It's possible to have too much of the Champs Elysées

March flowers in the Jardin des Tuileries

It's official, I'm jaded.  What else is better than strolling along one of the most famous streets in the world on a Parisian spring day?  Well, there's a whole list, and I'll go into greater detail in a later blog post, but if you're not shopping then the Champs Elysées is kind of pointless if you've already been there before.  Sometimes there are just way too many other things you can be doing that you feel like you're wasting precious time.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Arc de Triomphe and the history it stands for at the top of the hill, and I love the Grand Palais, Jardin de Tuileries, and l'Orangerie (still haven't been inside, but I want to!) at the Louvre end - but I can do without all of the in-between, unless I'm looking for something specific, like my France jersey, of course!

Before I start sounding like a grumpy old man (too late?), allow me to set this up.  Back when I was studying abroad, I lost my passport and had to go to the American embassy in Paris to get a new one.  The receptionist at my scruffy hotel in Pigalle told me to metro to the Arc de Triomphe and the embassy was right around there.  Wrong.  A thousand times wrong.  Getting off the metro at the Arc left me 2 km away from the embassy.  So, running short on time and having no idea how far I had to go, I ended up running halfway until I finally gave up and took a taxi the rest of the way in order to make my appointment on time.  It got worse from there, but the point is this: bad memories.  No, the Champs Elysées wasn't to blame, but it's all about guilt by association.

On top of that moment, though, it's just hard to get into the stores and cafés around the George V metro stop.  Overpriced and not very reminiscent of vieux Paris, it's just not my bag - I'd rather shop in the Marais, around Châtelet, or, if I had the money, at Place de la Vendôme.  I didn't have all of these thoughts until after the fact, of course, since I was too busy being Grumpy McGee.  I felt like we were wasting an afternoon, but it was my fault for waffling and not coming up with other suggestions.




La tour Eiffel

 The day started out great, though, with a nice metro out to the Eiffel Tower.  I hadn't yet ridden on an above-ground metro in Paris, so part of line 6 provided a welcome break from the underground metro-boulot-dodo (look it up) atmosphere.  It kind of reminded me of Chicago, riding above the street, breeze coming through open windows, green trees lining the sidewalks below.  We did the Eiffel Tower thing, which is always nice because the scenery (the Champ de Mars, Trocadéro, the Seine, etc.) really can make a twisted metal structure look pretty special.  We played the obligatory game of "Dodge the Overbearing Guys Selling Crappy Souvenirs" and ended up getting lunch on a street corner by the Seine.

Sailboats in the fountain, framed by the Musee d'Orsay

One lady even asked if I lived in the neighborhood and if I knew where such-and-such place was.  Stifling a desire to hug her, I shook my head no.  Désolé, mais merci beaucoup !  I'd done it, ladies and gentlemen - I'd finally been mistaken for a local Parisian!  My life's work was complete at that moment, and I could revel in the fact that I nailed my clothing choice, body language, and other comportments that day.  If I could remember how I did it, I'd tell you, but I probably just had a blackout moment and everything clicked.

Another pleasant metro ride took us to the Arc de Triomphe.  The serenity under the Arc is amazing considering the kamikaze driving situation going on around it on the Place Charles de Gaulle.  We even found some street performers that we had seen on our visit back in 2009 in the Latin Quarter, which was awesome!  They're 3 great dancers who always seem to attract big crowds, and I would bet that they pocket some good change for it.  But then came the trek past the countless stores and people (Haagen-Dazs ice cream helped!), and we were spent by the time we reached the Jardin des Tuileries.  At that point, I didn't care about the kids sailing boats in the dormant fountain or the flowers just starting to bloom.  I was exhausted, ready for a pre-dinner nap, and I wasn't the only one.

Our friend Chuck de Gaulle

Luck was on our side as, somehow, we found this great place for cheap in the Latin Quarter for dinner.  They say you shouldn't eat between rue Saint-Jacques and Boulevard Saint-Michel, and I wholeheartedly agree, but we found a place that worked out great.  Hors d'oeuvre, main plate, and dessert for 10 euros, and they were all good.  I don't advise doing this, because the success rate is slim in finding a solid place, but we got incredibly lucky.  We even found this place called The Great Canadian Pub along the river that was everything you'd imagine a stereotypical Canuck pub to be like - hockey and boat racing on TV, all wood interior, Labatt and such on tap - sounds pretty good there, eh?  A few brews there and we were ready to call it a night.

We were excited about the next day, especially me, when we'd visit the Catacombs, the Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, and Pigalle.  I'd never been to any of those places except Pigalle, and even that would be interesting to return to the site where I stayed 2 years ago.  I couldn't wait!