Paris - Day Deux. Part 2

Riding down the Champs Elysees serves like a long road of anticipation to build up ones senses in anticipation of something much awaited. From the first hazy glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe this excitement starts to build.

 This great avenue in itself is a sight to behold--so majestic is its layout that I doubt if any finer road has ever been built. The grandeur of this tree lined avenue that welcomed the victorious Kings and Queens of France is a fine example of  Paris's love for beauty evident even in such a mundane thing like a road. Towards the bottom of the Champs Elysees its either side plays host to some of the most expensive shops of Paris as well as the famous Lido! Everything quintessentially Paris can be seen here--from fashion to café's!
One accesses the arc de Triomphe through an underground walkway--this helps avoid crossing the road as the Champs Elysees is always busy!

Having a bit of the flu  so I don't think I am going to be able to go into much detail today--just going to leave you with a few nice pictures!!!

Below is a picture of the Arc de Triomphe taken from the middle of the Champs Elysees!

Here is a view of the Champs Elysée from atop the Arc de Triomphe.

This is a plaque set into the ground at the Arc de Triomphe proclaiming the date of Republic formation

Every evening at 6.30 there is a service of memorial at the Arc de Triomphe where the fire is lit.

Here is a view of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero.

Here are some unusual images of the Eiffel Tower.

The evening sun glinting against metal work

View of the metal beams lit up at night from within the lift.

To you my Love -Paris. Day Deux - Part 1

Paris, from its magnificent avenues to cobbled streets are thoughtfully and beautifully laid out. Its almost as if she were created to be an object of beauty and elegance to be admired and desired by every soul that touches her soil .

 Beauty here is not an afterthought, but carefully woven into the very fabric of Paris -she enchants and enthrals every which way you look and one is somehow drawn into her very depths unwittingly.
The monuments of Paris stand out for their sheer magnificence. In comparison most London attractions seem over priced and a bit gangly - one is tempted to think that they remain attractions due more to some historical significance, colonial or otherwise, rather than demure beauty. I'm visiting London later so it will give me an opportunity to see if my previous impression still holds good or if there are any redeeming factors--As of now, I am in love--with Paris!!!

On our second day we decided to explore the bits of Paris closest to us. Hopped on the Hop-on-Hop-off tour bus for a short ride before hopping off in the direction of the Pantheon.

The Pantheon

 At first when I heard of the Pantheon I thought I must be mistaken--for surely isn't the Pantheon in Greece? 
Oh no--the French have their very own piece of Greece right in the heart of the city. 
The Pantheon was built in honour of Saint Genevieve the patron saint of Paris under aegis of King Louis XV around 1744 by the architect Soufflot who sadly didn't live to finish it. 

It is one of the greatest neoclassical monuments.Its façade is fashioned after the Pantheon in Rome and hence the striking similarity. After the French revolution it also became a Mausoleum. Its use has changed several times in past few hundred years in accordance with the political and religious climate of the time.
Within its walls is a reconstitution of Foucault's 1851 experiment as seen in this picture.

For me the best part of the Pantheon was the underground crypt. It was hauntingly beautiful. The lighting was just right offering a warm glow that reflected on the light coloured stone walls. And it made for some beautiful pictures too. I was really surprised  at how good the pics came out to be honest!
As I said earlier the pantheon is also a Mausoleum and considered to be a great honour to be interred within its walls. Rousseau and Voltaire are surprisingly laid to rest just opposite  each other and take pride of place in the first chamber of the underground crypt. I say surprisingly because when alive their views and philosophy did not necessarily see eye to eye!

Rousseau's tomb

Voltaire's Statue and tomb

The Jardin du Luxembourg is quite close to the Pantheon and our next stop was these breathing lungs of Paris.

 Its one of the Public parks of Paris and is the garden of the Luxembourg Palace. Its a great open public space with greenery, a fountain and views. As far as gardens go I cant say that I was overly impressed by the variety of the foliage as far as I saw! But its a nice bit of space in a fantastic city --great for relaxing on a sunny day and having a picnic as can be seen by the many just sitting around and chatting.
From the Jardin we took a walk back to our hotel for a short rest. A lil bit of rest in the middle of the day, especially when you are with kids, gives everyone the chance to catch their breath and rest those achy legs. AND especially when you are going to tackle the Eiffel Tower later in the day!

The Paris Marathon that cost me Sixty Euros

The Paris Marathon may be an annual event or even a once in a lifetime one for all I know. Can't say for sure without googling it and now since I am sat in the Eurostar which unfortunately ( or fortunately) does not have a free WiFi service my conjecture would have to do. I just might add an addendum about it once I get home.

We were in Paris for the past few days and I was looking forward to eulogizing on Madame Paris( read paree ) because I was swept of my feet and enthralled in her unerring beauty. Then it happened - the inevitable fly in every ointment, or in this case should I say the villain in every lovestory-- the guy who just dosent like happy endings and has to stir up the gentle flowing waters of my love - The Paris Marathon.

