The flight from Hong Kong to Paris was not exactly a fun time. 13+ hours of cramped cattle class does not equal my idea of fun. Managed to get through three hours of Lost, finish my first book for the trip and get to watch one in-flight movie - Grosse Point Blank - always a classic.
The flight was held up by Russian air traffic control for 25 minutes for some unknown reason - damn Ruskies making us late. Funniest part of the end of the flight - watching the stewardess walking down the aisle spraying all of us like literal cattle for some kind of disease.
Wandering through Charles de Gaulle airport was the usual over-abundance of security. Along with the security were quite a few soldiers. And these soldiers weren't just toting sub-machine guns. We talking fully blown assault rifles. Eye-opening stuff.
Naturally when we get to the correct terminal - and in Charles de Gaulle - there area heck of a lot of terminals to choose from - the guy who's there to pick us up is no-where to be seen. Eventually we do manage to connect up, and what follows was an adventure.
The driver appears to have been wanting to make up for lost time. Up until Paris traffic took effect, he was flying along the freeway at speeds of between 120 - 160km/h. And by flying I mean weaving to and fro between lanes like crazy. French drivers just seem to merge and cut across people at random When you're in the passenger seat, it can be quite scary stuff.
All through this time, my left ear has felt like it is asleep. As if the circulation has been cut off like when your foot goes to sleep. I think it was because I fell asleep on the plane leaning on it wearing my noise-isolating headphones (at least I hope that' what caused it). Hopefully it'll go away sometime soon.
On the way to the apartment we drove past Stade de France. It makes Lang Park look like the piss-heap it is. Stade de France is what real 'super-stadium' should look like.
The apartment we're staying in is going to take some adjusting to. Four (soon to be five) people sharing one bathroom & toilet again - will take some getting use to again.
Upon checking in, unpacking and having a shower, we decided to take a wander around the quarter we're staying in - Montmartre - in the north of the city. All the movies and stories crap on about it - but there is a certain special something about Paris - assuming you remember to sides-step all the dog crap that litters the pavement. That's something they never mention in the songs is it?
Funny sight was seeing a couple of loonies haring along the side of the road in segways. If you've ever seen what the Paris sidestreets are like - they're not a bad idea for transport. Road signage often seems to be just a rough guide for drivers. The streets are extremely narrow, often with cars parked on either side - which making navigating anything but a compact through the streets fraught with danger. Speaking of parking - they don't leave much of a gap between each car to get out. It appears that they must often use the car's bumpers to do just that - bump the vehicle ahead and behind in order to squeeze in.
One of the first things we did - after indulging in some evil french pastries, what climb to the top of of Butte de Montmartre - the highest point (land-wise) in Paris. From there it is quite the view. Even though it was a little hazy, you could still see for miles around Paris - an amazing view. Perched on top of Butte de Montmarte is Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. Now this is an amazing structure - both inside and out. The Catholic Church really knows how to build to inspire. And when you consider that this isn't even a cathedral, it makes it even that much more impressive. Sort of leaves St Stephens and St Johns in Brisbane looking quite the bit shabby.
One of the fun things about wandering about Paris is seeing the various street entertainers playing for the crowd - jugglers, buskers (playing a harp no less), all just add to the atmosphere. The downside are the con-merchants floating about. The Moroccans wanting tie bits of string to your finger and then plait it for money. In the space of three blocks I saw two separate games of three-card monte. Then there's the dodgy-looking Indians trying to flog off rolex's and designer leather goods. I thought we'd left their type behind in Hong Kong?
One of the funniest things you see when walking along the streets is that all the little cafe and bakeries that area selling pastries have ginormous jars of nutella to smear all over these delicacies. Very weird.
The food so far as been completely evil. Real cream and things like that make the food amazing. But you know you're going to pay for it somehow. Thank goodness for all the walking.
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