Pinching Pennies in Paris

View from La Tour Eiffel

...some would say it's impossible. Paris' prices are what nearly kept us from seeing the iconic capital of France, but as luck would have it, our hosts in Limoges had a friend in Paris who was sympathetic to budget travelers, having previously been one himself. We would stay two nights, for free. We exchanged appreciative goodbyes with the realization that we may never see our new-found friends again.

        On the train, we endured fitful naps between stints of gawking out of the cafeteria car's windows at the blurred landscape beyond. It resembled an amateur watercolor painting. Fingers extended and mouths agape, we marveled at the smeared scenery outside the high-speed train. Having noticed our trance, the barista answered our silent question. "320 kilometers per hour," she said, without glancing up from her screaming milk wand.

        I cannot truly do Paris justice; the time we spent there was far too short to even scratch the surface. Leaving an area as quickly as we came in is not very "sustainable," I'll admit, but we tried to make the most out of it. Having only one full day to work with, we asked our host Jonathan what were the must-sees. Not surprisingly, he recommended the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Norte Dame, and the like. We prodded him to give us a taste of Paris beyond the famous sights and said that we intended to walk everywhere. We didn't want to waste one second of our one day in one of the largest cities on Earth in a metro. First stop: the Eiffel Tower. From that incredible view, our fingers would etch our route into the cityscape. After priming our legs with hundreds of vertical feet, we parted the concrete jungle.

Coin hunting

The Louvre

Outside the Louvre

Merchant in a less-visited market plaza (will have name soon). One of my favorite places we visited. Seldom saw tourist-types here; mostly Parisians doing their grocery shopping. The frommage shop, especially, stopped us in our tracks.

Stumbling into high mass at Notre Dame. Those immense, eerie organ echos could make anyone a believer (well, almost...).

Pont de l'Archeveche (the "Love Lock" Bridge), where romantics lock their love into eternity and throw the key into the river. We might have contributed, but we just couldn't bear to leave behind a good & practical lock...

Flutist at the Louvre. We happened to be in Paris on a Tuesday, the one day the Museum is closed. The courtyard may have been just as entertaining, though.