 Our train out of Paris was due to leave at 1.13pm and we checked out in plenty of time to catch it. Just as we set of in our taxi we were confronted with a policeman vigorously waving his arms after setting up a raid blockade. So we back track hoping to cross the Seine a little further away. We crawl at a snails pace all the way, cross the Seine and as luck would have it here is another guy shooing us away. He had only just come on and was only setting up the blockade. I think we were the first to be turned away. By now our meter has climbed to about 20 Euros. Now driver dear is frankly upset and starts apologizing saying he thinks he wouldn't get us to the station in time and we might be better off getting the next one. We urge him on ask him to try another route. He says he will try. So there we are, setting off in the direction of what looks like a motorway. Driver later tells us that this runs round the whole of Paris and on the right lies Paris and on the left is not Paris.  Now he appears a bit more relaxed as the traffic starts to thin.

I ask him from where he is and he says Lebanon. Asks him how many languages he speaks and he says Lebanese, French, English,Germany, and Russian!.

Lucky us- he can ask for directions in 5 languages if his Navigator gets stuck!.

We take the exit for the CDG and head toward the city driving through an area which he tells us has only Indians and no French. Finally we dock at the station and pull our stuff out, Three pieces of luggage, a stroller, 3 back packs and a handbag in all. Meter clocks up something in the late forties, driver adds the neccessary surcharges and its now in the mid fifties. We decide to give a tip and round it off to Sixty euros for his persistence and consideration.

And yes--we finally did get on board in time!

ADDENDUM

The Paris International marathon or the Marathon International de Paris is an annual event held every April and has some 35000 runners. Been in existence since 1977 and is one of the biggies in the marathon world. Just had a look at the route they did yesterday and no wonder we could not get from south bank of the Seine to the Gare du Nord which was on the other side of the run!

Madame Paris - Day One

Arrived in Paris in the early afternoon on the  Eurostar. Got our  first taste of the Parissienne ‘quelines’ at the Gare du Nord waiting for the taxi. Spent the time clicking away - helped that the kids were in good spirits. 

Gare Du Nord

The queue dwindled as taxis kept running in. Ours was a smart lady driver who had to clear her numerous belongings from the front seat for me- could say she wasn't too pleased with that!

Next was our fabulous drive through fabulous Paris.Parisian drivers make London drivers look like saints. Our lady was a fiesty one who didn't take kindly to anyone one trying to cut in on her -- one or two yelling spurts later, we crawled into a cobbled street in the Latin Quarter of Paris which was to be our home for the next few days. 

One thing I learnt from our drive from the station is that this place is steeped in history. The very fabric of the city is like fine vintage wine. The narrow roads wind through Paris between rows of sandstony regal buildings that flank it on either side. No surprise that most of the streets are one ways then. On the other hand one would be mistaken to believe that Paris was populated by narrow and dingy alleyways--quite the opposite--there are many grand Avenues and Boulevards to which I will come to later.

After a cheery goodbye wishing us a great visit our taxi lady leaves us at the door of the Levant which is sandwiched betweeen an eaterie and a shoe shop ( later noted). The smell assualts your very senses- but in a good way- the smell of freshly made food arising from the numerous café's, crepperies and 'other' eateries that line the street.

 Our Hotel was pleasant and we had to wait a bit for our room to be ready—we were in no hurry so waited in the tastefully appointed lobby and stretched our legs!

 The room was a comfortable family room overlooking the street. Gave you a firsthand view inner city Paris, though the early morning noises of presumably garbage clearing didn’t sound like music to my ears.Must say the sounds from below didn't disturb any sleep.

Late in the afternoon we set out to explore the environs and discovered that the Notre dame was only short walk away. Whilst booking the hotel I knew Notre Dame was close but didn’t anticipate it to be this close.

  We had to cross the river Seine that meandered majestically through the city whilst offering the young and old alike an opportunity to revel in its beauty.

Notre dame is the Catholic cathedral of Paris. A picture speaks a thousand words so here are some from the Notre Dame.

An External View of the Notre dame --
Paris stone used to build this cathedral in the Gothic style

Internal view - high vaulted ceilings that are
absolutely stunning

I just loved these candles

The apparitions - Art within the cathedral walls

Back view of the Cross behind the altar

 After a quick tour of the Notre dame we decided to head back to the streets.

Our hotel was in an area called Saint Michel on the Rue de la Harpe and walking back we came across the statue of Saint Michael and its fountain –there seems to be fountains everywhere in Paris—lost count of the statues that have their very own fountain attached!

 The Saint Michel neighbourhood is famed for its variety in cuisine—from Lebanese to North African to the quintessentially French Crepes.Prior to the Haussmann renovation of Paris the Rue de la Harpe was an important street of the Latin Quarter. The Boulevard Saint-Michel then superseded it for importance and size. The rue de la Harpe to this day exists as a fine cobbled street within this small maze like group of back streets on the east side of the Boulevard Saint Michel.

After clicking away at the fountain we head for one of the numerous café's and crepperies that line the the street. The crepe is basically a very thin pancake made with great skill and a very simple topping like nutella, chocolat, strawberry jam etc. Several crepes and ice-creams later we head back to the hotel for an early night and sweet dreams.