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Paris in 48 hours – Our first Youtube Video Experience
20th February 2015
Ist the 13th of november 2015, were sitting at home heads in our hands, tears actually streaming down our cheeks, so many used hankies. The tv has been locked on france24 news for a good few hours now, were glued to twitter and facebook trying to find out whats happening, one of our favourite bands are ok while feeling guilty as we hearing more info about all the other fatalities.
Ains is beside her self, gob smacked at about what we’re seeing. It had been over 15 years since I had last spent a lot of time in Paris, I’d personally been to the Bataclan before and I knew the venue and city very well. I couldn’t get the images out my head, I knew things had been been boiling over in France since the original charlie hebdo court case incidents a few years before the more resent shootings but I was still shocked, I couldn’t, shouldn’t, didn’t want to envision what may lie inside that venue at this very moment, Were the band ok? what other horrors would come out in the wash.
It was on that night that we decided, We need to go. We need to support the city, Thats how the bad guys win! Screw that! cheap flights booked. Ainsley had never been and I had so much passion for the city, I couldn’t wait to show her he sights, the music, the fashion and most importantly the people.
But wait? A lot of our friends have been saying for years that we should try start a travel blog or get on youtube / Something/ anything at all!, We had toyed with the concept for a long time and we were a wee bit inspired by the support. We have always shot and collated lots videos and photos while traveling and have quite an extensively list and back catalog of material from our trips along with a lot of articles and private diary envies which we wrote on the road, mainly for ourselfs… so maybe we could? should we? I ask Ainsley, we looked at each other and decide **** it! lets give it a go!?! lets see what happens.
We had visited rome a few weeks before and our camera gear was already set up and packed. We looked at our kit check list, this is the perfect opportunity for a first time youtube shoot, we have a light weight rig and its a city one of us knows really well because of previous trips. lets get a plan together and structure a shooting schedule, OH GOD! its gone all business… thats something that we are determined not to get sucked into! we have both had bad previous experiences working for a large “Biz–nes” corporate machine. not a chance that thats going to happen with this, We are going to go traveling this city and enjoy every minute of it and share it with the world, we love taking photo and making videos and we always have! Maybe we can use this for something greater, something different, lets make a life changing choice and try and paint the clouds tartan.
The Scarfs Project is Born! – Project Blue Scarf will be our baptism by fire and b3ta test.
SOOooooo000ooo … Thats what we did, its our first planned video shoot, we are very new to youtube and are not too sure how to market ourself etc but in hindsight we leaned A LOT from this first video, we made lots of mistakes! but hey we all learn by failing! so its all good. Our first video is a tad too long and a bit wordy but the info is still relevant, we enjoyed making it and we are exited about continuing the project and growing the channel. We have come away from this and look positively at it and will increase our production quality on our future videos. We are still trying to figure our online identity at the minute but we still have a few ideas and aces up our sleeves that we are working on.
Research: we always do research before we go anywhere but as we knew the lay of the land we focused more this time on smart travel, mainly on the fact that we had a lot too see and not a lot of time to see it in; we would focus heavily on ways to cut down waiting times looking at queue jumper passes and also joint tickets that have more than one museum entry. We got a really good deal from a company called City Discoverys, it had a ticket that would allow us to get to the top of the Eiffel tower at an allotted time, we also got a guided tour and a river trip down the Seine included as well. Queues are notorious in Paris especially at the louvre so we went online and also ordered our tickets before hand with priority entry, there should be no queueing hopefully. We planned on visiting the catacombs as well on the last day but budget is a bit tight as we had splashed out on a better hotel, so we opted to take the risk and try and get there early and beat the tourists.
Hotel Location: This is always a very important decision. Price vs location time to weight things up, we figured out that if were near to the Eiffel tower we would be best placed to be central enough to see everything we wanted. We opted to stay in the 15th ARR, and looked for hotels that had a view of the tower. Believe it or not according to one of our guide books, that only about 5% of all apartment in Paris have a view of the tower, we wanted to make sure we got one of the 5%, this put a slight dent in our budget as it was a big bit more money than the uber cheaper options but once we arrived and opened our balcony windows on to the Eiffel tower it was very clear that it was well worth the extra.
