Europe Travel Blog: 16 December 2019 (Paris to Munich)

16 December 2019

Today I woke up early and showered and prepared for the day. I knew I wanted to be able to tackle some of the sights I was not able to yesterday. Here my time was extremely limited. I knew I had to leave my hotel by 18:00 (6:00PM) at the latest to make it to CDG on time. A quick breakfast at the hotel was in order. Upon arriving in the lobby of the hotel, I was escorted to the breakfast nook. Our hotel was a small operation. It contained maybe 25 rooms at the max. There was not a lift but a simple, compact stairwell. The hotel was very much a budget saver hotel, but it had everything you would want. The beds were extremely comfortable. The rooms were compact, but you had your won bathroom. The bathrooms were small, but included a shower, sink, and toilet. The shower was around 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet. There was a tv in the room, although I did not turn it on. The hotel was just right for me.

After a quick breakfast of croissant and French bread, I took a few more minutes to organize things I would need for the day and was off. It was a rainy Monday morning and Parisians were heading to work and school at 8:00(am). This I compared to the laid-back Sunday morning. I hopped on a scooter with my heavy jacket. Even though it was raining, I fit right in with the scooter. After getting lost more times than I could figure out where I was and an almost battery dead scooter, I finial made it to a landmark I knew I could navigate from. From this landmark I was able to navigate to the Left Bank. Once on the Left Bank, there are bike/ scooter lanes that parallel with the main road along the banks. After crossing onto the Left bank, I took a right onto the bike lanes. Here I scootered down the banks of the Sine by the Alexander III Bridge eventually arriving at the Eiffel tower.

Alenander III Bridge.

The Eiffel tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel and built for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The lines to ascend were short, but it had been awhile since I left the hotel. I decided to just snap a few pictures and head down to Rue Cler.

Eiffel Tower on a rainy morning.

Rue Cler is a snapshot of Parisian living. A stroll down Rue Cler is a stroll down a market street of a traditional neighborhood and culture. Although this area is wealthy, it is a quickly changing area. Shopping for food is an everyday occurrence for most Parisians. Perishables are bought everyday while non-perishables are bout on a weekly to bi-weekly basis.

View down Rue Cler.

Along the Rue Cler, I stopped for a midmorning breakfast after having just a simple snack at the hotel. The café I chose was highly recommended by Rick Steves in his Paris City Guidebook. I must agree with Rick’s assessment of Café du Marche. Even though Rue Cler has dead days on Monday, it still was an amazing seat for people watching and a delicious coffee. The prices are some of the best you will find in the area.

After a delightful midmorning breakfast, I hoped back on my scooter and headed back to the Eiffel tower for one last look. After my last look at the Eiffel tower, I explored more neighborhoods of the city on my scooter. Once again, I highly recommend using a scooter or a bike to see the most and be able to enjoy more things. Without the scooter, I would not have seen near as much as I did.

I stopped for a late lunch at a small bakery on a side street. I always operate by the rule if there is a line, stop and eat. I will say my rule did not disappoint. I was able to get a nice size sandwich for barely 5euro. The shop was filled with Parisians having their late lunches, having a cup of coffee, or just having a relaxing Monday afternoon.

Facade of the Opera Garnier.

After my late lunch, I headed over to the Opera Garnier to tour the inside of the building.

The Opera Garnier was designed and built by architect Charles Garnier. Garnier is said to have complete control over every aspect of the project, even dictating what colors of marble were to be used, how statues were to look, and every detail of every painting. The theater was built for Napoleon III and finished in 1875, after the rulership of Napoleon III. The massive foundations of the opera straddle an underground lake.

Grand Staircase from the base.

On the self-guided tour, you travel through the opera house and can be aided with an audio guide for a small fee. I opted for the audio guide. Winding my way through the opera, the tour took me up the grand staircase and around some galleries and through the orchestra level of the theater.

View from the back of the Grand Staircase looking towards the front.

The real show in the building was not the opera but instead the promenade of who’s who as they wound their way up the grand staircase and through the ancillary rooms.

On a tour of the first level of boxes, you are able to see the fabled Box 5, upon which the Phantom is said to always have reserved.

Ceiling fresco painted by Marc Chagall in 1964.

Upon leaving the Opera, I knew I had limited time to take one last stroll in the opera neighborhood and head back to the hotel to grab my bags and head out to the airport.

By this point, I was running later than I would prefer. My original plans were to already be heading to the airport by 5:30, but everything that can go wrong will eventually go wrong! I was in my uber heading to the airport by 6:15pm. It was an extremely stressful uber to the airport. Upon arrival at the airport, my uber messed a turn and let me out at the wrong terminal. I grabbed my bags and darted to terminal 1 from 2. If you remember my experience with CDG from yesterday, it was more rushed and stressful! I had arrived at the airport with an hour before takeoff!

If you thought things could not get anymore convoluted, they did. As I arrived at the check-in counter and began to check-in, I was paying for my extra bag when my debit card decided to not work. (This is an issue that would plague me for a couple more days.) As I handed the lady at the counter another card to use, the card reader fell off the counter and into the floor breaking. After this trauma of card struggle and machine struggle, the lady at the counter just gave up and checked my bag for free.

Traversing CDG is an act I might not wish upon my worst enemy. There is not a mass security checkpoint, instead the terminals are broken up into smaller gates and you go through security right before entering your gate.

I made it through check-in and security with enough time before my flight, I was extremely relieved. Arrival in Munich was a breeze. I had a driver waiting for me at the airport which took the stress of arrival away. My driver took me from the airport to my hotel in Munich.

Paris Leg of my 2019 European Christmas… Complete.