Wherein I marvel at rivers of liquid French shit

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-10 01:59pm

"So, we made it to Paris. Where do you want to go?"
"The sewers"
"Sounds good!"
"...I was kidding"
"But I want to see the sewers! They're cool"

Continuing on the touristy track, here's a cemetery with some crows.

Those were taken at Montmartre cemetery; the hill looks magical this time of year.

And then are the other tourist traps. Arc de Triomphe and the views from thereon; the roundabout below is absolute madness:

Champs-Elysées and the area around the Seine:

Of course, you can't go to France without seeing the city from up above, and what better time to do it then from the top observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, after sunset?

The Louvre, which somehow manages to look quaint and homely despite being absolutely, mind-bogglingly huge. Note that this picture shows a small section of one side wing.

Île de la Cité:

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-02-10 02:34pm

Great pictures Bounty. What's with the mini Statue Of Liberty? Is it a monument to them giving it to us, or is it something else?

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-10 02:37pm

havokeff wrote:Great pictures Bounty. What's with the mini Statue Of Liberty? Is it a monument to them giving it to us, or is it something else?

It's a replica made a few years after the original. I don't know who built it; the replica flame near the Pont d'Alma was donated by an American paper, so it's possible it's an Ameri!can gift.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-02-10 03:25pm

Cool, how can you enter the sewers? Is it a guided tour or do you just enter on your own?
I took a trip to the sewers of Ulm once where you can enter at the place where the sewers go into a river. You just have to know where it is. You can move underground for about 2 km before the sewers end at a brick wall with a small hole in it. If you squeeze through that hole you get to a deserted old jazz bar which can only be entered via this sewer. In the basement there´s an old bunker from WWII. Great stuff. Unterground trips are so fucking awesome.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-10 03:38pm

Cool, how can you enter the sewers? Is it a guided tour or do you just enter on your own?

Bit of both. The part of the sewers we saw was a sort-of working exhibit; a section has been tourist-proofed (extra fences, info signs, better lighting) and they even had a gift shop ten feet underground. You enter via some stairs at the Quai d'Orsay. I was surprised that there were quite a few people visiting the place while we were there. The original plan was to see the catacombs, but they're closed to the public until March.

Unterground trips are so fucking awesome.

I know - it's a shame most cities try to hide their underground. One of my favourite bars is fifteen feet below the ground, in a medieval basement of a building that's long-since gone, and it looks and feels awesome.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-02-10 03:51pm

Bounty wrote:
Cool, how can you enter the sewers? Is it a guided tour or do you just enter on your own?
Bit of both. The part of the sewers we saw was a sort-of working exhibit; a section has been tourist-proofed (extra fences, info signs, better lighting) and they even had a gift shop ten feet underground. You enter via some stairs at the Quai d'Orsay. I was surprised that there were quite a few people visiting the place while we were there. The original plan was to see the catacombs, but they're closed to the public until March.

Aren´t there pretty easy ways to enter the catacombs illegally? I read that many peopel do it and have parties down there and things like. Unfortunately the cops will kick you out if they find you and if you´re unlucky even give you a fine.

I know - it's a shame most cities try to hide their underground. One of my favourite bars is fifteen feet below the ground, in a medieval basement of a building that's long-since gone, and it looks and feels awesome.

Wow, sounds great. The city of Stuttgart not only hides the undergrounds they even locked them off with grates. Really annoying.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-10 03:56pm

Aren´t there pretty easy ways to enter the catacombs illegally? I read that many peopel do it and have parties down there and things like. Unfortunately the cops will kick you out if they find you and if you´re unlucky even give you a fine.

Getting into the catacombs is dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and where you're going, and I'm not the type to break into places.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2008-02-11 12:50am

salm wrote: Aren´t there pretty easy ways to enter the catacombs illegally? I read that many peopel do it and have parties down there and things like. Unfortunately the cops will kick you out if they find you and if you´re unlucky even give you a fine.

If you're especially unlucky you can get lost and not be able to get out.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2008-02-11 01:02am

paris/img_0217.jpg

This picture in particular amazes me for some reason that I can't exactly place, maybe because there's pretty much nothing like Paris or other European urban centers in the US.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-11 03:31am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
paris/img_0217.jpg
This picture in particular amazes me for some reason that I can't exactly place, maybe because there's pretty much nothing like Paris or other European urban centers in the US.

Aren't some of the cities on the East Coast built more European-ly? Or do they all use the square grid system?

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-02-11 03:33am

Last year I hiked all the way to to the top of the Eiffel tower. I then walked all the way back down because the top was closed.

(Bloody lift costs a damn tonne)

That NOS Guy · Post by **That NOS Guy** » 2008-02-12 01:26pm

Bounty wrote: Aren't some of the cities on the East Coast built more European-ly? Or do they all use the square grid system?

Some use the square grid system, like Philadelphia. Others are plain insanity, like Baltimore (seriously, don't drive through Baltimore).

Raesene · Post by **Raesene** » 2008-02-12 01:34pm

Notre Dame is prettier without the wrappings and in sunlight. When I was there I could look at a scaffold while having a free shower.

On the positive side, I saw its gargoyles in action

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-02-12 01:39pm

Wow, the city looks the same as when I visited it in the early 80's.

Ah.. Paris in the spring... (mostly cloudy and rainy, if I remember, but when the sun came out it could be quite pretty, especially Montmartre)

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-12 01:46pm

We were incredibly lucky to have gotten the weather we did. Europe in Februari is usually cold, wet and drab, but the last week or so it's been dry and sunny.

Wow, the city looks the same as when I visited it in the early 80's.

It looked the same as when I visited a decade ago. Then again, a time-traveller from 1929 can land in the city and see the same Art Déco Metro entrances still in use - the French seem to be pretty good at keeping their old infrastructure in working order.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-02-12 02:14pm

You went all the way to Paris and didn't check out the Empire of the Dead?!

MADNESS!

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2008-02-12 02:20pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:You went all the way to Paris and didn't check out the Empire of the Dead?!

MADNESS!

Me, above wrote:The original plan was to see the catacombs, but they're closed to the public until March.

Don't ask me why you'd need to "renovate" piles of corpses, but that's what they're doing.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-02-12 02:39pm

DPDarkPrimus wrote:
salm wrote: Aren´t there pretty easy ways to enter the catacombs illegally? I read that many peopel do it and have parties down there and things like. Unfortunately the cops will kick you out if they find you and if you´re unlucky even give you a fine.
If you're especially unlucky you can get lost and not be able to get out.

Sure. But considering that it´s known as a place where people go underground and you don´t read about people disappearing there very often i doubt that a significant number of people get lost and die. It´s probably as likely as falling into a glacier crack when snowboarding, so i guess it´s really worth the risk. I recon that the cops are the bigger nuisance here than getting lost.
However, i´ve never been to that particular underground area, so i could be wrong.
But if i went there i´d at least consider going in via the illeagal entrances esspecially because you can get to places that are otherwise not open to the public. Of course i wouldn´t go there without informing myself adequately about the place and the risks involoved.