Tour Truly Begins - September 16, 2008 Part I

Wake-up call at 6:15 a.m., breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and departure at 7:45 a.m., the tour had truly begun. This is how it is every morning during a Globus tour with the addition having to put your bag outside your door by a set time on days when you're departing for another city. It isn't a bad routine and, you get used to it. One of the things we listened to keenly from Susan was these times for the next morning.

This day, we would spend half the day sightseeing Paris. Before we got started, Susan handed out what she called whispers. Whispers are radio units that the tour participant carries on them with a single ear phone in one of their ears. It enables the guide to tell the entire group things about a church or sight without having to yell. It also enables the guide to easily shepherd the group through a loud noisy city. Harvey had used these on his Globus Italy tour but, this was the first time I'd seen them. We were issued them for the duration of the tour and, we'd use them repeatedly.

For specific cities or sights, Globus uses local guides vice the tour guide. The reason for this is the local guides can be more knowledgeable about a city or sight and more up to date. Our tour guide had to be knowledgeable about 15 different cities in France. I suspect it's hard to stay up to date on so many cities but, it would be easy for a local guide to stay up to snuff on one. Our local guide this day was a lovely lady named Isabel. She would give us an indepth tour of Notre Dame with plenty of photo opportunities. Also, she would take us to the Eiffel Tower and provide us with tickets to get to the 2nd level. For those going on the optional excursion to Versailles, she would be their guide for that too.

I'd been to Notre Dame Cathedral before but, it was nice to see this breathtaking Gothic cathedral again. It is really stunning with its rose stain glass windows and soaring buttresses. Plus, it's located right next to the river Seine. Everyone took tons of pictures of this magnificent church. After driving around in the couch and being told about various interesting buildings as we drove by, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower has become synonymous with Paris. Sydney had its opera house, London had Big Ben and Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Interestingly, when it was first built, a number of Parisians decried it as an eye sore. But, public opinion is ever quick to change and no one can imagine Paris without the tower now. The tower offers some of the best views of Paris. It had 3 levels and the price admission depends on what level you want to go up to. The higher the level, the more expensive the ticket. If you want to go up to the 3rd level, you have to change elevators as they use smaller ones to take people up to the top of the tower. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been to the top of the Eiffel Tower so, I asked Isabel what I had to do to get a ticket for it. She very kindly showed me where the ticket booth was and then, she helped me find a shorter line that saved me at least 20 minutes. Isabel would be typical of the outstanding local guides Globus uses. During our tour of France, we'd use 2 other local guides who were equally fantastic.

Sadly, at the Eiffel Tower, I had to say good-bye to Isabel. I'd seen Versailles at least 3 times and while I think it is definitely worth seeing, I didn't have any desire to see it a 4th time. We said our good-byes and I got in line to take the elevator to the 3rd level of the Eiffel Tower. The wait was worth it as the views from the 3rd level were stunning. You could see for miles from up there. I must've been at least 20 minutes shooting pictures. Finally, I was done and it was time to make my way back to earth. I took the elevator back down to the 2nd level, changed elevators and make it back down to the ground.

I collect Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. I make it a point to get one at every city I visit that has one. Paris has a Hard Rock Cafe but, I didn't know where it was. Who would know? Isabel! I went in search of her and found her. Sure enough, she knew where it was and, it turned out it was an hour walk each way from the Eiffel Tower. Ah, but what is an hour walk for such a great treasure as a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt (I say this sarcastically). I grimaced and decided to foot it anyway. Little did I know that it would help prepare me for some interesting walks to come on the tour. My friend Harvey decided to join me. To compensate him for this ordeal, I promised to buy him lunch there.

The walk was long but, we had chances to stop and take pictures of various places we'd driven by that morning such as the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde and the stunning Opera House. Finally, we arrived at the Hard Rock Cafe and sat down for an enjoyable lunch. After lunch, I bought myself and my sister Eloise Paris Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts. Then, Harvey and I faced the task of walking back. Both of us were inclined to skip the walk and we checked a metro (subway to us Yanks) station to take the metro back to our hotel. Unfortunately, it looked like we'd have to change trains 4 or 5 times and that was too complicated for us. I offered to spring for a cab but, my friend declined so we footed it back to the hotel. Once we returned, we decided to rest in preparation for the optional excursion to Montmartre and the night river cruise. Stay tuned for my next blog on my France adventures.