2:00 AM - woke up on my own again, couldn't get back to sleep because was spinning about those stupid Mounties bears that are running around Paris on diplomatic immunity. So I decided to do more of the blog. My body needs to adjust soon to the time zone differences, this is ridiculous.
4:16 AM - now I'm bone tired again (fortunately) so going back to sleep. I don't care what anyone says, I'm buying sleeping pills tonight, I've had it with this 3 hours here, 2 hours there stuff. I have to work the booth for 10 hours today, and hopefully it's going to be busy with the bears showing up. I'll be waking people up in Vancouver if they don't arrive - could care less. I didn't fly 13 hours 1/3 of the away around the world, to sit on my butt here in a dead booth while they sleep back home with a job half done. Ridiculous.
5:30 AM - I'd had enough of sitting in my room. I thought that maybe some fresh air would either really wake me up, or really wear me out for a few hours. Either way, it would save my bacon today. I walked down the length of the hotel on a side street to the Avenue de la Grand Armée, which runs in front of the Congress Centre, a massive, tree-lined, six-lane road. It was still relatively dark out, but there was really no one around other than the occasional garbage truck, taxi driving by, and newspaper delivery people through bundles in front of newspaper stands. It was extremely quiet, and a bit cool but not chilly. I really was enjoying myself. By some miracle of God, I had my camera with me at the time. Can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that I did.
One of the first things I spotted, as I walked past the RER and Metro stations from Saturday that I described, was some bicycle parking stalls built onto the street. I have never in all my life seen this, and it was really surprising (see picture left, click for larger). You park your bike between two little electronic posts in the ground. Then you go to a little electronic stand, much like you see in car parking lots, pay a small fee to park your bike, and a green light goes on to show you paid. If it turns red, you get a ticket whenever the attendants come around.It makes things much easier because you couldn't possibly leave a ticket on your bike - someone else would just swipe it and put it on theirs! It allows for many to ride their bikes to work and have a place to keep them from being stolen. One good example of a city that's really trying to cut down on traffic. When you see my pictures of rush hour congestion later on today, you'll understand why. The other amazing thing about it was that you could pull something out of the side of one of these electronic posts, and your bike locked to it! No chains for people to cut off, etc. Really ingenious. Was like something from the Jetsons.
5:44 AM - smelled a bakery - like heaven - but couldn't see it anywhere. I noticed a few minutes ago that traffic is really starting to pick up, but quiet on the sidewalks. A few people were starting to walk to work - the Metro (subway) just opened at 5:30.
5:47 AM - honestly, when I first started out, I had zero idea where I was going. Well, actually, I kind of hoped I was walking in the direction of the little Statue of Liberty (which I later realized was an optical illusion of the lights in that area - though there is still a Statue and I'm going to find it!). However, I had walked a few blocks down the road, and stopped for a minute to type in some of the thoughts above in my iPhone, to email myself later (saves time when you 'blog while you jog', so to speak!)
I looked up when I had finished a few sentences - and just froze. Seriously, I thought I had to have been insane not to see it before. I think I kind of squealed out loud. Looming just 1 block away was the magnificent and striking Arc de Triomph (see picture right, click for larger), made even more dramatic as it is surrounded by nothing but a 3-4 lane super-traffic circle called Place Charles de Gaulle that connects to 15 different roads, including Grand Armée, the world famous Champs-Élysées, Avenue Foch, and many more. Traffic around the Arc is so incredible during the day (thousands of cars an hour) that you cross it using an underground walkway, which was still closed at this time of the morning. I noticed traffic on Grand Armée is getting heavier now. I couldn't believe how lucky I was, and to have my camera too! It was so beautifully lit in the early dawn, and was strikingly powerful in the still-quiet Paris morning.The Arc honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I .
