The very last tango in Paris

Howdy all,

OK, so this week I've been continuing on my travels by not travelling at all. I've stayed in Paris for the week (I head to Bern tomorrow morning).

In the last week I've done the following:
- the Sewer tour, zhich I'd really been looking forward to as something a little off-beat, but was a little school-childrenish
- Eiffel Tower (of course). I had planned to find a girl to go up there with, and propose to her with a cheap/plastic ring, and then, while everyone goes "awwwww", let the ring fall out of my hand and off the side of the tower. Given the cheesiness and the crowd up the top, this would have been *perfect* but I couldn't organise it (I couldn't find a girl who'd accept a fake ring). Still, it's a great view.
- I should mention there's a bit of a story about how I ended up at the Eiffel Tower on that day, whiwh I'll share with you ahen I get a chance
- Les Invalides, the military history museum, which includes excellent sections on the Free French Army and Resisitance, Napoleon's Tomb, and a brand new exhibit on Charles de Gaulle (not unlike the Churchill Museum in London)
- Musee Rodin, where you can see the Thinker and the Gates of Hell
- Musee D'Orsay, which I was surprised to find only about 30 years old, but has some amazing art. I spent three and a half hours in the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist sections alone
- Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Edith Piaf are buried, thank to Ines for that. The rest of the day we went to Place des Vosages, a lovely square, and the reto-futuristic Cite de Sciences at La Vilette which was great because it was so different.
- The Louvre, where I got a great pic of myself infront of the Mona Lisa on the first go. Other than the usual stuff there (eg Venus de Milo), my highlights were the Iranian and Babylonian collections
- Rue Battignolles for an "authentic working class French street" in the 14e Arrt. To be honest it didn't seem all that special!
- Sacre Coeur again, and some old, formerly-very-plush shopping arcades from the 1920s
- The Mitterand Bibliotheque, a massive national library on the Seine
- The Musee de Clichy which has some cool mediaeval artifacts, and a lady with a unicorn
- Montparnasse, for an unrivalled view of the city from 59 floors up (its unrivalled because you can't see Montparnasse from there)

Also, I lost my wallet. Just for long enough for me to completely stress out. A guy left our room early to get to the airport and when I woke up my wallet was gone, and I had an awful feeling. I was supposed to meet Ines that morning and it was lost for just long enough for it to dawn on me that I wouldn't be meeting Greg and Silvia in Bern, I wouldn't be seeing Alessandra in Rome, and I'd have to ask Ines for money to get back to London! Luckily it turned up.

The place I was staying then, Le Village, is one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at (up there with Gregory's in Varna). Check out my review of them: http://www.hostelworld.com/reviews/thankyou.php?HostelNumber=&SID=GB7Mp620080430231109

So now I leave Paris. Thanks to all of you for tips etc for Paris, and keep them coming! My next stops are Bern, Bologna, Pisa, Venice, Florence and Rome. Any suggestions welcome.

And a huge thanks to Ines for being my tour guide here for a couple of days. See you in a few weeks babe!

I trust you're all well. Except you van Dieren.