This trip
was a complete surprise. Gavin told me at 12pm to pack my bag
as we were going away. Can you imagine how excited I was? I
managed to get all the way to the boarding gate before finding
out where we were going. Then I cried. Well you know how females
are. In turned into a lovely surprise. We arrived and had a
lovely dinner. I tried out my French when asking for a table
and was promptly told, in English, there would be a short wait.
It was worth it. Dining out in France might be one of my favourite
activities.
We had a
whole day to explore the city, so after making a priority list
we headed off on foot to explore. First stop the Louver. Wow,
wow, wow. I know I've used this phrase before, but wow. The
building is huge, with a mixture of old and new architecture.
There was no time for further explorations so the Mona Lisa
will have to wait for another time. We continued on to the Notre
Dame, another great building but loads of tourists around.
After not
being able to find tickets for the metro we decided to use our
feet for the rest of our journey. We wandered through Pairs
streets along the Seine. It was very enjoyable seeing all the
boutiques. We arrived at the Maison des invalides. I managed
to interpret the sign outside and figured out that it had something
to do with war veterans. We investigated further and inside
the compound from an English interpretations and I wasn't too
far off. It was also the home of Napoleons Tomb. The architecture
was very balanced so the whole complex looked really amazing.
The Eiffel
Tower was our next port of call. We spent hours here. Unfortunately
it wasn't the best of days and once up the top I had to snap
photos between the clouds. There were three floors, the top
most was a viewing floor then the second floor had a lot of
information about how the tower was made. Also there was a post
office that post marks with an Eiffel tower mark. And no attraction
would be complete without the tourist shops and over priced
restaurants.
Another
short foot journey took us to the Arch de Triumph. This structure
was deceiving large. It was possible to go up the top but as
it was dark and we had just been up the Eiffel tower we gave
this a miss. It was time for a rest before dinning out again.
No French
visit would be complete without a bottle of Champagne, so this
was what we had with another superb meal. Again I used my best
French accent to ask for a table, and again I must of failed
as the helpful waitress asked if we required smoking or non.
Oh well, I guess I'll have to visit again for more practice.
Early the
next morning we were up and off to the airport back to London.
Although it was a whirlwind tour it was an excellent starting
point for future visits to Paris. Of course we'll go back!
December
12th to December 16th 2001
As Gavin
had to work in Paris for a few days, and I'm not working it
was the perfect opportunity to do a bit of sight seeing in my
favourite city.
I started the week on Tuesday night with a brilliant opening
in French to the receptionist at the hotel where Gavin had already
checked in. Unfortunately that was met by very competent French,
that I had no idea of and as a result I had to embarrassingly
admit that I didn't speak French that well (in French). With
a bemused smile on his face the receptionist began again in
English. Oh well I tried, and my French improved over the week
and I was fairly confident by Saturday in getting what I wanted
and answering simple questions.
The Louvre was my first port of call and I spent the morning
looking at the Mona Lisa and deciding if she was really smiling
or not. From further away it is definitely a smile, it's just
as you get closer you begin to have doubts. Luckily there weren't
many people there, and most of the time I was in whole galleries
alone. There are paintings, statues, Greek antiques, and Egyptian
artefacts to name a few. My favourite were the statues.
I also enjoyed
watching artists paint replicas of paintings hanging in the
galleries. They all were very good.
The fruit
men were also hanging in the art gallery part so that was an
added bonus.
Part of the Louvre was Napoleons apartments. I have always been
a bit disappointed in other castles and palaces as they have
never been as grand as I imagined they might be. Well Napoleons
III is the man. His rooms were absolutely exquisite. I loved
them.
After 4
hours I was done, not that I'd seen everything but that was
about as long as my interest had been held for. I wandered from
the Louvre up the park where more statues where standing and
I could see the Christmas lights on the Champs Elise. I continued
to walk up past all the stores, which were a bit disappointing
as they were the same shops as in London. At the Arch de Triumph
I was involved in a bit of a riot. Mildly entertaining and a
bit scary really. I watched the protesters sit down on the road
blocking cars for a bit as more riot police in full gear arrived.
They then decided it was time to hem the protestors in and not
let them go anywhere; I just made it out of the ring before
they closed it off. A lot of other tourists protested to be
let out and failed so I was very relieved.
That night
we went to a show at the Moulin Rouge. A bit of an eye-opener,
but quite enjoyable. The girls dance topless, although tastefully.
There were a few other acts as well, including a fantastic ventriloquist
who did different voices in different languages. He had a real
dog that opened its mouth at the right time, (not sure how he
did that). He also got some people to come up and open their
mouths when he squeezed their wrists, then he talked for them.
It was very entertaining. There were pairs of acrobats that
were also very talented. The highlight of the night was a French
cancan.
The next morning feeling a bit worse for the 2 bottles of champagne
consumed the night before I had an easy start to the morning.
I decided to check out the view from the Sacre Coeur. After
climbing a billion stairs and fighting off the hawkers who were
actually grabbing my arm so I would buy their stuff, I made
it to the top, only to be accosted by artists wanting to draw
my portrait. Recommendation, don't go there alone, or in winter
when there aren't many tourists.
