I'd rather walk than wait...

Today was Day 24 (well technically yesterday since it's now 2am). I left the house quite late today, since there was a big commotion about Honours grades being released/emailed so I stayed for that, and chatted to all my psych friends who were online. Plus my clothes were still in the dryer so I needed to stay until that was done too. Didn't end up leaving the house until 1pm, which by then, the free tours had already begun so there was no point heading over there. Instead, since my cousin's place is very near the Louvre, I thought I'd go and check that out. Didn't go in though since the line was so long, plus I decided I should wait to get a museum pass so I can have entry into several museums for a cheaper price. Did the usual tourist thing and took some photos of those awesome glass pyramids.


There are so many hawkers here in Paris. After evading a whole heap of them as I made my way back from the Louvre, I made the mistake of stopping when a guy wanted to ask me something (and he didn't have anything to sell which also helped his image). However, he claimed to be an artist and wanted to tie something on my thumb or something. This reminded me of something I had read in the Lonely Planet guide which had said something about them tying crap on and then forcing you to pay for it because you couldn't take it off or something without breaking it (in the Eastern countries, they are said to put a curse on you if you don't pay). But yeah, artist or not, I was determined not to have anything put on me and swiftly walked away from the man still proclaiming that he was an artist. I don't mean to be rude, but I need to be wary of everyone on the streets. I'm already a paranoid person by nature, which has been amplified by me travelling alone, but being paranoid will keep me safe. But the amount of hawkers in Paris is ridiculous. I've only been here one day and that's the thing I hate the most. They need to get rid of these people and their in-your-face tactics. I saw an American couple who made the mistake of talking to one of them and examining his goods. They tried to walk away but couldn't because he was so persistent and just kept following them. In the end, they bought something from him (I suspect so that he would leave them alone). But yeah, I've learnt that you can avoid them by just looking up and around at the sites and ignore them. Do not make eye contact. Do not look at their goods. Do not even acknowledge their existence. Walk right on by. They are nothing to me. Hahaha I sound so elitist now. But I don't care. In my opinion, these people just need to be purged from the streets for being so annoying.

Anyways, enough of the ranting. After getting past all the hawkers, I was wondering what I should do next. So I looked to the skyline and searched for that familiar piece of metal, and walked towards that. A considerable amount of walking later, I found myself staring straight up at the magnficent Eiffel Tower. Once again, massive amount of hawkers each selling miniature Eiffel Towers. You couldn't walk 5 metres without bumping into a hawker, and they were annoying people who were waiting in line. Seeing the massive line, and being the impatient person that I am, I knew that I wouldn't be able to wait in line to go up (even for the Eiffel Tower). Then I realised that the line was for the elevator. Awesome. I could take the stairs (although only to the second floor) and it would be cheaper than going by elevator. I would be back some other day to go up to the top but for today, the second floor was good enough. Wow. I consider myself a relatively fit person, and even I was puffing once I got to the first floor. There are seriously a lot of stairs!! Took a quick break and enjoyed the scenery before continuing the trek up to the second floor. Once I got up there, it was an awesome feeling. I had walked up the Eiffel Tower!! Too bad I didn't have my baguette (as I had promised Tang), but I bought a quiche instead so I'm still being French lol. But yeah, it's amazing being up there. I can't even begin to imagine what the top is like, since even the view from the second floor was awesome and breathtaking. I actually ended up spending 3 hours up there before heading down to take photos from afar to capture the entire tower.

After that, I simply just walked home since I had walked a bit to get to the tower so getting back would take some time too. Saw Paris' equivalent of the London Eye, called the Wheel of Paris. Not as impressive, and the name sounds a bit weird. Made my way through to the Jardin du Tuileries, and sat in front of a massive fountain just because it was nice and also just because I could. Got back around 7pm, and made myself dinner of pan-seared lamb chops and mushrooms sauteed in butter (very French lol). And until now I've just been uploading my many photos. And now it's almost 3am, so I'd better hit the sack. Need to get up for the free city tour tomorrow.

HBL signing out from Paris, France. J'adore Paris!!