Paris, The most charming City in Europe.

Paris, The most charming city in Western Europe Paris, The City of Art where I would definitely come back.

This is one of the city where I really want to visit in Europe. Due to a lot of my friends when I lived abroad always talking about how beautiful Paris is. Also they said making a one day trip in this city is really imposible to do. That is why before coming here, I have always doubted why wouldn't I able to explore this city in a day. Because what I know about Paris is just the Eiffel tower. But as time goes by, I started to know more from the documentaries, Music, Movie ,Terrorist attacks and etc. One of the major influences why I visited here this time because of the horror movie which is called "As Above, So Below" I really liked this movie due to the horror scene and mysterious things. And this is why I really want to go to "Catacombs" where it was flimed.	Other Places One day trip In Helsinki Visiting Yagon City Another fun city in Netherlands

Even though this country is in one of my primary travel lists. but It took me a lot of years to visit here. I have a lot of plans to travel to many places like Toulouse, Nice and Mont Saint-Michel. But As you know, France always have annual sport which is called "Strike" in every summer. and Paris is the city where it will be held. Making my plan unpredictable.
That is why my trip to France this time. I stuck in Paris for a week. and did not follow my plan to travel to other cities.

This time I took a high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris. I made my mistake by booking a different class. So I paid for a First Class Train more than what I planned in my budget. It is Non-Refundable. So no chance to cancel it. The Train that I took is from Thalys Company. It is high speed train that takes only 3 hours to Paris. I was so scared if this train will be stopped due to the strike or not. But it was still operated due to it is an international route. Not the domestic one like in France. The First Class Train was worth it. The Service was really good. There are wine bottles to choose(even though a cheap one) Food was also served in this class. The seat was really comfy. So I think it was ok. I should have booked this in advance next time. Then I can get it cheaper. Inside the train I arrived at the Main Station (Gare du Nord) in Paris. It was warmer than in Amsterdam. I first thought It would be a bit cold but it was not at all. There were many tourists in this city as I have seen all the way to the hostel. My Hostel is located just only 2 kilometers away. So I chose to walk than taking a train to the hostel. This Hostel is a chain hostel. The same place where I used to stay in Venice. It is called " Generator Hostel" This popular hostel is spread around Europe in more than 12 cities. If you never have a chane to stay, You should try. They making it like a hotel. and the room here is quite ok though. The price maybe slightly different but It is really worth it to stay here.
On the way I found a restaurant where many people were waiting in line. So I was curious and went inside just to order the food. Then I realised that this restaurant is for vegeterian. It was too late for me since I already ordered. So I tried to finish my food. and promised to check it carefully next time. I am a big fan of beef by the way. There were many stores along the street. I went to check out one of the perfume shops but It was so expensive. I thought coming to Paris I will find cheaper products from France than in Thailand. But Noooooo wayyy. However, there was one perfume from Frédéric Malle that I really loved it. The smell is called "French Lover" I do love this perfume but after calculating my money. I realised that I can't afford buying this. It was too expensive for me. Hopefully one day if I come back here. I would have more money to buy it. There were a few street performers that caught my attention. Many people were selling things on the street but I guess It was illegal. However, This made the city really interesting to visit. I walked to The Centre Pompidou where NIKE got inspiration to make Air Max Shoes. It looked like there was a construction outside the building. So I only took a photo and walked to another place instead.
