It has been quite a journey here in Paris, and I still have three major sights to see yet! The socks I wore for the last two days have been pulverized into a fine dust, and I don't think they'll be of any more use to me. My legs have been pushed to their limit, and other than breakfast, I don't eat much of anything till I'm back on the train to Reims. No time can be wasted eating here, not when there is soooo much to see.
As you may be wondering, I have been sleeping in Reims, but just a short train ride will take me to Paris. Reims on its own is an interesting place. They used to crown kings here (Charles VII was crowned here, with Joan of Arc in attendance), and it even has its own Notre Dame Cathedral (similar to the one in Paris). I just might have spent more time walking around Reims, if only Paris was not on my doorstep of course.
My New Years adventure started when Rita dropped me off at the train station in Ludwigsburg. The original plan was to take a train from Stuttgart to Paris, but the agent behind the counter told me that the train I wanted was full, and I would need to take another train (which would plant my feet in Paris at 21:30). I took the transfer train to Mannheim, and quickly found a place to sit (and wait, and wait). To make sure my train departure time was correct, I double checked my rail booklet one last time, and in doing so discovered that the agent in Stuttgart was a dumkopft! I found a (free) train to Paris, and it got me there at around 17:00, which gave me more than enough time to prep for New Years.
I ditched most of my stuff at the station, and made my way to downtown Paris. For such a massive city, the core is surprisingly small, and I have yet to use the public transportation (not that I would want to anyway-- the route maps blow my mind, in a bad way). Much like Prague, Paris is a "spin around in a circle and take a picture anywhere" city. The "normal" commercial/residential buildings are beautiful, but the true aura of Paris comes from its incredible quantity of epic quality landmarks. Even ignoring the most famous ones, Paris has tons and tons of flavor buildings all over the place, and it makes for some seriously good sightseeing.
The first major attraction I got to see was the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. I've viewed pictures of this thing before, but it is so much more immense, and so much more beautiful than any photo replica. The cathedral has a gothic look to it, but unlike most cathedrals of its type (from what I've seen so far), the face is very clean and bright. Notre Dame shines like a beacon in the city day and night, and it's the ultimate travelers waypoint. On my way to the Eiffel Tower, I passed by the famous Notre Dame bridge, as well as Pont Neuf. I got to see the Parliament building, and a very nice riverside view of the Louvre (which is another, beyond massive building). I made it to the Eiffel Tower with three hours to spare, and took my time wandering around the grounds, taking pictures and trying to find a good spot to watch 2008 slip away.
Now, I was told that there would be fireworks. Everyone around me thought there would be fireworks. When the clock struck midnight, what did we get? Fireworks? Nope, just a blinking LED light show. No fireworks, not even a single one. I was not impressed (at least the champagne Rita gave me was fast acting). Don't get me wrong, they put tons of work into the LED show, and it looked cool in its own way. The only problem is that they played the LED show every hour previous to the actual New Year event, which means I already saw the show three times!
/facepalm
Fireworks or no fireworks, I still had a fantastic time that evening. I had no place to stay that night, so I pulled a New Years all nighter. Danced with a few friendly strangers on the street, listened to some cool Arabian music, payed a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, played "don't step on the pee streams," and turned "spy" to watch over some random girl who was having issues with her aggressive boyfriend.
To elaborate on the whole "spy" thing, I was walking back to the train station when I witnessed some random (drunk) guy forcefully kick and repeatedly shove this girl he was with. He instantly turned the other cheek and was all huggy-kissy (I wanted to barf). Two seconds later they were screaming at each other again. If there is one thing I despise, it's a guy who is abusive towards females. I could care less if I saw two guys pulling a Street Fighter in the middle of the road, but hitting women is something I can't tolerate. I took it upon myself to "shadow" this couple for a few minutes and ensure that he didn't assault her again (stood in the darkness and made it look like I was a bum/drunk or something). After 20-30 minutes of screaming fits, nobody got hit, and a friend of the girl eventually took her away, ending the incident.
The following day was similar to the previous (in regards to buildings visited), but with sunlight to warm my way. The big event of the day was supposed to be the Louvre, but what I considered "being early bird" was obviously false. The line was out of this world, and I simply did not have the patience to wait in a line for longer than the time I would spend in the museum itself. The sky was blue, and the weather was nice, so I decided to pay the Eiffel Tower a visit. Funny that I would leave one massive line up for FOUR massive line ups, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. When I arrived at the tower, the lines made me want to cry. If I went for the elevators, my corpse would still be there right now. I decided instead to take the stairs (which has its own two hour line up as well). You may be asking yourself "why Kyle, you do seem to be a bit insane!" but I would quickly respond with a "I already did!" Hmmm, never mind.
The climb to the top was not so bad, and was a considerably easier climb than the church spire in Ulm (they have similar step counts, but the Ulm tower is all narrow and winding). Once to the second floor, you have to take the elevator to the top (yay more lines). After 30 minutes of waiting in said line, it became obvious that the stair ticket I purchased at the bottom would not suffice for the elevator ride to the top. Most people in front of me (also noticing their ticket wouldn't work) just sent one person from their party to purchase a set for the group. I'm alone, and do not have this luxury. My choices were to: a) gamble and hope the ticket girl doesn't notice, or b) get out of line, get in line (for a ticket), then get back in line again for the elevator.
I decided to go with option 'a' and I'm happy to say it worked. When I gave the girl my ticket, she gave me the old "ummmmmmmmmmm" as if she was going follow with a "you fool!" but instead just waved me through. Score one point for Kyle. I have a feeling that the rugged manliness which emanates from my beard aroused her from the tedium of her job, which she in turn rewarded me, in the form of free admission.
Once at the top, I got an amazing view of the city (at night, and with no weather effects), found some fellow Canadians, and had a good hour long chat with them. I almost lost track of time, but noticed that the last train to Reims departs in 90 minutes (and I'm a 100 minute walk from the train depot). I say goodbye to the tower, take some last minute photos, get in the elevator, run down the stairs, bolt across town, and manage to catch my train with exactly two minutes to spare--phew!
Many more stories to tell still, but early morn' Louvre action tomorrow, so goodnight for now.
Kyle-can't break my stride-out
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