Paris, France

Paris, The City of Light. (Photo Gallery)

I muz admit that I have not really dreamt of visiting Paris but here I am staring Eiffel Tower at awe !!!

The Journey ~
In order to save some money, we decided to take a ride. The dreaded thought of a 9-hour-journey quickly evaporated when we were reminded of the savings we could get out of it. It would have cost more that EUR 250 by flight but now we were able to halve that amount :)
Like alwiz, we had 2 sacrifice our sleep n take to the road at 2 am Sat morning. After 11am we were at the hostel(cheapest in town at EUR 17/nite) !
Tip : Parking is free on Sat n Sun for yellow tag areas.

The Route~
With 1 1/2 day to spend, we did the following.
Day 1 :
Bastille -> Seine River -> Notre Dame -> Hotel De Ville -> D'Orsay Museum -> Concorde Square -> Eiffel Tower -> Chaillot Palace -> Arc De Triomphe -> Champs Elysees -> Jardin Des Tuileries.

Day 2 :
Luovre Museum -> Chateau De Versailles

Not Covered :
La Villette Science Museum, Sacred Heart, Moulin Rouge, Arc De La Defense, Parc Des Princes,
Rolland Garros, GAlleries Lafayette, Catacombes, Beaubourg, Disney Land, Factory Outlets.

Bastille Opera House (Opera Bastille)~

An opera house nearby to the hostel we were staying. Can be clearly identified by the pillar facing the opera house.

Seine River~
Our journey takes us to the Seine river which glides across Paris and definitely adds more charm to this romantic city. Restaurants on moving boats and tour water buses are common sites.

Notre Dame Cathedral (Cathedrale Notre Dame De Paris)~
The first major attraction along our path is the Notre Dame. It is not only a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, but has also been Catholic Paris' ceremonial focus for seven centuries. The cathedral's immense interior, a marvel of medieval engineering, holds over 6000 people and has spectacular rose windows.

It's well worth the effort of climbing the 387 steps of the north tower of 75m. This will bring you to the top of the west facade and face to face with many of the cathedral's most frightening gargoyles, which enjoys a spectacular view of Paris. An inspiration to the movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Admission: Free (cathedral); €5.50 (towers)

By then, my stomach was already screaming for lunch !
What's better than to take a break and have lunch in one of the many comfy french cafes ? We did just that. Do you know that cafes originated from Paris ? Sandwiches n expressos are the norm.

After lunch we stopped by at some souvenier shops to check out some T-Shirts and replicas of Eiffel Tower and head straight to another attraction, Hotel De Ville.

Hotel De Ville~
This splendid neo-Renaissance-style building is right in the heart of the capital. In 1260, Louis IX decided to endow Paris with the means of organizing its own affairs. This building was used as the seat of government during the French Revolution, when a guillotine stood imposingly in front of its windows. It is now the current Town Hall.
Admission: Free

D'Orsay Museum (Musee D'Orsay)~
From across Seine river, you will not miss the D'Orsay museum. This beautiful museum, once a railroad station, now houses a staggering collection of Impressionist art, as well as other items created from 1848-1914.

Concorde Square (Place De La Concorde)~
The square was constructed to hold an equestrian statue of Louis XV that the city of Paris commissioned in 1748 from Bouchardon to offer to the king. The square formed an octagon bordered by large moats that no longer exist. The statue of Louis XV, removed during the Revolution, was replaced by the Obelisk of Luxor given by the viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, to Louis Phillipe. The obelisk which marked the entrance to the Amon temple at Luxor, was installed in 1836.

Fatigue started to take control of our bodies which only reminds us that we have been walking non-stop for 2 hours. There is at least another 30 mins before we reach our destination, the Eiffel Tower :( (Should have taken the bus)

Upon arrival, we realised that we have lost 2 of our members. No.....not that they collapsed on the way but wandered off somewhere guided by the beauty of Paris resuming their photography session at the speed comparable to mahine guns :)

Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)~
Probably one of the most distinct landmark in the world. Built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair), held to commemorate the centennial of the Revolution, the Eiffel tower was the world's tallest structure at 320m (1050ft) until Manhattan's Chrysler Building was completed.

