We’re taking a train to Paris this afternoon. Along the way we transferred at King’s Cross Station.
At one end was Platform 9 3/4 with a large queue waiting to take pictures in front of it.
We jumped on a Eurostar train for a quick 2.5hr ride to Paris.
Before we knew it we had popped up on the other side of the English Channel and were in the French countryside.
We got off the train in Paris and it instantly became clear we were not in London (or anywhere familiar) anymore. You are on your own. Taipei has far more English signage than everything we’ve encountered here so far.
We needed to catch a train, and take it ONE stop to our apartment. Sounded so simple. Wayfinding is strictly in French, and Google Maps was only partially helpful. I got my Nord and Sud confused (won’t make that mistake again). We ended up going the wrong direction and found ourselves at Stade de France surrounded by hundreds of women in cowboy hats. Turns out Beyoncé is performing her Cowboy Carter tour here tonight! So it was back on the train in the other direction. Finally we found our apartment. It’s in a great location near The Louvre, just a few blocks from the River Siene, and it’s tucked between a few cafes outside.
Off to find dinner. Outside there are restaurants and cafes lining the street. Every alley has something fun like an incredibly old church down it.
You walk 50 steps and you’ll hit a crepe shop. We couldn’t resist. Took us a bit of time to navigate the menu and sort out the options. Fromage: cheese, œuf: egg, jambon, ham.
After dinner the kids wanted to wind down at the house so Dami and I took a walk down the river, crossing a bridge towards Notre Dame and watching the sunset with the Eiffel Tower far off in the distance.
I was really struck by the contrast of such a beautiful scene on the river, with the unprecedented amount of garbage everywhere on the ground. I promise they don’t have a bottle deposit here, because there were literal mounds of beer cans every 15 feet. Rats jumped across the sidewalk in front of us. I used to think that downtown Portland had an issue but this is on a whole new level.
After watching the sun go down we looped back across another bridge and passed through the Louvre courtyard. I didn’t realize how massive the building is. We have tickets here in a few days.
Off to bed! We’re headed to the Eiffel Tower tomorrow morning but not sure about plans after that.