Our plane departed Vancouver without a hitch, after the horrendous line to check in. The 10-hour flight went by rather quiet and quick, despite the new addition to our first leg back on the road. The boisterous Natalie AKA “Chatterbox” was not her usual self, passed right out within minutes of take off (Dub – you were right!) - much to the appreciation of the entire plane. We landed in Munich ahead of schedule as we were glad to be off the plane and into familiar territory. It felt like Rav and I had not left Germany at all. The only things missing this time were the crazy soccer fans, and the large screen TV that was assembled for the World Cup of Soccer.
We quickly made our way to the Euro rail desk and were pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a train leaving for Paris that night. We ware even happier to find out that we did not have to pay for the transportation to town as it was covered in the Euro rail pass. We made our way to central station and boarded the overnight train to Paris. The train was quite empty and we thought that we had an entire compartment to ourselves but we were wrong. We were joined by two Austrians and a French man, nice enough but we wanted to get some shut eye, so we moved to another car where we found peace and quiet to rest our tired bodies. We were awoken by a smoking German man who had booked the seat next to mine. I don’t know what was worst - the second hand smoke or the loud French disco music blaring out of his I-tunes. Needless to say it was a restless night, and morning could not come fast enough for the three of us.
Our first train ride in first class….so why not pile up on Rav??
We arrived in Paris’ Gare Du Nord (train station) at 7am without any pre-booked accommodation. Much to our surprise we found the streets of Paris to be empty at this time of day. It was only later that we found out that it was a bank holiday and everything was closed, and we do mean everything (cafes, banks, restaurants, etc…). However, we did manage to find a very nice family run hotel (Printania Hotel on Boulevard Du Temple) for 60 Euros a night, that could accommodate the three of us and it had a private bathroom and was extremely clean. We were ecstatic and spent the first day in Paris getting acquainted with the new surroundings. The three of us ventured to an area called Bastille - where the prison was stormed by the revolutionists on July 14th, 1789 an event that sparked the French Revolution. Not much remains of this infamous day, but there is a memorial honoring the victims of the July 1830 revolution. We spent much of the first day orienting ourselves but managed to visit the infamous Notre Dame.
Notre Dame
Built in the middle of the 12th century, Notre-Dame exemplifies the dominance of French Architecture of medieval times. Formerly a Roman Temple, Notre-Dame was reconstructed by armies of architects and craftsmen and has been renovated numerous times.
The Louvre
The Louvre is the biggest museum in the world and judging from the outside of the building, we knew we were in for a long day. With much anticipation, we entered into the Louvre at the center of the courtyard where the magnificent addition by I.M. Pei dominated the space, adding a touch of modernity to this 18th century of classical and baroque architecture style like much of Paris. The simplicity of the pyramid glass structure is a great contrast to the decorative background of the Louvre itself. More impressive however, is what’s being housed on the inside of the Louvre. There are hundreds of paintings and sculptures by masters such as De Vinci, Monet, Rembrant, and Matisse, just to name a few. It would take an individual 12 hours a day for over 8 months to view everything in the museum. With that in mind the three of us entered into the museum to see it all in two and a half hours. Fighting through the crowds, we were able to see the one thing that we all had wanted to see, that of the Mona Lisa. It took a while but we did manage to see it eventually along with hundreds of others in the same room. It was a little disappointing as we had limited amount of time to spend with the painting. No photography was allowed, but that did not stop some of the patrons of the museum including our own Natty who managed to get a blurry photo of the famous painting. We managed to see some other works by Renoir, Monet, Cezanne, Braque, Balthus, Miro, Matisse, and the Venus De Milo and the Nike statue. It was quite unfortunate we couldn’t spend more time in the Louvre, but we had so many other things to see.
So the girls left me at the Louvre while they went shopping along the Champs Elysees – a wide avenue full of pricey shops and restaurants. It did not take long for me to get lost at the Louvre as I wandered through one room at a time. Before I knew it, I was late to meet the girls at the Arc Du Triumph which was half an hour walk away. As I hurried through the garden that lay between the museum and the Arc Du Triumph I could not be but totally amazed by the size and grandeur of Paris. It took me a while, but I managed to meet up with the girls and of course they were not done shopping, and were complaining that they did not have enough time for all of the shops. We ventured up the Arc Du Triumph to get a vista of Paris from what was built in recognition to Napoleon and all of his conquests. Now lies a memorial to the unknown soldier for the first WWI at the middle of the Arc Du Triumph. The Arc is a great monument that has become one of the infamous icons of Paris.
So after 10 hours of wandering through the streets of Paris, the Louvre and the Arc of Du Triumph, you would think that we would be heading back to the hotel and resting for the next day, but NO! We decided to visit the Eiffel Tower, the most romantic place in all of Paris. (Rav and I … oh, ….. and Nat) so much for romance….
