Paris day one - Eye Opener

We rose super early to make our way to the train station. Of course the tube route we had planned fell through with some sort of construction going on. Fortunately, we navigated around it easily enough. We made it in plenty of time. Crossing that border is LOTS easier than the American one.

As soon as we got into the lounge area, the fun began. Everything was announced in both English and French. It occurred to me that maybe we should have learned at least a few words in French. Americans are considered ignorant because the large majority of us speak only one language.

Not long after we started on the train, they switched from speaking English first then French to French first. I thought it would happen once we got into France, but we hadn't gone far. It was fun trying to pick out words to make sense of what they were saying. But I was grateful for the English translation!

We had to come to a complete stop at one point out in the middle of no where. Some sort of technical difficulty, but we never got a full explanation. We thought we were still in England and admired the countryside.

I slept for a bit at first. I'm not sure what happened, but I finally woke up and could not get back to sleep. The clock kept ticking and we never went underground (aka under the channel). Before we knew it, we were in Paris. So much for my reservations about being in a train under water. We're not sure when it happened on the trip, but obviously it's painless enough to complete.

After four days in London, I had gotten used to the level of rudeness. I think it's just what comes with living in a city that size and all the people. People are very matter of fact and don't waste any time on pleasantries. But I did find that when I did greet someone on an elevator or on the tube, they were nice enough. I can't say the same for Paris.

The train station where we came in was very confusing. Every word is about 20 letters long and none of it makes any sense. We asked for some help and got blank stares. I've heard of this experience from quite a lot of people before we came over. There is definitely no love lost between the French and foreigners that don't know their language, especially Americans.

There is truly an irony about their snobbishness toward the English speaking tourists. At lunch a woman from yet another country, I have no idea which, didn't know French. She went back and forth with quite a few wait staff. Finally, the hostess switched to English and they conversed more easily. I guess that makes us the lowest common denominator in one sense, but at the same time unites us all.

We stopped in a shop and bought a city map. We found the street our hotel is on and tried to match it up to the subway routes. However, there was no "You are here" red dots on the train station map. The tension was mounting.

We eventually got some directions from one person that put us on our way. The subway here is like everywhere else. It's a tangle of spaghetti and you just jump in head first trying to find the line you need. We got very lucky in our first attempt.

The next challenge was once we stuck our heads above ground. The streets here are CONFUSING to say the least. It's not an intersection with four corners, but eight. Following a street straight across presents a significant challenge. But again, we made our way easier than we probably should have. I guess it was just dumb luck.

We got to our hotel and settled in. I got online and ordered bus tour tickets. Getting them printed was entertaining, but we managed that, too. It was back to the subway line to make our way to the Arc De Triomphe. We popped out of the ground and there it was. And there too were the people. And cars. And honking motorists. It was a ZOO!!

We got lunch and jumped on the tour bus. We rode around in mini circles for about two and a half hours. I must have taken five hundred pictures. The architecture here is so extravagant. And it goes on forever. Every building is at least five stories high and it is all so symmetrical. And all of the streets are laid out so views of major attractions compliment each other. There was obviously a major type A person involved in laying out the city. My anal retentive side picked up on it immediately.

We pooped out after the bus tour and came back to the room. Tony hasn't been feeling well since he returned two weeks ago. I'm not sure how you go to a doctor in Europe, but he needs to. I think it's just a cold, but it's lingered so long. Some antibiotics might help. But being a tourist has doubly worn him out. He fell asleep before 7:30 and is still snoring. I'll let him sleep all night and then tomorrow, we're off to more adventures. We might be country bumpkins from the sticks of the US, but we fend for ourselves pretty dang well!