Western Europe Trip — Paris

It was a long time coming, but I need to quickly wrap up the second big field trip. Over a month after it happened.. *cough*

Franktfurt
Paris
Brussels
Luxembourg

We got into Paris on November 4th. It was a Friday, and we arrived at about eight in the evening. The hotel was alright, although the elevator was broken and I was in a triple. This night we set out to see some sights. I was not feeling all that great, and after eating at a crappy Chinese restaurant, and seeing the Eiffel Tour lit up, I walked back alone. Paris was a bit intimidating at night – moreso than any of the eastern European cities.

But Paris’ subway system is amazing. I used it every day, and it was pretty easy to use / understand. Very nice.

Saturday, the 5th, we had completely free. I did all of the typical tourist things – Eiffel Tour, the miniature Statue of Liberty, the Arc D’Triumph, Notre Dame, and half a dozen other attractions. A lot of walking. And I still felt bad.

Sunday we also had free, except for a formal dinner in the evening (expenses paid, naturally). I visited the Louvre, and had the amazing luck to get in free (first Sunday of every month). The place was packed, but I saw some art. Mona Lisa. Woo. (I guess?)

The formal dinner was pretty bad, since the other vegetarian and I had to request “special” dinners, which meant crappy leftovers of the sides of everyone else. I’ll say it right now – French cuisine is bad, and overpriced to boot.

Sunday night I walked around the neighborhood around our hotel (NE of the city center area). It was sorta ethnic, sorta funky. A little creepy. Found a used clothing store, bought some pants and a couple shirts.

On Monday the 7th, we had two lectures, which were quite good. One dealt with the French rejection of the European Constitution, and the future of European integration, while the other was a meeting with a group from the EU Institute for Security Studies. The focus was on EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, and it was quite enlightening.

At about three thirty, we departed Paris for Brussels, and I was glad. The weather in Paris was bad, alternatively overcast with occasional rainshowers. I felt terrible the entire time, having some sort of stomach bug, or, more likely, just as a result of a terrible diet on the trip (vegetarian options in Paris are scarcer than any other place I’ve been. Only options were Italian, which I soon grew tired of). And Paris was just generally.. “EH”. The tourist attractions were alright – the Eiffel Tour and Arc D’Triumph being particularly impressive – but the general atmosphere sucked.

I had very low expectations for Paris, since it is such the typical tourist spot. Generally, I think it was probably better than I was expecting. But it still wasn’t all that much fun.