Frazier Blog

I think I could write a sort novel about today and perhaps an indie screenplay.

*sorry if their are errors or holes, i know its long but it was amazing, now back outside in the alps*

First stop was Norte Dame. With one change on the Metro I was there in 10 minutes, they really have a good system here. The church is already an impressive sight from the outside. I was following the free audio tour from Rick Steves of the historic Paris walk (do I get a check for product placement yet Rick?). The line for the top was long but I could just walk inside. Within 3 steps I realized gigantic size of this church. Inside is dimly lit with the majority of the lighting coming from the beautiful stain glass. I made a donation and lit a candle. The audio tour provided very interesting background, at one point the French people seized the church and made it a monument to the knowledge of man. I finished touring around and then sat down to pray for a moment.

Back outside i was directed to the deportation memorial, which was closed today. The commentary still provided a moment to reflect on the loss of life French Jews suffered.

After being shown the oldest Living thing in Paris, a tree from 1300ish I paused for “un cafe.” moments like these make me think I am in a dream I was sitting outside in sunlight sipping on coffee, people watching, while
Sitting 100 yards from the Notre Dame. Unreal.

As my walk continued I entered the narrow streets of Paris from the medieval period. The charm only grew as the streets became smaller. St.Severin is cool as the church almost hangs out into the street. All of the shops, cafes and restaurants give the area a great feel.

I toured the Latin quarter and Rick is right about a large contingent of Greek restaurants. They offer cheap food and I could not resist as I watched them shave meat off. I bought a pita 4.50 and continued my tour.

My next stop was Sainte-chapelle. There was a very long line, after I got to the back I noticed a ruckus upfront. An employee was cutting off the line with a rope. I approached and saw a “ferme” sign which would last for the next hour. I was not going to stand in line for an hour to wait in line. Before I left I flashed my museum pass and he opened the rope. Others were doing the same thing while people behind the rope became increasing angry and confused. After hand gestures and a few common words I understood from the worker that ticket office was closed but security open. So on accident I picked the perfect time, again get the pass. While in line I met a nice old
couple from Cali, it was fun talking to them despite him being a USC alum, cheaters. After ending up infront of the place of justice on accident I made my way back to the church. What a cool building, while the down stairs was impressive it was small compared to Notre Dame. I was beginning to wonder why it was such a popular spot and then I saw the stairs. I emerged from a dimly lit stair case and was greeted by the warm glowing light coming from a wall of magnificent stained glass. Now I understood. The inside is virtually empty drawing your attention to the walls of glass. Each frame depicts a story from the bible. Sadly I could not see glass over the alter as they are doing a huge restoration project. I sat and enjoyed the glass, admired the details and tried to make out some of the biblical stories.

I had not see a band all day and thought that the girls had led me astray. O well I was having a great day even without the music.

Next I toured the prison where the French revolutionaries kept their prisoners before chopping off their heads. I saw the cell of Marie Antoinette . A interesting piece of history.

My tour continued and soon I was in this tiny little pocket park in the middle of Paris, surrounded by little cafes. I realized I was beginning to fall in love. As my tour wrapped up I was left infront of the bridge. Two police cars approached as I arrived, they began running down stairs toward the river. I could not resist. They led me to yet another hidden park. It extends out from the bridge punt buff. The police were at the end where a boat had run aground. There were 4 boats a diver and 6 more looking on from land. A very entertaining scene. I asked a couple what was going on, they had an accent but spoke English. We kept talking and I found out they were from the Netherlands. Soon the police freed the boat, it looked ok besides the slight list to one side. I found out I was talking with John and Nicole, it was a great convo and I learned some cultural things, such as tipping from true Europeans. Soon a band began to play in the park near us. Sitting by the river listening to music and talking was awesome.

Nicole brought up her trip to America, her story was very funny. She talked about how everything is so big in America. After 5 days in Europe I can see where she is coming from. “the parking spaces are so big, the cars are big, the stores have 50 different kinds of premade kids lunches! Why do they need so many? And then you go to a restaurant and they give you a huge soda, and I was half way done and they came back a refilled it. I had worked hard to get it lower and then I had to start over.” she went on for awhile in a very entertaining way. I noticed people having a picnic with wine, bread and cheese and decided I would go try and rent a bike, ride around the Paris core and the have my picnic. I said goodbye and headed towards where I saw the bike rental.

I checked my guidebook and decided to visit the Cluny museum. I’m glad I did while I blew though most of it the stain glass displays were very impressive. It was neat to stand 1 foot away and see all the detail in the glass. I can’t believe how much detail they are able to capture. There was even toenails present on some.

Next I tried to rent a bike, and failed. Even with the help of a local I could not get the machine to work. My conclusion is that it would not take my card because US cards don’t have the smart chip that euro cards do. O well.

As I was walking to the market the bands began to play. They seemed to pop out of nowhere and were very good. The girls were right after all. I stood and watched a band as many watched and some danced. I started to take a video and noticed a small dessert store as I did. I got a awesome little chocolate pastry.

