My flight leaving Nice, France was at 6.35am. A taxi was arranged at 5am to take me from Monaco to Nice to catch my flight. However, after waiting for 15mins at the lobby, the cab still had not arrived!! I then asked the reception to call me one ... luckily I managed to make it there with time to spare. Saying goodbye to Nice and Monaco ... The pretty sunrise. What do I spy out the window? The Eiffel Tower! Just look at their subway lines!! But I finally got my tic. It costs €8.40 to get to the heart of Paris. A cab would average €50+. Found the right train to take. Got on the train and made my way to my motel. I found it!! A sight to behold. The details on it is simply breathtaking. This is a minature of it inside the church. Some views of the inside. The La Seine. Rental bikes can be found all over Paris. Quite cool. My budget accommodations. The toilet. Unlike Carrie, I do not have a view of the Eiffel Tower when I look out my window :P At the end of Champs-Elysees is also where the famous arch is. Oh boy ... I never thought I would have the opportunity to see it in person. Its one of the landmarks of Paris. The biggest LV shop in Paris .... had to make a stop there to help my friend get something. It was my first purchase in LV. Got done at LV .... to the arch! It think I got there at the perfect time .... The arch is actually a war memorial. It was a wonder to look at it up close. There is an option of climbing up the arch and I was highly recommended to make the trek up. Entry was ... €9, I think .. I forgot :P At the bottom of my 284 steps journey. Almost there ... The red circle is where I am .. there is still a few more stair up. A miniature of the arch. I was greeted by the view of the Eiffel Tower when I reached the top. Aerial view of Champs-Elysees.
The damage for the 20-25mins cab ride? €90!
Arrived in Paris, got my luggage and then headed to the Metro station to catch a train to my hotel. It too me some time to figure out which ticket to buy and where to go.
My motel was less than 5mins away from Gare du Nord. It took a slight detour b4 I found my motel as I had to orientate myself.
I got to my motel at about 9+am and it was still way too early to check in. So I left my luggage at there and then headed out ... my first day in Paris!
My first stop was Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris. I chose it as it was only 2 stops from my motel, no changing of trains required :P The metro lines still scare the shit out of me.
I stayed there for some time and then left to grab a bite to eat. Nothing fancy, just some bread with salami, cheese and lettuce. You see alot of tourist walking and munching on bread everywhere u go.
I then headed back to my hotel as I wanted to grab my shopping list and maybe do some shopping as most shops are closed on Sun in France.
After resting for a few short moments, I left my room and then it was shopping! I headed to a couple of departmental stores hoping to find my Chloe and/or Fendi/Balenciaga and also to help my friend get her LV and Miu Miu.
It was madness in the stores! There were so many ppl and some boutiques had queues outside. Unforutnately I was not able to find the right color for the bags I had in mind but I still spend alot of time just walking around and drooling at all the designer labels.
It was a day of walking ....
When evening drew near, I made my way to Champs-Elysees (pronouced "sean-ser-lee-say") where its supposed to be where all the brand name boutiques were at.
I'll be going there tomorrow :)
Check out the madness that is this roundabout. There are 12 roads leading to it ... u have to be somewhat aggressive if u want to get somewhere.
After at least an hr up there, it was time to make my way down.
I was way to tired at this point to walk the long way back to my hotel. It was also close to 9pm and I did not want to be roaming the streets of Paris alone.
I took out my trusty map and made my way to the nearest subway station and then with the help of the guy at the station and some pointing, I was directed to the correct line in which to take the train. One change of train and I was back at the station where my motel was near at.
