Ma grand journée touristique à Paris
Saturday was a good day; and boy did I need that! After an eventful first week at Sciences-Po, I started to feel that I hadn’t ‘seen’ Paris. With a temperamental Internet connection it was predictable that it would not be working, so when Saturday morning came and it still wasn’t available I did my normal thing and bought a all-day pass on the railway and went exploring.
First stop (or should rather say 13/14th stop) was a small village at the end of the train route that I have to take everyday to get from my place to university. I had expected a much larger town at the end of the line, and certainly not a small village with only two cafes, a church and a post office that only opens two-days a week. My original plan was to find a café there and have a coffee, but when it turned out to be more expensive than in central Paris it was back on the train…
Next stop was Versailles. I had always wanted to go to the Chateau of Versailles but had never previously had the chance. Now that I had an all-day rail pass, there was no excuse so I went and enjoyed my lunch on the steps in the famous gardens, under a bright-blue sky and glorious sunshine (see below).
I resisted the long queues for the guided tours because I had other places to visit, including the next stop – exploring Northern Paris around Saint-Lazare and Galaries Lafayette before heading to the Pont de l’Alma and the Flame of Liberty what has now become the memorial to Princess Diana (see below).
After a nice walk along the Seine, I witnessed the view from the Trocadero for the first time – and wow what a view. I honestly could have stayed there for hours, so perhaps I shall go again when there are less tourists and souvenir-sellers around. Although now I was starting to get tired, such a touristy day would not be complete without heading skywards and seeing the city from the air. Now I’ve been up the Eiffel Tower many times so instead I tried the Tour Montparnasse.
While a similar price as the Eiffel Tower, it was absolutely brilliant, and best of all, you get to see the structure that has come to define Paris light up the Parisian sky from afar (as shown nicely below). Best of all, it is inside the building and there is seating available so to enjoy the stunning view in the warmth, and because it’s not gained the same mantel as its metallic neighbour, there was less people at the summit.
However, the most surprising part of the whole evening, was seeing just how close I was living to central Paris. While still living within the périphérique, it was still a 15-minute train ride to the university, yet from the 56th floor this distance looked practically nothing.
It was a wonderful day, and a day that I needed. I hadn’t felt like I was at ‘home’ here in Paris and that I didn’t properly know my way around. I feel now that I have achieved this somewhat, although will make sure I find time for some of this city’s hundreds of museums. But until then, it’s back to work :-(
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