Paris
My first ever trip to Paris... The city of romance, the land of the most decadent cuisine, haute couture and the mecca of art!! I love Sougata for having planned this trip- never mind the length... It was a flip-up between the sun, food, sights and sounds of Italy and the romance of Paris and he chose Paris considering I was an art student and would love to visit the Louvre :) So the plan was this- Sougata had work in London during the week and since my UK visa has expired and the London trip would have been too close to my return from India, I decided to skip another trip to London and just meeting him in Paris. So I went from NY to Paris and was joined in the evening by Sougata who took the train from London to Paris.
I was a little skeptical about being in Paris and not knowing a word of French... OK technically I know a couple of words like Bon Jour and Bonsoir and Merci beaucoup but that doesn't really qualify as knowing French now does it??? Hehehe... anyway I decided against learning basic lines in French because if they replied in French assuming I understood French- that would be a biiiiiiiig BULB for me!! hehehe... So I landed up in the Paris airport and though I'd figured out how I was going to get to the hotel, I couldn't operate any of the ticket machines as they were in French. Finally I solicited the help of a couple of Mauritian girls who happened to speak French AND English and had Indian origins... So I went up to them and asked them "Hi... can you tell me what's the best way to get to the Eiffel Tower?" (My hotel was very close to the Eiffel tower- hence the question!)... They looked me up and down and saw my suitcase and bags etc. and asked me "You want to go straight to the Eiffel Tower??????" Hehehe... then I explained how my hotel was close to it and then helped me get onto the right train!!! I found my hotel and stuff and then just relaxed till Sougata came later in the evening... Both of us being quite tired we decided to just take a walk in the neighborhood and find a nice place to eat. Had a delicious dinner of Fish Soup and Foie Gras (which is goose liver but extremely delicious!!) and steak entrees.
The next day we woke up early and got dressed and left first to see the Eiffel Tower. We got a peek at it from our hotel room but we wanted to see it up close... so we just walked down to see it! You know what I thought was most stunning? The fact that usually all the beautiful monuments of the world are constructed using beautiful materials... beautiful marbles and stones and gems and painted etc etc... But here was a structure made of just strips of wrought iron... not a hint of paint or embellishment... and yet it stood so beautiful and magnificent!! I think it was sheer genius in the hands of Gustave Eiffel to make a design so magnificent that you don't need a single other element to beautify it!!! And another interesting feature I thought was the ying-yang concept it embodied... If you see the design of the structure you find it extremely slender and feminine and graceful... whereas the materials used are heavy-duty industrial, construction metal- extremely masculine!! I was just awe-struck!!! Anyway we took the stroll down and snapped a few pictures here and there and then headed on to the Louvre. The Louvre supriisingly stood up to its reputation. It really did 
have a fantastic collection of art and sculpture and not only that- it was displayed in a manner that would make it interesting to a diverse group of people. And it was extra fascinating for me to see all the works of art by the Great Masters that I had studied in books and viewed on slide projectors, actually face to face. I knew that I would enjoy the museum no matter what, but I was really surprised to see Sougata (who incidentally detests museums!!!) actually excited at seeing the different art pieces and taking pictures and excitedly going from room to room! I was kicked at seeing him so kicked in an art museum... hehehehe....And of course the Monalisa!!!!! How can I forget?? Of course we weren't allowed to take pictures of it and there is the hoopla surrounding it. Never mind where in the museum you are, you have arrows pointing you to "La Joconde" as the French call it!! It was in a room with a glass frame bolted on it and maximum maximum security- of course everyone who's read "The Da Vinci Code" knows about it! It still was pretty amazing seeing the painting up close :)
After the Louvre, we had originally planned on taking a walk along the Seine but the weather was gloomy and had just stopped raining momentarily so we decided to change the plan and go from the Louvre to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral itself was pretty.. and the altar inside too was beautiful... but the most interesting thing at the cathedral was this bird man... he was surrounded by pigeons all around and there was a film crew shooting him... Don't know if it was from a movie. Onwards we went to Champs-Elysees.. the most famous avenue in Paris!! We walked down from Arc d'Triomphe (whcih we saved for the next day!!) looking for a place to eat. It was beginning to get cold and our feet were killing us!! So we found a nice place and had a relaxing dinner after which we just had enough time to stop over at the hotel and change to be at the Moulin Rouge for a cabaret performance. The show was highly entertaining, even if I thought it was somewhat a glorified circus act. There was a cabaret act in the start of the show and the end of the show and I think I had expected the whole show to be like that... but there were acrobats (who blew me away!!!), clowns, mime and juggling acts... All in all it was entertaining and with the complimentary bottle of champagne, the evening went by quite smoothly :)
The next morning we found it extremely different to tear ourselves out of bed... But we finally rolled out of bed and left the hotel at 10.30. We headed straight to Chateau d' Versailles which was home to King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who were both beheaded during the French Revolution. The palace and grounds were breathtaking... The opulence and indulgence of the royalty is what strikes you, as in any Indian palace too! After an exhausting guided tour we headed back to Paris to talk a stroll along the river upto Jardin de Tuileries which is supposed to a great place to hang out and relax and even picnic in summer... but the weather was too gloomy for people to be out there. So we just strolled until we reached Place de la Concorde which has an Egyptian obelisk in the centre of the square. I am uncertain as to the significance of the obelisk but we took a walk there nonetheless. From there we went straight to the Arc d'Triomphe and took the stairs (284 steps in all- up a spiral staircase!) right to the top from where we had a gorgeous view of Paris... The beauty of the Arch is that many major avenues of Paris radiate out from the base of the Arch. So from the top it really is an outstanding view of Paris... and of course you can spot the Eiffel Tower from anywhere in the city. I noticed that like London, Paris too has a specified format in which buidlings can be constructed. For instance no building can be more than 6 stories tall and even new buildings should conform to the style of architecture of the city. The only exception was the financial section of the city that seemed to have rather tall buildings with moderm architecture!! After the climb to the top of the Arch I was honestly, physically and mentally exhausted. We still had Montmartre to visit and I wanted to skip it. But after a little cajoling from Sougata decided it might be worth the trudge. So off we went to Montmartre.
