A Spreading of Wings: Oui Paris - Contiki days 1 to 3

Paris, the city of love, the city that so many find breathtaking, and the city that I wasn't really looking forward to. I entered Paris with no expectations apart from expecting that it would be really touristy.

But first I had to get from London to Paris. That required a bus trip from London to Dover, a ferry to Calais and then a bus to Paris. Due to the awesome driving skills of our driver, we caught an early ferry. This excited the Canadians on the trip because it meant that we had time to visit Vimy Ridge. This is a memorial to the Canadians that died in WW2, with a similar meaning to them as Gallipoli has for kiwis. It was an enjoyable stop, most of us learnt some more about the war and we got to see some preserved sections of war trenches as well as an active minefield, complete with craters where some of those mines had exploded.

Enter Paris. We dropped our gear at our accommodation, grabbed some dinner, then were back on the bus for an evening trip around Paris to orientate us with the city. This was all it took to change my ideas about Paris. All of the old buildings and history crammed into a small city centre. All of the best things I liked about London on a greater scale. It was amazing.

The next day we were free to explore the city. Armed with maps we were dropped in the middle of the city and left to discover. My first stop had to be Notre Dame. A giant gothic cathedral so intricately designed and decorated, it was everything as great as I hoped. From there I visited the Conciergerie enroute to the Lourve. Wandering aimlessly down random streets, stumbling from one breathtaking view to the next. After taking a back way into the Lourve we mingled with thousands of others in an attempt to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. After escaping the press of people we wandered up to the opera house from Phantom of the Opera. The roof of the Gallery Lafyette, behind the opera, gave a chance to relax and soak up the skyline.

In a search for food we walked via the Church of Madeline to the Plaza de Concord. After aquiring a hotdog and a banana Nutella crepe, relaxing in the park people watching, a quick walk up the Champs Elysees to the disney store was all we had time for before returning to the Musee d'Orsay and the bus. Following a quick dinner we were off again to see the Eiffel tower at night. With it all lit up we climbed to the top and were rewarded with a wonderful view of the lights of Paris. Witnessing the hourly light show was spectacular, although difficult to capture on camera.

Our second complete day in Paris started with a trip to the Palace of Versailles. As the line to enter was about 200m long and there was a cost to enter the gardens, we enjoyed the view of the outside before venturing into the local village, running to a market with an astounding variety of fresh fruit, meat and cheese. From there I returned to the centre of Paris to climb the Arche de Triomphe. In my opinion this provided the best daytime view of the city that I saw. No matter how many photos of the Eiffel tower I have, each time it comes into view I know that I need atleast one more from this new perspective. Wandering down the Champs Elysees led us to Laduree and apparently some of the best macarons in the world. While they were nice, I am not sure they were the greatest thing ever. Continuing on down random streets we found ourselves at the memorial to the site where Princess Diana died. From here we passed back under the Eiffel tower and headed into uncertainty in an attempt to find Rodin's statue, the thinker. We had no luck and had to hurry to make it back to the bus.

That evening was something special. A dinner out where we were served snail, duck and a dessert that I can not remember anymore. Normally this would have preceded a trip to the cabaret. The normal one was not running, so we instead went to the actual Moulin Rouge. While this was an amazing experience and I am glad that I went, although I am not sure that I would go again. A night out at a bar afterwards rounded off a great, albeit final day in Paris.

Definitely much better than I thought it would have been.