Initially I wanted 2 take the stairs up 2 feel n cool breeze but......the rest surrendered after a 2-hour walk. There was a long queue and we queued for at least an hour before we took the lift to the second floor and the view is nothing short of spectacular.
Admission: By lift: €4.50 (first floor); €7.50 (second floor); €10.80 (third floor); By stairs: €3.50 (first and second floors only)

It's now 6:30pm and apparently we needed another break. The fountain n field in front of the Chaillot Palace seems perfect for a resting place. Indeed it was !!! We took some gempaq pics of Eiffel Tower from the park.

Chaillot Palace (Palais De Chaillot)~
Palais de Chaillot's monumental architecture was designed for the 1937 world exhibition, the last colonial exhibition in Paris. This Neo-Classical monument, shaped like a banana cut in two, is composed of four pavilions and two wings, each measuring 195m in length.
Offers spectacullar view of Eiffel Tower.

OK.....enuff of Eiffel Tower already ! Move on ... :)
Now to the main street of Paris.

Imposing Triumphal Arch (Arc De Triomphe Etoille)~
The Arc de Triomphe is the world's largest traffic roundabout and the meeting point of 12 avenues. From the viewing platform on top of the arch (284 steps), you can see the 12 avenues - many of them named after illustrious generals - radiating toward every part of Paris.

It was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon to commemorate his imperial victories, but remained unfinished until 1836. Engraved around the top of the arch are the names of major victories won during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. The names of less important victories, as well as those of 558 generals, are to found on the inside walls. Generals whose names are underlined died in action.

Champs Elysees Avenue (Avenue Des Champs Elysees)~
Then, it's shopping time ! Champs Elysees is probably 10 times longer than orchard road. This huge shopping avenue is also the most beautiful avenue in the world. It has so many fanticies for any gender or age. For the men they have your sports bars and for the woman all sorts of designer label things. I knew I have to shop here......at least something from Paris. Too bad, no sale then but I still managed to get myself a unique looking GAP shirt :)

Dinner time and all of us agreed that we have to try some authentic french food. Here we are scouting around Champs Elysees for the cheapest restaurants. All the restaurants here looks posh in their own ways but they have 1 similarity. All of them are damn expensive !!!! :(

Anyway, we settled on 1 restaurant and by the time we finish dinner, it was already dark.
We took to the Seine river again in the hope to catch a glimps of Eiffel Tower at nite. Also on the agenda is the night view of Lurvre Museum.

By then, all of us are almost zapped of all our reservers. For me however, it's still not the time to say goodnite. The temptaion of the glittering ferris wheel proved too strong. So, two of us parted ways with the rest and heads for the Tuileries Garden.

Tuileries Garden (Jardin Des Tuileries)~
The Tuileries garden is the most central park in Paris. It stretches it's "à la française" alleys anestaurad lawns along the Seine river from the Louvre museum to the Concorde square.
At nite, there was this fun fare in the park. They have all kind of interesting games including 1 I liked most, the Sling Shot. It cost like EUR 15 for a ride so I had 2 pass it (Actually I was afraid to take the ride, very afraid !).

That marked the end of the day for us and both of us heads back to the hostel which took us nearly an hour of walk and all our remaining energy !!!


The next day started off with the ring of my alarm.
After breakfast, we drove straight to the Louvre Museum.

Louvre Museum (Musee De Louvre)~
This is the largest museum in the world and the best as well. Our first stop is the ticket counter then to grab a few free map from the information counter. Roaming the Louvre with or without the free map can be very difficult. The Louvre is divided into nine collections including the History of the Louvre and Medieval Louvre, Oriental Antiquities, Arts of Islam, Egyptian Antiquities, Sculptures, Objects d’art, Paintings, Prints, and Drawings, and Arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

Some of the more famous masterpieces include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Coronation of Napoleon. You know what they say about the Monalisa that her eyes will look straight from different directions. No chance to test as there was a big crowd adoring her :(

Versailles Mansion (Chateau De Versailles)~
Next we took an excursion outside of the city. Situated 30 km away from Paris city, is the largest royal residence in Europe called Chateau De Versailles. This is a huge palace and with a huge garden. I was reluctant to visit the garden as I have seen a similar one in Vienna but was persuaded otherwise. We spent another 1 1/2 hour in the garden alone. Gosh !!!
Admission: Garden €6.00

It was 2 pm when we left Paris and heads home but the memories remains in me forever !
It is a great city.

more pix...