The last show had been played, and the trip finally had to come to an end. I had two last days to spend in Europe and go out with a bang, and so I left Bordeaux for Paris. I had never been to Paris before, and had truthfully sort of avoided it on previous trips to Europe. It always seemed over-hyped and not as interesting as destinations further east. I was about to realize how wrong I was. Paris really is amazing, and I hope I can go back again soon for longer than two nights.
What should have been a 3-hour train ride from Bordeaux to Paris turned into a 5-hour train ride due to weird weather conditions. A cold fog had blown in overnight and turned everything to ice, including the powerlines above the tracks that the trains run on. It was frustrating, as I was supposed to meet my friend Jess from Kansas City to do some sightseeing.
While the train stop did provide an interesting opportunity to walk along the tracks and take some photos, it was unfortunate that by the time I got to Paris, Jess only had time to help me find my hostel and then had to catch her train out of town. Kind of unbelievable that the French just didn't know how to deal with this sort of weather.
On the way to the hostel, we stumbled into this "marching band", waving Haitian flags and generally making lots of noise to support the country, which had at this point been struck very recently by the earthquake.
My first bit of sightseeing that evening after checking into the hostel, which was located in the Montmartre part of town, was to hike up the hill and see the Sacre-Coeur. What a beautiful cathedral, with an amazing view of Paris at dusk. It was at the Sacre-Coeur while looking over the glimmering city that I finally appreciated Paris, and realized how wrong I had been to avoid it for so long.
Sacre-Coeur from the front.
What should have been a 3-hour train ride from Bordeaux to Paris turned into a 5-hour train ride due to weird weather conditions. A cold fog had blown in overnight and turned everything to ice, including the powerlines above the tracks that the trains run on. It was frustrating, as I was supposed to meet my friend Jess from Kansas City to do some sightseeing.
While the train stop did provide an interesting opportunity to walk along the tracks and take some photos, it was unfortunate that by the time I got to Paris, Jess only had time to help me find my hostel and then had to catch her train out of town. Kind of unbelievable that the French just didn't know how to deal with this sort of weather.
On the way to the hostel, we stumbled into this "marching band", waving Haitian flags and generally making lots of noise to support the country, which had at this point been struck very recently by the earthquake.
My first bit of sightseeing that evening after checking into the hostel, which was located in the Montmartre part of town, was to hike up the hill and see the Sacre-Coeur. What a beautiful cathedral, with an amazing view of Paris at dusk. It was at the Sacre-Coeur while looking over the glimmering city that I finally appreciated Paris, and realized how wrong I had been to avoid it for so long.
Sacre-Coeur from the front.
More pictures to come from Paris, I couldn't possibly cover it with just one post!
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