We chose the” first hotel” near Cambronne Metro. It looked amazing inside! very classy, Everything was very high contrast black and white, with lots of high gloss black glass everywhere, not tacky though! done in a very fashionable way but still with a hint of a unique art with a postmodern twist! The rooms were large and the beds looked very comfortable, there were also cool looking chandeliers which had old fashioned hats for light shades. We cant wait to get there.
Wheels up flying from Edinburgh airport and we arrive quite late at Charles e Gaul, we quickly get through the airport as we only have cabin approved weekend bags, which is a top tip (ooh i like that phrase I might use it more often), you don’t kneed to bring a big bag for a weekend like this, you also get through the airport quicker as you don’t need to wait for any hold luggage at baggage collection, but beware weekend or other popular flights will be full of people with these type of bags and cabin storage will fill up very quickly, your cases may be taken from you and placed in the hold if you are at the back of the queue You can get around this by spending a few extra pounds on priority boarding, this means your on first and your luggage definitely gets a place inside the plane instead of the hold bellow, another top tip (ding!). We quickly head down to the main train station and catch the next R line train in to paris we switch at Gare de Nortde and make our way to Cambronne metro and the hotel.
We arrived at 10.55 and made out way up to the room to catch the Eiffel towers light show which displays for five minutes on the hour. it lights up like a big christmas tree is really beautiful and we cant wait to try and catch a time-lapse of it later on. This place is as stunning as we had hoped; the view was simply perfect.
Its pretty late and were really hungry, we set up that night time-lapse on the balcony for a few hours and head back out to the city. The area we are in is buzzing with life, there are students everywhere and various parties and bars over crowded. We pas by a turkish and greek take away, were not fussy as were ravenous and see that the menu looks right up our street! just what were needing, we go inside sit down and order two of the best kebabs and gyros we’ve ever had. Even the fast food in Paris is presented beautifully,
We head back to the hotel have a night cap form the mini bar, check over all of our equipment and plans making sure everything is charged or charging, watch some french tv drinking in the fact that we are finally here, then hit the hay for a long day tomorrow.
We get up stupidly early the next day and our heads are still a bit sore from the nice mini bar plonk. The balcony view of the tower by day is even better! We are so happy to have lucked out with this room, the hotel is quite quiet and they have given us one of the better suits, the views priceless.
We head towards the Eiffel tower to do our intro video for our first adventure. We strut round the corner and there she is and as beautiful as ever….. Now I’ve forgotten at this point that Ainsley has never been hear before, this isnt’ a big deal for me but this is her first time seeing it, she sits down almost in shock at how big it is, She has a smile as wide as the clyde and shes kinda starry eyed! She takes my hand and we walk together towards this big beautiful celebration of human design and engineering.
Its time! I’ve no idea what I’m doing or of what going to say for the intro but i just go with it, I break the go pro out hit record and just start talking, Broken french to begin with! Im not 100% sure Im not rambling at this point but I start to remember the initial reason we wanted to come here, and how I remembered how it used to be? had it changed we wanted to find out. One take. done. ….And that is theeeee only time since I have probably done that in a oner! I could have reshot but it felt honest and straight and thats what you see on the video, thats how we want all our videos to be. That was it, we had started! Our first proper travel vlog was under way and we were quite energised by it.
We high tailed it over to the louvre, it was a bit further away than we had anticipated we really should have taken the metro but wanted to walk along the seine and take in the views and smell of the paris banks. Were running a bit late so we quicken the pace, we see the bridge of lovers and have a quick look before heading over the road to louvre getting their just in time.
We go to the head of the main queue and show them our printed off passes from home and they quickly send us in the direction of the secret side entrance to the louvre mall. Our tickets are scanned and our bags X-rayyed. We are instantly inside the museum main mall and then few minutes later we swipe our passes to the main museum. Zero que time for a few extra pounds, a fantastic top tip, your time in a place like this is worth more than money.
