Paris - Day 0

The first thing I wanted to do was to book my train out to Caen and Bayeux so my first stop was Gare du Saint Lazare. Not only did I get a preliminary idea of how the train system works in France, I was able to book reservations at the exact times I wanted.

With that business out of the way, it was time to play. My first stop was to the Arc de Triomphe. I didn't bother picking up a fold out map at the train station because between my Lonely Planet iPhone app, the Paris maps on the back of every bus stop and metro entrance and my keen sense of direction, I figured I'd be fine. So I walked down Boulevard Haussmann and Aveune de Friedland, still sporting that stupid grin.

I made it to Place Charles de Gaulle without a problem and came face to face with the Arc de Triomphe. I knew it was big but I wasn't expecting it to be huge. The Arc is way taller then I expected and the roundabout was much wider too. The Arc is undergoing restoration so some of the facade was masked with scaffolding and cloth. Nevertheless, I was still able to take some nice photos.

The Tourist

My first full day in Paris is the "tourist" day. It started with taking the metro to the Louvre at 9am. Lets just say the metro is amazing. There's almost nowhere you be in the city and not have at least two different metro lines within a few blocks.

When I got to the Jardin des Tuileries, the park outside the Louvre, there were only 3 or 4 other tourists and a handful of joggers. I wandered around for 30 minutes or so taking some picture then went to the Louvre.

From inside the Louvre's lobby looking up into the pyramid

The Flight

It was a good start to my adventures in France. I arrived a Pearson a little early but it gave me some time to take some really cool pictures in terminal 3. The whole process in the airport was really easy. Getting my boarding pass and going through security was quick and painless.

Now, normally with spare time, my laptop and iPhone 3G connection I'd have plenty to do, but I had accidentally turned of "tap trackpad to click" on my MacBook. And with the trackpad button broken and my mouse in my checked baggage, I was left with Google open on my iPhone and terminal on my Mac trying to enable the setting again. No luck.

Terminal 3

Hello World

Welcome to Here Be Dragons. Here you can follow my adventures throughout France, Switzerland and The Netherlands. I hope to be uploading photos and writing about my trip at least once a day. After my trip, all my best photos will edited and uploaded to 500px.

My first week is jammed pack with places to go but my second week is wide open. So, if you have any suggestions about what I should see or where I should go, please leave a comment.