I Am Knackered

8.45pm, hostel internet cafe, Paris.

I am. So tired. Cannot. Stand up. Any longer. If Paris wasn't so damn fine, I'd kind of want to curl up and die right now.

Took me until last night to really warm to Paris. It is, obviously, amazing, but wasn't really feeling the vibe, the love, the atmosphere. Did some galleries today though, met a few of my own personal celebrities (Very Famous and Important Paintings), wandered the Rich People Areas and ate a hot dog with mustard wrapped in a crepe while wandering along the Seine, and suddenly Paris all made sense!

Monday was ticking things off the tourist list, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay (but closed), baguette for lunch, Notre Dame, the Conciergerie (Marie Antoinette was held there before they lopped her head off), wandering the St Germain area. Was an exhausting day, but I did walk everywhere and saw some wonderful things. Actually prefer the Eiffel Tower from the ground or elsewhere in the city, going up in it was actually just annoying, PEOPLE.

Tuesday I headed out of the city to visit Versailles, which was truly magnificent. Absolutely ginormous, opulent, packed full of people getting photos of the bed where one of the queens gave birth to 19 children - in public to prove they were really hers. Somebody ask me again why I'm never having children. (Ignoring the fact that I'm not a French queen.) The Hall of Mirrors was pretty cool and the Dauphin's apartments downstairs were great, less crowded and some great furniture, incl the royal bidet! The gardens were huuuuuuge, think they're probably a bit nicer in spring or summer when they're a bit greener and there are a few flowers, but there's nothing wrong with eating lunch by a small lake with a chariot and some horses rising out of it!

Back in Paris in the afternoon, I wandered round the St Michel area, splurged on some CDs that I won't be able to listen to for over two months, then had an hour of quiet time at the hostel before heading out for an evening walking tour of Montmartre.

Small group of us wandered the chilly streets for two hours and got to see places where van Gogh and Picasso lived and hung out, the Sacre Coeur, a statue of St Denis who apparently picked up his head and wandered around preaching after they chopped it off, the Moulin Rouge, plus - best bit - three of the places where they filmed 'Amelie'. The cafe, the grocer's and the park - SO COOL! If I have time (HA!) I'd love to go back for a coffee at the Cafe des 2 Moulins, they even have the gnome sitting on the bar!

And today was Double Gallery Day. Ambitious, I know, visiting galleries is harder work than shopping, back breaking work. I started (in the rain, squee) at Place Bastille, before wandering through the Marais area (rich people), through the Place des Vosges and past Victor Hugo's apartment, and eventually worming my way out to the Pompidou Centre. Seriously cool, industrial looking monstrosity of a building, but housing some Serious Works of Art.

To keep this within lunch break reading times, I won't go into all of them, but I think the highlight of the modern art works was Marcel Duchamp's 'Urinal' and 'Bicycle Wheel'. I wrote essays in exams on these pieces and seeing them in real life made them even more ridiculous and delightfully funny. These kinds of things are like celebrities for me and I will admit, there was a moment when I realised it was THE 'Urinal' when I couldn't decide whether to laugh or hyperventilate in excitement.

So many great things at the Pompidou, but I will move on to my crepey hot dog that I had for lunch while strolling along the Seine, past the Louvre (saving that till Friday) and across the river to the Musee d'Orsay. So many people have mentioned what an amazing gallery this is and they totally undersold it. If they'd told me exactly which art works were in this gallery, I would've been breaking down the door as soon as I arrived in Paris. The d'Orsay has The Paintings That Created Modern Art, that gave birth to Impressionism and everything that came after. Serious shit, in other words!

Of course, I was absolutely exhausted, but somehow you forget how much your back hurts when you're standing in front of a room full of amazing Pointillist paintings, van Gogh's, a haystack by Monet, Gaugin's tropical pieces. Better, I was having a sit down and trying to work out if there was anything on the final floor that I wanted to see when I suddenly realised in my haze that a painting was giving me the eye through a gap in a gallery wall. Oh yes, that would be Edouard Manet's 'Olympia'. This painting and one other Manet are The Paintings, as far as I'm concerned. They started everything. And one of them was seriously glaring at me and saying 'Get up you lazy thing, you haven't seen the best stuff yet'. And I really hadn't.

Round the corner were more Monet's and Renoir's and OH MY GOD! 'Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe'!!!! Manet's 'Luncheon on the Grass'. So that and 'Olympia' and you have my entire line up of celebrity paintings almost entirely in one building! CRAZY. Stood there gaping like a ten year old meeting Harry Potter, before moving on to gape at 'Olympia' properly. Incredible. One of the most incredible days, painting-wise.

Then I decided to walk to the Opera Garnier, accidentally took the circuitous route when I got distracted at the Place Concorde and along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. This is where the fashion aspect of Paris comes out, this street is where Hermes and Chanel hang out, and all their gorgeous friends. In my daggy attire I managed to restrain myself from entering any of these hallowed establishments, although Christian Louboutin really tested me!

Took such a long and lost way to the Opera Garnier that I actually got there five minutes after it closed - bugger! So instead of doing the Champagne houses tomorrow, will have a slower day, hopefully less walking and a sleep in, but will go back and visit inside the Opera Garnier - supposed to be gorgeous.

In summary, I think you could say that I've warmed to Paris! Don't think you could ever come here to relax though, this city really takes it out of you, although it certainly puts back with all the crepes, waffles, macaroons, pains au chocolat....never enough time for all of it!