Our last day in Paris

Saturday, July 10, 2010
Woke up drenched in sweat!! It is super hot and muggy in our hostel and in Paris in general. So needless to say we showered, even though we started sweating immediately after, and made it to breakfast. French hostel breakfast isn’t unlike the other countries but instead of toast you get a baguette. Hehe. It was kind of funny to see a basket of baguettes and everyone having one for breakfast. Anyhow, we had some planning to do today so instead of paying for WiFi at the hostel, we wanted to go to an internet café and get it for free. So we followed the directions that the girl gave us and didn`t see anything so we stopped in at the Holiday Inn for directions. Apparently, the place for WiFi is McDonald`s!! So we went with the intention of having to buy something (sundaes and milkshakes of course) and found out not only that we didn`t have to buy anything but that ice cream isn`t available at 10am at French McDonalds...ridiculous! So we grabbed our juice and espresso and got to it. In the process we found out that Luxembourg is a country, not a city in Germany and that we could make it there in a few hours and head to Amsterdam the following day. We learned in Roscoff though that reservations are often necessary and to book trains ahead of time. So we planned our train route online so we had an idea and booked a hostel in Vianden (just outside of Luxembourg City) and three nights in Amsterdam. So after we were finished at McDonalds, we headed to the train station to reserve our tickets and get on with our day. Almost two hours later, we had our tickets and our train schedule. It was a combination of the huge line that people ignored and bypassed, and the lack of knowledge of the person working there. We got it all figured out in the end so we were just happy to have it all straightened out and booked. Next stop, we were headed for a bike tour of Paris. It was a small company that we saw an ad for and decided to check it out. So we had 3.5 hours of a guided tour through central Paris on bikes. It was really neat. We got to see probably a lot more this way than a walking tour and it was cooler and overcast so it wasn`t absolutely intolerable heat. We got to see Notre Dame, the Bastille, Jim Morrison`s death place, Victor Hugo`s house, some WWI and WWII memorial spots and a bunch more. It was really interesting. The guy who owns the company is a Kiwi (not quite an Aussie) and he jokingly said he would take the commonwealth countries on his tour while trying to split us up in two groups and it actually worked. So we toured with some Aussie`s and Kiwi`s and then of course us two, the Canadians. Pretty funny!! We also saw a Ferrari that caught on fire in the middle of the road, or what was left of it anyhow. So after the tour our guide, Paul, gave us a list of things to do in Paris and his favourite hotspots for food and entertainment. Since it was our last night in Paris, we figured we should go have a nice dinner before we head to climb the Eiffel Tower. So we chose a quaint little spot in the Latin Quarters that was a small little restaurant with some outdoor seating. (I should mention outdoor seating in Paris is either a patio or it is literally the sidewalk, and in the old part of town, it was the sidewalk). So we chose this really French spot where the menu was even in French. We did get an English translation (good thing) but pretty much just ordered the dishes that the waitress suggested. The house red wine went down nicely and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Heather started with the Ratatouille and then had sausage and aligot (cheesy mashed potatoes) and I had the French onion soup (which both of us were in love with) and then I had `calamari` with rice. It was kind of strange but still good. The French onion soup was topped with gruyere cheese...mmm....we need some more of that!! Anyhow, we were enjoying our romantic dinner for two when we were approached by a 40 something guy who was having his bachelor party that night. He needed two girls to come sing him a song. So after much debate we decided to sing All you need is love by the Beatles...it didn`t last long as you could imagine. There are probably 15 French guys who don`t know the words but are trying to sing along. Haha It was hilarious!! We hung out for awhile, had some wine with them, got a hat as a thank you (pictures to come soon) and were off to the Eiffel Tower. We booked it to the Eiffel Tower. It was like 10pm now and the tower closes at midnight and it`s of course Saturday night. So we got there to discover that the top was closed due to congestion. So we paid a discounted rate to climb to the top but normally from there, you would get a lift to the very, very top. It was still really cool from the altitude that we made it to. We hung out (and caught our breath) and took it all in. We had an interesting experience up there though, we met this girl from Australia who has terminal cancer and has been travelling for the past four months. It was kind of an eye opener for us. Here she was, in a dress and stiletto`s no less, enjoying the last bit of time she has (by herself). She was such an amazing young girl and it was inspiring for us and really made us think about how fortunate we are. We are doing this with the intention of returning to these countries some day to see more and here was this girl, living it up for as long as she could. Mind you, she looked fantastic and we weren`t really sure how much time she had left but really, really inspiring. She was so happy to have made it up and didn`t get to go to the very top, she was disappointed but got over it quickly. She was more happy to be off to run with the bulls the next day. So cool, and why not? Anyhow, we finished our night on a fantastic note, meeting her was definitely the coolest part of the day and getting to talk to her. So tomorrow, Luxembourg and then to Amsterdam!!!!