Everyone knows that Paris is the capital of France. It has been promoted as lover's paradise in so many movies. Although so much has been seen, said and read still the charm of the place is incomparable. It can be felt the moment you set foot on this beautiful, charming city.
Paris was the first trip that we planned ourselves. We were a group of 6 girls including my roomie Yam. We boarded a Eurotravel bus at Brussels and reached Paris in 5 hours. The fun of travelling when you are single is that you just have a single backpack with all your necessities. Marriage seemed to have increased the baggage substantially. A bag pack now is replaced by a trolley or even two. Previously what used to be dorms in youth hostels have now replaced with hotel rooms. However both have their own charm.
Our first stop was Champ-Elysées. It is the 1.9 kilometers street which lies between Arc the Triumph and Palace Charles de Gaulle. Getting the pronunciation of "Champ-Elysées" correct is the first go is impossible and it's better to show the map to get direction rather than asking for the same. I had a new Sony Cyber shot with 10x zoom and captured every nook and corner of the Arc des Triumph as possible. You can climb to the top of the Triumph and have a view of the street lying ahead of you. But after a 5 hours bus journey didn't think we could manage climbing all the stairs up to the top.
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| The lovely Champs-Elyssés |
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| The walk |
The street is a beautifully lined with trees, food stalls and the shops which display products from the top brands of the world. Automobiles, perfumes, handbags..name any top brand and you will have an outlet there. Best part is the shop keepers know that you will only have a look and still they are warm and welcoming. This 1.9 kilometers seemed to be the longest ever. I remember myself and Yam splitting from the remaining group. They wanted to spend more time at the Louvre museum and we felt we rather not miss walking the whole stretch down to the Museum. We agreed to meet them directly at the Eiffel tower in the evening before heading for our hotel. I never repented that decision. On the way we would cross beautiful gardens, bridges over the river Seine. It was a cloudy day and everything looked absolutely magnificent within the grey clouds.
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| Paris @ beautiful bridges |
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| Remember taking this shot from the middle of the road |
Half of our day was spent walking and discovering the spots in and around Champ-Elysées. Finally reached the Louvre Museum. Much is talked about this world famous museum and its artifacts. The point that it is the most visited museum in the world. That it houses Mona Lisa's famous painting. However little has been said about the surroundings of the Museum. The walk from the main gate to the building is a long stretch of landscaped gardens, fountains and structures. Myself and Yam were so much struck by the beauty of the gardens that we finally decided to rest there and enjoy the weather and ambiance rather than stand in a queue and enter the museum that day. If you are a big art enthusiast it would be a good idea to visit the museum. But one should be prepared before hand as to know sections you want to see. It is next to impossible to cover entire Louvre in one day forget a few hours.
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| @ Top of the world |
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| Clouds and the Eiffel Tower |
After resting for a few hours at Louvre we made a move to visit The Eiffel Tower. Friends who had visited earlier had advised us to get to the top by evening so that we could enjoy the day view, the sunset and the night view. After spending a couple of hours in the queue the lifts took us up to the top floor of this majestic architecture. You may read, see, know everything about Eiffel tower but just standing below the real thing is can make you awe struck. With my new 10x zoom I clicked countless pictures. Most of the snaps are captures of an amateur. One of the worst photographs I ever took. However the worst also seems amazing. The view from the top, the sunset, the sea of lights after sunset, the wind the rain all seem to be embedded in my memories. Somehow convincing ourselves to leave the place was a task in itself. Paris is full of amazing things and beauty. But for me the fascination was and always be the "Eiffel tower". While going through some old pictures I stepped upon a video of myself and Yam standing below the tower. Shouting at the top of voice below the towers that we would come back. At that point we somehow knew that we would be coming back again to that spot.
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| Sacré Coeur Cathedral |
We spend the next two days in Paris visiting Palace de Versailles, the Notre-Dame cathedral , the Sacre' Coeur Cathedral. Many things remain to be said about Paris but penning down everything seems to be tedious and boring. Some facts seem to be less important now. The fact that we stayed at the Paris Hilton hotel. The fact that I split from the group to visit the Palace des Versailles alone. I would rather concentrate on the good bits and the bitter and controversial parts can fade away.
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| Ending our journey @ Sacré Corde |
-------- End Of Journey ------
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