Our first day in Paris was what was called a “free day”. The tour bus would drop us off in the morning at a certain location and the bus would fetch us there later in the day leaving us to explore the city. Renee and I had decided to stick together in the morning and then do our own thing later on. As I had spent 3 days in Paris last year there were a lot of things that I had already done and didn’t see the need to go again, except the Musee D’Orsay. Although I had already been there was a Manet exhibition on and so this is where we decided to start our morning. I can say without a doubt that I prefer the Musee D’Orsay to the Louvre. Besides the fact that it’s much easier to navigate it specialises in impressionist art, which really appeals to be. I enjoyed the Manet Exhibition but the real joy is just slowly walking around this beautiful building which used to be a train station. Being TV junkies we remembered that Blair had met Louie here (Gossip Girl) and we tried our best to find the spot, I think I did but I’m not sure. Walking around I put my headphones in and listened to the “Amelie” soundtrack only to round a corner and find myself facing the Renoir they paint in the film. A lot of the artworks I enjoyed were quite dark but really interesting and I really enjoyed the works of Degas.
By the time we had finished walking around it was nearing lunch time and so we started walking toward this little bakery that Renee had heard of called Laduree. Take everything you could possibly imagine about a French bakery and that won’t nearly cover how amazing it was. I got a lovely croissant for lunch and an adorable violet cupcake for later. Renee bought a selection of macaroons. It’s situated right near the Madeleine church and so we decided to eat on the steps in front.
It was at this point where we decided to go do our own thing. Renee went to the Louvre and I went to the Paris Opera House, the setting for The Phantom of the Opera. To get inside as a tourist you walk in the back entrance and it feels like you’re underground. I was so excited to be there I started to tear up a little bit. Again the earphones went in and I decided to walk around listening to the Phantom soundtrack. As well as walking around the halls and general areas the open the doors to two boxes so that you can see what they look at and take a peek at the stage. I tried to find the Phantom’s box but it didn’t seem to exist. It was a bit overwhelming being there so I found a bench inside and just sat and took it all in. The exit is through the gift shop and I found it very hard to not buy anything more than a postcard and a bookmark.
I still had a bit of time but unfortunately not enough to go to the cemetery which was what I was hoping to do. Instead I walked to the Tuileries gardens and lay down and read my book, yes I know only I would take a book with me to walk around Paris. On the bus back to the hotel everyone was a bit tired from there day exploring but excited for our night out. We had been giving the options of going for a traditional Parisian dinner and then to a Cabaret show, I had decided to both. When we went of to get dressed Sanjay had advised us that there would be a “short walk” from the bus to dinner and we should wear comfortable shoes, little did we know. These “short walks” would soon become infamous for being anything but. We stopped in the Montmartre district and then had to walk up to the Sacre Coeur. The view from there really is incredible, but the amount of whinging that went on climbing the stairs up was hilarious. Especially considering most of the girls didn’t listen and had worn serious heels. I think most people were very glad when we eventually arrived at our restaurant for dinner. There was another tour group there which was nice to have a big crowd. We had a lovely three course meal, I chose a starter of snails, mains of duck l’orange and I can’t remember what I had for dessert, was so full that I didn’t really eat that much of it.
It was then time for another “short walk” to the Cabaret show. It was silly, fun and the songs got stuck in your head but it cost a bit more than it was work. We were then informed that those of us who hadn’t gone to the show had gone to the Irish pub down the road and if we wanted to continue partying we could join them there. I’m not kidding you I think there is an Irish pub in every city and the Contiki people always know where they are. Was the first very wild night with almost the entire group and it ended sometime in the next morning with another cab ride back. There was a bit of an attempt to keep the party going in the Hotel but eventually I gave up and passed out in my bed.
The next morning was another early start and a fight for the elevator as we all tried to get our bags down to the bus while hungover. This would be the first experience of the zombie bus where although we were driving through some beautiful scenery everyone was fast asleep on the journey to out next location. We were going to be staying in the Contiki Chateau in the Beaujolais wine region. When we arrived we learnt about the system of cookies and dishies, were 8 people are chosen at each destination to help out with the serving and clearing of the meals. Thankfully I wasn’t one at this stage but hoped when I got picked that I’d get dishy.
Here I would be sharing a room with three Aussies Morgan, Loz and Olivia and within minutes of us getting a room it was already a mess. Our evening started out with a free wine tasting and I was pleasantly surprised. This region is known for its red wine and I’m not a big red wine drinker but I actually really enjoyed there wine. The Chateaux did also make a rosé and a white wine and the bar was selling the bottles for €8, which on our budgets was very cheap so we bought a bottle of each for our dinner table. We had been told that the party that night was a “Tight, white and bright” theme. I only had the bright but I did my best and we got dressed up and went to party in The Cave, the club in the basement. There were a few other groups there so it made for a really fun night with a lot of drinking. In what I will forever not remember as my worst show on Contiki I apparently fell on the dance floor and then passed out for a few seconds until I eventually managed to get myself back up and then Nicole and Michelle, two Cali girls out me to bed.
Waking up that next morning was not fun, I was still in my clothes from the night before, Morgan had somehow stolen my sleeping bag and I had to endure a lot of teasing. Lucky for us there wasn’t a city to be explored so we got to sleep in for a little bit. All that was planned for us that day was a little walk up a hill with a picnic lunch. Well the walk wasn’t that little and unfortunately for Alex he had the map and got blamed for getting us lost. In all fairness it was an easy turn off to miss and we probably found a better place to sit anyway but we weren’t exactly going to let him off easily. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, chilling on the hillside and trying to get to know a few more people in our group. It was really nice to have a chilled day to relax and recover although we probably could have used it more effectively later on in the tour.
That night was another theme party in The Cave, this time is was a “P Party”. Loz, Morgan and I decided to go in our pyjamas so that when we passed out later it wouldn’t be in our clothes. We decided to spice things up and wore our eye masks and socks from the plane. You think I would’ve learnt from the night before but we each started off the night with a bottle of wine and tried the special shots that The Cave had on offer. Luckily I wasn’t too bad and even slept in my own bed after kissing one of the Contiki crew members at the Chateaux. That night/morning the fire alarm went off. We were warned that some of the fire alarm buttons look like light switches and please try to tell the difference as it sucks to wake up in the middle of the night with a fire drill. While walking down to the grass to stand with our group and count heads a little part of me wondered if the crew members didn’t set it off every once in a while just to screw with the people staying there.
Once again we were on the bus and off to a new destination and our last night in France. We were going to the French Riviera, I would’ve been more excited if I wasn’t so tired. We were only going to be staying at this place for one night so Morgan, Olivia, Loz and I decided to room together again. In possibly one of the quickest changes we had to do, I think it was 30 minutes, we all had to try shower and get ready to go out to Monaco.
We were there two weeks before the royal wedding and so the city was busy getting ready for it. There were South African flags everywhere which made us saffas very excited. We went for another short walk in the city and then all split up to find dinner before heading to the Grand Casino. As beautiful as the building is there’s not much to do in a casino when you’re on a budget. I think I got more of a thrill seeing the red and white stripes on the side of the road to mark out the Grand Prix track and every now and then seeing a beautiful car taking the corners at speed.
As beautiful and extravagant as the city was we didn’t have that much time to explore it and as a last night in France it was a bit of a let down.