This place is massive, there is so much to see, you could probably spend a few days in here but we have a plan which again is a good idea. We go to the french renaissance section first then make out way to the massive Egyptian and Mayan section before finally heading to see the main attraction for us the classic art section which houses the Mona,
As you would expect this place is heaving with people. Its super busy and hard to get a good photo without loads of other peoples cheap and nasty selfie sticks in it. We make our escape and head through the food court of mall picking up a cheese baguette and a croque monsieur and then swing a left along the banks of the seine towards Notre Dame.
We eventually get to Notre Dame, there are lots of people with clipboards trying get people to sign up for things and also lots of other shifty looking characters so be aware of pick pockets. We get in and the smell of amber and smoke is overwhelming. I remove my hat as this is a place of worship and I’d already been giving a telling off in rome a few weeks ago in the vatican. Please remember where you are act Appropriately. We walked the pews and isles for a good forty minutes taking in the stained glass windows and pontificating about how life must have been when this place was first built. We walk the parks and terraces and then head back over to the other side of the river back toward the Eiffel tower for our guided tour with queue jumper pass.
Our tour starts from the museum of man / architects. We reach the square and come across a Trinidad and Tobago rally taking place, were not sure whats going on but its getting a bit heated and the police turn up, rocks start to get thrown so we nip in to a cafe and have a coffee until it all settles down the riot police eventually show up and the group disperses, The french do love a good riot.
We meet our tour guide and were taken through the main gardens down to the Eiffel tower, she paints imagery that this exactly how visitors to the 1889 world fair would have done when the tower was first opened. We are explained to that the tower was cleverly orchestrated by Mr Eiffel in coalition with the French government to be the grandest and most lustrous world fare the earth had ever seen, the deal was made that Mr Eiffel would pay for it, also building it using his own steel company and in so doing would be granted the rights to the tower after completion and all money gained from the towers entrance fees, which were kept very low so that everyone could go up it, it was his gift to teh people of paris, no matte rhow rich or poor.
It was originally only supposed to stand for 6 months along with the rest of the world fair attractions but it became so popular as a standalone tourist attraction that it began to bring thousands of visitors and more importantly lots and lots of money in to the city, the Government had no choice but to give it a stay of execution and extended its lease to Mr Eiffel for another few years, at the end of that period Mr Eiffel dealt his final and decisive cards and built a penthouse apartment in the top of the tower, under a loop hole in French building regulations this meant that the building could not be demolished and that t would become a fixed part of the Parisian sky line for ever. Eiffel was a very smart man, he aimed to make his money back on the build over a period of 10 years but to his surprise the tower had paid for itself in less than 6 months. Our tour guide was fascinating, you could see her love for the city ooze out with every world and nuance.
We get to the tower and see that the queues are spectacularly long. We hit the fast track queue go through security and are in a lift ascending to the 2nd floor within in 5 mins. Our guide explains the skyline to us pointing out important buildings and areas. Eventually she departs and we are left to go to the top by ourselves. The queues are fairly large but the lifts hold a lot of people so its not long a wait before we are at the top. Its windy. I mean ITS WINDY! you can actually physically feel the full structure sway from side to side, it feels like inertia creeping in and walking is actually quite difficult. Your brain knows your safe but your body just isn’t having it; flight or fight!
You know I’ve been up here in Assassins Creed, I’ve noticed that in our last two trips we’ve visited locations in the real world that I’ve also visited quite regularly in the virtual world in the Assassins Creed Video game series, the similarities are un canny! i feel like i know every inch of this structure inside and out.
We walk around for a while take some cool shots and videos then head back to the first floor. I find an advert for an app that you can download for free which gives you a virtual tour of the skyline, this is a top tip if you don’t have a guide with you. The first floor is quite large, it has an ice rink on it and a walk of faith, but its a bit too dirty and you cant really see though it, not very impressive. We notice that the cost of drinks are more expensive the higher up in the tower you are, ill need to read more into that as I thought that was a bit of an urban myth. its getting dark and were getting a bit hungry so its time to head back to the hotel and find a cafe and some entertainment.
