Well, Here I am in Paris, still writing about London. But hey, better late than never :0)
We packed up most of our stuff on Saturday, so we could take it a little easier on Sunday. Got ourselves some breakfast, finished packing, and headed off to Kings Cross station to await our train. I love trains.
Here is us, in front of our lodgings in London, about to leave:
Overall, I’d say the White Lodge Hotel did right by us. Served us breakfast, made our bed every day, and provided us with a safe and comfy place to sleep. It wasn’t a 5 star spa or anything, but it worked just fine for us. Only thing I would change would be to have our own bathroom – so I was eagerly awaiting that in Paris.
The train ride was fast. I mean, really fast – 180mph. I enjoyed just sitting back and watching the world roll by. Well, except for that part through the chunnel, that wasn’t that interesting :0)
We arrived in Paris at around 4pm, and after some confusion about metro tickets we finally got some, and a few short stops and one transfer later, we were home. Our place here is a fair bit closer to the downtown of things than the spot in London, and it’s literally around the corner from a metro stop, which is super convenient.
We were excited looking around at all the french signs (and the little Velib stations, which are everywhere…but we can’t use them because we don’t have European credit cards!) After getting a touch lost and wandering way down the street when we really only needed to go around the corner, we finally found our hotel. It’s another little one, but less cozy and inviting than the white lodge was. The guy at the counter wasn’t super friendly, but not rude either – just gave us our key and told us the room number.
We’d spent a large portion of the day with our backpacks on, carrying all of our belongings, so a sit down and/or bed sounded very appealing. Plus, we were absolutely starving. Our room at first glance was fine – high windows with pretty curtains, a comfy-looking bed, white sheets, our own bathroom. But then, when you really get a glimpse at it, it looks more like…a room that *used* to be nice, or *could have * been nice. The walls are dirty, the bed is stained, there are tiles missing in the bathroom, the carpet looks super old. All of that I could have dealt with easily, but finding hairs on my pillow cases…made my uncomfortable. I mean, when you’re paying 100 bucks a night, you want not to find other people’s hair on your pillow.
Anyway, those were my first impressions. After a while, I didn’t much care. We have our own bathroom, and aside from the hair the sheets appear and smell clean. And we weren’t about to switch our hotel again, so….I guess this is just what two stars in Paris gets you.
We called our respective families to with happy easters and birthdays, and finally set off on a walk and to find food at about 6:30. Though, of course, we failed to realize that it was not only Sunday, but Easter Sunday at that. Our neighborhood looked like a ghost town with everything shut down and gated. The only places that were open were sushi places (of which there was a surprising amount) which were expensive. Besides, we wanted French food. After walking down the street for about half an hour, we finally found a Patisserie that was still open, and got the most delicious mini pizzas I have ever tasted. Plus, a Tarte of some sort. We knew that it was considered uncivilized to eat while walking, but we were so hungry we couldn’t wait – so we kept walking and ate away.
I was looking around at the buildings when I spotted something way above the rooftops. it took me a minute to realize that it was the Eiffel tower! I just about fell over backwards. One second you’re taking a walk looking for pastries, and the next, you’re in freaken PARIS with the Eiffel tower on your doorstep! I couldn’t believe how close we were to it.
We had walked halfway already, so we just kept going. We wandered out to the Seine and walked along it.
There were still plenty of people out, and it was surprisingly light, considering it was past 7. We took some shots with my little camera that we had with us, grabbed a ham and cheese crepe by the tower, and decided to walk back before it got dark.
On the way home we stopped by a miraculously open store and got some salami, cheese, juice, and a bottle of wine. Yeah, that’s how we roll in Paris :0)
Really, that kind of sets the stage for a lot of other things we’ve done and are likely to do – it’s all about the food. When you’re walking around all day (for instance, that walk to and from the tower was probably 5 miles or so, and that was just a short evening walk), you’re liable to get hungry frequently. And here, with most things being either more than we want to spend on lunch, or something you need to cook, or some place which only has pastries, finding a place to eat is a struggle. Which is ironic, because there are cafes and pastry shops and restaurants on every corner.
Well anyway, we settled into bed, had some wine and cookies, and slept like babies.
cute entry! I love the picture of you in front of the Eiffel Tower, you look so happy 🙂