Lyon to Paris

We had one last really wonderful day in Lyon with Stephanie wandering around the city, relaxing in the park, and exploring secret passages.  We were sad to go, but Paris was next.

Relaxing in the park

Up through one of the "traboules" or passage ways

One of the crazy events going on for an electronic music festival  in Lyon over looking the city

We set up another car pool from Lyon to Paris, and arranged to meet our ride outside of a metro stop.  Our last carsharing experience was so successful we were excited to be able to use the system again and save quite a bit in transportation expenses.  It was pretty apparent right from the start that our ride from this man Zac, although incredibly sweet, was a totally different experience from our first.  A van pulled up with a quiet and somewhat odd man who rolled down his window and simply asked us, "Pareeee?" in his thick French accent.  Uh, oui? He was small in stature, bald, a full furrowed brow, and a big bushy beard.  He gestured to the back and we opened the doors (of, I should mention, what looked like a moving van) to find a a large empty space for our bags.  We climbed into the front with him and he offered us some chocolate as he explained that he didn't speak much English.  At this point, warning bells should have been going off... Somewhat odd first impression? Check.  Windowless unmarked white van? Check.  Being offered candy by a stranger? Check.  But after giving each other the covert nod of agreement, we buckled in for the 4 hour adventure to Paris.  The ride was actually fairly uneventful and beautiful through the French countryside, with the exception of the occasional outbursts of aggressive leg twitching from Zac (through which Elliot and I worked hard to surpress laughter) which could have only been caused by his legs seriously falling asleep or a squirrel in his pants.  He would also sometimes rest his chin on the wheel which looked a bit odd with his hands hidden under his beehive beard.  Aaanyways, after being dropped off on the outskirts of city, we navigated our way to the hotel in the center of the city through the extensive metro system.  We emerged from the underground to a bustling city street lined with boulangeries and boucheries. Jackpot.  Our budget hotel has been great, just a room with shared bathroom, nothing special, but a great location.  

Market

Our first day was spent first wandering into a farmers market (of course) and talking to a man who specialized in dried meats of Spain. After a few samples and purchases, we wandered further into the city, walking along the river and checking out some of the main sites. A few more finds of some nice cows milk cheese from Morbier, fresh bread, and peaches, and we settled down on a park bench for a picnic.   

Notre Dame

The stunning rose garden on one side of Notre Dame

The Seine

The entrance of the Louvre

The Louvre

Each statue seemed to have a corresponding ominous crow perched on top

We just turned a corner and oh HEEEY!

So big

We attempted to visit the Catacombs but they were closed by the time we got there so we settled for a street side crepe instead

From Notre Dame to the Eiffel tower, we spent the day stunned at the city's beauty and architecture, and despite the changing weather had a wonderful day. As it began to rain in the evening we headed back to the hotel and had a quiet night exploring the side streets of our neighborhood.  

Day two in Paris has been a lot more walking around the beautiful streets and a visit to the Musee D'Orsay.  Being Sunday the lines to all tourist attractions were pretty ridiculous so after another failed attempt at visiting the Catacombs, we settled for the long scenic walk back to the hotel instead through some amazing gardens.

Musee D'Orsay

The line in the rain

Fontaine de L'Observatoire

Jardin du Luxembourg

Le Pantheon

It's been really wonderful ending our time in Paris, despite the ever present sticker shock, it's like everything we've experienced that is quintessentially French on a higher volume.  One more evening than a very early flight to Dublin tomorrow morning!