So I suppose…I lied when I said the last trip would be it for a while. Not entirely, but it went like this. At first, I booked the tickets for J-rock fest…then, I noticed a bunch of stuff being announced in Japan…so I booked a two week Japan trip, thinking that I could juggle both trips.
Then the uncertainty about B7Klan’s festival started circulating…and then, Masked Fest was announced…a week after I was scheduled to leave.
And then I was saying to myself…too bad I can’t go to Masked. But then…I said “well, why *can’t* I go to Masked?” So I went…
And then the war in Iran kicked off. Fuel prices soared, and flight cancellations were a very real concern. So I said “whelp, guess that was a good gamble. Looks like Paris is a no-go for now”.
Then came the waffling. Is the war on? Off? Strait open? Closed? Fuel prices were stabilizing again when the Strait was open, so what do you know? One day, I was curious and I find a quite good deal for a flight that lined up with my hotel booking.
And I thought…”why *can’t I go to J-rock fest? Why *can’t* I go see a certain special guest the day before at Japan Expo?”
So here I am, boarding the 7.5 hr flight to Paris, with Air France.
I get good luck on free seat assignments during check-in. A window seat with nobody in my row for Winnipeg - Toronto and an emergency exit seat with extra leg room and nobody in the middle. I even get a few hours of solid sleep. Win!
The flight attendant in my area is super helpful, fluent in French, English and Spanish. The food is also pretty decent. No wifi, though. That was more of a plane technical error than a gap in services. Good thing I downloaded some festival essentials for listening. Reviewing MUCC’s Anime friends set a few days ago, I’m hoping we get Iris too.
The breakfast portion came in this cute little bag instead of a tray, and the snack in the dinner was this salty bread crisp snack.
On a side note, the pilot addresses the passengers to let them know that this is his final flight after 19,000+ hours airtime.
During landing, I feel a bit of turbulence and I’m thinking “is this just a real soft landing, or are we still in the air”? We finally land, and people brace before giving a round of applause from behind me.
So getting through the airport and customs is not quite as much raw distance as an airport like Narita, but it was also not quite as labelled as I would have thought in terms of how to get to CDGVAL. That didn’t come until a few confusing turns after Customs.
As my mother warned me, a guy in plain clothes approaches to offer me a taxi ride. He tries to chase me for a bit, but I let him know that I really need to go store my luggage.
My hotel is a bus ride away, which adds too much time on my tight connections for sightseeing today.
Thankfully, I eventually find the office and it’s only a couple minutes walk to the RER train heading into central Paris. I pre-bought my 5 day metro pass through IDF Mobilities, so it was a simple Validate and go.
After a long train ride, I get to my first stop just a few minutes after the start of my scheduled entry for the Conciergerie.
Once I get there, it’s a pretty smooth entry. Quick security check, then scan my reservation code and Paris Museum Pass and I’m handed a tablet for an Augmented reality commentary and visual representation of what the building used to look like from the time periods of 1315-1380, as a medieval castle and banquet hall and again between 1735-1795 as a court and prison.
Rush played shows at the Conciergerie’s kitchens?
One room, known for being a court house, even offered a very different change of perspective between the old Royal-run courts and the Revolutionary courts of the later 18th century.
Speaking of…
The second half of the museum focuses on the history of the French Revolution, both in its initially liberatory purposes, and the draconian measures it took to cement the new Republic’s grasp on France. Near the end of the route, we see the prison’s chapel, rebuilt around Marie Antoinette’s final cell before being led to the Place de la Concorde for her execution.
Personal items of Marie’s, I promise the photo bomb was completely unintentional.
I must say, they have a final augmented reality section about the path she took to her public execution, and this sketch artist did her dir-ty!
I realize that I budgeted too much time for this, and I now have almost a full hour to kill. Time to go grab food at a cafe. I can fill my misting fan too, nice!
Next up is Sainte-Chapelle, a Gothic cathedral dating back to the mid 1200s, ordered built by King Louis IX. It used to hold a few holy relics of great significance such as the (allegedly), original thorn of crowns used during the first Passion of the Christ re-enactment and a piece of the original cross, but these were almost all destroyed during the Revolution (which targeted nobility and clergy alike). The crown managed to be moved to Notre Dame Cathedral, where it remains in their treasury.
Even though most of this is a re-build, the architecture is just fantastic. There are two levels, the lower level, meant to serve the staff of the King, and the upper floor, reserved for King Louis IX’s use, and for him to meet noble guests.
I typically don’t spend very long at churches, temples, shrines, etc. While I can appreciate beautiful architecture and historical significance, these things hold no spiritual significance for me…so a quick run through and a few photos is usually good enough for me.
Which brings me to my last thing before it’s time to go back. Notre Dame Cathedral is free to attend and no reservation is required. It’s a good long line up, but I figured I’d get some pictures first. Here’s Pugrou meeting Charlemagne!
And the infamous locks of love on the gates of the cathedral.
The line is moving decently quickly. I see why there’s a little bit of a delay though, and some people being turned away. Dress code!
Yes, even in this heat, we can’t be having women showing anything above the knee, or any shoulders or cleavage. I saw a few women trying to argue, but to no avail.
I of course, have no problem being approved. Sorry ladies, a non-believer can get in just for giggles, but you’re wearing a tank top in +33 heat, so no Evening mass for you. For a second there, I think that they’re about to start scrutinizing a girl who couldn’t be older than 9 or 10, but they decide to let them through.
However, about an hour later while I’m chilling inside waiting for my tower access, I start seeing a lot more short shorts and tank tops, so maybe they let up.
Men were scolded for not taking off their hats, or for talking or being on their phone in the “inner” seating area. Outer seating area was more lenient. After giving the cathedral a once over for photos, including many statues and portraits of various saints, I sat in the outer area to wait for my 6:45 window to go see the towers (covered by the Museum pass).
I would have liked to have climbed to the bells, which millennials among us may remember from their cameo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but between the heat and my general lethargy, I only got half way before turning back. Got some gnarly gargoyle pictures though.
By now it’s getting late, and my baggage needs to be picked up by 9:00, lest I get locked out. I *need* another drink at this point, and I finally find a vending machine in the underground. Oooh, Pepsi Zero…aaaand it’s warm. Why?!?!??
After some confusion over which tram *actually* went to the Airport (why advertise that track as Airport bound if your trams stop at the Expo centre and you need to change tracks for the real Airport line?)
Now, I *will* need those earlier stops for half the trip, so not the worst. But Still! A homeless guy also asked me for some money, but laughed it off when I told him that I don’t speak French, in French.
I find out that the busses to my hotel are actually Terminal 3, but at least the Airport transit is free. I finally find a public tap…alas, lukewarm as the Pepsi Zero.
I’m kind of used to places having no air conditioning here. No reference at all to it in the booking, so I assume no.
Guess I assumed wrong, because I’m greeted by a wave of cool air upon entering, and my mood immediately perks up. A bit of a learning curve at first, but things are looking up.
Or at least the temperatures are.
PS, feel free to post any Paris sightseeing stuff in this thread. It is a couple of days still before the festival.
