This continuation from the previous post has taken a long time, thanks to some work at office (finally i have some work!) .
As usual woke up late, just in time for the free breakfast. After gobbling down some bread, coffee and juice, we got back to getting ready for the day ahead. In no time, Bhaskar had come and after some talking we started from the hostel. The first destination was Montmarte area and Sacré Coeur basilica. Swinging our way through the Parisian metro system, we made our way to Montmarte. We came to the stairs to Sacré Coeur, walking through the streets (a mix between old madras and French architecture) filled with cafes, restaurants and tourist shops. At the top i snapped up some pictures of the gargoyle’s and the basilica. Then headed straight into the narrow alley next to the basilica, the alley famous for the street artists sketching the faces of the tourist.
Next up - Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame and Sainte Michelle. We saw Sainte Chapelle from the outside and gave the inside a miss since it was a cloudy day and because the stained glass lose their marvel without the light. Walked past the senate building and towards Notre Dame. We spent close to half an hour looking at the Notre Dame, and we never bothered to go inside as there was a queue till the end of the road. Next headed to Sainte Michelle fountain, and after a few snaps we headed to the food street.
With various food stalls hawking their menu, we wandered around the street looking at the various cuisines at offer. Then headed to a crepes and panini stall, ordered none other than crepes and panini and headed towards the university building with the fast food. Relaxing next to a fountain we finished off our lunch. Next stop was Jardin du Luxembourg, it took only a few seconds before the sense of grandeur hit us. At a glance, everything in the park had a sense of purpose as to why they were designed/trimmed/groomed the way they were. Loitering around the park for some 20 odd minutes, Saint Sulpice was our next stop. On the outer fencing of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the French had put displays of the Mankind’s space explorations. Bhaskar (our guide) told they always had a theme that would be put on display for sometime.
At Saint Sulpice, the church made famous by ‘The Da Vinci Code’, we moved around the church looking at the stained glass adorning the sides. I snapped quite a few shots of the stained glass and the organ in the church. When we exited the chruch, I realized that we had not seen anything with significance from ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and neither was i interested in seeing. Next was a cafe stop. Adjacent to Saint Sulpice, we rested for a coffee break and like all Parisians we were also people gazing while sipping along the coffee. Next stop was the Champs-Elysées. We were on a road on the other side of the Champs-Elysées, walking towards the famed shopping boulevard from the wrong direction and the plushness of what we could expect on Champs-Elysées was showcased by a lambo, a couple of ferraris, dozens of porsche. Having had enough of it, we boarded the metro to the Place de la concorde. This time we were set to approach Champs-Elysées from the right direction and headed towards Arc de Triomphe, window shopping the shops on sides.
Freeze the frame, in front was the Mercedes-benz showroom - thats not a big deal rite, i mean in most cities you would expect they have a showroom - and inside the showroom was a long, lean, silver machine.
A 5.4 L supercharged V8, 5 speed coupe, 617HP 370mm disc brake - Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. I was speechless and stunned. After collecting myself, we headed into the shop and started looking at the various merchandises in the shop.
‘ We’re sorry Sir, yesterday we had a excellent sales day, so we dont have it in stock’.
The ‘it’ was everything from F1 die cast models, Mercedes/AMG jackets, Team vodafone mclaren mercedes merchandise and so on. We had it (me and Bhaskar), he got a AMG fleece jacket, while i got a Mercedes Benz fleece jacket as soon as we laid our hands on the only remaining pieces. Having bagged the only few remaining merchandise (i cant seem to overemphasis this point) , we headed back to droll at the car along with the scores of other people.
Having had enough of drolling at the machine, we walked the remaining distance to the Arc de Triomphe, Bid Bhaskar adieu for the day, as he had to get back to his university. Then we spent close to a few hours just standing at Arc de Triomphe, we did nothing much, i was shooting on a dark cloudy evening without a tripod, having been already irritated with the amount of light nature had to offer that day. Bhaskar and Saravanan were just sitting by one of the posts and taking photos and so on. There was some wreath laying proceeding for the soldiers who had laid down their lives. Half way through the very long proceeding we decided to take the jump and head back out on the Champs-Elysées towards Place de la concorde.
I think i am writing a bit too much, in too much detail, so here the gist of what happened for the rest of the day.
We had some French pastries on the Champs-Elysées, Bhaskar did some perfume shopping, we headed to the Louvre museum passing through another humongous garden - Jardin des Tuileries. Spent some time looking at the Louvre palace and museum with the lights, while still marvelling at the scale of the gardens we had passed (Jardin des Tuileries) and been to (Jardin du Luxembourg).
With the stomach rumbling, we headed back towards the hostel, hoping to find some restaurant to fill our stomach. And Moroccan cuisine it was, After 10 mins looking at the various options we had in the street, we decided that it would be a Moroccan dinner. After some cous-cous, tagine we were back on the streets towards the hostel.
That was the supposed Day I (Night II) in Paris. Awfully exhausted we hit the sacks, with the same routine to follow the next day.
And as usual the next day travel coming soon.
