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I am really unsure how an internationally recognized, organized tour company like Contiki could not figure out a way of not spending the only day in Paris on May 1st. A national holiday known as “May Day” (the French Labour Day) meant that 95% of stores were closed. Wait! Not just stores, museums were as well meaning no Musee D’Orsay or the Louvre. Needless to say, I was not pleased. I had hoped to spend an entire afternoon with Edgar Degas and his friends, a date was that was thwarted by poor planning.

Side note: although it is the French Labour Day, we were told the story of a pilot who met an untimely death as his fighter plane was shot out of the sky. As it crashed he apparently yelled for “help” into the radio, which in French is “m’aidez! m’aidez!” and sounds like May Day in English. Not sure how true this was, but makes for an interesting story.

To top off the day, the French police patrolled the streets in vests and shields and bearing batons. They anticipated riots, particularly from the ethnic minority groups who feel discriminated against. From the bus, I witnessed police chasing and tear-gassing a group of men whizzing in and out of the alleys of the Red Light District.

The walking tour of Paris did make up for things.  The first stop was at Notre Dame Cathedral, where statues of Adam & Eve, and Mary with Jesus greet you from above.  The original statues of the Kings of Judah were pulled down during an invasion as they were mistaken for those of France.  They have since been replaced by copies. The left door of the Cathedral peaks to a point instead of the rounded domes of the other two doors. In the Gothic art style, uniformity was seen as monotonous and so one door was made different. The gargoyles line the side of the cathedral and are used as water drainers. Both inside and out, the Cathedral is architecturally stunning. A somber and dimly lit interior made the little light pouring in through the stained glass windows enchanting.

To give Montreal credit, our version: The Notre Dame Basilica, is quite nice as well.

Other things I saw in Paris but won’t go into detail about:

• The Louvre and The Musee D’Orsay (ONLY the outside) and La Pyramide at the Louvre
• The Obelisk at Place de La Concorde (absolutely beautiful)
• Hotels des Invades
• Arc de Triomphe
• « Petit » Arc de Triomphe (with the copied four horses from Venice)
• The Moulin Rouge!!
• Sacre Coeur
• L’Ecole militaire
• Jardin de Luxembourg
• Medici Street
• Les Champs Elysees
• A Smart Car!

Of course no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit of the Eiffel Tower. To save money (and time, the lines for the lift were ridiculous) I decided to walk up half the way and take an elevator for the second half. It would have obviously been cheapest to walk the entire way, but I would surely have died right there on the steps had I attempted it. The views from the top were fantastic and proved to be a great photo taking opportunity.  Following the descent, I was exhausted from my little climb and decided to buy water at the tower’s base. 5 euros for a bottle! Surprisingly, it was the same price as a mini bottle of wine, and since that seemed better value, I went for the wine instead.

Later I had Mc Donalds for lunch… how cultured of me. I did discover that you could get a beer with your trio (combo/value meal/paket)! This kick-started my obsession with going to Mc Donalds in every city I visit, looking for variances in the menu (and a cheeseburger, of course).

Thankfully dinner involved fine French cuisine, consisting of veal in cream and mushroom sauce with Basmati rice (ok, Basmati rice is not French at all…) at “La Frigette” in downtown Paris. This was followed by a nice cafe-au-lait and possibly the best chocolate cake I have had to date.  To work this off before bed, I took a walk along La Riviere Saine and over the Lover’s Bridge where I caught honeymooners taking cute pictures there. Sadly, no smooches for me!

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