Paris Adventures Part Une

If anyone has come to Paris and not liked it then they either don't speak French or had a lousy tour guide. I don't speak French but I have the best Parisian tour guide: Izan!

Izan and I went to school together but we didn't really hang out much in school. We got close after school and now we're going to travel around Europe together!

Izan's been here for six months and she knows her way around Paris pretty well. As a plus she also speaks French pretty fluently. When people talk to me in French I go...uhhhh...Izan.

Yesterday we did soooo many things it makes my head spin. We went to the Champs Elysee. A place Izan says Malaysian Datuks and Datins would kill to have coffee by.

According to her a particular Malaysian MP's wife (who is grooming herself to be first lady *hint hint*) loves having coffee there and tells the whole world when she's about to do it. Izan's been here long enough to call people like that poyo (posers). Lol.

Above is a picture of me with the Arc de' Triomphe in the background. Napolean had it built to celebrate his war victories but it wasn't completed until he had started to lose battles (hehehe). It's also the only Parisian landmark that Napolean built.


We walked along the river Seine and Izan explained to me that the bridge I'm standing on is in between what was considered Paris and what was once outside of Paris. If you crossed from the buildings on the right to the other side you were outside Paris back in the day. Now of course it's all become Paris.

Crossing over to said buildings you'll come to the Notre Dame. That famous cathedral that has always been linked with hunchbacks.

Isn't is beautiful? There are intricate carvings in each of those three arches. There are different saints, depictions of Jesus and the Virgin in each one.

Can you spot me in the sea of tourists? I should mention that this picture was taken at about 6 in the evening. It stays bright till about 10 at night during summer in Paris. Everyone eats dinner late here.

We went inside the Cathedral, there was a mass going on but visitors are allowed inside. I couldn't help remembering the scene from Amelie where Amelie's mother gets killed by a tourist from Quebec who throws herself off from the Notre Dame. No falling Canadians while I was there.

The church is gorgeous inside but Izan says there's an even prettier and detailed church, Strasburg I think. Notre Dame has huge stained glass windows and high ceilings to go with them. It's slightly dark in ther but the sides burn bright with candles lit by pilgrims.

Paris is full of tourists right now and Izan spends a good deal of time cursing at them. She hates that they walk slowly. It's full of Americans right now. Their everywhere...

Izan pointed out a tourist bus that kind of rips off tourists. She says it doesn't give you access to the museums, it only allows you to get on the bus. The upside is that they translate all the French for you. But she thinks its a waste.

I have to agree. The best way to see Paris is by foot and on the Metro. You can't beat a city that has ar installations in its underground tain stations. One of the stations near the Louvre has sculptures and the walls are marble. I wonder if the train stations in Moscow are like that?

I have figured out how to use the Metro and am confident of getting back to Izan's stop, Jules Jofrin, if we get seperated. The Metro is easier to navigate than the London Undergound and elpfully lists places of interests next to the stop.

Next: Paying respects to the dead!