Paris - The City of Love and Lights

Intro
Eurostar: £69 for a return on New Years Eve!? Why not?

Paris was incredibly enchanting. Described as one of the most visited cities in the world, travellers often flock to the city for world-renowned historical sites, for the food and for the romantic ambience.

Pont de l'Archevêché (Bridge of love)

I stayed with my friend, Anh Dao, a Parisian girl! With local knowledge at the ready, our city trip was both charming and accessible. Paris is a very compact city, secondary sources such as guidebooks and the internet would often lead travellers to areas of heavy footfall and to tourist sites made famous by film and literature. 

Undoubtedly, sights such as the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and Notre Dame would form the prevailing part of a trip to Paris. However, with three days to explore the city, I found that the ultimate charm of Paris came from simply strolling through the streets. Paris is adorned with beautiful buildings. Bakeries line the streets, and green spaces compliment and add to the charm of the city. 

Food

In Paris, there is a middle-ground food scene that is often neglected. When travelling, we often revert to two extremes for finding food: something that is very cheap, quick and accessible or going to a Michelin starred restaurant that is world famous. Anh Dao took us down a side street, a ten minute stroll from Notre Dame, to L'Assiette Aux Fromages', a local, unpretentious restaurant with a lovely (and very French) set menu for  €17.50.

Fondue Restaurant 

3 cheese Fondue! 

Confit Duck 

Other then restaurants, Paris is teeming with local, delicious bakeries! On Years Eve, we purchased "la galette", a soft, flaky pastry with a small trinklet baked inside. From fresh baguettes to classic pastries and croissants, in Paris one is spoilt for choice. You are never more then a five minute walk from the nearest bakery!

La galette

Tourism 
Despite the splendour and the beauty of the city, the abundance of visitors often creates lengthy queues at the main attractions which can really diminish the atmosphere of any given area. There is no sight more off-putting then hoards of camera-cladding tourists congregating in the same location. We visited the Arc de Triomphe, with the intention of scaling up to see the view of Paris. The queue stretched to over a hundred visitors! My advice for the main tourist attractions is to either: 
1) Go very early.
2) See the sight, minus the tourist activity that is bound to it. E.g. I didn't really see the need to scale the Eiffel Tower, just seeing it from the Tracadero Gardens was a incredible sight in itself. 

Tips

• Paris is a very walk-able city. I find that you can catch any city at it's true state by just walking through it. 
• Be weary of tourist touts in the Montmartre area and the charity 'sign my clipboard' people at main-line railway stations.
• Order tap water instead of soft drinks/alcohol when dining out.  A coke can cost up to eight euros in a restaurant! 
• Buy metro (underground) tickets in books of 10. This will reduce the cost of a single journey to only €1.30. 
• Go for the 'prix fixe' menu in a restaurant for a good sample of French cuisine at a cheap price.
• The Eurostar terminal check-in is UPSTAIRS in Gare Du Nord! We missed our eurostar waiting in the main railway station for the departure board to change, and it never did....go upstairs for the waiting room and for the check in. 

     

     

                 

Camping in Europe

We were greeted by the same skeptical reaction. "Camping? You are camping?" in a bemused yet curious manner. But it's 5 degrees outside! 

We spent four days on the road, camping in various locations. We sneaked into closed campsites, we stayed in touristy sites near the City, rural sites down twisty roads in Germany and even wild camping along the canals of Belgium. Total cost of accommodation = 14 euros. 

I can happily say that regardless of how cold it can be, layering does wonders. Admittedly, it was very cold on the first night. My legs that were tucked in the sleeping bag felt like two blocks of cold marble and my head radiated a chill instead of warmth. 
I quickly learnt on the second night how effectively a T-shirt, hoodie, fleece, blanket, hats and gloves could insulate really well when used together. Regardless of appearance, I was warm for camping! 

4 nights of camping under the stars. What is camping without eventualities!? On the first night, we misplaced the pegs. Leaving them under the tent and searching for them in the cover of darkness. A plastic fork proved to be a worthy replacement on the first night with the cold yet still weather conditions. 

Fork Peg! :D 

Night 3

Night 3, I have to admit I found quite terrifying. We approached the campsite around midnight after a organ concert on Halloween evening. The site was closed and gated off. We walked through the site and a barn glowed red in the backdrop. Tall thin trees towered over us with a full moon casting a eery glow across the forested site. 

The boys shrugged non-chantantly, conversing of werewolves, zombies and of the crazy people who come out on Halloween night. I had the hiccups while Matt and I searched for the toilet facilities to fill up our water bottles.  

"Do you know what gets rid of hiccups really well?"

"What?"

"A big shock!"

"No Thanks!" 

As we unpacked the car, I saw a security light blinking on and off inside a building from the corner of my eye. We quickly pitched the tent and crawled inside. I felt as if my senses were heightened. The trees rustled and tent swayed slowly in the breeze. As the time approached 1:00am, thankfully I was able to fall asleep quickly on the Halloween night of our road trip.

Full Moon on Halloween 

Tent pitched.

The campsite looking much less intimidating in daytime! :D 

Night 4 

Wild camping! Or at least camping not within the confines of a advertised site. On the drive from Ghent to Brugges, we followed a motorway out of the city, following a beautiful canal. It soon became evident that despite the short distance between the two cities, we were a little lost. 
We drove passed a pitched tent and a parked car. This instantly created a spark of inspiration. Camping along the canal? For free? Yes please! I was a little worried of setting up our tent randomly, alongside a road. However, any doubts were instantly set aside. A clear sky and the city lights reflected across the canal made a incredible backdrop for European camping. 
As we finished setting up the tent, a storm emerged. The tent quivered uncontrollably in the wind as heavy rain fell across our tent. Condensation emerged in the inner layer of the tent and a chill rose from the moisture of the grass. Despite hours within the storm, the tent held up incredibly well. 

Canal camping!

We woke up a little chilly, but dry! Our European camping experience amounted to a myriad of difference experiences, squeezed into a jam-packed but incredibly relaxed paced Euro road trip! I would happily consider camping as a brilliant alternative to hostels/hotels, where accommodation can be the biggest cost for travelling abroad. 

Euro Camping 

• This website proved incredibly helpful/informative when we were looking for campsites in Europe >> www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/

• If camping in Autumn/Winter, bring as many layers as humanly possible! 

• Contrary to expectation, camping isn't uncomfortable. With a roll mat and a warm sleeping bag camping is practically sleeping in a bed. 

• Torches are your best friend. 

Euro Road Trip.

1,476km, 4 countries, 5 days and the memories that will last a life-time. 

Sea (Zeeland Island, Netherlands)

City (Ghent, Belgium)

Rural villages (Fischerhude, Germany)

Sand-dunes (Zeeland Island, The Netherlands)

Camping under the stars. 

Food!

In a nutshell, we travelled from:

- Calais to Oyten (German rural campsite)

- Oyten to Fischerhude (Germany)

- Fischerhude to Bremen (Germany)

- Bremen to Amsterdam (Germany > The Netherlands)

- Amsterdam to Den Haag (The Netherlands)

- Den Haag to Middlesburg (The Netherlands)

- Middlesburg to Ghent (The Netherlands > Belgium)

- Ghent to Brugges (Belgium)

- Brugges back to Calais (Belgium > France) 

Ferry, petrol, food, car rental spending money and accommodation included, our adventure trip came to less then £50 a day! (Even with your own car travelling doesn't cost the world) :)