We arrived in Paris at about 2pm on the 13th July and because of my ruthless planning we knew exactly how to get to our hostel without looking at directions. As soon as we went down into the metro there were some crazy knife-wielding crackheads screaming at each other which really freaked me out, Jack didn't seem to notice the knife and was just staring at them while I was tugging at his sleeve and trying to avoid eye contact... Luckily they were on the opposite platform so we weren't too much at risk. Our hostel was called Caulaincourt Square Hostel and I really loved it... now that I think about it, we were really lucky because it had all the things which we later came to really value in a hostel and it was a great start to the trip. The area was beautiful, close to transport links, supermarkets and beautiful landmarks (Sacré Coeur was like 2 minutes away)as well as having breakfast included and a good kitchen.
We walked up to Sacré Coeur after getting some lunch from the local shop. The walk up from the hostel was great because, since it's a popular tourist attraction there's loads going on there. A lot of it is just tourist trapping cafés and street venders, but as Jack pointed out, Paris has done a lot to maintain the romantic reputation it has, and so everything is presented in this whimsical, 'Parisian' style which means there's a real atmosphere which was particularly strong around Sacré Coeur. We went twice that day, first in the daytime, and then later on again that night where we saw loads of fireworks owing to the fact that it was the eve of Quatorze Juillet, the French national day and so around 11pm we had a great view over Paris and everyone else's festivities :)
In the meantime, we wandered into the centre of Paris and when Jack wanted to start heading back to the hostel I protested and said there was plenty of time left in the day at 6pm. We looked at a metro map and decided to go to Pere-Lachaise cemetery which turned out to be a mistake because it was closed, and we got totally lost trying to find our way in... and out again.
 |
| Sculpture outside Pere Lachaise Cimitiere |
 |
| The Sacré Coeur Basilica at night |
By booking in advance we managed to find cheap Eurostar tickets to Paris at about £38 one way, although if you want to fly skyscanner.net is a really great flight-finding website :)