We get on the metro bring up the Paris map by Ulmo and easily find our way back to the hotel. Tickets usually cost about€1.50 but you can pick up a pack of 10 for €14 which is a good deal if you have a lot of gallivanting round the city planned.
We find a really nice and well priced cafe restaurant around the corner from the hotel called le Royal Cambronne, the menu has the flying scotsman on the front with the words Glasgow to London which was kinda cool and felt like an omen, We got a very well priced traditional Parisian meal consisting of a small chicken in whiskey sauce with dauphinoise potatoes / chips and asparagus and finished with an expresso and creme brulle. At this point we realised how burst we were! it been a hectic day we were stuffed with carbs and the coffee wasn’t doing its job. Just as we were about to ask for the bill and head back to the room the band started up, a trio of french women all playing instruments and singing parisian traditional songs in harmony, instantly our senses were heightened the atmosphere had changed dramatically and it felt like were were back in a episode of ello ello! Rennie! came over and instead of asking for the bill we got a bottle of house read and unwind in to the wee hours. On the way back we hopped into another wine bar and got chatting to a few locals and got recommendations on local wines to try
THIS WAS IT! this was what I remembered! Everyone has this attitude that french people are always rude, that they are always quite stuffy and upperlipper and thats imply not the case! if anything that description fits Brittan better, does it not? maybe not people we know but we all know of some pople like that who have maintained that historical brittish atitude. The French are free and happy and warm and maybee its the wine talking but its one of the things I’ve loved so much about this city, there english is great but if you try and make an effort even in a small way to speak French you are embraced into there inner cirlce and people respond to you in such a great way…. yeah its defently the wine talking ce la ve!
We head back to the room high on life and Bourdeux (not the cheap stuff this time) put on some french music (I think it was hocus pocus or Sebastian Tellier, I cant remeber exactly but i have such a love for teh french music scene, it always suprises me and never leaves me) We once again charge everything and i try and set up… another time lapse for … the … cammera…………….hit play…….fall….fall….hit the pillow……sleep……Zzzzzz… wakes up tuns music off……………………….panics….. sets alarm. Sleep
I wake up with a jolt on day two and in a world if pain! my backs not at its best and my heads defiantly not in a good place! Ains is already up and looking like a million dollars, she has the whole disney thing going she opens the balcony windows like Esméralda,and the birds land and start singing to her, whats going on? she looks fresh as a daisy and i feel hellish, I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror to see a pale and battered Quasimodo looking back at me, I think to my self oh my god its going to be a rough day. And then I remembered!…………
We checkout and leave our bags with left luggage and head to the Champs Elysées and Arc de Triomphe. I’m feeling rough still but I know its going to be fine, we finally arrive at the metro and climb the stairs to see the Arc de Triomphe I say a few bits and pieces to camera and then reach into my bag and pull out the cure. IRN-BRU fresh from Glasgow airport. Snap the bottle open and immediately feel reinvigorated, is the last day and we have a lot to cram in and were damn well looking forward to it.
Our next stop is Rochereau Metro station thats where the Paris catacombs and mausoleum is. After the revolution paris had so many dead bodies in mass graves in different places around the city that it was beginning to become a problem. The government exhumed over 8000 bodies from these different locations and placed them all in one place as an artwork installation and mausoleum for the people to go and mourn the dead, the mausoleum stretches over 8k and the tunnels in there entirety of the city covers a network of over 200 miles, most are closed to the public and reportedly in the early 2000’s a man went missing down them…..only his cam corder was ever found, this repopularised the portal to hellghost storys that had been associated with this catacombs since they were built…. sound slike fun? yeah we thought so too! J had never been here before so this was a new experience for us both, we rocked up early tuned the corner and thats when this days plan got more complicated!
Awww man! really? its early how the hell can it be so bloody long already?
