I seriously considered buying a ticket to the show, but 90 euros is a pretty hefty price (about $135). So that's on my radar for next time, when I'm a super wealthy attorney and money is no object... Not holding my breath. Next stop was Place du Tertre, a really neat artists' square. On my way there, I saw some really cool homes that I wouldn't mind living in... gah, can you imagine little Parisian home in Montmartre just steps away from Sacre Coeur?!? Sigh. Anyway...
Then, the Sacre Coeur! There are some buildings in this world that I am just obsessed with. This is one of them.
So I walked around for 45 minutes just taking pictures of everything... The cafes, the people, the birds, the trees, seriously all of it. I spent about 10 minutes just watching this little girl scare birds away, which was pretty hilarious:
Then I got in trouble because the guys on the left hand side of the pic below thought that I was taking pics of their "crew." So this crew is a group of guys who line stairways so you can't get past without dealing with them first. They approach you and try to make a friendship bracelet on your wrist, without really asking you first. Then when they're done, they demand payment for the bracelet. I'd read about this before I came to Paris, so I knew to avoid them. But I didn't do a great job of it, because the dude in the plaid shirt came up to me and told me I had to leave... Which obviously didn't sit well with me because I didn't fly across the Atlantic Ocean to leave Sacre Coeur before I was good n' ready. So I told him I wasn't leaving and that I could take pictures of whatever I wanted, and to leave me alone. Which he did, but not until after his buddies threw some real classy lines my way and said "what country are you from!?! We are from Africa. We are BLACK!" and then proceeded to slap their forearms in unison, as if I didn't realize what black meant. Weird experience.
So after gaining my Paris street cred, I headed back to my hotel for check-in. I love this hotel! Very friendly, pretty cheap, and adorable rooms. The hotel theme is international/cat... Not sure why, but it works!
Jet lag was killin me so I decided to make some good use of my bed and take a nice little nap. When I woke up, I was itchin' to do some exploring so I hit the metro and headed to the Seine River, where a lot of Paris's main sights are located. The walk was a little creepy since I was alone, it was dark, and the river walk was pretty much deserted... But it was also really cool to feel like I had the city all to myself. I couldn't stop smiling and feeling so lucky to be here! Below are pics of the Eiffel Tower during one of its hourly light shows, the river view, and the Eiffel Tower up close.
The tower was closed for the night, but the area around it was still buzzing! I didn't have much time before the metro closed for the night, but i was starving so I decided to grab a quick crepe and head home...
The line was really short so I figured I'd be out of there in no time... Wrong! The line to pay was short, but then there was another line where you waited for your food. Oops. The crepe (chocolate, strawberries, and whipped cream) was a delicious dinner, but I was really cutting it close for the metro. Sure enough, I missed it. I didn't have enough cash on me to catch a cab, so I wandered around aimlessly until I found a bus that took me halfway home, then I walked the rest of the way! I got back super late, but safe and sound! Day 1: great success :)
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