Bonjour de Paris! After three wonderful days in London, it was time to make our way across the English Channel to continue the rest of our trip in Paris. We could easily have spent the entire week in London, but there are at least three reasons each day that we wanted to experience French culture. As I will discuss later, we were not disappointed. After one final stop at the hotel breakfast buffet, we took the tube to St. Pancras railway station to board our mid-morning Eurostar to Paris. I often take Amtrak for business travel, and it always amazes me how much nicer the rail experience is in Europe. The Acela actually compares favorably to European trains, but the stations, staff, and boarding processes make for a much more pleasant start to the trip. I especially appreciate that the Eurostar offers preassigned seats, like an airplane, which meant that we did not have to scramble to find seats when they announced boarding. The cabin was set up with 2 and 1 seats, and Ann Taylor and I had a facing pair around a table. The seats were very comfortable, and we had a large window to view the English and French countryside.
During the trip, Ann Taylor caught up on sleep while I caught up on the past few Yankees games. I have been using the Verizon global data plan, and have been very impressed with the quality and speed of the service on my phone. It has been so nice to be connected to be able to send text messages (using iMessage), view local maps, and, most importantly, post pictures to Facebook. I was surprised that there was no Wi-Fi service on the train, but I read that Eurostar is upgrading the trains to include Wi-Fi later this year. I suppose that we will have to come back, right? After a smooth trip, our train arrived at Gare du Nord railway station in central Paris shortly after 2pm. We had decided to purchase Paris visite passes, which offer unlimited trips on the Paris Metro for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days, and can also include service to the airports. As Ann Taylor rehearsed railway chapter phrases from her high school French class, a woman approached and asked (in French) if we knew where to purchase tickets. Ann Taylor directed her appropriately — well, we assume so, anyway — and I knew to stick close to my translator for the rest of the trip.
As regular riders of the New York subway, we found the Paris Metro to be easy to navigate, and 45 minutes later we arrived at Le Méridien Etoile in western Paris. Unlike our arrival in London, I had not booked us on an immediate excursion, so we had time to relax and unwind in the room. Not much time, mind you, this is still a Shaw vacation, but the minute hand made more than a few revolutions before we needed to head out. As new visitors, we knew that our first stop had to be the Eiffel Tower, appreciating that the walk would take us past the Arc de Triomphe. After the Eurostar and Metro rides, it was nice to stretch our legs, and we saw lovely, tradition Parisian neighborhoods during the 45 minute walk. The line for Eiffel Tower tickets was just under one hour, but we happily waited, given that we were in Paris, standing under the Eiffel Tower. Hard to complain. For some reason we could only purchase tickets to the second level, so we crowded into an elevator with fifty other tourists and made our way up. The views were amazing, and I could not believe the size of the second level. There were gift shops, quick service restaurants, and toilets, all surrounded by a large viewing platform. Due to overcrowding at the top, they temporarily shut down access to the third level, so we hunkered down inside to enjoy sweet pretzels on a bench.
When the crowds mitigated, we purchased a supplementary ticket to the third level, and hopped into a much smaller elevator. The ascent is slow and comfortable, although the top of the Eiffel Tower is much smaller than the other floors. We snapped a few pictures that were promptly uploaded to Facebook, and marveled at where we were and what we could see. It was windy and cold, but at the top of Paris we felt that we were at the top of the world. Sadly, we could not stay forever, so we took the elevator back down to the second level, and then decided to walk the rest of the way. There were many steps, but it was a fun challenge, and we made it down before it started to rain lightly. We then walked over to Restaurant Mariette, another find on TripAdvisor. The hostess, Marcela, was surprised that we were a few minutes early, as apparently the French custom is to arrive late for a reservation. We snacked on bread at the bar, and then were seated in the back of the small restaurant, which only accommodates nine tables. Although Marcela was the hostess and server, she was so welcoming, and we loved all of our food: Ann Taylor ordered the turbot, and I tried the entrecôte (rib eye). So, so good! Several couples were celebrating their anniversaries, and we bonded with Marcela over a rather impatient, lip-smacking, arm-waving couple next to us, who did not seem to understand that good food takes time. We both ordered our own profiteroles for dessert, and we even met Alfredo, the chef, who introduced himself to each table once all of the food had left the kitchen. We could not have had a better introducing to Parisian dining, and Restaurant Mariette has set a high bar for the rest of the week.
After dinner, we slowly walked back to our hotel, stopping to appreciate the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe lit up at night. Tomorrow, we will visit another of Paris’ most famous tourist attractions: Notre Dame. Also starting tomorrow, Ann Taylor will take over the blog, sharing her thoughts from the rest of the week in Paris. Until then, bonne nuit!
Take care,
– Dan