Europe Trip 2008 Day #3: Here Today Gone to Paris

Vacation

Jul 5

Written By Joel

Sometimes I cannot believe my good fortune, or how lucky I truly am. When this morning started I began by waking up to the beautiful sun and clouds of London and when the clock strikes 8pm I am in my hotel room at the Paris Hilton situated in walking distance of the Eiffel tower and in the heart of Paris. However let's start at the beginning of the day which started with packing to get ready to leave for Paris. Jenn and I woke up rather late in the morning, where we gathered everything together and headed our way to lunch. We ate at a place called Garfunkles which was is similar to a Pannera Bread in the United States, nothing to write home about. We changed our Pounds to Euro's and checked out of the Park City. I cannot say how much we loved The Park City Hotel in London, it was in a great spot in London, and the staff there could not have been more helpful.

Jenn In front of The Park City

The Front of the London Park City Hotel

So when we left The Park City hotel (with heavy hearts) at around 12:30pm in the afternoon we had 3 hours to get on the Tube, hit King Cross tube station and go to the train station. Well with Jenn's excellent directions we managed to get there in less then an hour and were through rail security in less then an hour. So we had two hours to spend in the train station, and boy was it gorgeous. London does a nice job with all of it's public places (parks, museums, subway) including the train station which was first class. Jenn and I booked first class rail tickets to go from London to Paris and the big thing was to go in the chunnel. To be honest we didn't even realize we were under water, it just feels like a really long tunnel, nothing more then that. The train ride itself was a million times more relaxing then a flight, with decent food, a nice bottle of wine, and extremely comfy chairs.

Jenn and I on the Train from London to Paris

A Small Bottle of Chardonnay for the Train Ride

Food That Was Given on the Train

So we ended up getting to Paris at around 7pm, and took a Taxi to our hotel, driving from the train station to the hotel only took fifteen minutes but it was an experience like no other. To say that the people in Europe drive like maniacs is one thing but to say it in Paris couldn't be closer to the truth. They have very little in terms of traffic rules, its pretty much everyone going different ways all at once and hoping that some courtesy helps to keep things moving. I feared for my life on multiple occasions while driving, and then feared for pedestrians as well.

Jenn in the Taxi

In the Taxi Going to the Hotel

We did manage to get to our hotel safely and in a short amount of time, while passing The Louve, The Eiffel Tower, and seeing a glimpse of the French Statue of Liberty. Jenn and I got in and immediatley left the hotel and went to the Eiffel tower. Although itmay not be as wimsical as many movies make it out to be I still was really impressed by it, and the surroundings was so open that it was a lot to take in. We left after only spending twenty minutes and planned out the rest of our Paris journey. We are going to the Palace of Versailles tomorrow followed by a River Cruise tomorrow night. We have so much to do in the next 2 1/2 days that I just hope we can get it all in. Out of all the cities I have been to in Europe, if I was going to describe one of them as a city that reminded me most of what I think Europe is, it would be Paris a bustling city full of excitement, architecture, crazy driving, and so far amazing food. Au revoir!