Paris

Paris - the city famous for romance, fashion, culture; there is so much to see and do it can be hard to know where to start! We arrived to the Paris Gare Lyon train station and started cycling towards the Airbnb we had booked for the next week.  We stopped for a picnic lunch in a small park, under a rather impressive water feature. It all seemed rather idyllic until we noticed a homeless man taking a poop in the bushes a few metres away.  This is the stuff that they don't put in the brochures!

I think everybody knows this one...

We started our week by orientating ourselves with a free walking tour around some of the main sights of Paris. We have spent hours on this trip mocking and cursing tour groups at various attractions - they walk really slowly, they get in your way around the best attractions, they take way too many selfies, they get to skip the lines; we consider ourselves more intrepid and edgy compared to that crowd. We decided to cross to the dark side for a few hours and actually really enjoyed it. Our guide was knowledgeable and entertaining and even taught us how to keep an eye out for scammers. Maybe there are some positives about tour groups!

Notre Dame

Alberto - our native Mexican, English speaking, Parisian tour guide.

View from Arc de Triomphe

We spent the next few days ticking off some of the various art museums Paris have to offer. We choose to visit the Lourve, Musee de'Orsay and my personal favourite the George Pompidou centre.  They are amazing places, with so much to see its hard to do any of them justice - it would take days to fully explore each of these places. The Mona Lisa was better than I expected and the people surrounding it were just as interesting. My personal favourite was the middle-aged Asian gentleman who was systematically photographing every painting and caption in a room, without breaking his stride, while wearing a safari style hat inside a museum. What is he going to do with all those photos ?!?! The number of selfies and glamour shoots made me wonder what it would have been like to visit in a time before smartphones and cameras; when people came to experience a moment without having to obsessively collect evidence to skite with later on. I guess I am showing my age....

This was before the heated argument about how to best tackle the lines.

George Pompidou centre

But what does it mean ?!?!

Musee d'Orsay

The one and only - Mona Lisa

We headed out to Versaille to visit the opulent royal chateau, made famous by Louis XIV - the sun king. The lines were long for security, but moved surprisingly quickly and the palace itself wasn't too crowded. The palace and the hall of mirrors were full of gilted candeliers and antique furniture. I found it all a bit tacky, but I guess fashion has changed substantially over the past few hundred years. It's probably still better than my current home; which is a tent.

The line for security screening...

Fully armed soldiers who were casually checking their phones

The sun king

Between seeing the big tourist sites, we tried to soak up the atmosphere of the city and spent a lot of time walking around exploring. It's easy to underestimate the sheer size of a city like Paris, and the number of people is mind-boggling for a small-town New Zealander.  We also celebrated Dave's 29th birthday while in the city, with an Indian feast (a long standing craving of Dave's) and a few quiet beverages. The food in Paris was fantastic and we enjoyed our multi - cultural neighbourhood where we had a choice of cuisine from all over the world.

Sacre- Coeur

Almost everyone you can see in that little tower was playing Pokemon Go... seriously

Space Invader sighting

We celebrated Bastille day by joining crowds of Parisians in a park near our accommodation - Bellevue Park miles away from the Eiffel Tower, trying to catch a glimpse of the magnificent fireworks. We could see the tower in parts, and at times, while on tippy-toes at the exact right angle (if we were lucky). Despite the sub-optimal views it felt like an authentic big city experience with people of many different religions, skin colours, and sexualities gathered in the park enjoying the show. We were shocked to hear of the horrific attack in Nice when we arrived home, as we imagined the atmosphere in Nice would have been similar to one we had just experienced.
It was saddening to be in France during such an awful time. We were unsure how we should react the next day, however after checking the news we went out and life seemed to be flowing on normally. After such a hateful attack on innocent people's lives it was hard at times not to be fearful, especially when we encountered fully-armed soldiers in a shopping mall. If travelling has taught me anything, it's that what makes us all different to each other is much less than what makes us all the same; and with an open mind and a little understanding, what seems foreign at first, is not so scary after all.

 -  Sarah