Un voyage à Paris…
A tiring bus travel from Stuttgart to Paris notwithstanding, we managed to reach Le Parthenon Hotel, Chilly Mazarin, courtesy an old lady with her cute doggie who offered to help us at the Longjumeau station… !! Man – it is damn difficult to be in France without knowing French – a difficulty which we did not have to face to such an extent in Germany without knowing German; we found very little people in France who could speak English… !! Whatever, we found our own way of making people understand what we wanted to know… :P
An hour of refreshment at the hotel, and then started our 3-day long quest through the French Capital…
Louvre Museum – The fascination of the glass pyramid, Mary Magdalene, Mona Lisa portrait, Holy Grail – from the ever-absorbing pages of Dan Brown all culminated in this world-renowned location – where we started our journey…!! It truly needs a wholesome knowledge of Christianity and many other facts to understand even an ounce of what the paintings portray there, but was truly a wonderful experience being in there… ! Highly intricate art work, minute carvings, precise ceiling paintings were the order of the day, as we went by chamber over chamber inside the Louvre… ! By twilight, we would witness the beauty of the Louvre Museum and the glass pyramids in front – a true visual treat for the ardent photography lover…!!
Champs-Élysées – Next location on our list… !! One of the busiest streets around Paris, this stretch of seemingly unlimited shops and long pathways lead us to the Arc De Triomphe – the famous memorial erected after the French Revolution. Though we were not destined to walk our way to the more famous stretch on the other side, the view of the place was itself a total unique experience altogether… !
Eiffel Tower beckoned us on the second day – the last day of 2011… ! We preferred to take the stairs till the 2nd level of the Eiffel, and was again, an experience to cherish… ! The portrait of Gustave Eiffel inscribed on the first few steps towards our ascent, the view of the guitar-shaped lawn below, the ice-skating which we attempted at the 1st level, the breathtaking views of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Seine River, Replica of Statue of Liberty, Louvre Museum and a plethora of many spots from the topmost level of the Eiffel, and more than anything, the feel of being on top of a once-world-wonder-monument was ultra-special…!!
La Chapelle – After all the bread and butter and cheese and biscuits that we could have, we decided to relish the taste of some good South-Indian food – and the best spot in Paris for it could be no where else than La Chapelle - Gare du Nord – a colony filled with primarily Ceylonish and South-Indian shops and a few North-Indian shops too – a little India in itself… ! Felt like being at home for a couple of hours…! Saravana Bhavan was next – and no other words what we could have had there – Idlys, Vadas, Masal Dosas with a typical variety of Chutneys and Sambar – felt that 10€ wasn’t so costly for such a meal after quite a long time…!!!
Cathédrale Notre Dame – A very popular Roman Catholic cathedral, was where we set up next, to pray once more through the closing moments of 2011, before leaving to celebrate 2012 at Eiffel… ! Truly great architecture and the light drizzle throughout made our stay there even more special…
New Year @ Eiffel – What more special feel can you ask for, being at a World famous Monument and enjoying the break of a new year with lights, fireworks, and exchanging wishes with friends…?
Though there were minimal fireworks, the feel that was in my mind, and in some of my friends’ was rather inexplicable… ! Felt the happiest to be there at that moment, but utter disappointment at not having our dear ones to share our happiness with... :-(
After waging a mini-battle with the New-Year crowd at the stations, we finally reached our hotel at 4.30 AM- a little achievement in itself, we felt !
A 2-hour sleep, and off we went on our 3rd day’s expedition…! Sacré-Cœur Basilica was next in the list – and what a location it was… !! A true feast to the eyes of the Architecture lover… ! The view of the city, Eiffel Tower from the place was something which would remain in our eyes for the rest of our lives.. ! The new year prayers and hymns sung by the sisters inside the Church made our New Year something memorable… !
Next inline was the Pantheon, Luxemborg Park, Church of Saint-Séverin and the Père-Lachaise Cemetery, some of which we could cover, but others not, owing to closure during new year…
Got so tired probably some 9 months before, during my Papanasam trip with friends – but all these pain and efforts were worth every bit of it, as we were able to enjoy the true splendour of one of the most popular cities of the world… ! A true feast for every architecture lover, photography learner – This Paris trip would remain in our mind for the rest of our lives… ! Tonnes of regards to all my dear friends who joined me for this trip, and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012 !!!
For a little collection of postcards from my so-called camera :
https://picasaweb.google.com/102196393604927254970/PostcardsFromParis?authkey=Gv1sRgCNrJubfgsM2JqQE
For a larger collection of photographs of our trip,
https://picasaweb.google.com/102196393604927254970/NewYearAtParis?authkey=Gv1sRgCMuJhMCiiL2CxwE
More on facebook :) Cheers...
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