PARIS
15th-Aug
We reached my dream place - PARIS at around 1.30 pm. Our hotel was in the bercy village( 12th arr), close to Gare de Lyon. Basically Paris is divided into 20 arrondisements, and they start from the centre and form a spiral.The smaller the arrondisement, the closer you are to the city. Eiffiel Tower is located in the 7th arr.
The best way to get to the city is RER Train, and then the Metro.
( FYI: RER trains are the long distance trains in Paris --they are named alphabetically A, B, C, D, E, while Metro is the underground train system that runs in the central Paris) -- RER vs Metro
So, we had to take a RER-B train and then the metro to Cour Saint Emilion.
Paris has an astounding network of metro that runs throughout the city .also , I found them more expeditious than the Canadian subway. We bought separate tickets for the RER train and then bought a 3 day metro pass for zone 1-3 with that we can go anywhere in the Paris city )If staying in the city centre, your best bet would be to buy the day pass. There is a lot of walking and you definetely need a metro pass especially the Zone 1-3 pass.So depending on the days you stay just go for it. (Zone 1-5 is quite expensive , so buy it only if you really need it, better option is buying individual RER train tickets if its a to and fro journey )
Here is the Metro map with the important subway stations marked,for reference.
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| Metro Map--Paris |
We got a room on the 8th floor , and guess what I saw from my room's window,( The Eiffel Tower, I was esctatic ).. Plan was to freshen up and meet Jays and Robin at Trocadero subway . (Thanks to Robin, that the first thing we happened to do in paris was to be here!! ) We truly enjoyed the view from there ( that's the place from where you get the best direct view of effiel tower , I was obviously spellbound by it when I saw it from this close , No wonder it's been the wonders of the world) .There were crazy crowds taking selfies and pictures( we were obviously one of them ) .
From here we could the see the parc De Mars , the tower, and the crowds just underneath , waiting to climb up. The one picture I always wanted to take was the one with Eiffel Tower and a red umbrella finally my wish was fulfilled.
Unfortunately Jays and Robin couldnt make it, and so we went to the opera to meet them ( it's so good to meet your family in a different country , and get bonded in just the first meeting . We went to an Italian place for dinner . This areas is one of the good places to get a french feel )
Now the fact that we were meeting for the first time, we have to make it memorable (Our jetlag and their tiresome journey didnt stop us from having some fun) So, we headed to the icecream place -Hagan daaz, which was on the Champs-Élysées (The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a boulevard in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 1.9 kilometres long ,which runs between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle) .
With icecreams in our hand, and the long conversations to catch up to, we started walking towards Arc de Triomphe. (It honours those who fought and died for France,in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. It was started in 1806 by Napolean and was ended by King Louis .The soldiers also used to have victory parade here.
With icecreams in our hand, and the long conversations to catch up to, we started walking towards Arc de Triomphe. (It honours those who fought and died for France,in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. It was started in 1806 by Napolean and was ended by King Louis .The soldiers also used to have victory parade here.
The view of the gorgeous street at night was amazing.. It is definetely the City Of Lights. I always wanted to roam around in the streets of Paris like the Midnight in Paris. :)
We finally called it a day and decided to meet early in the morning at the Louvre the next day.
16th-Aug
We reached the Louvre at around 10.15, and there were still long lineups. Unfortunately Jays and Robin could not join us , since they didn't let them take there small carry on bags inside. ( something to note )
Basically that means a lot of information, so if you are a History buff time it accordingly.
We didnt have a lot of time and we are not History Buffs , so all we were interested was the renaissance art , and mona Lisa , and we did quickly see the other collections.
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| Crowd surrounding Mona Lisa |
The craziest crowd we saw was in front of the Mona Lisa. We walked a lot to find a room that had Mona Lisa. Now once in the room, we thought it would be easily visible, but all we saw was a huge crowd surrounding Mona Lisa and people taking selfies.
