Marina Comes to Visit

No matter how many times people said they would come visit me in Paris I never believed that it would actually happen. This weekend I was more than excited to have my first visitor, Marina. Studying in Prague, it was fairly easy for Marina to come visit for a weekend. Being her first visit to Paris, John and I planned an intense two-day tour of almost all of Paris.

What’s a better introduction to France than arriving to find that the airline employees outside were on strike? Perhaps arriving on time with no hiccups though you have to admit it’s a little funny. Within ten minutes of being in Paris, Marina was already at the Lourve. John and I had made plans months ago to see U2 in 3D with John’s Uncle, Jean- Pierre, and cousin, Salambô. Had the plan worked perfectly, the museum would not have closed earlier then we thought but you can’t have everything when tickets are free and the view is so beautiful.

The U2 concert in 3D was pretty cool. It was shown in the IMAX theater at the Science Museum. I have to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of huge concerts but this was the best of both worlds: a montage of U2’s tour with the comfort of being in a movie theater. I’m really glad I got to go and am even a little jealous of John, Jean-Pierre, Salambô and Lorenzo who got to see the real concert on Sunday, a foot away from the stage!

Saturday we took a walking tour of Paris. We were up and out by 10 and didn’t get home until 1am, which is perhaps why we finally gave in and took the metro. Though I had already seen the parts of Paris we were showing Marina, it was a pleasure to see them all again this time being able to recognize and understand a little about each sight. I cannot choose one highlight because it was the perfect day. I was glad to be able to feel as though I have come to know Paris better, I was delighted to have understood and spoke a little French, I was proud that I could help direct our journey and could not have asked for better company. Not everyone can say they saw as much as we did in one day. To be exact we:

Walked toward Bastillle
Walked through Le Marais (and Place des Vosges)
Passed Hotel de Ville and Tour Saint Jacques
Took a pit stop to revisit the Louvre
Headed over to the Opera and passed through Place Vendome on the way
Had lunch at Chez Clement, where we had quite the amusing waiter who wanted us to eat everything on our plates!
Visited the Opera house
Checked out the sales at Galeries Lafayette and checked out the view of Paris from the top
then heading back toward Rue Rivoli where we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries, where there was a carnival!
Arrived at Place de la Concorde to see that they were already setting up for Bastille Day
Walked up the Champs Elysees
Continued toward the Eiffel Tower, which Marina was brave enough to go up
Took a Bateaux-Mouches on the Seine to see Paris by night
headed passed Trocadéro to catch the metro home
and enjoyed a delicious crepe dinner/breakfast made by John.

Come Sunday it was really hard to get up and head out but Marina and I did well. John left very early for his U2 concert so Marina and I were on our own. I must say we were pretty successful in continuing our tour.

We started with the Hotel des Invalides, which was surprisingly hard to find and wound up also seeing the Assemblée Nationale
Then headed to the Ile-de-la-Cité where we saw Notre-Dame, the Saint Michel Fountain and the Palais de Justice.
From there we headed to Montmartre where we wandered around, saw Sacré-Coeur and the Moulin Rouge
Our final stop of the day being Cimetière du Père Lachaise where we saw Jim Morison’s grave.

By the end of the weekend I was so happy to have Monday off to rest before Bastille Day! It amazes me that a two day tour of Paris is possible though not advisable for the sake of your feet!

Thank you Jean-Pierre for inviting me into the family’s U2 fan-club. The movie was great and I still can’t believe you guys got such great spots at the concert!

Thank you Marina for being the first to visit me in Paris! I’m excited you came and had a great time seeing the city with you.

And thank you John for well.. being the everything this weekend: the U2 knowledge base, the tour guide, the translator, bargainer and even the chef.

Check out the photos from Marina's visit here!