(Based
on the tourist guide book “Complete Guide for Visiting Paris”, 1975 and on my own personal experiences in the spring of 1981 in Paris)
When you have
landed at the airport in Paris (either Orly or Charles de Gaulle), you will
normally have to take a bus to a terminal.
This bus will leave you at either the Invalides or the Porte Maillot
terminals. From there, you would have to
decide how to get to your hotel: by taxi
or the Metro (subway train system). After you arrive at your hotel and unpack and
relax a little, you will want to start sight-seeing right away.
Paris, France is
one of the most beautiful cities in the world, famous for its people (artists,
intellectuals and historical figures), the Metro, and its many churches and
monuments. There is the Seine River,
which runs through the centre of Paris and adds much to its allure. There are many things to do and see – enough
to keep you busy for a long time, depending on your interests and your
travelling companions and people you may meet along the way.
My best friend,
Gloria, and I went on a trip to Europe in the spring of 1981. It was to be the “trip of a lifetime”, since
neither of us could be sure we would ever be able to return there. We visited 10 countries of western Europe
(including its tiny principalities). As
it turned out, France was one of my favourite countries and I loved Paris on
sight! We stayed in Paris for one
wonderful, memorable week – I’ll never forget it.
If you wish to
travel through Paris via the Metro, it is certainly the easiest, fastest and most
inexpensive way to move around the city.
We learned very quickly how to travel via the Metro. All you need is a map and a cursory knowledge
of French so that you can read the signs above each station platform and in the
trains. You can buy a pocket map to
carry with you; there are large maps, as well, outside of each station showing
the various Metro lines in different colours.
You will need to look at the map and find the name of the station at the
end of the line on which your station is located in order to find your way to
your destination station. You may also
have to change lines at one of the stations where the lines of the Metro
intersect. However, directions onto
different lines are plentiful and clear, so you won’t get lost.
Once you are on
the train riding to your destination, you will very quickly become absorbed in
watching the other passengers. There
will be men with their noses buried in their daily newspaper, women busy
knitting or reading, and couples of lovers involved with each other, totally oblivious
to those around them.
When I met Sam
at our first Paris hotel (called the Berthier La Tour), Gloria and I were on a
bus tour with 48 other people in late June 1981. Sam happened to be a very sexy Frenchman
working as a bartender in our hotel. Paris
was to be the last stop for Gloria and I; the rest of the tour passengers would
end their trip in London, England.
Gloria and I wanted to stay in Paris because we wanted more time there than
just the 2-3 days reserved in the tour.
But, the disadvantage of staying longer in Paris was that we had to
change hotels once the tour ended and everyone left for London. We already had a reservation at a very
seedy-looking hotel (it looked more like a shelter and smelled like one too). Of course, there’s no way that we could have
known what it was like beforehand. Thus,
we needed to change hotels in a hurry.
That’s how we ended up at the Quirinal Hotel on Rue Lafayette. As I recall, it was not far from L’Opera (the
Opera house). From there, we planned all
of our daily excursions: Place de la
Concorde, le Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, Montmartre, the Louvre Museum, and
so on. It was so easy to get anywhere
you wanted to go within the city limits and it was a lot of fun.
The French
people can be very friendly, as long as you have some knowledge of French and
are willing to use it to communicate.
French people love to sit in open-air cafes, sipping their “grand crème”
(milk coffee) and eating a “croissant”.
These are considered snacks that will tide people over until either
lunch time or dinner. Lots of Parisians
love to spend a great deal of time in the bars and cafes at all hours of the
day and night, chatting about business and politics or whatever happens to catch
their interest. Apparently, a typical
Parisian talks in a mocking and ironic fashion, making fun of things and
people, while gesturing colourfully and injecting his/her own slang into the
French language. This makes the French
people very interesting and charismatic.
The French taxi drivers and the “quatres-saisons” vendors who sell fresh
fruit and vegetables are particularly famous for having this quality.
You will
probably want to start shopping at almost the same time that you are
sight-seeing. Shops selling food are
open from 8:30 am (the bakeries from 7:00 am) till 1:00 pm, and then again from
4:00 till 7:30 pm. Other shops, like
fashion boutiques, bookshops and hairdressers, are open from 9:00 am till 7:00
pm without interruption. Food shops are
also open on Sunday mornings, but are closed on Mondays (either all day or only
in the morning). The big department
stores are closed on Sunday and Monday mornings, but are open the other days
from 9:30 am till 6:30 pm. Once a week,
some of them stay open later, till 11:00 pm.
You could pass an entire day at one of these department stores because
they each have a restaurant, a tearoom and a hairdressing salon. Of particular importance to tourists, if you
visit a shop that sells fashions, jewellery or other luxury goods, you only
need to show your passport and a special card issued by your bank or American
Express and the sales tax will be waived.
Regarding French
cuisine, you can enjoy a “light meal” at a Parisian “Drugstore” at any hour of
the day. For example, you might have an
“assiette anglaise” (cold meat and ham sandwich), or a “croquet-monsieur”
(toasted ham and cheese sandwich), or sandwiches of any kind. There are 6 Drugstores in Paris in various
locations. If you want to eat and walk around
at the same time, you can buy various things to eat like hotdogs, crepes (thin
pancakes), wafers, or “krapfens” (doughnuts).
But, if you want to eat in a “real restaurant” instead, you would be
able to eat things like “steack pommes frites” (steak and potato chips), or
“pot-au-feu” (boiled beef served with vegetables), “boeuf bourguignon” (similar to a delicious beef
stew), or delicacies like caviar or “pate de fois gras” (liver paste). There are many interesting and unique cooked
foods that need to be sampled to really be appreciated. However, beware that the French just love to
eat fatty foods and, if you have to watch what you eat, it might be difficult
for you to do so in Paris.
As for Gloria
and I, we ate mostly in the cafes and bars because the food was usually light
fare and something we liked and could afford.
After all, we were on the budget tour this time ‘round. My goal would be to visit Paris a second time
and eat a really nice dinner at a “real restaurant”, like the one in the Eiffel
Tower or at Maxim’s on L’Avenue de Champs Elysees, or something to that
effect. However, I will settle for being
able to visit Paris just one more time and, hopefully, be flexible enough
regarding which hotel I can afford to stay in and how long I can stay in the
city. One thing is certain: when staying in Paris, you must always do as
the Parisians do!
published by Authorhouse, copyright 2011, Anne Shier. All rights reserved.
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