“Today I took my long-awaited day trip to Paris on the Eurostar train, giving me my first experience with true high-speed rail and my first-ever visit to Paris. I was a little apprehensive about the language barrier, but I was able to successfully order brunch, dinner, and a beer at a bar without causing any international incidents. It simply isn’t possible to do justice to Paris in only nine hours, so some must-see places got skipped in favor of simply wandering the streets and trying to soak up as much of the city as I could. With any luck, I’ll find my way back there someday.”
From Nine Hours in Paris, posted by David Cole on 9/08/2011 (112 items)
- London’s St. Pancras International Terminal, terminus of the high-speed Eurostar trai…
- Inside the Eurostar
- The Eurostar’s cafe car. All Eurostar crew members are bilingual, and the cafe accept…
- This is what the English countryside looks like at 186 MPH.
- 2 hours and 15 minutes after leaving St. Pancras, we arrive at Gare du Nord, Paris.
- The train sheds at Gare du Nord. Several TGV high-speed trains are visible here.
- Gare du Nord. The original train shed is now home to the Eurostar and TGV trains, whi…
- The massive departures board at Gare du Nord
- On board the Paris Metro. Despite not speaking a word of French, I was able to naviga…
- The Paris Metro.
- My view upon exiting the Metro at Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Boulevard Saint-Germain
- Boulevard Saint-Germain
- Boulevard Saint-Germain.
- Boulevard Saint-Germain
- Some small side streets off Boulevard Saint-Germain
- Shop windows off Boulevard Saint-Germain
- Side streets off Boulevard Saint-Germain
- The Seine
- Pont Alexandre III
- Pont Alexandre III
- Hôtel National des Invalides
- Avenue Bosquet
- Avenue Bosquet
- A newer building with a “green wall” that I’d seen published in architectural trade j…
- Close-up of the green wall.
- Finally, the Eiffel Tower
- Eiffel Tower
- Eiffel Tower
- Looking up through the north leg of the Eiffel Tower from the elevator waiting area
- Structural detail of the Eiffel Tower
- Waiting for the elevator
- The view from the top.
- I don’t normally get afraid of heights (I used to work about this high off the ground…
- The view from the top
- Looking out over Paris
- The uppermost observation deck
- Looking straight up at the antenna mast
- In true French fashion, there’s a small champagne bar at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
- Distances to other major world cities. Here’s London.
- Los Angeles: 9105 km, or 5658 miles
- New York and Washington: 3837 miles and 3634 miles, respectively.
- The enclosed portion of the observation deck
- The mechanism for the inclined elevator that hoists people from the ground level to t…
- Inside the Eiffel Tower
- The view from the second mezzanine
- The Seiene from the second mezzanine of the Eiffel Tower
- Looking straight up
- Looking toward the École Militaire
- Inside the Eiffel Tower
- Inside the Eiffel Tower
- Old elevator equipment on display
- The first mezzanine level of the Eiffel Tower
- Looking down from the first mezzanine level
- Looking down from the first mezzanine level
- Looking up from the first mezzanine level. Pretty sure the satellite dish is a newer …
- According to the display here, the thermal expansion of the sunlit side of the Eiffel…
- Looking up
- Back down at ground level
- The postcard view from in front of the École Militaire
- Avenue de la Bourdonnais
- Avenue de la Bourdonnais
- Avenue de la Bourdonnais
- Sidewalk cafe on Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Those are toasters on the tables.
- Back on the Metro
- One of the Paris Metro’s iconic station entrances.
- Side streets of Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- A nifty little car parked in front of a cafe in Montmartre
- The funicular that goes up the steep hillside in Montmartre
- View from the top of the Montmartre funicular
- Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris.
- View from the steps of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
- Stairs leading back down to the base of the hill.
- The view from the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
- Looking down a steep set of public steps on Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- A nice little public plaza in Montmartre
- A public fountain in Montmartre. I ended up seeing a number of fountains of this same…
- Side streets of Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- A butcher shop in Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- Side streets of Montmartre
- I just happened to stumble across the Two Windmills cafe in Montmartre, which was use…
- Boulevard de Clinchy
- Street art on Boulevard de Clinchy
- Boulevard de Clinchy
- Another Metro entrance on Boulevard de Clinchy
- Looking over the railroad tracks leading into Gare St. Lazare
- By this point my feet were killing me, so I decided to grab a Chimay Bleue at a sidew…
- Back on the Metro
- The main gate to the Palais De Justice
- Back on the Seine
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- This guy is apparently the Pigeon Whisperer of Notre Dame
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris
- Taking the RER train back to Gare du Nord
- Back at Gare du Nord to grab the train back to London
- The train shed at Gare du Nord
- Back at St. Pancras International in London
- Eurostar trains lined up at St. Pancras
- Parting shot of St. Pancras
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