The café is in a small corner in a part of town outside of the tourist filled center. The area seems to full with life, with people taking a break from work, people bike commuting and children hurrying home from school. Streets are narrow and seem to dart in every direction, cars and vespas fill the roads. Sometimes I wonder how they manage to get to where they’re going without accidents; even with all the commotion in the streets life seems to pretty calm and relaxed, with very few people seeming to be in a hurry. The café is mostly full of locals with some customers obviously knowing the wait staff. The atmosphere is in stark contrast to the tourist filled center of Paris; where wider streets make way for cars, taxis and the ever present buzzing Vespas and motorcycles. Where groups of tourists crowd ever y sidewalk remotely close to the typical tourist destinations or roads lined with designer shops. This quiet corner of the city is what I feel the real Paris not the Tourist Paris but the real one.
PARIS DAY 1
I arrive around 11:15. After locking by backpack at the station I buy a small coffee and a map before heading out into the city. Proud of managing to order both in French J I walk down the first nice street I see, thinking that wherever it leads it will be worth the walk. After a while I started seeing signs to the center of Paris and decided to follow them. Up ahead I saw a cathedral, it could only be Notre Dame. Incredible.
The Seine River cuts through the heart of Paris, it is riddled with over priced cafes and souvenir shops. Along the river’s edge there are small stands selling art and trinkets. Tour boats fill the river and tourists crowd the streets. The weather is gorgeous today, albeit a bit hot and the views are incredible. I walk along the river stopping every once in a while to take pictures. My walk takes me all the way to the Eiffel Tower where the whole place is teaming with tourists of all parts of the world. Ticket to take the lift to the top of the tower: 30 €, too expensive and not worth the price. As I approach the area underneath the tower I hear load hip hop music and notice people crowded around some sort of show: Street Dancers, I stop to watch….
My stomach growls….it’s afternoon and I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I walk across the bridge and head into the city. The map shows the Arc de Triumph is somewhere ahead. The roads are busy, full of cars, vespas, motorcycles and bicyclists. Then I see it, huge, majestic standing in the middle of an enormous roundabout. Pictures doesn’t do it justice, you have to witness if yourself. If the traffic on other streets was crazy than the Champs-Élysées is a mad house; seemingly without rules or laws the traffic darts by, some forming turning lanes where none seem to be marked; honking, some yelling but somehow avoiding any accidents. More tourists, more overpriced cafes and restaurants, McDonald’s meal price: 6.50 € just crazy but I relent. It’s getting close to 7:30pm, the time I’m supposed to meet my couch host.
Subway station….thought it was warm outside this is way worse; plus it is rush hour, feels like a sauna. First stop: train station to pick up my heavy rucksack, then off to the east side of town. A violin player gets on the same subway and starts to entertain the passengers. Some ignore him, some listen, one even yells at him to stop. Remember it’s France, or more specifically Paris, kindness is not what they’re known for. Navigating the subway with a huge backpack, what a trip no one seems to want to get out of your way and after a while I just decide to pick a straight line through the crowds, forget dodging people……
My feet hurt; I’m sweaty, and tired. Host is cool; we go get some food and a couple of drinks. Café/Bar is really laid back and chill and the wait staff are super nice. Very unlike Paris, at least that’s what my coach host says. Get back past midnight and the couch: tiny, sleeping will have to be in the fetal position….it’s going to be a long night.