Paris Day 3

 

 
Bonjour !
Today spent the whole day at the Eiffel tower ! it was freezing though...
we climbed up till the second level...dint take the lift ! :D it was harder than it looks....that too the air was so cold my nose hurt....and the wind was so strong..
when i first saw it..first thought was..hmm..it looks a little rusty....but then you look at the architecture, teh story behind it and the very size and then you get caught up with the idea that you are standing in front of one of the most famous monuments in the world !
we climbed up huffing and puffing and sat at the first level for a bit..then dragged ourselves up to the second level...
the view was fabulous !we could see all teh main sights in paris from up there....and the city is so large....and so well organized..
went straight to the cafe and had some nice hot coffee with chocolate waffles...feeling a whole lot better we just stared at the city from up there....and browsed the souvenir shops ....and waited for it to get dark :) at 5 it got dark and the lights all around the city came up and slowly so did the ones on the tower....oh so pretty it was...
we oohed and aahed...and then descended by the lift ...then as we were walking away from teh tower....in a building in front of us we could see a lott of sparkling lights and we said oh what is that place..its all lit up...then we just look back and the whole tower is sparkling ! i cant describe it....its a sight of a lifetime...
the building was just reflecting it....
we just stood and looked it for a long time...then walked to the arc de triomphe and the Champs Elysee...:D oh my....
all top brands....Louis Vuitton ,Gucci, Prada, Rado the Mercedes and Toyota showroom...Hagen Dasz....:D and teh whole road was lit up ! i went into the Toyota and Mercedes showrooms...
saw the Latest Hybrid and even a toyota concept car ! :D saw a Rolls Roys passing by even.....sexy street...
Outside of Louis Vuitton there is a line....people waiting to go inside and spend 1000's of Euro s...:D and saw watches worth 22-23 Lacs...yes thts like 35000 Euros....and yes..on a watch !
then Shwetank joined us...it was 7 by then and his office is on the champs elysee....all day Priya and me were roaming..
we 3 had dinner on some Italian Restaurant there only....quite nice it was....
then thats it..today over...
tomoro not sure what the plan is...but we ll see all thats left over....maybe i ll go back to teh eiffel tower..to see it sparkle again...:).
gnite....
lots of love
Aishu

Paris Day 2

the inverted pyramid

victoire de samothrace

the crowd in front of the mona lisa !

louvre

arc de triomphe

hii all !
today was quite a nice day.....ate awesome breakfast..Priya made Alu Poha....
then we went to the Louvre...it is indescribable....i actually wanted to cry..it was that beautiful....
we did the Egyptian and Roman Antiquities....the Egyptian was brilliant ! having watched The Mummy and The Mummy Returns several times..the names sounded very familiar and i could understand a lot of the things being showcased....the main things being
"The book of the Dead ! " ( for chotu of special interest ! ) A real Mummy...
there was also the Hamurabhi Code Edifice...
and  then we went into the Paintings wing...Italian Paintings only....
it is Awe inspiring...the size and detail on these pieces....
of course i saw The Mona Lisa....:) she s a little thing hidden behind glass and a barrier and beefy security guards....
it was nice to look at her finally...but then....honestly...i dont know why such a big deal has been made of her...
there are 100 s of paintings far far better than her....
the painting just opposite to her is bigger than a movie screen and is spectacular...i could not understand "why her ? "
of course its like tirupathi in front of her..push shove "Excusez Moi ! PArdon sil vous plait " and then u can take a photo of her...
i think i might go back to the louvre on wednesday and spend a whole day there......i dont mind at all staring at paintings all day...
then we came out of the Louvre at 4...took photos with the inverted pyramid and all....relived our Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons Reading days....looked at the Holy Grail....
then walked to the Musee d'orsay..which was closing by then and it had been raining all day !! so we took the metro to chatlet...and had a late lunch+dinner...at this place called Maos...
it was delicious!! we get Pita bread with 4 falafal pakodas inside..and we have almost 14 toppings to pick up....stuff it in....and its eat all you can...so it was great....!
after this we came back to La Defence...and roamed around in teh christmas market going on here....:) it was super pretty...
got some chocolates and crepes...
PS: going to Vinay s house tomoro ! for dinner...( a distant relative who lives here with his wife )
so tomoro plans are Eiffel tower..go up all the way...champs Elysee Tuleries garden and the Champs Elysee Christmas market and whatever else that comes up..:)
ive slept for 3.5 hrs last night...so im off now...
More tomoro !
Love
Aishu

