69

69 is the number bus that was to take me to the famed Eiffel Tower. I'm not sure how long it was to take even in the best of traffic situations, but I'm certain it took me longer than normal. I first caught the 43 from the Gare de Nord or North Train Station, south to the Louvre. From there I was to somehow hop on the 69 that would take me across the River Siene to my destination. I arrived at the Louvre and found a stop that read 69 on it and things were looking good. I looked up and there it was rumbling towards me and stepped on with some sense of accomplishment. I realized very quickly though that I had hopped on the east bound 69 and not the west bound 69. Crap! I rode for some blocks simply to make it worth the one euro seventy I had paid and then got off at a place I knew I could find the right 69. I was sidetracked briefly by a man working his panini stand and indulged in a curry panini that was really, really good. Anyway, now back on the 69 headed west I was really happy with myself. We crossed back over the river and into a nice suburb of the city where at a stop the driver informed us that this was his last stop and we had to get off. I thought well fine. There will be another 69 just as the signs read and sure enough not ten minutes later there it came. I got on as if I had been riding these routes for years and proceeded to sit down but was immediately told in some French words by a woman nearby that I had stolen her friends seat who was up looking at the route map on the side of the bus. I gave many pardons and grabbed a pole. We moved slowly through the streets and I looked and listened for the phrase Champs de Mars. This was my stop. Finally with a squeak of the brakes and a muffled announcement we had arrived. The Eiffel Tower. It was all lit up and was quite lovely. The line to go to the top was ridiculously long, as were the lines for food and drink as I was terribly dehydrated at this point. I really had no desire to take it all in for my frustrating journey had taken a lot out of me. I snapped some photos and said to myself, wow that's really tall. Then I left. Did I take the bus home? Um no. I haven't given up on the public transportation system. I'll probably utilize it again but perhaps earlier in the day and with a more clear game plan.

So that's riding the bus in Paris. Neat huh?