The Arc is the centre of a historic axis (L'Axe historique) — like the spoke in a big wagon wheel - of a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre to the outskirts of Paris. It can almost literally be said that "all roads lead to the Arc". The symbolism of having such a muscular symbol honoring French war dead at the centre of the traffic of the city is really something - they didn't hide in some wasteland that no one could find. Instead, Parisians have to drive by it every morning on your way to work - by the hundreds of thousands! Unfortunately, Paris has been invaded twice since the Arc was built, and both times, the enemy marched through the Arc as a symbol of conquest - a major mental defeat each time.
I loved the simple elegance of the Eternal Flame (see picture left, click for larger) continuously burning since 1921 over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and really dramatic in the dark. They have it chained off so you can't actually stand on the Tomb - of course, it would be dangerous to have a gas flame at street level in the middle of a crowd anyway! People can be, well, kinda dumb.I took my time and got probably 150 pictures at the Arc, until literally my camera said "battery exhausted" - and I thought, 'oh man, so am I'. It dawned on me I'd better get moving, because traffic was really starting to pick up, and I remembered the underground walkway was still not open, so I'd have to run across 4 lanes of traffic. Made it safely across the street and started to head back.
6:14 AM - checked out the restaurant Les Aigles right by Arc on Grand Armée for a meal - steak for €13! Lots of cheaper places to eat around the Arc I was told - not sure why. Printed menus were on a stand outside the already-open restaurant, in about 6 languages that I saw - nice touch. Will check it out.
6:23 AM - Walking by the Boulangerie Patisserie (bakery - found it!) which was right on the Grand Armée, but it's blinds are still pulled so you can't see anything going on inside (no wonder I missed it before) or even know how to identify the building. My, it smells amazing - ham cooking and cheeses melting - mmmmmmm. It may open soon but I'm going to head back, but will definitely will stroll down one morning on my day off - it's about 4 city blocks from the hotel.
6:30 AM - Several of the La Parisien (major newspaper in the city) newsstands are now open and traffic, though not at rush hour is certainly as busy as Broadway in Vancouver at 6:30 AM. Headed back to hotel and sun started to light the night. Noticed a really neat car dealership called Victorie! (see picture right, click for larger) with a great display window - the cars on the upper stands rotate like they are on a giant microwave tray. The dealership name was appropriate, being just 2 blocks from the Arc de Triomph (the Triumphal Arch)!
The dealership was across the street from me so I quickly ran out on a walkway to the middle of Grand Armée, took some shots and turned to head back - and caught a glimpse of the Arc in the morning dawn. Oh what a picture perfect view! (see picture right, click for larger) 6:37 AM - got a good picture of the lighted name of my hotel just as they turned it off. Never really noticed how cute the area is. Walked by the Air France bus that goes to the airport for €15, just as it drove away. Good reminder to use it going home.
Seems like so many people smoke here -very different culture in drinking and smoking here - everyone does it.
6:50 AM - Thought on the way up to my room that I'd check out the 'free' breakfast they were handing out. I figured it had to be some junkie little room with a dried up toaster and some stale juice. I dropped into the only room with food in it - but it was a massive buffet (see pictures below, click for larger) with 6 different serving stations - one with various kinds of fresh bread, one with nothing but fruit, one with nothing but yogurt and cheeses, one with sliced meats, and one with hot foods like sausages, pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a different entree dish every day, and one table with every kind of fruit juice, tea, coffee, even an espresso machine! I figured I had stumbled on the hotel's main restaurant - probably had seating for 200 people or more in it.
I walked up to a lady and asked how much it was, and she asked for my room number. I gave it to her and she looked at a list and said "Mr Jorgensen, you can just go in". I said, "oh, so they charge it to the room?", and she looked at me funny and said "no sir, it's free for you".
I think I almost choked. A buffet, which seemed more like the casino ones in Las Vegas, and it was FREE? I've never been given that kind of freebie in my entire life. And I get that every single morning while I'm here! Oh my gosh, I love this city!
Again, thank you Mom for finding this unbelievable deal! I ate until I thought I'd be sick, quickly ran up to the room to work on the blog for while longer, and then headed to the Congress hall for 8:00 AM. More on the rest of the day later!
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