Centre Georges Pompidou There are so many things on this street. Only in this district is big enough to explore. My legs started to feel pain and I eventually stopped at louvre museum just to take more photos before taking a train back home. Louvre museum This famous museum is where you can find Mona Lisa picture. I did not go inside the Museum because It was not interesting for me. This place in the late afternoon is very nice to take pictures. I went out drinking at night near to the hostel. But not did not drink as crazy as in the past. That's why I could wake up in the next day to visit other places. In the next day, I went to Arc de Triomphe. This is one of the popular places. However, It was so funny. I arrived there and realised that I left my camera at the hostel. So I took a train back which took me for an hour just to come back here. If you wonder how I bought tickets. I bought it like 10 tickets. This will be cheaper if you travel in the limited zones. You can check in a map where would you like to go and which zone will you be going. Because if you go too far, You may have to pay more for that. I managed to come back here again. Wasting 2 hours is really a sad story hahaha Anyway, there were many tourists at this place. The chinese tour bus stopped here all the time. Making it difficult to take a selfie or even a picture with clear landmark. Since tourists were walking around all the time. So I decided to take a selfie and headed to another place. I really wanted to go all places I wanted to go within today but It seemed really impossible as places located far to one another. Also I wanted to walk around the city and relax instead of collecting all the places that I planned. Tour Eiffel I walked for many kilometes to Eiffel Tower. One thing I have to warn tourists is that, Many places in Europe is not as safe as you think. You may get pickpocketed or robbed anywhere you go. So just look after your belongings and don't put it in public. Otherwise, It will be stolen. Never forget to bring a bottle of water if you plan to walk long distance like me. I felt thirsty on the way all the time and could not find a mini mart. The day seemed to pass really quickly and I haven't had enough time to visit Versailles Palace , Disneyland, Catacombs and etc. This when I realised that even they don't have a strike here, 7 days visiting Paris is not enough at all for me. I went out with one of a friend in the hostel and invited him to go out for drinks. However, I got drunk so fast even before 12am. That is why the next day I woke up early again. Another place that I visited to today is Montmartre. I've still got a hangover while walking to Montmartre. So It was really a bad feeling walking in the sun.
Sacré-Cœur Walking up the hill making me so tired and dizzy. The bird's eye view from Sacré-Cœur One of my friends wanted to have a bag from Longchamp. So I had to take a train to Opera House station and walked to the alley where I can find a lot of Hi-End Products. I went visited Louis Vuitton Store and walked out just to take a look. Then went to LongChamp to buy a bag for my friend because this one is cheaper hahaha This place was not as crowded as other places. Even I woke up very early today, I spent almost all the day just to visited only a few places. You can see that Paris is big and a day trip is really impossible. I was outside quite late and I didn't want to go back to hostel right away. So I went to visit one more place at Notre Dame Cathedral before heading back to my room. Notre Dame Cathedral This church reminds me of The Hunchback of Notre Dame Cartoon. It took me many days already and I still have reached my goal yet. Also It was raining in the following day. And it ruined my plan to go to Versailles Palace or even DisneyLand. With all my attempt, I took a train to go to Catacombs while it was raining. But a sad story happened. The Catacombs is closed due to the strike.
Catacombs of Paris I did not give up easily even though the following day was raining again. I went there and it closed again. Then I try to find the channel where I can know the opening date. but after checking on the facebook page, It seemed that it will be closed long time until the strike is done. I was really sad because this is the reason why I visited Paris this time to see Catacombs. Also I had to skip Versailles Palace and DisneyLand. And decided to go out party at night for the rest of my trips instead Below picture is on the rooftop of the hostel where people go party when it's raining. And this is a nice view on the rooftop. It was so beautiful after the rain on that day. Now I realised that why Paris is one of the most visited cities. My trip in Paris was so exhausted. I had to carry my camera all the time and took the whole day to go from one place to another place. If you ever have a chance to visit here. Don't forget to list all the places you wanted to visit and plan your trip wisely. This is the reason why I have to revisit this place because of The Catacombs and other places that I planned to go but was ruined by the strike, the rain and etc. Even though this trip was not a perfect trip that I planned but I really enjoyed it so far. And by the way the night life here in Paris is boring though. But there is something apart from what i listed that makes me want to come back here.
What you should know about Paris 1.Paris is very big, If you want to go shopping. Try to go to other places that are not in the city center. You may find cheaper products. 2.Not to be rude but Night life is boring. 3.Plan your trip wisely and don't forget to check the country's situation. 4.The strike which I called an Annual Sport is always held in April,May,June.