I found a market. Picked up some cheap wine, cheese. a baguette and an apple for later. I almost forgot the bottle opener. As I walked towards the bridge I got to listen to more bands. I knew if my picnic went as well as I imagined I would be in love with Paris.

I got back to the spot and began to pull out my food when I noticed a group of people my age and that they were speaking English. I began to wonder if I should try and join them, i figured why not. I asked if they minded and the circle opened for me. What happened next while it may sound cliche, was amazing. I added my cheese to the center and we drank wine, ate cheese and bread and talked. I found out there were two groups of people, one of French students and the other a group of Australian international students. I have met more Aussies than any other group this trip. We even talked about that and they joked that since they are far away they feel like they need to get out.

The conversation was far-reaching. Everything from school, travel, debate ( one of the guys is the world collegiate debate champion) even the floating of the yuan. As we kept talking the evening only got prettier as the sun was setting I would not have wanted to be anywhere else in Paris than besides the river. The bridges and buildings began to have a subtle glow to them. The big tourist boats began to increase and while waving at a passing boat I noticed some were even snapping photos of this perfect picnic spot. We were not alone thou, more and more locals and tourists kept coming with their own picnic. I had a great conversation with Michael. He was born in Madagascar, lived in Hong Kong and now resides in Paris and speaks English. :). We talked about the different ways to say hi and bye in Parisian culture a very informative and funny conversation. I tried to learn a little French, at least I can correctly pronounce where I am staying now. Sadly I checked my phone at it was 20:20 I knew I had to leave soon as I had my ticket for the Eiffel tower at 21:00. I reluctanly said goodbye to Matt,Antone, Nicole, Emily, Isabel, Fabien and others. They wished me a good trip and I left. This is one of the highlights of my trip. While awkward at first, that quickly drifted away like the river. As others had just met too, I blended in as one more person looking to meet new people and learn more about others. A truly great time. As I walked away I knew the city had got me, I was in love. But it was not done yet.

I almost left out this out. But is a key part to the night. The metro was packed, I sat down to wait for my train and a group of Spanish speaking guys my age were in the area. One pulled out shot glasses, tequila, limes and salt and began to pour. I was very impressed. I remarked “que loco”. This started a conversation that carried onto the metro. Mateo and I talked for 15 minutes in Spanish. I got to use my foreign language even without going to Spain! The Paris locals did not seem to keen on our loud and my broken Spanish, but we carried on anyways. At one point we drifted into English and then back to Spanish. Muy diverido. And then the stop for the tower came.

It took me a while to leave so I did not get to the metro by the tower until 21:00. I was late and shockingly had to pee. And in another unexpected twist the toilet in the station was closed. I did not want to lose my spot and I knew there were toilets on the tower so I started to do a slight jog. As I rounded the corner I was greeted with a perfect view of the Eiffel tower, framed against the dusk sky and puffy clouds. To my right was a massive gathering of people watching the Brazil soccer game. Music again was playing everywhere, I’ll post some videos soon. Everything from Djs to what looked like Indians. A very fun atmosphere.

I reached the base of the tower and found the entrance for prepaid time slot tickets. There was a line forming, I looked at saw 21:30. I saw an employee and called “madam” she came over,. saw 21:00 and let me in. After getting my brand new corkscrew taken away, he said I could pick it up after, I was in line for the elevator. A very cool ride up. From base to the 2nd level 6 minutes. Buy your pass in advance and show up 10 minutes early or 15 minutes late. I saw the huge lines for walk up sales, yuck. I had choosen this time to go up as I knew the sun would be setting. The weather coperated as the weather cleared up throughout the day and I had an amazing view of the Paris skyline. It was fun walking around and seeing where I had been thoughout the city. The arc was a tad disapointing as it blended in to the buildings around it. Once again the downtown area was the focal point as the sun was setting. Direclty in line was the soccer viewing area. Agrentina scored and the crowd went wild, the roar was loud even on the tower. I asked two guys with Irish accents to confirm who was playing as we were talking a women named Laura joined the conversation. I found out she was from alaksa, once she said that out of reflex she stated. ” yes I have seen Palin and yes I have shook her hand, no I did not vote for her.” I think she might get that question every once in awhile. While i found the info funny I was not planning on asking as I’m sure alaskans are sick of all the hype.

Yet again as the daylight faded the city grew in it’s charm. Now it was time to go up. I told Laura I was heading up and she asked if she could join, of course I said yes. We were having a very good convo and today seemed to be the meet new people day. As we got in line for the top i heard “Paul!” by now I should not be shocked that in a city of three million i can still manage to run into Cory and Taylor by accident( same guys that flew into London the same day and picked the same hostel as me without us talking) but for me at least I found the odds low and the encounter cool. There next stop is Spain and mine Switzerland so if I see them again I may spend the rest of my cash on lotto tickets.

When we got to the top the lights of the city were coming on. Now the arc looked magnificent with the lights and higher angle you can see the streets running towards it’s famous round about. Flashes from people on top of it taking photos were vi sable. I got a photo with Cory and Taylor and then they disappeared, maybe i’ll see them while I’m getting gellato in Italy.

