Brandon O'Brien

Monday, October 21, 2013 @ 9:01 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 117

Today was the day Holly arrived in Paris! Staying the night at the airport worked out really well for me. I could take my time in the morning and take the short shuttle service from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. I got there a little early and before too long she got through customs and we were on our way into the city!

We pulled out some cash from an ATM to pay for the hotel (it's actually an apartment which is really awesome) then jumped on a train to Paris Nord. There are a bunch of exits from the station and I lead us to the wrong one but it worked out alright. We aimlessly walked around then got some coffee from a little cafe.

After the coffee we made our way down to the Orange store to pick up our WiFi dongle so we can have access to maps and data while we're out exploring the town. It was pretty easy to tell the employee what I wanted since they had some product magazines and I was able to point at the picture of what we needed.

It was about time to check into the hotel so we got here about a half hour early but quickly realized it's not a hotel but rather an apartment that gets rented out. The owner showed up right at 2 and we checked in. The place is really nice! A full kitchen, a living room and a bedroom with several windows that overlook the popular Rue des Abbesses.

After relaxing for a bit we went and visited the Sacre-Coeur which is a big church up on the hill with views of the entire city. We got there kinda late and the sun was behind the city which made for poor photos. Tomorrow we'll head up to the top and get some good shots of the city.

We did some more wandering around and went to a shop near the Moulin Rouge and got some wine, a baguette and some other random food and came back to the room. We've been having fun looking out the window and counting all the people walking around with baguettes. It's so stereotypical to portray French people as walking around carrying bread but it's actually so true. After some wine we went out and got dinner. We got some local roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, a salad and some bread covered in ham, cheese and tomatoes.

We're calling it an early night tonight so Holly can fight the jet lag. Tomorrow we're planning on also seeing the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. So far the weather has been absolutely perfect. Hopefully it holds out the rest of the week! I'll have some photos to upload tomorrow.

Teaser photos:

View from our apartment

Sacre-Coeur Basilica

Artists selling their work

Moulin Rouge - A bit of an anti-climax

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Tags: daily journal, paris, france

Posted from: France

Sunday, October 20, 2013 @ 8:37 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 116

The train ride into Paris wasn't too bad last night. The bottom bunks (which I was on) were weird because the backrest for when they are seats was still there so it was really awkward sleeping. Aside from that, the fact that the train didn't get into Paris until 10:20am meant I wasn't rushed to wake up. Even though sleeping on the train isn't the best sleep ever, I slept off and on until about 8:30. I ate a donut for breakfast that I had bought back in Italy before departing.

I changed into some jeans before getting into the station and then started my 2.5 mile walk from the Gare du Lyon station up to the Gare du Nord station where I'd catch the train up to the airport (where my hotel is at). It was actually much warmer than I was expecting it to be in Paris. It had just rained but was only partly cloudy out so the humidity was pretty high. I was actually starting to sweat in my jeans, short sleeve shirt and jacket.

I made a few detours since I was staying at the airport away from easy access to food. I first bought some apples to snack on throughout the next 24 hours. The next stop was a place that was selling pastries so I bought a croissant for breakfast in the morning. I stumbled across another busy bakery that was selling sandwiches so I bought one for dinner.

For lunch I had a chicken doner sandwich and some frites which was nice and filling. I went into the Gare du Nord station and bought a one way ticket up to the Charles de Gaulle airport and scoped out where I'll be meeting Holly tomorrow morning. Next I took the shuttle down to my hotel and checked in.

This is the first time I've had a room for myself without other people around or having to share a shower since my 2nd week when I stayed at a hotel in Limmerick Ireland. I checked in around 1:30pm and haven't done anything all afternoon aside from read, listen to music on the TV (French and random pop songs) and eat dinner. It's so nice being able to have some time to not do anything and not have to deal with shared living spaces.

Tags: daily journal, france, paris

Posted from: France

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 @ 9:00 PM in 2008 Europe Wedding

Today was spent doing more sightseeing around Paris. The highlights today were the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.

We started off the day by walking over to the Eiffel Tower and getting some pics of it from the ground. After that we took the train up to Versailles and spent some time in the museum and the gardens. I remember being extremely overwhelmed with the crowds inside the building and being so relieved when we got out into the gardens and had some space to breathe.

After we got back into Paris proper, we went back to the Eiffel Tower where we took the elevator up to the viewing platform. There was some lady behind us in line that kept bumping into us even though the line wasn't moving. It was pretty annoying and only played into my dislike of crowds, lol. The views from the top of the viewing area were amazing though. You could see the entire city spread out below you.

After the observation deck, we hung around for a little while until dusk and the tower was light up with some bright blue lights. The photos were incredible with the sunset and the blue tower.

This was our last night in Paris. Tomorrow we set off for Munich to meet up with the rest of the wedding gang!

Note: This post was written about 13 years after I went on this trip. Unfortunately I didn't keep a journal so this is pieced together from our itinerary and photos.

Teaser photos:

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Tags: france, paris, eiffel tower, versailles

Posted from: France