It is a little square on top of a hill that houses the Basilica Sacre Couer and offers oustanding views
of Paris. I have to admit, it was worth the trip. The square at Montmartre was where the Parisian artists worked- making sketches of tourists and of the views of Paris from top of the hill. And all along the square were little cafes with chairs set out where we found people sipping on wine or hot coffee or even grabbing a bite. It was idyllic.. Wish I could capture the ambience of that square in my mind forever. We took found ourselves a spot and had a cup of hot chocolate/ glass of chilled beer!! After Montmartre was a taxi ride straight back to the hotel only to change and be ready at Buddha Bar for our 9PM reservation!! Now Buddha Bar has to be one of the coolest and hippest places I've ever been. The ambience, decor, music, cocktails and food were really ecclectic and I really really liked it...and would totally recommend it to anyone visiting Paris!! Hehehe... And the food was soooo good... the only flip side was that for the price the quantity served was miniscule... I mean the food was delectable but then I could have eaten two of those!!!! Hehehehehe... In any case the dessert was absolutely the cherry topping... we had chocolate fondue and that has to be easily the best dessert I have ever had!! I am sorry but I don't even have words to describe it! Suffice it to say... yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!
So well to finish off our trip to Paris we made one final pitstop at the Eiffel Tower, lit up at night and then just strolled back to the hotel. An awesome awesome trip and I knowww an unbelievably long email!!! Hehehe... Congrats to those who managed to finish reading it in one go!! Have a great day all... Au revoir!!!
I was a little skeptical about being in Paris and not knowing a word of French... OK technically I know a couple of words like Bon Jour and Bonsoir and Merci beaucoup but that doesn't really qualify as knowing French now does it??? Hehehe... anyway I decided against learning basic lines in French because if they replied in French assuming I understood French- that would be a biiiiiiiig BULB for me!! hehehe... So I landed up in the Paris airport and though I'd figured out how I was going to get to the hotel, I couldn't operate any of the ticket machines as they were in French. Finally I solicited the help of a couple of Mauritian girls who happened to speak French AND English and had Indian origins... So I went up to them and asked them "Hi... can you tell me what's the best way to get to the Eiffel Tower?" (My hotel was very close to the Eiffel tower- hence the question!)... They looked me up and down and saw my suitcase and bags etc. and asked me "You want to go straight to the Eiffel Tower??????" Hehehe... then I explained how my hotel was close to it and then helped me get onto the right train!!! I found my hotel and stuff and then just relaxed till Sougata came later in the evening... Both of us being quite tired we decided to just take a walk in the neighborhood and find a nice place to eat. Had a delicious dinner of Fish Soup and Foie Gras (which is goose liver but extremely delicious!!) and steak entrees.