Once in the church I did get peace, and it was beautiful. The
view from the church steps was also fantastic, with the Eiffel
tower also in the scene. After finding a sneaky way down away
from the nasty men, I stumbled across a square that is famous
for artists who live in Montmarte. It was very pleasant but
not many artists at work due to the unbelievable cold. I continued
on to the Gallery la Fayette, which is a huge department store
and consequently filled with people. I hang around for a while
before the crowds were too much for a browser and I left.
My highlight of my trip was a journey out to Versailles. It
was every bit as great as the guidebook says. It was -2 all
day but the sun was shinning so that was a bonus.
I began with a tour around the Kings apartments. It was King
Louis 14th and 15th and 16th that mostly lived there prior to
the French revolution after which Louis the 16th and his wife
Marie Antoinette lost their heads. There was a very special
clock there, illustrating the French's interest in science.
The clock is connected to planets at the top that move according
to season, a moon calendar, a clock, with year month and date
showing. It was made in 1749. It's incredible that it still
works so accurately. It was made to last1000 years, so I won't
be around to prove that. Louis the 15th also had scientists
map a mean time through his apartments and you can see this
as a brass strip o the floor of his rooms.
We saw the table where it was believed that the treaty of Versailles
was signed after World War I.
We also saw the beautiful Opera house that is closed to the
ordinary public. It is made of wood but painted to look like
marble. The old chandeliers held 3000 candles to light it. It
was amazing that the whole place never burnt down. It wasn't
used very often simply because of this, and the cost of lighting
it. The floor of the opera house could be raised to the stage
level to make one big dancing hall. The theatre is so large
and the curtain is so heavy (500 kilos) it is lifted into the
roof rather than rolled. All this technology from people who
lived in the 1770's.
The library was quite amazing, especially as the doors were
made to look as if they were shelves as well, so that when they
were closed it was hard to see were you could go out of the
room.
After the tour I went around the public part including the much
talked about hall of mirrors, which is exactly that. Also nice
rooms etc, but after a while they all look the same.
Then it was time to view the beautiful gardens. And they were
despite it being winter. I can't imagine how beautiful they
would be if it was summer.
Of course as it was -2 I walked around fairly quickly and went
to the other side of the estate to see the Petite and Grand
Trianon. These are 2 palaces that are quite small and used when
the Kings wanted to get away from the hype and pompousness of
being a King. They were very plain which I guess was the idea.
The last area I saw was Marie Antoinette's indulgence. It was
an English garden and village built for her looking very much
like the buildings in Stratford with the thatched roofs etc.
It was quite a contrast to the rest of the estate. Unfortunately
it was getting colder and I was a half an hour walk away from
the Palace. I managed to walk it in 20 minutes, as it was so
cold.
Here's a
view from the other side of Versaille
After Gavin left on Saturday I decided to visit the catacombs.
I had wanted to see these in Rome but not managed to get there.
Anyway I was soon wondering what I was thinking as I descend
loads of stairs to be in a tunnel 20 metres under the road.
The tunnel was only as wide as I could stretch my hands out.
I was a bit concerned when the men who looked after it suggested
I read the emergency instruction before I go in, they were in
French. Then I was accompanied for some way along the tunnel
as I was alone and it was dark. I was beginning to get a bad
feeling about what might be next. I assumed I would walk around
a maze like area with an open roof and see through gates in
the walls of tombs of people. No, not this time. Once I got
to the caverns (after 10 minutes in the tunnel) I found that
the walls were made of the people. Yep, their leg and arm bones
and skulls made up the walls around the tunnels. I was amused
and freaked out at the same time. It was OK for a while but
then I really wanted to leave. There weren't many live people
there so I tried to stay with the ones I could see and then
walk quickly to the next group when the other group went to
slowly for my liking. There are over 6 million Parisian people's
bones that make up the tunnels. They were dug up in the 17th
and 18th centuries when the President decided that they were
taking up too much space. It was not an experience I would relish
again, but I felt a strange sense of achievement once I got
out, and even laughed at my self for being such a scaredy cat.
I decided after that achievement to treat myself to a relaxing
boat ride down the Seine passing all the familiar sights, and
of course in the sunshine. It was very relaxing.
I finished the day with a trip to Less Halles, a large underground
(again!??!) shopping mall. The architecture was amazing; it
looked like a glass waterfall into a pit. Easier to imagine
when you see the photos.
Sunday was my final day and I planned a trip to the Science
museum to fill in the time before my flight in the evening.
Parts of it were good but it was mostly in French and although
I could read some it wasn't enough to really get the idea. I
went to a 30 minute show in the planetarium, in French of course
so I figured out some of what the guy said about the stars.
I also went on a moving cinema experience; you know the seats
move as if you are on a ride as you watch the screen. That was
fun, and understandable as it wasn't in any language. In the
sound section there was a room where you could move your hands
about and certain drum sounds were made as you moved. It was
quite cool. I tried out some virtual reality glasses also, the
kind that you can still see through but they also have a small
screen that might have a map of the area you are in. I would
have appreciated those so I didn't look like the tourist lost
on the side of the road as many times as I did.
Here are a couple of photos from shop windows and the Christmas
lights in the street.
So am I ready to live there? Well my French certainly improved
over the few days so I think I could cope in that respect. Yeah
it wouldn't be a bad place to spend some significant time. Maybe
one day.
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