We met jays and Robin for a quick lunch at a near by cafe as they were leaving for London,and said our Good Byes, with the hope of meeting soon.
Louvre is close to a lot of famous attractions, so thought of visiting those places. First we went to the famous Notre-Dame de Paris and saw the Glorious Gothic architecture. It is one of the oldest architectures in the city and It set the standard for the gothic architecture from the moment of its inception in 1163. Really enjoyed the beautiful interiors of this marvelous church. Its a huge dark, earthy cavern lit with an unearthy light.
After that we walked down the streets near the church and reached a crowded square.And to my astonishment, there were kids playing volleyball and basketball in the heart of the city .I really loved the vibe of this place, reminds you of doing some physical activity,
After that we walked down the streets near the church and reached a crowded square.And to my astonishment, there were kids playing volleyball and basketball in the heart of the city .I really loved the vibe of this place, reminds you of doing some physical activity,
From there we went to Place de la Concorde,( Its the a major public square) also appreciated the beautiful fountain from Devil wears Prada,where Andrea Sachs throws her phone into one of the Fontaines de la Concorde.
We also visited the Tulieris garden , near by. This was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed. It has a good view of the Eiffel Tower as well.. (While watching the Eiffel tower from here I was wondering, how luckyParisians are to see the Eiffel tower every single day, I was definetely in love with Paris by now... Like Andrea Sachs says in Devil wears Prada: , "I never understood why everyone was so crazy about Paris, But it is so BEAUTIFUL"
We then went to Sacre Coeur, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the
highest point in the city, and also a very famous neighbourhood with lovely boutiques and patios.
From here you get a beauriful view of the whole city, with the magnificent Eiffel Tower standing right in the middle of the city ( and ofcourse if you pay you get an even better view :)
Right outside the basilica, there were lots of crowd.Few artists showing some stunts,playing music.And the best was a guy juggling a soccer ball, on the MJ song(Heal the world) playing in the background.
It was JUST AMAZING!!!
We spent the rest of the evening there, checked out few boutiques and mom and pop stores.
highest point in the city, and also a very famous neighbourhood with lovely boutiques and patios.
From here you get a beauriful view of the whole city, with the magnificent Eiffel Tower standing right in the middle of the city ( and ofcourse if you pay you get an even better view :)
Right outside the basilica, there were lots of crowd.Few artists showing some stunts,playing music.And the best was a guy juggling a soccer ball, on the MJ song(Heal the world) playing in the background.
It was JUST AMAZING!!!
We spent the rest of the evening there, checked out few boutiques and mom and pop stores.
17th-Aug
The next day was for the Effiel Tower. (To really see it from close) . We had found a small cafe close to our hotel, that served some vegetarian options like omlette, quiche, and ofcourse Croissant (the staple breakfast), so had a quick breakfast, anticipating the long queue.
The ideal time to go to the Eiffel Tower is at around 8.30, (well our friends who had recently been to Paris had warned us on that,we did regret that: ) .Basically there are 2 elevators to reach the summit, one that goes to the 2nd floor, where you again change the elevator (means another set of queues). The lineup to go to the 2nd floor looked like a 2-3 hour wait time, so we decided to take the stairs (which had less wait time) uptil the 2nd floor and then took the elevator to the summit. One thing to note that (there are aruond 3-4 gates from the ground floor, you can guage the shortest queue and get into that one , and on reaching the second floor again there are 2 elevators and hence 2 queues, sometimes people tend to follow and one hence one quuee always has less wait time than the other )
Climbing was fun, obviously a bit tiring,It has around 500 steps. so wasnt too bad. The good thing is you see the view changing as you climb up. The view from the second floor is great as well..We clicked a lot of pictures of river Siene and the various bridges from here.And obviously the view from the summit was mesmerizing.
We wanted to explore some Parisian neighbourhood ,so Jays had suggested us this place called the St Germain Street, and it was iindeed a nice place with loads of patios with a french feel. Sharing a video from this place.
