Vacation

Bonjour Paris!

After a long time once again a: Hello and welcome back to my blog!

The past weekend has excited me so much that I wanted to share this experience.

On Wednesday evening right after work, we headed to Paris by car. A city that was never on my bucket list and that I didn’t necessarily intended to visit. After almost seven hours of driving through the Netherlands, Belgium and France, we arrived in the middle of the night. The previous 750km drive, however, was nothing like what awaited us in Paris. No stop lines on the roads, everyone was crisscrossing, overtaking from the right and honking all the time. The short fifteen minute drive through Paris to the hotel stressed us more than the entire outward journey.

Our hotel had three stars, the staff spoke fluent English and was all in all quite good. Except for the breakfast, which was excellent! Unfortunately, the hotel was located in a not very pleasant neighborhood. As soon as it got dark, we had a queasy feeling every time we strolled through the streets there, on our way back to the hotel. Alone, I would certainly not have walked around there at night.

The next morning we went straight after breakfast by metro to the city center. Arriving at the right stop, I climbed the stairs out of the underground and quinted against the sun. After my eyes got used to the brightness, I was speechless. I just stood there, spinning in my keis, and couldn’t get out of my amazement. I am truly not a city lover. Absolutely not. But Paris has struck me, against all expectations. The only city I have been at least as equally impressed is Budapest.
The first stop was the Louvre. The pictures speak for themselves, I think I do not have to say much more. Unfortunately, there was way too much going on, so we didn’t go in.

Louvre

From the Louvre we walked further through the palace gardens, to the Seine and from there to the Champs-Élysées, THE luxury street in Paris. On the way we saw beautiful, old and incredibly impressive buildings. But as for the traffic, the Parisians are just…different. In the middle of an intersection on the Champs-Èlysées, a man got out of his Porsche and pressed his keys into the hand of a chauffeur who ran onto the street. There they simply stopped and talked calmly while the traffic whizzed past them. In the middle of the intersection. Simply unthinkable here.

Then we continued towards the Arc de Triomphe. I was overwhelmed by the traffic circle and the size of the Arc de Triomphe. We bought tickets and climbed the innumerable spiral staircase steps in one of the two columns of the arch. The steps seemed to have no end (the arch already looks big in movies and on TV, but in real life it is even higher).
We enjoyed the breathtaking view over Paris. The good thing was that there were not half as many tourists as at the Eiffel Tower, the entrance fee was much cheaper and the view was at least as good. From there, we also looked at the spectacle in the traffic circle below us.  Such a crazy thing. Estimated eight lanes (there are no road lines on the ground) and one big mess. True to the motto: “The strongest wins”. For such German potatoes, like us, a quite view that takes some getting used to, but extremely entertaining.

 

We did a few other tourist things, of which I’d rather just show you pictures:

On Friday, we went first and foremost to Montmartre, the so-called artists’ quarter, which is located in the north of Paris. There you can find the Sacré-Cœur and the Moulin Rouge. For the latter, unfortunately, the time was not enough. On the way to the Sacré-Cœur there is a market place, where many artists cavort. However, the artists not only exhibit their work there, but also take portraits of tourists on site. I also wanted a portrait of me and I let myself be photographed by Stéphane Plouviez. Many thanks again at this point. I think it has become insanely great. In total there were 20-30 artists represented,
from which you could choose one whose style you like best.

From the Sacré-Cœur you also have a beautiful view over Paris and the church can be visited for free. Which, of course, we did.

After our sightseeing tour that day came the highlight, for which we had gone to Paris in the first place: The Red Hot Chili Peppers concert! The concert was my first real concert ever. I still get goosebumps just thinking back to it. It was indescribable, so I won’t even try to put it into words. The main act was outstanding, but also the opening band (Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals) for which we had come to Paris, was insane.

Since we were back at the hotel late from the concert the day before, we slept through breakfast on purpose. After getting up, we went to one of the patisseries, of which there are thousands in Paris. If you’re ever there, you have to try this. It tastes delicious! After that we went exploring the city again and this time we couldn’t miss the Eiffel Tower either.

The next day was Sunday, our departure day. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so sad to have to go home again. Usually, I’m always a little bit looking forward to being home. Especially after a city trip, but this time it wasn’t like that at all. I can now absolutely understand why the city is called “City of Love”. Because I fell head over heels in love with this city and will definitely come back again.

Until then,

Your Patrizia!

P.S.: Enclosed are a few impressions that I do not want to withhold from you:

 

 

 

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