Strolling the Champs Élysées

Bonjour!

The top ten things I learned in Paris:

#10 The metro system is incredibly awesome. It's so easy to figure out, I already consider myself a pro.
But (yes, there'a but!) the metro stops running at 1 a.m. That's something that would've been good to know before midnight, two metro stations and 21 stops from our hostel. However, we actually could've skipped our quick jog the station because we made it with seven whole minutes to spare. Just 420 seconds later and we would have been about $60 poorer and a taxi driver would have been $60 richer.

#9 When you ask someone "Parlez-vous anglais?" nine times out of ten they'll shake their heads "no" and the other time they'll say "a little" but in reality they know a lot more than they let on, because somehow I've managed to have entire conversations with people who claim they don't know any English. When I say I don't know French at least I mean it!

#8 The Eiffel Tower is best seen at night when this 1,000-foot-tall ornament lights up like a Christmas tree.

#7 We didn't cruise the Champs-Élysées in our carriage as the Parisians once did when Louis XIV opened the street in 1667, but we sure enjoyed our two-legged cruise on Paris' famous boulevard.

#6 It's worth boning up on the history of the Catacombs. In 1786, the city emptied its cemeteries into miles of underground tunnels. We checked our nightmares at the door (a sign warned that this "ride" may not be suitable for children) and entered the graveyard of six million Parisians. I was surprised no one checked our bags for "souvenirs" at the end. This one is a must-see!

#5 Two words: Musee D'Orsay
If you ever make it to Paris just go.

#4 For a comfortable, enlightening stay in Paris, I recommend St. Christopher's Hostel. Where else can you sleep with drunk Canadians (we have a busy 8-bed dorm room), see someone in the Internet cafe drop a lit cigarette into the trash and have it catch on fire, take a communal shower and eat a French continental breakfast (all the baguettes you could possibly handle) all for around 30 euro a night?

#3 Eat the croissants.

#2 Eat the crepes.

#1 Drink the Champagne.

Au revoir!