We had dinner at a fancy restaurant, and had French Ratatoulie and Penne with Pesto sauce.
The next day was for the Effiel Tower. (To really see it from close) . We had found a small cafe close to our hotel, that served some vegetarian options like omlette, quiche, and ofcourse Croissant (the staple breakfast), so had a quick breakfast, anticipating the long queue.
The ideal time to go to the Eiffel Tower is at around 8.30, (well our friends who had recently been to Paris had warned us on that,we did regret that: ) .Basically there are 2 elevators to reach the summit, one that goes to the 2nd floor, where you again change the elevator (means another set of queues). The lineup to go to the 2nd floor looked like a 2-3 hour wait time, so we decided to take the stairs (which had less wait time) uptil the 2nd floor and then took the elevator to the summit. One thing to note that (there are aruond 3-4 gates from the ground floor, you can guage the shortest queue and get into that one , and on reaching the second floor again there are 2 elevators and hence 2 queues, sometimes people tend to follow and one hence one quuee always has less wait time than the other )
Climbing was fun, obviously a bit tiring,It has around 500 steps. so wasnt too bad. The good thing is you see the view changing as you climb up. The view from the second floor is great as well..We clicked a lot of pictures of river Siene and the various bridges from here.And obviously the view from the summit was mesmerizing.
We wanted to explore some Parisian neighbourhood ,so Jays had suggested us this place called the St Germain Street, and it was iindeed a nice place with loads of patios with a french feel. Sharing a video from this place.
We had dinner at a fancy restaurant, and had French Ratatoulie and Penne with Pesto sauce.
18th-Aug
This was our last day in Paris, and we were going to the Palace of Versailles. Versailles is like 45 minutes from the city central, and since its not a part of Paris Centre, the best way is the RER train. The train station is around 15 minutes walk from Versailles Palace. we had already bought the tickets online so were hoping to face less line ups, but to our surprise there were crazy crowds, looked like 4 hours of wait time to get into the palace. So we thought of doing the Gardens and the other places with the hope that the lineups would reduce after 2 hours.
You really feel like a princess when you are at the Versailles Palace, they have got musical gardens and fountains in the afternoons,which run every hour .The music is like that of Princess Diaries!!
We skipped the other queen's palace, because the train that took us there has another set of lineups (I was really done with the long queues by now )Anyways the Main Palace was magnificent, The Palace was begun by King Louis XIII and the later generations expanded it. Louis XIV was an art lover and each room is named after the art on its ceiling. The Queens bedtoom was beauutiful with the Summer-- floral furniture ,It is said they changed the furniture for each season..I was amazed by the lavish lives they lived, no wonder the whole of France envied the King..
This was our last day in Paris, and we were going to the Palace of Versailles. Versailles is like 45 minutes from the city central, and since its not a part of Paris Centre, the best way is the RER train. The train station is around 15 minutes walk from Versailles Palace. we had already bought the tickets online so were hoping to face less line ups, but to our surprise there were crazy crowds, looked like 4 hours of wait time to get into the palace. So we thought of doing the Gardens and the other places with the hope that the lineups would reduce after 2 hours.
You really feel like a princess when you are at the Versailles Palace, they have got musical gardens and fountains in the afternoons,which run every hour .The music is like that of Princess Diaries!!
We skipped the other queen's palace, because the train that took us there has another set of lineups (I was really done with the long queues by now )Anyways the Main Palace was magnificent, The Palace was begun by King Louis XIII and the later generations expanded it. Louis XIV was an art lover and each room is named after the art on its ceiling. The Queens bedtoom was beauutiful with the Summer-- floral furniture ,It is said they changed the furniture for each season..I was amazed by the lavish lives they lived, no wonder the whole of France envied the King..
Later in the evening bought some soveineiours, and bid our good byes to the City Of Lights...
Few More links on the way:
Switzerland
Italy
Spain--Barcelona
Few More links on the way:
Switzerland
Italy
Spain--Barcelona