Paris Day 1

Notre dame

 

Sacre Coeur (Sacred heart church)

hey all !
well today was my first day in Paris and it was indeed lovely...
i reached at around 9 and then hopped metro s to reach La Defence which is in the outer regions of Paris , it is the modern part of paris...here Shwetank came to pick me up. quick background- Shwetank and Priya are my neighbours from Bangalore and they now live in Paris. so im here to stay with them fro 5 days. they are 26 - 27 and so we all get along very well.
It was the warmest welcome one can expect :) it felt just great...they were both so excited to have me and they had planned things to do and places to take me ...where and what to eat....
and when we reached Priya even asked me what i craved most so she can cook it for me :) it was incredibly sweet. btw i said dosa with coconut chutney and bhindi ki sabzi...
                          we sat at home and chatted till like 2..then left to the gare du Nord which has teh Indian colony...once we reach this area its like our MG road...all indian stores! jewellery to salwar kameez and saree to tamila nd hindi cd shops and blouse stitching tailors to bindi selling stores...and here and there the various vada makers...krishna something...thirupathi something...sagar something..one would thing they are all tamilians from Chennai but no..mostly Sri Lankans....
and then finally Saravana Bhavan...oh my god....it was fabulous! we had not had lunch and it was 4.30...we ate like some 10 diff varieties of dishes..and finished of with filter coffee....
i had a food baby but was in heaven and could not care less.....
finished at around 6.30...then we walked to the nearby Ganesha Temple....it was in a run down area and if we saw from outside we would not even say it was a temple...but inside was nice...
and the Lord here receives Euros..:p
so we had finished both "Pet and Puja " we headed towards La Sacre Coeur..or the Sacred Heart Church...which sat upon this lil hill facing the Eiffel Tower....
it was so pretty....we walked around and even went inside and sat for abt 15 mins....very beautifdul inside..
by 5 its night here so all this is under artificial lighting of course...and the christmas lights have gone up too which made it even prettier...
then we stared at the Eiffel tower from there for a bit...which was not too far away...it was fully lit up and looked like a dream come true....we made all the appropriate noises..:D
on the way to the metro did a lot of souvenir shopping..
next stop an area called Chatlet...this is the old paris city but has teh young crowd hanging out here. the whole place is alive with people...very very unlike Belfort where the whole city shuts down at 7.  here we saw the Notre Dame De Paris...the church of Notre Dame. which looks like its top has been cut off....but very ancient and nice :p
it feels so great when all these places that ive read about in books and watched on TV and seen pictures of come to life in front of me....i keep thinking in my head " oh i saw a picture of this place in my French text book 2 years ago !!  wow its in front of me !! "
we walked around in the lil cooblestoned roads and stood and watched an artist do magic with paper and spray paints...( in 10 mins...a piece of masterful art...spectacular) then sat in a cafe....till 12 then we found our way back home....
tomoro is the first sunday of the  month so all big museums are free entry so we ve planned Le Louvre and another called Musee D'Orsee...the Champs Elysee after that perhaps...
but im just going along with them...for once i have nothing planned but things are going even better. today we dint plan a thing but a lot of places got covered...the touristic and non touristic kind.
oh and in the indian road so many indian supermarkets selling everything!! from Avvakai to MTR ready to eat to haldirams and Maggi ! of course i stocked up...
Belfort is some Halli !! nothing i get over there. not even green chillies. dumb place.
ok its really late..and have an early and long day tomoro!
so gnite
more later...
love
Aishu