Je suis ici!

Bonjour mes amis! I have arrived in Paris, at the moment it is pouring down with rain, so instead of walking the streets I thought I would do a post of my adventures so far.
Well my first impression of Paris was not so good, courtesy of the RER (the regional express route) from the airport into the city. It was hot, smelly and overcrowded and all I could think about was how I could be doing this in any other city in the world and actually be able to understand the language! BUT then I popped out of the metro in Le Marais (after carrying my bags up a huge flight of stairs!). It was gorgeous, with beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets.



I arrived at my accommodation (MIJE) only to find that since I hadn’t rung to confirm (I had emailed) that they did not have a reservation for me. Luckily at one of their other residences Hotel de Fourcy there was a spare bed that I could have for 3 nights. I had to traipse my luggage a few blocks and then up 5 flights of stairs to my room. However, the view of the Eiffel tower from my window was exquisite.

I didn’t even bother getting dinner on my first night, just had a shower and went straight to bed. I woke up extremely early (thanks jetlag) and not wanting to sit around moping went for a walk around the district. It was so nice and quiet and cool in comparison to when I went out later with all the hustle and bustle.

After my free breakfast of a baguette and orange juice at the hotel (yes I know I shouldn’t eat bread (celiac) but there was nothing else!) I decided to head into the city to see the sights. I had booked a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours while still in Asutralia and we were to meet at the Piliur Sud of the Eiffel Tower at 11am. So off I go on the metro at about 9am – bad idea! The ligne 1 that I needed to take, also goes out to Le Defence (where all the work is done!) so was really crowded, but as soon as I changed trains to go the Eiffel tower it was much better and I learnt and important lesson! Don’t travel during peak hour!
I had an hour and a bit to spare when I arrived so headed off to find an internet cafe or a free wireless spot – I didn’t find one . After walking through the heat I relaxed under one of the big trees near the Eiffel tower where I was harassed by women from Bosnia with a child with leukaemia... yeah right! There were heaps of street vendors around, but as I was going to the toilet, I walked past three soldiers with massive guns and apparently they just all scattered!
The bike tour collected about 40 tourists, mainly from America but there were a few Aussies there and a guy from New Zealand. Just about everyone was travelling with friends or partners so felt a bit left out, the guy from NZ was also travelling alone so ended up asking each other to take our photos. We went to all the main sights, the Ecole Militaire, Hotel des Invalide (with the tomb of Napolean), the Grand Palais, Place de la concorde. We then had lunch in the Jardin de Tuileries – I had cheese and a panche (beer shandy) – yum! After lunch, we rode past the Louvre and then back through the Champ de Mars to the Office. It was really great to see all the sights and get your bearings and you get so much further on a bike than walking, especially in the heat. Would recommend to anyone, it was a very easy pace and our tour guide Sadie told some fascinating stories about each of the monuments. I was meant to be doing the Night bike tour as well that evening, but was not feeling up to it so changed it to tonight, which I am looking forward to, it includes a cruise on the River Seine with wine! Here are some photos...



I finally found an internet cafe in the Marais, which was a relief, was feeling very far away. I also managed to buy a sim card for my phone – pretty much all in French which was good, so now I feel a bit connected to the world but still very far away from friends and family. I wish I was travelling with someone; I’m not brave enough to just go out to dinner by myself or walk into a pub. I hope I meet some fellow travellers on my bike tour tonight and I’m looking forward to French classes on Monday, where I will hopefully make some friends. I’m hoping this will cure the homesickness 
I’m still terribly jetlagged, after I got back from my bike tour, I thought I would just rest a little before I went to find something to eat – I passed out until about 11.30pm. So just had a shower and went back to bed without any dinner again. Woke up at 2.30am again, I’m not very good company at this time in the morning and the homesickness was really bad (helped by the boy sending me an email!), ended up taking some sleeping tablets and woke up feeling much better!
Not sure what I shall do for the rest of the day until I have my bike tour; will need to go to a museum or gallery to keep out of the rain I suppose.
Will keep you all updated on my adventures.
Au revoir!