Remembering my first night in Paris
by Carmanah
It's funny looking back on my first moments in Paris. I remember being in our tour bus driving from the Charles de Gaule Airport to our Fimotel downtown, and passing by urban parks where older men were playing Bocci. I vididly remember the poster poles on the street corners, and looking out my hotel window to find a Chinese restaurant, which is not at all what I was expecting to see.
Later on that night in the dark we were driven to a casual French bistro nearby. Because all of our dinners were pre-ordered by our teachers, none of us had a say in what we wanted to eat. Our choice was basically vegetarian, or non-vegetarian. Most of us ordered the non-vegetarian meal even though we had no idea what it was.
Well, our dinner turned out to be steak frites and green beans. How very French, I suppose! At the time none of us realized the cultural significance of our meal and in fact hardly ate it. Unlike at home, the restaurant never asked any of us how we'd like our steak done, and as a result, they were all sent to our table completely rare! Perhaps teenagers in France aren't picky eaters, but the sight of the bloody beef sickened us Canadian teens to the point where we could barely eat it! I felt bad for the restaurant, because we ate our fries and our beans, but they must have gotten 30 barely-eaten rare steaks sent back that night. What a waste!
Spectacular views
by ettenaj
Everywhere you go in Paris you are certain to find a spectacular view, one of the finest for me ( as I am affraid of heights ) is from in front of the Sacre Coere, you can see all over the city and its not a bit scary. We went out of season so there were not too many tourists around.
Versailles
One of the most...
by benzerga
Versailles
One of the most visited monuments in France, amongst the three most visited, is the Palace of Versailles. Wanting to escape the busy life in Paris, and to keep the nobility under his control, Louis XIV built this chateau in which he set up home and installed the government. Louis Le Vau was commissioned to renovate and extend an old hunting lodge, Le Notre created the gardens from swamp land, and Mansart masterminded the hydraulic display of the fountains.
Walking the dog
by Emke
Ann's favourite activity in Paris was walking the dog. The dog liked her a lot and kept walking behind her. I think that;s because she brought a lot of braafbrokjes with her.
Walking the dog is a local custom in Paris: you see this funny minidogs everywhere!
Bring a prop and work it!
by anacapa
I suggest ditching the t-shirt for something w/ buttons. Add a little bit of style when travelling, especially in Europe. When will you be back? You want your future grandkids to see you stylin' back in the day... Or when you're showing your new girlfriend/boyfriend your photos from Europe you don't want to look like a dweeb in a t-shirt. Bring a prop to photograph on your trip! Act like a model or a rock star. (just don't trash your hotel room)
I brought a purse a friend designed with me to Paris. I promised her I'd take photos of it in and around Paris for her marketing purposes. I had one day in Paris with friends from Berlin before we all split up. I got some amazing photos and memories from that one day because of the purse and the goal of modelling it in Paris. My friends got into the game and kept suggesting photos. It made taking photos feel less like a touristy thing and more like a game. We had fun with the photos and the results are better photos than what we might normally have taken. That translates into some great documentation of a great time. I highly suggest it!!
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Avenue de la Grande Armee from the Arc
Winter setting in!
Map of the garden, the route I walked.
Porte Dauphine, Paris, France 2009
