Lost in Paris

Ehm I suppose that everbody looking forward to get lost in some place exotique or romantique...and hopefully with someone special and a lot of money in the pocket to spend on, but from those three requirements, I'm only lucky enough to fullfill one requirement..and that is getting stranded in the world's most anticipated place for tourism...Paris!!! and for others requirements, well to have someone special with...not that lucky, and to have a mega bucks in the pocket...haha not that rich,I should be gratefull to get stranded in a very beautiful city like Paris...especially I'm there to celebrate the Idul Fitri in the embassy of Indonesia in Paris. My main goal is to seek if there is any rice and cuisine with Indonesian taste...because I have an original Indonesian tummy that need to recharge with some "opor ayam" and "ketupat". And frankly speaking I let myself get stranded...trully:) So the journey began when I left the class and take the train to Paris, well it's not a direct train, first we have to take the corail intercites from Rochefort to Nantes, and at nantes we have to wait for about 20 minutes before we can catch the TGC to Paris, so I arrived in the station Paris Montparnasse at 20.30, luckily my whole plan to strand myself apparently doesn't work as I plan it at first, there at the station had been waiting for me, my friends, Indonesians and Frenchs, they invite me to stay in their small apartment as long as I'm in Paris.it was 30 September 2008
So the next day, as I planned before, we go to the Indonesian embassy to do the pray "Idul Fitri" and also to find some rice! but the expectation just flying to high. but of course the main goal is to pray and to find a piece of home in the land of stranger, it was because the visits of Indonesian vice president in France to attend the ceremony of Nobel Peace prize that goes to ex Finnish president Marti Ahtissari for his effort to resolve the International dispute over 30 years, for the Indonesians, he was a very important person realted to the Aceh peace process between the Indonesian government and the Aceh Freedom Movement (That hopefully no longer exists for real). Ok so much for that. So to honour the vice president, the banquet is moved to the day after, no big deal, I can always come for the next day to meet and talk to my compatriot Indonesians. It was 1st October 2008
On 2 October 2008, I had planned to walk myself to the heart of Paris, that's mean the center of the city, so there I am starting my long march by taking a subway (metro)from mairie-clichy to the Charles de Gaulle subway station and take the Arc de Triomphe, I consider that to be the point where the journey to victory had begun. So there I go discovering Paris in a small steps with broken shoes starting from Arc de Triomphe and walking along the Champ Elysees, at first with a wrong direction instead of taking the direction of Place Concorde, I was taking the direction to the Grande Arche La defense, for your information the Grande Arche is in a line with the Arc de Triomphe, Place Concorde, and the Pyramid of the Louvre museum. So I have to make turn to the direction of Place Concorde, and I suddenly I just realize I have to pee, and there's no place to find that I can pee. Thanks God that I found a park with a small toilet in the middle..so for you guys that lost in the middle of -unfriendly city to the person who has strong desire to pee- and wanna pee, just look for the park, they are not that cruel to eliminate all the toilet in everyplaces haha. So after the call of nature, here I go again with a small steps continuing marching to the Place Concorde, in this place there are an obelisk that originally transported from Egypt as a gift to the France, and in this very place is the place where the beheading of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were taken place with the 'Guilotine, from there I continue the march to the Louvre museum, there it's suddenly raining for a short time, from there I decided to go to the famous Cathedrale Notre Dame (Our mother), and just in front of the cathedral there is the point zero of the France, from there I'm headed to the ultimate destination in Paris, The Eiffel tower, and while headed there I'm passed the Palais Justice, Musee d'Orsay, Hotel Invalides, and finally from the distance I saw the Eiffel Tower, and just in the front of the tower there were the Ecole Militaire, the military school that once was the school of Napoleon Bonaparte, hopefully one day I can be there too. So the final touch is in the tower, because your presence in France is not complete before you go to the Eiffel Tower. From the tower I take the metro in Trocadero just half kilometer from the tower to go back to the apartment.
The rest of the days I spent at firts at the banquet with the vice president, and the next days there are an invitation to the house of one of the Indonesian that having a party well we can call it 'syukuran' for the coming of Idul Fitri. I gratefull for this is one experience not everyone could have, get lost in a very beautiful city, with convivial friends, and unknown things that will happen aftter, doesn't it just give you the rush.....cheers for the rush and the flow of adrenaline!