Day 132 of international places giving smiles -Remembering the city of Love and style -Paris
Our tour guide janos handed out maps and briefed us on how to get around Paris. He told us that our hotel Campagnile was situated in the Clichy district, we would see a lot of Boards here having the name Clichy on it. He said that there are 19 railway lines here built between 1900-1911 and the same original porcelain tiles can still be visible at some stations. He told us that one way tickets cost 1.14 Euro’s. Though a bunch of 10 tickets called Carnet can be purchased for 1.11 Euro each and valid only for that day. He told us that light blue coloured line no.13 and the yellow coloured main line no.3 can take us to the cities regional centres. I couldn’t imagine an Indian tour operator giving us instructions to travel on our own in a foreign land!
Using the Alpha-Numeral blocks on the map he gave us a sense of orientation of where our hotel was as compared to the famous sight seeing spots of the city. I think the map of Paris has to be the most important accessory when we get there. After what seemed like ages we finally entered Paris from its southern side. We were on the outer ring road that goes around the city. We crossed many signals that had boards telling us about the traffic conditions and the estimated time to reach the next spot!
We drove past the Paris expo– the place where the industrial exhibitions are held. We crossed the Sienne river which flows right in the middle of Paris. We are in Paris but we saw an American influence- a small replica of the statue of liberty in the middle of the Sienne River. We drove past the Maison Radio the centre of Broadcasting in Paris.
We were soon driving just next to the No.1 landmark of Paris-the Eiffel Tower! Since I had seen it before, I was more happy looking at the expression on the faces of the children. Janos told us that even the French drive in a very haphazard manner, I saw this for myself when we drove past another landmark of Paris-the Arc de Triomph. The 12 roads that converge at this place had cars going in their own way without following any of the traffic rules.
We could make out that we were finally in one of the worlds greatest cities with its population of 12 million people. We could make out that we were in a big city, with sprawling buildings next to each other. Janos told us to observe the different designs of the wrought iron balconies. Even the cars were literally parked bumper to bumper and I wondered how they even get them out of the parking space.
Finally we reached our Hotel Campanile which was just opposite the station Porte De Clichy. The lift here could be operated only after using our room keys and not realising this most of us lugged our heavy suitcases up the stairs.
The first cabaret show had started in Paris in the 1880’s when skimpily clad girls danced on first on tables and then on a specially made stage. The can-can dance was invented by Parisians and now there were around 85 cabaret shows happening in Paris. The 6 most spectacular cabaret shows in Paris include the Lido, the Moulin rouge, the Crazy Horse and the Paradis Latin which is the one which our Cosmos tour members went to, along with our children. We had seen the Lido show on our previous trip, so we decided to explore Paris on our own at night.
Daughter Shringar dressed in a netted spagetti and a flowing mauve long flowing skirt and looked like a diva herself as she got ready for the cabaret show. Even Son Siddharth looked clean and handsome with his pony tail and formal clothes. As we bid them goodbye in the coach, I heard a remark that they would have to be extra careful about Sid because this is a city meant for the gay crowd! They were lucky to see Paris lit up at night, especially the sparkling lights of the Eiffel tower. In the cabaret show, along with a complimentary glass of champagne, they got a glimpse of the history of Paris through dance and later they could not stop raving about the grand finale act!
As per the map we seemed to be quite close to the Bascillique du Sacre Coure, so we decided to go there walking to get a true feel of the city. Armed with a map we walked first on the Avenue de Clichy. It got colder as it got darker and inspite of having a map, we were not able to read the small print because we did not have reading glasses! So we just walked and asked for directions.
We came at a busy junction and changed directions here. It was an uphill walk and suddenly husband recognised the Mercure hotel where he had stayed the first time he had come to Paris. As we were walking on a bridge, we suddenly realised that there was the Montmarte cemetry with so many graves under us. I can’t forget the eerie feel as we walked in the dark. We were definitely lost and had stopped looking at the map by now!
We were now in the Montemarte area. Over centuries, this bohemian part of Paris attracted many writers and artists like Picasso. The up beat ambience was felt on the cobblestoned streets that seemed to reflect the night life of Paris. By now it was drizzling and we were wet and very uncomfortable. We had reached the Metro station Abbesses and still no one was able to give us the right directions!
