Paris started out a bit drizzly which was disheartening, but it cleared up substantially by the time we arrived at our hotel, the Pavillion Villiers Etoile, which was in a suburb of sorts, so not really in the city center but still in an area that is close enough. It definitely wasn't on the same level as the hotel in Rome in terms of amenities but still a great place to get some sleep at the end of the day (or dawn, for us). The hotel used an ancient key attached to what felt like a brick that we had to drop off at the front desk every time we left the building and the air conditioning was either broken or never worked at all...but we did have a gorgeous wall of windows that looked out at a building across the street, still let in a nice breeze so that was great. We figured this is really just a place for resting and dressing so it was more than fine for that purpose. Our first order of business being in the city was to get something to eat, so we got dressed in our cutest outfits and hit the streets in search of stinky cheese...and maybe some fries (Freedom fries, French Fries, or chips? TBD). We settled on a place not far from the hotel, a little spot called Le P'tit Canon, the most pretentious spot for French cuisine we will encounter on our whole trip. Upon entering the establishment, I committed my first faux-pas...not immediately speaking French to the staff. I kindly asked the man behind the counter if seating was available and he honked "WHAT?!!?!" at me in French. Thinking he was unable to hear me, I repeated myself as he continued to honk at me with a patron snickering nearby. Finally, he had enough of torturing me and said to take a seat and that my first mistake was not speaking French... I should have turned on my sneaker and left for a pizza joint...but that wouldn't be very brave of me, would it? So my friend and I took a seat next to some locals who couldn't stop staring at us, the overdone up Americans as we waited to be brought over a massive chalkboard with the menu on it. To our surprise, nothing on the menu looked edible aside from the cheese plate, especially with our jetlagged and upset stomachs, so we just went with that and a plate of fries. To this, our server looked annoyed and suspicious of us, finally asking if we would like wine. We declined, as we had already drank too much on the plane, which we explained. The very eccentric server (who looked remarkably like Bradley Cooper) proceeded to yank his menu board up, hitting a chair nearby and storming off muttering about how "wine is supposed to be ordered with cheese!!" France was not going so well...but the cheese tray was decent! Note: So the water here isn't the best, both my friend and I consumed tap water the first time we ate at a restaruant (as it is cheaper) and found later on that our stomachs were NOT happy at all with it. The water won't kill you, but definitely leave you feeling a bit green around the gills...and this lasted our entire time in France... We were NOT going to let Great Value Bradley Cooper ruin our day so after paying for our carbs, we went on our way to the Musee d'Orsay. Let's Talk About Uber...So, you want to take an Uber in Paris. Well, get ready to pay more for a ten minute ride than you have ever paid before. The prices in Paris surge frequently, and quite honestly, I'm pretty sure they make it up on the fly. These "surge" prices can make a 10 minute ride that should be maybe twelve euros AT MOST, a forty euro ride...you really are better off taking a taxi. My friend and I however, love to suffer, so we continued to pay outrageous prices for these on-call Ubers with my crappy Sprint service because of convenience alone, plus we had money to spend so why not. End rant! Anyways, so we took an Uber to the museum with our printed off tickets in hand from Get Your Guide, and exited, ready for our first Parisian intro to art...only to find out that it was closed due to strikes... Now, I knew this might be a possibility due to the massive strikes that have been happening since the beginning of the year, but COME ON! Our FIRST place?? Disappointed, but understanding of the fact that people should fight for what they deserve, we meandered over to the waterfront nearby thinking we would see this long river, the symbol of Paris, the mighty Seine!! But it was just that...a river, with people chilling nearby, making street art, or just walking. I can see how it might seem romantic, but after the first disappointment, it was just water. So, we moved on to our next stop: The Eiffel Tower. |
Paris 2018A trip to Paris in June of 2018 ArchivesCategories |