The Seine, Trains & Automobiles

On Tuesday morning we checked out, but were glad to leave our 42 kilos of luggage in the hotel's luggage room which we were sick of lugging around. We had chosen a fantastique hotel. The deskperson would always give me an enthusiastic thumbs up when I practiced my french. As I am discovering, some French people are really friendly and nice.

We took the Metro to Bir-Hakeim, which is the Tour Eiffel stop. Although we were nervous at the start, the Metro, which is the Parisian train system, was really easy and fun to use. As long as you have a map, you can go anywhere and it's really cheap.


As we tried to find the Tour Eiffel, which we kept losing behind the closer buildings, we came across the Australian Embassy which was a coincidence and was fun to see the Australian flag. Embassies are located in capital cities and provide help to people from their country. So the Australian Embassy in Paris would be able to help if I lost my passport or was in serious trouble while I was in France.

Just outside the embassy, we were stopped by a sketch artist who offered to sketch me with the Tour Eiffel in the background. Although it was expensive (€20), it will be a good way to remember France as I hope to frame it when I get home. (But a good tip to remember is not to give any beggars money, because they are everywhere and you would go broke quickly. For example, we had to fork out €2 - after haggling down for €10 - for a string bracelet that a beggar had wrapped around my wrist before what I knew what had happened.)


Talking about Euros (which is the currency used in Europe), we noticed that some shops have prices in Euros and Francs. Before 1999, each European country had their own currency, with France having the French Francs. Although Francs are no longer accepted in France, the price in Francs is still displayed to help the elderly. Interestingly, Switzerland aren't members of the European Union which amongst other things, allows citizens to move around Europe freely, and did not adopt the Euro as their national currency. (And yet they make such good chocolate....)


My mum and I had promised each other that we would climb the stairs at the Tour Eiffel and not cheat by taking the lift. The decision was made easier by the fact that there was no line up at the stairs (unlike the hour queue at the lift) and was cheaper. So off we set (after being yelled at by the security guard for not understanding English) and leapt up the 674 stairs to the 2nd level.


On the way up, we learnt some cool facts about the tower.

1. It was built in 1889 for a World Expo and the people of Paris hated it so much that it was promised the tower would be torn down after the expo had finished.

2. The brown colour is actually 3 tones of brown, the darkest at the bottom and lightest at the top.

3. When it was built the Tour Eiffel was the tallest building in the world.

4. Since it was built more than 200 million people have been up the Tour Eiffel, more than any other paid monument in the world!


We were able to see the Arc de Triomphe from the 2nd level through which Hitler and the nazis had marched in 1940 before a 4-year occupation. (My great-Granma more or less told me that but it was shorter and involved a swear word.)


We were also able to see the Palais de Chaillot which we also explored on foot. It houses a number of museums and is a good spot to photograph the Tour Eiffel.


The 3rd floor, which is nearly the very top, is only accessable by lift, for which we had to line up for an hour and had to fend off many pusher-inerers. Some successfully some not. One guy even pretended to take photos and then siddled into the line. Surprisingly, no one complained, except me, who pushed back in front of him.


Tired after our big day, we took the Metro back to the hotel, collected our luggage and dragged it 5 blocks to the Gare d'Austerlitz where we were to catch the train to Limoges. Completely confused as usual, we grabbed a French person who was a great help and said to follow him. Another generous Frenchman lifted our ridiculously heavy luggage up onto the train and into the luggage racks.

I also received my very first French kiss on the train trip ... from the Turkish chef who kept us company by helping/laughing at us practicing our French. (The french greet each other by lightly kissing each other on each cheek.) He was very kind to us and insisted we come to his restaurant in Chateauroux sometime for a meal.


Finally, after a very long day and the 3hr train trip, we were met at the station by Sam, our friend with whom we are housesitting, and drove home in a very old rusty 1950's car. I went straight to bed and fell asleep within seconds. It had been a very long day.

Je m'appelle Jack. My name is Jack. (Literally translated as 'I call myself Jack.')