We were also close to the Pigale area which was the first authentic redlight area of Paris and I definitely did not want to go there at night. Last time I had seen the Moulin Rouge from outside.
We were almost tempted to give up and go back to the hotel, yet we persisted with our search. By now we were in lonely bye-lanes, climbing up many flights of steps. Finally I recognised the artists market on Montmarte hill that I had visited during my last visit. It was an artist’s village of the 17th century and it still retains an old world charm about it with its small cottages, taverns, bistros and brassieries.
So finally we just stood in front of the Bascilique du Sacre Coeur and looked at the fantastic panorama of the lit up city of Paris. I showed husband the funicular cable train which I had taken the last time. At its base stop we were lucky to get a clear map with bigger print that we could read even without our glasses.
We walked upto the Metro station Anvers, changed to the light blue line at station Place de Clichy and were really happy to be back to our hotel around 11.30p.m. We realised that we have become older now, completely lost without our reading glasses!
On Friday 18th April 2008, we had a good buffet breakfast and were amused at the sign in the lift that said ‘don’t pack up food from the breakfast room’. It was a sad sight to see some homeless people sitting with their meagre belongings on the vent which gives out hot air from the station below.
Our local guide talked about Paris in a typical singsong manner, it was difficult to pay attention to what she was saying! The river Seine divides the city into 2 parts -the Rive Droit and the Rive Gauche (right bank and left bank). Since our hotel was on the northern side we first drove past the many landmarks of the right bank.
First we saw the world’s largest Roundabout the Arc de Triomphe. Though built to commemorate the victories of Napolean, it now has an eternal flame burning in memory of the Unknown soldier. We drove past the worlds stylish shopping street -the Champs Elysee. I recognised the Lido theatre where we had gone for a show last time. We drove past the Concorde square with the 3300 year old pink granite Obelisk in the middle. The French aristocrats and Royals were publicly beheaded during the revolution at this very place. We drove past the Tuliere gardens and the one and only Louvre Museum. We got down at the Hotel de Ville-this City Hall and square were once the centre of many of the celebrations and rebellions in Paris.
We then walked across to one of the most famous islands of Paris-the Cathedral de Notre Dame. This masterpeice of gothic architecture has detailed exterior carvings- the leering gargoyles and the flying buttresses were fascinating. Inside the stunning stained glass rose windows, and the monumental 7800 pipe organ left me speechless. (I did not go inside last time). But I remember having stood in front of the Cathedral and turned a full circle, wishing to come back. We all did this again and would definitely like to visit Paris again and again.
Next we visited the Left Bank or the southern side of Paris. We were driving alongside the Sienne river and I tried to absorb as much as I could about the uniqueness of this city. We drove past the Ste Chappelle, a Gothic styled museum tucked within the walls of the Law courts. We also drove past the Musee de’Orsay, which was a train station now converted to an Art Museum. We also drove past the Hotel des Invalides, which was initially a place for war veterans, played an important role during the Revolution and is now an army museum.
We then went to the Champ de Mars the parade grounds from where Napolean graduated. We got here to click photos in front of the one and only-Eiffel Tower. This metal structure was built in 1889 for a World Fair and was almost torn down as it faced opposition from the artistic elite. Now it has more than 6 million visitors each year, Paris would not have been the same without its Eiffel Tower! The Jardins of Trocadero with its fountains and statues are just across the Eiffel Tower.
We were dropped at the Rue de Rivoli where we spent a lot of time doing some shopping later in the evening. We walked around the opera house and the stylish shopping center Galleries Lafayette where I met my Bangalore neighbour Rajani.
The kids were really excited to climb upto the second level of the Eiffel tower by steps and see the panoramic view of Paris from there. They saw the Louvre museum free because of their student pass and spent a lot of time there. The 2 glass Pyramids, the Mona Lisa and other paintings by Raphael and Leornado impressed them.
It is nice that they are independent enough to walk across the city on their own. On our last night in the European continent we decided to celebrate by eating out. We could not eat at an outdoor French cafe because of the rain. Instead we treated ourselves to dinner at an authentic French Bistro and this was a fitting finale to our stay at Paris.
So what place made you smile today?
Be thankful for the places that make you smile!
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