The three of us, a million pigeons and one really aggressive beggar had a picnic, with cheese, wine, pate, baguette, salami (for Nat - it is really Italian and not French!), more wine and a night not to forget. It was amazing to have a picnic here, looking up at the Eiffel tower along with some fellow travellers and the locals, and the en-slaught of rain (yes, you read right). The night ended much too soon when the thunder and lightening came along with the downpour. We ventured for about 20 minutes in the rain, dodging in and out of canopies, trees, and people to try and stay dry, but that was not a task we were too successful in. We were drenched through the bones within minutes, but that did not hamper our spirits as we just had more spirits…
Okay that’s enough for one day…on to tomorrow…
Yeah it’s me again finally some peace and quiet as the girls are back on the road… to shop once again. So where was I? Mmmhhhhh , Oh yes the Museum D’Orsay. Another magnificent building, a former train station that now has been converted into a museum with more modern addition to the back, while preserving the original architecture. It is a great space and unlike the Louvre, this museum was much smaller, but very well lit with natural lighting, which enhanced our viewing of the great pieces of art.
We also visited the Picasso Museum, but were could not really understand his genius. Most of his work was on display here as the French state attained most of his work after his death. If you are a Picasso fan this is a must, but if you are not it is not worth it, because there are so many other great pieces of art to see in Paris.
Another museum we skipped was that of the Paompidou - the Museum of Modern Art, although we did see the museum from the outside. Tell me what you think of this one. Not really something you would expect to see in Paris. It looks more like a factory to me, although the piazza outside was quite a nice space.
And then there was the Musee Rodin where some of Rodin’s sculptures are on display. This was a very nice museum with his works scattered within the building and within the garden. My favorite was The Thinker nestled within the garden, but you can still see a glimpse of the Eiffel tower behind him. It was a great afternoon where we ventured through the garden and enjoyed his work. Unfortunately Rodin’s “The Kiss” was a bit of a let down as it was in a room that was poorly lit and was not displayed properly.
We also saw some great buildings that were not museums. These included the Opera House and the Hotel De Ville. Two magnificent buildings that stop you dead in your tracks.
In between all of the museums and great buildings, the girls did manage to do some shopping and even took in a show at the famous Moulin Rouge. So I will pass this over to one of them to write a few words on that experience.
A show at the Moulin Rouge was a definite must see for Nat and I. We knew it would be pricey but we were willing to fork out the dough to be able to see a show at the most famous cabaret in Paris even though Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor weren’t going to be there in person!! :) We ended up booking a combo tour at the Cityrama travel agency which provided us with an one hour evening boat cruise around the waters of the Seine River followed by the 11pm Moulin Rouge show, Feerie for a great price of $94 euros – not a bad deal at all. We had a FANTASTIC night. The boat cruise along the water was amazing as we got to see many of the major landmarks and bridges of Paris lit up – it would have been PERFECT if my huney was there with us but he had opted out of the Moulin Rouge show as he was not as interested as going as we were so seeing this beautiful romantic city with Natty was the second best thing (kidding Nat, I’m kidding). But boy what a different nightfall can bring.
After the cruise, we made our way to the Moulin Rouge and as soon as we arrived, it’s exactly what we had imagined. The lights, the line up of people all dressed up in front, and the characteristic windmill all came into view as our bus rounded the street. “Broad shoulders”, aka Natty, made her way from the back of the bus on the top level down to the bottom and was first in line out of our group. How she did it, I’m still trying to figure out but hey, it was good for us. We got great seats when we were ushered into the cabaret, which looked exactly what you would imagine a cabaret to look like. It was dimly lit with red lights, there were tables everywhere and everyone sat very close to one another, the bubbly was being drank and the staff were running around like chickens with the their heads cut off trying to meet the demands of the customers. We ended up getting seats on the 2nd floor, one tier up from the main floor and had the two front seats overlooking the balcony so there was no one blocking our view of the stage. And as soon as we made a toast and took our first sip of the champagne, the lights were dimmed and the action started. The show was fantastic - the songs, the flashy outfits, the choreography of the dances and the singing were unbelievable. So unbelievable for Nat, that at one point, I looked over and she had dozed off. I gave her a few minutes at which time, I pinched her. Let’s just say she didn’t fall back asleep after that. The 1 hour and 45 minute show was well worth every penny and we were both glad we had gone. An evening not to be forgotten. (Unfortunately we were unable to take photographs while the show was happening, guess you’ll have to come out to Paris one day and see it for yourselves, definitely worth the trip).
We spent 5 days in Paris, that flew by rather quickly. At the end of each night we were exhausted from the day’s activities but could not be more content. We also had been able to have some really good food here as well. To our surprise the prices of food in Paris is not that bad, so we have been able to enjoy some of the finer things in life, like croissants and wine. There are so many things to see and do in Paris that the 5 days we spent here were really just a good starting point. How can you really appreciate all that wonderful art work that people have spent a lifetime developing and mastering in just 5 days. We will be back for sure.
Next, we are off to Versailles.....
2 comments:
Hi guys,
I can't keep up with you two! I've just read everything on your blog from China - Dubai - Europe and back home! Wow, aren't you tired yet?!
I wish we had been able to get together when you were in town but I understand you were pretty busy. Take care. All here is well. We'll be thinking of you.
Jessy & Surin
I know I'm a month or so behind, it was great to have you guys back here and thank you for taking Nat ... I mean looking after my cats.
... Nat on a scooter ... hmmm did she get it stuck going in circles around the 'round-a-'bouts?
Sean
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