Another roar from another score. I was impressed the crowd was loud enough to reach the top of the tower. Even louder was the concert from the law in front of the tower at the fsr end their was a concert yet it was audible on the tower. Sitting front row must have been deafing.

The search lights from the top of the tower were icing on a already spectacular view. My hunch about going up at night was right, amazing. Laura and I continued around the tower, learned about her MBA program and she heard my my 3 week adventure. The riverboats and bridges with the lights reflecting off the water created a(I’m running out of adjectives for this epic day) dazzling scene. I had worried I was building up this night too much. But my expectations clearly were exceeded. I took some more photos of the arc, which makes me want a mini tripod even more I’m trying to find
one, with a long shutter. I can’t wait to be able to post them. I was on the tower for the 11 o clock light show so wanted to make the 12. I headed down the tower with Laura.

It is quite ironic that after all the effort of getting we had to wait in a longer line to go down. Lots of people trying to cut I often had to make myself big to stop it. Laura had taken the stairs up and wanted to take them down. You can climb to the second level, but mist take a lift to the top. The line was longer on the second level then the one from the top. So walking down not only seemed fun but faster. As we flew down the steps, I did not regret taking the lift. Maybe someday I’ll climb but after St.Pauls, the arc and walking everywhere I did not mind passing on the way up.

We got to the bottom with 6 minutes until the show. I tried to retrieve my opener but the entrance had since closed. The crowd at the base has only grown. I wanted to be as far from the tower as I could get before the show started so a weaving through the crowd began. It was hard to discern who was drunk and bumping into you and who was trying to sell something. As we passed though one large group a young man stepped into my way and starred me down. His friend pulled him away and we continued walking. After crossing some streets I looked up to see the view, we were far enough away, and the show started.

Magnificent.

A giant steel sparkler that doesn’t go out. As the show concluded and my neck began to hurt the lights flashing got even faster. If you have not seen the show before go find a video on YouTube and you’ll have one more reason to go to Paris.

As it was getting late we headed towards the metro stop. The way there gives a great view of the tower. I snapped some more photos. The amount of people present was crazy and music was coming from every direction. As we got to the top, the cafes surrounding the circle were packed and there were bands of people everywhere. Chaos.

We continued talking about Paris and the sights and even how great the museum pass is, while people watching
and listening to drums and a random horn. We looked up our routes home and saw we could take the same station me on one line her on another.

We walked into the station only to find an imposing metal gate. I started to check the bus lines while she suggested we try another metro. After crossing the street, there were people pouring out of a metro station. It is still running, yes! However there was also a group of loud, some singing people trying to down. After maneuvering around them their obstacle appeared, 7 French policeman only letting people exit. I asked if we could enter but they said thou. I think they had a issue with too much craziness at the closest stops. They pointed down the street more and said that stop was open. Walking away i spotted an officer holding what looked like a fire extinguishers, I’m pretty sure it was tear gas. I doubt they had to use it, but still interesting that they had it ready. The next metro stop was open, the energy did not stop as we went down the stairs. There were two cops on the street side of the turnstiles and 4-6 on the train side. What there mission was is unclear to me as I watched six people use one ticket and a stream of people hopping over the turnstile. Laura and I said goodbye as we headed for different lines.

After I boarded my train i felt bad about not even offering to escort Laura back. I felt even worse after my train blew past five stops, they were running on reduced service, I prayed her line stopped where she needed it and got home safely. Surprisingly my train was calm.

I got off my stop at about 1:00. I am staying in Monmarte which has the sacre-coure, which the steps below it offer a stunning free view of the city. I had heard lots of people go up there and thought I might check it out.

Lot of stairs to climb but I knew it would be worth it. As I approached the top the noise grew and despite the stream of people going down as I was coming up the place was packed. The huge steps were filled by people just standing. I bought a beer from a street vendor climbed to the gates of the church and sat down. What a view! I could see the area where I am staying unfold before my eyes. A glowing Norde-dame shone in the distance. I quickly joined in a conversation and met some new people. The story they told of a international friendship with visits by both made me regret not getting peoples information from earlier. O well I’m convinced Michael will be famous someday anyway.

While I was enjoying the view, people and music it was quickly time to leave as the hostel locks it door at 2:00. I walked down through all the broken beer bottles, glad i don’t have to clean that up tomorrow, and headed to the hostel.

Of course my British friends were having food and a drink inside. I met emily’s other two friends and we talked about the day and the night. They laughed when I told them about thinking I was going to get to make them sing. They told me more about their job as hosting for a military convention and we made some grenade and tank jokes. Emily and i talked for a bit. I really like the British wit and humor. Highly entertaining. It did not hurt that she is just a nice person as well. Again while the coversation was great it had to end. We were both tired and the lounge area was closing for the night. I did not repeat my mistake thou, I got Emily’s email. We said goodnight and joked that most likely we would see each other the next night.

And with that this epic day is over. A little past two i climbed into my top bunk, put my earplugs in ( thanks mom) the nice guy from Singapore snores like a jackhammer, and quickly fell asleep on my sagging yet comfortable bed.

A day of specstular sights, entertaining music, history and meeting great people. I love Paris!

Is this a dream?

Paul