A look down the Seine River at the Eiffel Tower
Christmas lights of Champs-Elysees
Looking up to the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees
My 'spot" - at night
My 'spot' - during the dayMonday, December 20th
A really nice day in Paris. I slept in and then decided to walk down to the Champs-Elysees. It's a pretty good jaunt from up near the Sacre-Coeur where I'm staying -- but, this being my final day in Paris, it had to be done. I didn't look at a map and just started in the general direction. I grabbed a 'large' coffee and a sandwich to go from a local cafe.
It took a while, but I eventually looked to my left - there was the Arc de Triomphe. Very nice. I walked the length of the Champs-Elysees and went over to my favorite Eiffel Tower viewing spot. I have a couple pictures posted today of this spot (1 in the daytime and 1 at night). This is the exact location where I saw the Eiffel Tower for the very first time.
It was early afternoon. The temperatures were wavering around the freezing mark. I know this only because it was snowing early and then it started freezing rain. I decided to go to the second floor of the McDonalds that overlooks the Champs-Elysees. I worked on my computer for a few hours while watching the people go by. I had to see this place at night - 5 days before Christmas - so I wasn't going too far.
By the time I packed up my gear and left the McDonalds - it was dark. I walked outside to a sea of lights. Impressive. All the trees lining the main drag where decorated with white lights. On the far end of the street, on the way to the Lourve, there where many outdoor stands (similar to the German holiday markets). I made my way back over to 'my spot' and took more pictures.
It was freezing rain pretty good about this time. I decided that I felt comfortable with my time in Paris. I've walked the better part of the entire city on a few different occassions. With a little bit of sadness, I hit the metro and took it back up toward the Sacre-Coeur.
I decided to stop at the Gare Saint-Lazare to see about getting a train ticket to London tomorrow. It's here where I received some bad news. "Sir, there are no trains to London until Sunday". My response: "You're gonna do what?" I talked to this lady for 15 minutes - and I just didn't get it. She initially said: "Oh, haven't you heard about all the bad weather in London?" I then said: "No, even if there was bad weather, how can they definitely cancel all trains for 6 days?" I'm a big fan of saying it out loud to see if it makes sense. What the lady was telling me just didn't add up. Plus, she wavered from her stance on the weather and said that they can only give tickets to the people who have tickets. Needless to say, I was more clueless after leaving this lady then when I got to the station. Since I had waited in line for about 45 minutes to hear this, I decided to walk in the rain for a while to figure out my options.
So, I'm here in my hotel and have formulated a plan for tomorrow. I'm getting up early and taking all my gear with me to the Gare Nord station. This is the station where trains leave to London. This is also the station where I have a train reserved to Calais, France at 2:30pm. My plan: 1) Talk to more people. Get confirmation of train closures into England. If possible - get on a train, even if I have to stand the whole way. 2.) If the train is absolutely NOT an option, I figure out if all trains in the entire country of England are closed. 3) If trains within England are operational, I'll look to go by boat to Dover from Calais. This is actually what the lady told me at the train station. There's a boat to Dover around 5:30pm. It arrives around 6:00pm (1 hour time difference). Then, I would take the train to London. 4) If trains are completely out - I have to book a flight into London - no other options. (because I somehow need to get across the English Channel - swimming is not a great option right now)
So, tomorrow looks to offer another logistics challenge before I enter my final country of the trip. I anticipated so much, that's why I gave myself a few days leeway. I just need to be in London by Thursday morning at 7am for my 9am departure to the states. I have 2-1/2 days to make this happen -- let's see if I can do it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK -- the Final Four. Any country in the Final Four has got to be pretty special. I will say that the things that separate these last few countries have more t0 do with comfort and feel, then sheer sites alone. Don't get me wrong, they have the sites, but they also have the whole package. Tonight, coming in at #4 on the list of my most favorite countries during my Gap Year 2010 is........................................................................ IRELAND
Israel (#12)
Iceland (#11)
Norway (#10)
Greece (#9)
Austria (#8)
Spain (#7)
Italy (#6)
Switzerland (#5)
Ireland (#4)
IRELAND (#4)
I haven't stepped foot in this country since Easter Sunday. And - I knew it when I left - this place is special. I had an open mind throughout my entire journey, Ireland wasn't set in stone. But, even with all the other areas fresh in my memory, Ireland still pulls a Top 4 ranking. Solid. Why? Easy answer: the people. I like Ireland because it's very comfortable for me. From religion, to attitude, to national pride, to friendliness and approachability --- Ireland is fantastic.
It started in Dublin with St. Patrick's Day. I was more impressed with the national pride that I saw - then the party that ensued (and that was a great party). Dublin has some interesting sites: the Guiness Brewery, Trinity College, and the Temple Bar District. I had a chance to go to a 6-Nations Rugby match while in Dublin. Outstanding. To really experience Ireland, however, you gotta get out of Dublin. Cork - a reverse backbend to kiss the blarney stone started it off. Then there was the Ring of Kerry bus tour. After a nice Irish coffee, we sat on the bus and listened to some traditional Irish music while looking out the window at these incredible sites. I stayed in my first hostal ever in Killarney, Ireland. I met some people and went to an Irish dance school. Then there's Galway. You have Connemara and the Aran Islands - both top spots. What about the Cliffs of Moher -- now I relate every cliff hanging into the ocean to this day. Ireland is the place I came to appreciate a nice cup of hot tea (I still don't do the milk, but I'm learning) Then, to top it off, even though technically it's apart of the United Kingdom, I went to northern Ireland and did a day trip to the Giants Causeway. Great - and I got to learn alot that day because our bus driver was very informative concerning recent conflicts in the area. Throw in a truly memorable 2-day stay with my buddy Liam's family in Castlebar & Ballycroy---- it's an absolute pleasure to see Ireland come in as my #4 favorite country in Europe.
Adder: Checkout this website: http://thestar.blogs.com/weather360/2010/12/anger-rises-over-european-travel-chaos.html ----- Oh boy --- tomorrow I need to perform
No comments:
Post a Comment