It was such a fantastic feeling to see Bryan and Lisa waiting at our Paris hostel when Pete and I walked in Saturday night. We celebrated our joyous reunion with dinner and a few drinks before walking to the Eiffel Tower with Matt, a BC native we met on the metro. It was a beautiful night, too-- the grassy areas around the tower were full of people picnicking and drinking wine, punctuated by young children running and through the checkerboard of blankets. You could smell and see and hear the reason why Paris is so special-- proven by the relaxed crowd and the oohs and aahs that broke out when the tower suddenly lit up with a million twinkling bulbs.
The next day we booked it to the Louvre first thing to take advantage of the Sunday free admission. Unfortunately, so did every other tourist in Paris, so we had to see the Mona Lisa through a screen of camera-wielding crazies. She kept a serene watch over her bustling audience, though, as we continued on and spent half the day taking in the other beautiful exhibits.
Now having seen one of the two sights I wanted to see, we had lunch behind the Tuileries and then headed to the second, Pere Lachaise cemetary. Pere Lachaise is probably the most famous graveyard in the world; not only because of the thousands of people buried there, but also for its numerous famous inhabitants. The one grave I wanted to see? Oscar Wilde, writer, socialite, and wit. His grave was one of the newer ones in a far-flung corner of the cemetery but nonetheless, it was covered in lipstick kisses and messages of admiration. Who knew a 19th century poet could inspire so many people, and so much so that they would make a pilgrimage of sorts to his final resting-place?
With Bryan commandeering the search, we also managed to find Moliere and Jim Morrison with, miraculously, no map in hand. It's extremely confusing to navigate PL's winding paths (especially with its haphazardly numbered sections) but we found Morrison's tucked away in one of the older parts behind a couple of giant tombstones, surrounded by a small crowd of the musical faithful. Moliere had likewise attracted some onlookers, although his monument was a bit more elaborate.
So having accomplished a very full day, we contented ourselves with a simple dinner and prepared to leave early the next day for Tours. All of us are happy to be going (despite Paris's many attractions and our amazing hostel) but especially Bryan and Lisa, who've been in the city for five days already.
Tours, May 5
We left the hot streets and tourist throngs of Paris behind today to train it to Tours, in the Loire Valley. We had originally booked a hostel 40 km outside the city but upon arriving and seeing the difficulties in getting there and back, we promptly cancelled and booked the last room in a Best Western. Thankfully, Bryan managed to get all our money back from the first hotel. He used his gruff voice; no problems after that!
The rest of the day we walked around Tours, a quiet mid-sized city with tons of history. For centuries French kings lived in and around it, seeking to escape the chaos of Paris in the leafy countryside along the Loire River. Remnants of the city's former glory spot the city centre; we went into the half-12th century and half-Gothic Cathedral St-Gatien and got an interesting impromptu tour from a local volunteer. The church's vivid original stained glass windows tell Biblical stories in frank, clear way: comic strips for the medieval crowd. Afterwards, the four of us wandered the charming old town and bought baguettes and gelato-- you know, your typical backpacker's dinner ;).
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