For budget reasons we didnt get a que skip pass, the pue was over an hour and a half long. This was going to interfear with some of our plans today. We were going to stick with it though as we had heard it was worth the wait and that the place would change your perception on death. We joined the queue, tag teamed for a bit and went and got coffee and pastries, an hour in we decided we would have to scrpa going to the pompadu centre and Lafayette but that should bring plans back on track! We eventualy make it in and start of down the winding spiral stair case, this was exiting! it went on and on for what felt like forever! we turned a corner and we were nearly there….un till i read the sign catacoumbs 2.5 km -> yeah…. we had a 2.5k walk ahead of us under ground
The place was very dark and damp and particularly scary at points. The novelty of walking had quickly wore off but when we turned that first corner and saw our first wall made from skulls instantly chills ran up your spine! It was well worth the walk. I remember going to touch one of the skulls like it was just an object and as my fingers connected i spasmed out, this was someone, this once used to be a person and I’m about to touch there last physical remains on earth, It was eerie the whole place was eerie, it was busy there were lots of people but no one was making a sound, all you cold hear were foot steps and the dripping water from the sealing.
We quietly made out way down through its creeping veins finding new and more shocking displays of human remains. the small bones section felt strange and out of place until the concept sets in… they were small bones for a reason. The morality of your own life pops into your mind at this point, its a big question where do we go when we die? I hope I dont’ end up somewhere like this so in the year 3000 where Marian tourists can come and stair at my last earthly remains and take pictures with it and share the on macebook, mitter or instamram, (M is for Marse… see what I did there) We both feel quite strange at this point, mainly because we had picked up on how beautiful the art was. It may have had an underlying sense of awe n death but it was placed with such love and attention to detail, every bone was carefully cleaned and sculpted into its place among the jigsaw of the mausoleum. It was death but it was also dignified and immortalised, maybe I would like to be in that martian mausoleum after all…
strange feelings and emotions as we leave, mainly because our bags were searched… yeah thats a thing. People come here and intended to steal some of the bones for whatever grim reason they need them for.
We hop on the metro and head next to the Montparnasse to see Sacre Coeur, we get off one stop early in one of the more dodgy parts of town and pick up some really good crepes a Mexican chilli and cheese one and a sweet banana and chocolate one. Buzzing on sugar we hit the crazy street leading to Sacre Coeur and were instantly aware of the dangers a head! we reach the bottom of the hill thats lead up to the cathedral and 5 big tall guys approach us and try to chat us up and put a string bracelet around our wrists we easily swerve them and they get super annoyed but were not here to make friends or get mugged!
This usual con goes along the lines of, they have gave you a gift and therefore you owe them money for the gift or other people pick pocket you while you are distracted by them. We finally get to the top take in the amazing cathedral and absorb the view of the city, captivated by the contrast the dark city skyline against the white puffy clouds. We witness as 3 pickpockets are paraded by the police one with nine or ten wallets in hand. Time was slipping away so we made tracks along the road to the red light district and had a peep at the world famous Moulin Rouge, the red-light district feels like a bit of a tourist trap so travel carefully. Only a few things left to do and just enough time.
We make our way to lovers bridge, and prepare to help repopulate the padlock paradigm that in 2005 the Parisian government decided to shift when they removed over 25 tons of padlocks from around the citys bridges and structures.
We place our engraved padlock (properly engraved by a jewelers none of that permanent marker nonsense. We planned this way in advanced!) on the bridge of lovers and another larger one on the side of the river seine over looking the bridge.
We quickly hop on our boat tour that was included in the Eiffel tower ticket and slowly meander around the serine, the pace slows, we both get a bit emotional we had been rushing around constantly for the the last two days and hadn’t really ever taken any time to breath, The river trips pace brought an air of romance to the city even it was a grey day it felt warm n fuzzy. We had been running about trying to see places and get videos recoded for editing for youtube but had we ever really seen the city? we had been too busy looking but never seeing, it was in front of the whole time but it was only now under this slow river trip that we could shine a new light on it and enjoy the memories of the weekend.
We head back to the hotel and nip into the friendly wine bar we encountered last night get a few glasses of recommended wine, we say our aurivior’s and make the journey back to the airport picking up some fridge magnets on the way.
We were tired but we had done it, We had the material and story for our first ever adventure vlog and blog. Now just to put it together. We love painting the skys tartan and getting lostAF in places. lets se how far we can take this.
Well see you again soon.
Jaimsley singing off.
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