We were staying in bed whole morning on Friday after celebrating my birthday with a safe conscience. We were idly eating tiramisu, this attribute of dolce vita, and drinking coffee.We had plenty of time: our train to Paris went at afternoon.
Thalys was rushing us from Amsterdam to Paris with fantastic speed - 300 km/h.
This feeling of flying is so real. It feels like on a plane!
It took just three hours and twenty minutes to reach the city I had dreamed about in my tender teens when my literature interests were limited exclusively novels about french monarchy.
It took just three hours and twenty minutes to reach the city I had dreamed about in my tender teens when my literature interests were limited exclusively novels about french monarchy.
"If you are not hugged by strangers underground it does not mean underground in Paris does not exist" (с) "Cherchez la femme", a popular soviet film
Underground in Paris is really exist!
And it's great! Especially when carriages are new. There are stations at every turn and I really don't understand why this city needs buses. I was looking at frenchwoman in metro. I could see all my favorite characters for 15 minutes - there were "Catherine Deneuve", "Nathalie Dessay" and "Emmanuelle Beart"...
And there was black cat on the wall!
When we were going out we suddenly saw Eiffel Tower in front of us.
Our hotel is in 15 minutes walk from Eiffel Tower which works until 11 p.m. So we decided to devote the rest of the evening to Gustave Eiffe's genius creation.
But we do love problems! By the time we were getting to ticket office, we found out two important things. The first one - my husband has a knife in his backpack so it definitely wouldn't pass security-check (there was scrutiny inspection in Paris museums and at the train station). The second one - wearing loafers on my bare feet wasn't good idea for chilly walk in the clouds. My husband usually says "My Cat lives in alternative reality that's why she always is dressed up not properly".
We was forced to come back to hotel trying to rid of this strange men (three towers for euro) on the way:
and we were back for a second try.
We spent in line 45 minutes. But it was only first one. Second line took 30 minutes. We were reaching the top of the Tower by that time when it already had flashed like a Christmas tree. The city is so huge - boundaries can't be seen!
I must admit, I don't agree with Maupassant at all. Eiffel Tower can be called ugly only by those who have never seen a truly ugly buildings. It is a pure steel lace, ingenious simplicity and elegance design.
We were on our way to hotel when criminal thoughts crossed our mind. Yes, we were committing a crime against a healthy lifestyle while we ate meat sandwiches and drunk French red wine in bed at midnight. Anyway another great accomplishments were waiting for us next day. It was not a war with England as baron Munchausen had but certainly important and interesting one :)
