Discover the other side of Paris beyond the Eiffel Tower
Paris France
Oh là là Paris!
Oui, oui. After our visit to Nantes, we took the direct train to Paris.
It's lovely travel by train, travel through these regions and when looking out the window, observe the architecture and landscapes while traveling comfortably. You are enjoying yourself when suddenly, in the distance, you see her imposing, radiant, the very same Eiffel Tour (Eiffel Tower). And so it was, it was there pristine upon our arrival, fascinated we admired it before losing it among the architecture. That beautiful iron tower that was once the horror of Paris Today it is his greatest pride, it deserves a separate chapter. Although surely any of the different ways to get to this city must be beautiful, I think that the experience of arriving by train is unique, especially with that image described in this way. How many migrants must have arrived before in these machines (also now) and how many tourists, artists and others have lived the experience.
The city of light (la ville lumière) as they also call it, located on both banks of the sinuous waters of the Seine River, fills you with magic.
Day 1
We left Nantes around noon heading to Le Mans where we made a connection to Paris. We arrived at Montparnasse station along with thousands of other people, really crazy. After contacting the owner of the apartment, we took a subway right there to get to our accommodation. The truth is we already wanted to go out and explore, but first we had to leave our suitcases. In theory, when we arrived at the home we had to connect to a Wi-Fi network and with that we would communicate or the code would enable us to get the key. (In France and many places, some apartment owners leave the key in a box with a code). Well, it turned out that the wifi wasn't working so we were incommunicado. (we remember that we do not use data throughout our trip). At that moment a man arrived with his baguette under his arm, very cliché, and surprised by our presence he tried to communicate with us to see what we were doing there, with a mixture of little English, French and some Spanish we were able to make ourselves understood. Apparently it was not the first time that there were foreigners stranded in the back of the building. Honestly, despite being able to communicate little, the man turned out to be extremely friendly, although he grumbled about the poor logistics of the owner of the rental apartment, since it seemed unsafe for him to meet people and not know if they were really tourists or friends of other people. He was so kind that he even lent us his phone so we could call whoever rented us the apartment. First he spoke to him in French and “mistreated” him a little and then we did. Once that was resolved, we were waiting for him to come open to us.
Once in the apartment (which was not the one in the photos) or rather it was not very clean and well-kept. We settled down a little, left our things and decided to go out and explore.
TIP: this is one of the cases where sometimes it is convenient to spend more money but be comfortable. Although we were able to accommodate ourselves, we were not very comfortable during our stay in this place and although accommodation in Paris is difficult, it is precisely better to spend a little more and be really comfortable since we are in Paris, so we have to enjoy it.
The apartment was really a disappointment, it was not what we expected, we almost didn't want to use the kitchen because it was so bad and not to mention the bathroom. But well that was not going to discourage us, we were in Paris. This city is culture and glamor but it is also chaos, bohemianism and mice, yes, you read mice correctly, or you thought that the ratatouille movie is a coincidence. We'll tell you more about the mice but as we said, we left the bags and walked the beautiful and bohemian streets of Paris. Our accommodation was in the 17th district, it was cheap within the offer (serious mistake as we said) but we were relatively close to the neighborhood Montmartre and we had good connections to get along easily. In its streets there are numerous little bars and alleys, it is not a tourist area per se, although all of Paris is touristy. Above all there are trendy bars in the Place de Clichy, a busier area on the borders between this neighborhood and Montmartre. Here is the cemetery where several writers and artists known as Cortazar, Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, we also find the famous Moulin Rouge and much more.
Walking we saw the famous metropolitan posters, photo in between and this intersection of avenues attracted our attention due to the movement of people. Here we begin to feel Paris, we cross paths sculpture of a world block and an open-air public urinal where you watered the plants (see the photo to be more graphic) almost by inertia we arrived by chance at the Mouline Rouge, iconic place of this city, one of the first cabarets of the belle epoque, a moment of apogee of the arts, both in painting and Toulouse-Lautrec or the cinema with Lumiere brothers, also because of the social and cultural mix that was generated. As expected, we took a thousand photos, we never stopped appreciating that windmill that never stops turning and imagining the time in those years. Of course we were tempted, although it was not in our plans, to pay to see a show in this very lusty place. I think we spent half an hour deciding. Luckily and not so much reason defeated the impulse and we gave up because the entrance was not very accessible although we believe that the experience would be worth it. But we made that decision and we didn't regret it either since that money could be enjoyed in other ways and there was still a long way to go.
After exploring the place a little more we continued on our way. It is worth clarifying that this day we did not have any planned itinerary, we went out to get lost in the city, but of course the intention was to reach the much coveted Eiffel Tower. We take the Courcelles Boulevard and we walked quite a bit. The truth is that we were hoping to find something that caught our attention but this was one of the few times that didn't work. Maybe our eyes were not very attentive but we saw nothing but a park, Parc Monceau, with some pretty decorations. We wanted to get to the Arc de Triomphe and rest a little, although the distance seemed smaller on the map, it wasn't that much. But we continued, the afternoon was falling and we began to notice that violet color in the sky that is so characteristic of France and that we have appreciated in both paintings and photographs.
Finally we arrive at Arc de Triomphe built to commemorate the victories of Napoleon, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its external and internal surfaces and where 11 avenues converge. After admiring the arch and its bas-reliefs and taking some nice photos avoiding the crowd of tourists who don't care about anything (all good, but it is a reality that where there is a tourist place some invade and often do not respect if there is someone before them, please do not do that travelers). We continue on our way Avenue des Champs-Élysées either elysian fields, famous for its fashion and design boutiques, leads to the Concorde Square (where executions were held). We walked and enjoyed this area a little, before reaching the Plaza de la Concorde we took a detour since we wanted to see the Tower.
At that detour we found a beautiful postcard with the tower already illuminated. Well, the night was falling, the blue sky and the flag of France waving beautifully, it was like a magnetic lighthouse that called you, since it has a light at its top that rotates like a lighthouse.
Walking along this diagonal we arrived by chance at the Flamme de la Liberté. It is a replica of the same size of the new flame located at the end of the torch carried in the hand of the Statue of Liberty in New York. From here you can get some beautiful photos with the seine river and the tower in the background. Here we began to feel the love of Paris, that magical moment so long awaited forever that finally became a reality. Describing it is impossible. Here we really knew that dreams can come true.
We continue walking along the banks of the Seine and then cross a bridge, Passerelle Debilly, and be on the side of the tower. Getting to it was not easy since it was boarded up due to recent attacks and the probability of new attacks. In addition, there were constructions and well, half complicated, to add anxiety. We finally arrived but at that time we couldn't go up unless we had already completed that part at that time. Anyway we stayed on the Champs de Mars, admiring the Eiffel Tower illuminated, as the light show had begun. We took out our snack/dinner and sat on a bench to enjoy. I admit that it was a little cold and we wanted to go to the bathroom but we endured and enjoyed it. At one point we heard a noise in a trash can that was nearby, when we looked it was two huge rats in the dark fighting for food, we thought. Of course we moved away a little but hey, these creatures inhabit these places especially at night, let's say they are part of the landscape as I told you before.
After admiring and taking some more photos we walked around the fields a bit, although it was already night and cold, there were of course a lot of people, also several Haitian and African vendors who practically gave away souvenirs from the tower and even haggled. We bought some keychains since the offer was too good and in the process we met some close friends. Then we headed to the Subway and to sleep.