The next day we woke up early and got dressed and left first to see the Eiffel Tower. We got a peek at it from our hotel room but we wanted to see it up close... so we just walked down to see it! You know what I thought was most stunning? The fact that usually all the beautiful monuments of the world are constructed using beautiful materials... beautiful marbles and stones and gems and painted etc etc... But here was a structure made of just strips of wrought iron... not a hint of paint or embellishment... and yet it stood so beautiful and magnificent!! I think it was sheer genius in the hands of Gustave Eiffel to make a design so magnificent that you don't need a single other element to beautify it!!! And another interesting feature I thought was the ying-yang concept it embodied... If you see the design of the structure you find it extremely slender and feminine and graceful... whereas the materials used are heavy-duty industrial, construction metal- extremely masculine!! I was just awe-struck!!! Anyway we took the stroll down and snapped a few pictures here and there and then headed on to the Louvre. The Louvre supriisingly stood up to its reputation. It really did 
have a fantastic collection of art and sculpture and not only that- it was displayed in a manner that would make it interesting to a diverse group of people. And it was extra fascinating for me to see all the works of art by the Great Masters that I had studied in books and viewed on slide projectors, actually face to face. I knew that I would enjoy the museum no matter what, but I was really surprised to see Sougata (who incidentally detests museums!!!) actually excited at seeing the different art pieces and taking pictures and excitedly going from room to room! I was kicked at seeing him so kicked in an art museum... hehehehe....And of course the Monalisa!!!!! How can I forget?? Of course we weren't allowed to take pictures of it and there is the hoopla surrounding it. Never mind where in the museum you are, you have arrows pointing you to "La Joconde" as the French call it!! It was in a room with a glass frame bolted on it and maximum maximum security- of course everyone who's read "The Da Vinci Code" knows about it! It still was pretty amazing seeing the painting up close :) After the Louvre, we had originally planned on taking a walk along the Seine but the weather was gloomy and had just stopped raining momentarily so we decided to change the plan and go from the Louvre to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral itself was pretty.. and the altar inside too was beautiful... but the most interesting thing at the cathedral was this bird man... he was surrounded by pigeons all around and there was a film crew shooting him... Don't know if it was from a movie. Onwards we went to Champs-Elysees.. the most famous avenue in Paris!! We walked down from Arc d'Triomphe (whcih we saved for the next day!!) looking for a place to eat. It was beginning to get cold and our feet were killing us!! So we found a nice place and had a relaxing dinner after which we just had enough time to stop over at the hotel and change to be at the Moulin Rouge for a cabaret performance. The show was highly entertaining, even if I thought it was somewhat a glorified circus act. There was a cabaret act in the start of the show and the end of the show and I think I had expected the whole show to be like that... but there were acrobats (who blew me away!!!), clowns, mime and juggling acts... All in all it was entertaining and with the complimentary bottle of champagne, the evening went by quite smoothly :)
The next morning we found it extremely different to tear ourselves out of bed... But we finally rolled out of bed and left the hotel at 10.30. We headed straight to Chateau d' Versailles which was home to King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette who were both beheaded during the French Revolution. The palace and grounds were breathtaking... The opulence and indulgence of the royalty is what strikes you, as in any Indian palace too! After an exhausting guided tour we headed back to Paris to talk a stroll along the river upto Jardin de Tuileries which is supposed to a great place to hang out and relax and even picnic in summer... but the weather was too gloomy for people to be out there. So we just strolled until we reached Place de la Concorde which has an Egyptian obelisk in the centre of the square. I am uncertain as to the significance of the obelisk but we took a walk there nonetheless. From there we went straight to the Arc d'Triomphe and took the stairs (284 steps in all- up a spiral staircase!) right to the top from where we had a gorgeous view of Paris... The beauty of the Arch is that many major avenues of Paris radiate out from the base of the Arch. So from the top it really is an outstanding view of Paris... and of course you can spot the Eiffel Tower from anywhere in the city. I noticed that like London, Paris too has a specified format in which buidlings can be constructed. For instance no building can be more than 6 stories tall and even new buildings should conform to the style of architecture of the city. The only exception was the financial section of the city that seemed to have rather tall buildings with moderm architecture!! After the climb to the top of the Arch I was honestly, physically and mentally exhausted. We still had Montmartre to visit and I wanted to skip it. But after a little cajoling from Sougata decided it might be worth the trudge. So off we went to Montmartre. It is a little square on top of a hill that houses the Basilica Sacre Couer and offers oustanding views
of Paris. I have to admit, it was worth the trip. The square at Montmartre was where the Parisian artists worked- making sketches of tourists and of the views of Paris from top of the hill. And all along the square were little cafes with chairs set out where we found people sipping on wine or hot coffee or even grabbing a bite. It was idyllic.. Wish I could capture the ambience of that square in my mind forever. We took found ourselves a spot and had a cup of hot chocolate/ glass of chilled beer!! After Montmartre was a taxi ride straight back to the hotel only to change and be ready at Buddha Bar for our 9PM reservation!! Now Buddha Bar has to be one of the coolest and hippest places I've ever been. The ambience, decor, music, cocktails and food were really ecclectic and I really really liked it...and would totally recommend it to anyone visiting Paris!! Hehehe... And the food was soooo good... the only flip side was that for the price the quantity served was miniscule... I mean the food was delectable but then I could have eaten two of those!!!! Hehehehehe... In any case the dessert was absolutely the cherry topping... we had chocolate fondue and that has to be easily the best dessert I have ever had!! I am sorry but I don't even have words to describe it! Suffice it to say... yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!
So well to finish off our trip to Paris we made one final pitstop at the Eiffel Tower, lit up at night and then just strolled back to the hotel. An awesome awesome trip and I knowww an unbelievably long email!!! Hehehe... Congrats to those who managed to finish reading it in one go!! Have a great day all... Au revoir!!!
posted by Shreya at 8:04 AM
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