Tuesday, March 16.
I got up really early this morning and felt great off some solid sleep. Perfect sunny day, temperatures around 40-50 deg F. I kept my pack in the hotel and hit the streets - really mobile today. I grabbed a huge bottle of water and a cookie - I was off.
I asked the lady at the hotel if I could walk to the Eiffel Tower from here. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No sir, that's a LONG way". I heeded her words and took the #13 Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. From here, I walked to the Eiffel Tower taking pictures along the way. I went across the bridges that you see on movies and pictures. I took a pic directly under the Eiffel Tower. That's a neat symbol of Paris. From here, I walked back to the Arc de Triomphe via a different route through the streets.
Walking up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe was awesome. The streets were lined with trees, cafes, shops, etc. My only real point of reference concerning the Champs-Elysees is that this is where the Tour de France ends. The riders drink champaigne while riding the last stretch.
After checking out the Arc, I was on a roll so I decided to walk back to my hotel. Not bad at all. A few miles north - but very nice. My hotel is in Porte de Clichy - the Comfort Hotel Median Paris Congres.
I'm going to be checking out here in another 30 minutes. I'm flying to Dublin tonight for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. The only reason I started my journey in Paris was due to constraints of the Schengen Visa requirements for US citizens. US citiizens do not need a tourist VISA when travelling to most countries in western Europe. You are however, only allowed to stay 90 days out of a 180 day period. Anything in addition to this - you would require a student VISA or residence VISA. The clock starts on day #1 that you enter a Schengen country. France is Schengen, Ireland is not. I wanted to start the clock on the Schengen 180 days right away so my travel in Ireland would count as the 90 days out of the area. This is a bit confusing, but I'm just trying to follow the rules.
The Schengen countries consist of Austria, Begium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia. The NON-Schengen countries I will be visiting include the UK, Ireland, Russia, Romania, Egypt, and Israel.
I had a really good morning. Paris is very nice. I keep saying the words - Elegant, Distinguished, Classy. If I ever were to get married, I could see why you would want to come here. It's a clean city with old history and culture. I know I've really only spent a few hours here (I did walk for many miles however) - but this place has a good feel about it. That's without question.
To Ireland I go -- and perhaps an adult green beverage or two.
I got up really early this morning and felt great off some solid sleep. Perfect sunny day, temperatures around 40-50 deg F. I kept my pack in the hotel and hit the streets - really mobile today. I grabbed a huge bottle of water and a cookie - I was off.
I asked the lady at the hotel if I could walk to the Eiffel Tower from here. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No sir, that's a LONG way". I heeded her words and took the #13 Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. From here, I walked to the Eiffel Tower taking pictures along the way. I went across the bridges that you see on movies and pictures. I took a pic directly under the Eiffel Tower. That's a neat symbol of Paris. From here, I walked back to the Arc de Triomphe via a different route through the streets.
Walking up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe was awesome. The streets were lined with trees, cafes, shops, etc. My only real point of reference concerning the Champs-Elysees is that this is where the Tour de France ends. The riders drink champaigne while riding the last stretch.
After checking out the Arc, I was on a roll so I decided to walk back to my hotel. Not bad at all. A few miles north - but very nice. My hotel is in Porte de Clichy - the Comfort Hotel Median Paris Congres.
I'm going to be checking out here in another 30 minutes. I'm flying to Dublin tonight for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. The only reason I started my journey in Paris was due to constraints of the Schengen Visa requirements for US citizens. US citiizens do not need a tourist VISA when travelling to most countries in western Europe. You are however, only allowed to stay 90 days out of a 180 day period. Anything in addition to this - you would require a student VISA or residence VISA. The clock starts on day #1 that you enter a Schengen country. France is Schengen, Ireland is not. I wanted to start the clock on the Schengen 180 days right away so my travel in Ireland would count as the 90 days out of the area. This is a bit confusing, but I'm just trying to follow the rules.
The Schengen countries consist of Austria, Begium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia. The NON-Schengen countries I will be visiting include the UK, Ireland, Russia, Romania, Egypt, and Israel.
I had a really good morning. Paris is very nice. I keep saying the words - Elegant, Distinguished, Classy. If I ever were to get married, I could see why you would want to come here. It's a clean city with old history and culture. I know I've really only spent a few hours here (I did walk for many miles however) - but this place has a good feel about it. That's without question.
To Ireland I go -- and perhaps an adult green beverage or two.
This post will only enhance Abigial's dreams of visiting Paris. Wish I was there to have a pint of Guinness with you. -- Keith
ReplyDelete