I no longer hate Paris

People are always raving about their love of Paris, but my time there in 2000 wasn’t that great. To be fair, we met under less-than-ideal circumstances: it was the end of my study abroad travels and I was exhausted with far too much luggage to schlep around, and could only speak English and German. In return, I found Paris to be rude, smelly, and over-hyped. I was content to keep my distance. But as long as the return flight included the option of a layover, I decided to give it another shot and gave myself an overnight stay there.

 

We landed at Charles de Gaulle in the morning, and I arrived at my hotel near the train station just as the room became available to drop off my things and freshen up. Before coming, I learned that the city had bike shares and I decided this would be the best way to explore the city anew. Armed with a tourist map, I meandered until I found a station with bikes available. The system is simple: pay a daily fee for unlimited rentals that are 30 minutes or less, and pay extra for any additional time. The time begins when you un-dock a bike, and ends when you dock it. You could un-dock another bike within minutes to begin another leg. This added a game to my sightseeing, as I had to do every segment in short sprints and leave enough time to find the check-in stations.

view of the Seine

It was perfect weather as I biked down to and along the Seine to my first stop: Saint Chapelle. I’d learned about its medieval stained glass windows years ago, and was excited to finally see them in person. They didn’t disappoint, with towering columns of vivid colors depicting biblical scenes.

the windows of Saint Chapelle

It was great to spend as much time there as I wanted before heading to the other church I wanted to visit: Notre Dame. The line to get in here was much longer, but it was also a good experience. Before leaving, I even had a chance to catch a bit of their evensong. 

Notre Dame

Jesus meeting two disciples on the road to Ammaus--I love the expressions on their faces

Rose window

intricate wrought iron on the main doors

Flying buttresses in the rear :)

After that, I wanted to take advantage of the weather and enjoy more biking time. After a loop around Notre Dame, I pedaled up to Luxembourg Palace to walk a bike through its lovely grounds. 

Enjoying the grounds at Luxembourg Palace

Next stop: the Louvre gardens, which also involved walking the bike for a bit. At last, I decided to imitate the Tour de France and bike up the Champs de Elysee, to the Arc de Triomphe. Until I was in the thick of it, I had no idea how long it was, or how much uphill was involved. 

We did it!

Frankly I felt like a little victory for me was in order by the time I made it, and I decided to go to the top of the Arc. Just one thing: you walk up a spiral staircase to the top. My legs were already a little tired before I started, and somewhere along the hundreds of steps I really questioned my sanity, but it was worth it when I eventually made it to the top to enjoy the exhibit in the rooms at the top and the views on the top at sunset. It started to sprinkle slightly while I was up there, but waiting it out meant that I got a prime view as the Eiffel tower lit up and started sparkling. Resistant as I was, I had to admit it was a beautiful sight.  

Memorial tokens of their fallen soldiers inside the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Dusk on top of the Arc

The Tower illuminates

I decided to pedal towards it, eventually going under it and through the park to a neighborhood, where I finally sat down to eat something. I was ready to bust out the limited “menu French” I’d acquired in Madagascar, but they beat me to it with a menu in English. Sitting for this long made me realize what I’d subjected my legs to over the course of the day, and I was grateful to realize the metro wasn’t far away for the return to my hotel. Still, climbing up the stairs to the platform was a slow, stiff walk. I concluded the day with a little research on the best bakeries near my hotel that would be open early enough for me to grab breakfast on my way to the airport.

View on my night ride