10 Sept '10
Arrived at the most visited country in the world, around 9pm. First impression when I get out of the train, onto the platform of Paris Est. Station was, chaos everywhere. People was everywhere. Traffic was moving in various different directions. As I walk further down, there were signs for all sorts of things. Of course French is not something that I can read. After I puzzle out the mess in front of me, I realized this train station is actually a hub for all sorts of transportation. Metro, inter-city trains, regional train, international trains, food outlets, et ctera. The only transportation that is not there, is the transport to the airport. But that is easily solved, 2 stops away is the Paris Garde Nord. The central station, the mother of all motherships.
In France, it is not easy to find your place around. First you do not speak French and second, the French people are very rude. Once they know, you speak English, they tend to be very impatient and even go as far as to shun you.
Anyway, as it was already quite late, we set off to look for our hostel. Absolute Paris. The ratings for this place is only average but the location is very good. Something interesting happened: A girl (after which we found out, Vaida is from Lithuania) came up to us and ask directions and insisted on tagging along to our hostel. After a couple of minutes, we found that she actually missed her train to Strasburg and had to look for accommodations.
When we finally found our way, we settled down (she got the last spot for the night, so lucky) and went out to grab a bite.
Our room is very nice! As most of the hostels go, the corridors are really small and winding. But our room was surprising, we got a 2 person private and it was kind of like an attic hut. There were even a group of people eat at their balcony opposite my room, across the street! They were eating and drinking, even singing! haha!
11 Sept'10
Went to visiting by myself as Chapman has to settle the tickets to get out of Paris.
After analyzing the map of Paris, I decided that I would start far and come back down. But first, I will go to the place that was the most oddly place from my location and chosen path, the Montmarte. It was a couple of stops of Paris Garde Nord. The road going up to the Montmarte was totally packed with people. I bet 85% are tourist, 14% are tourist trappers and the remaining 1% are just people who are passing through.
Being the first monument in Paris that I set my eyes on, I was not very impressed at first. But as I approach this UNESCO World Heritage Site, I realized that this kind of beauty will slowly dawn upon you. And what is truly beauty was the view that Montmarte offer. With your back facing the entrance of place, feast your eyes on the view of Paris across the horizon.
As I had only a little more than half a day in Paris, I decided not to join the crazy queue of people trying to get into the Montmarte.
One point to note: There is a group of guys who will approach tourists and try to hit on them with colored string bands. One will try to lasso it around your finger and tell you that it is for the entrance fee. And afterwards, I think they will ask you for money.
Took the metro. Second stop, Arc de Triomphe. All you got to do was really just to follow the crowd. The amount of tourist is actually quite amazing. Almost everyone seems to be going to the same attractions. After exiting the metro, I finally set my eyes on the place which has the highest number of traffic accidents each year.
To get to the foot of the Arc, one has to use a special underpass that only goes to the Arc and back. Took quite a number of pictures, even had a couple which show the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysées. After taking in the magnitude of the Arc and the circle, I continued down Champs-Elysées to my next destination, Louvre Museum. About 3 kilometers away. Haha.
One thing to note: There are a lot armed security personnel around. Good right? Very safe. :p
Along the my way down Avenue des Champs-Elysées, I spotted the ever iconic brand of the aunties of Singapore, Louis Vuitton. It is a huge 3 stories building standing at a symbolic 101 address. Of course it looks impressive, it has to be. It is the flagship store. :) Spent about 30mins trying to look for someone to help me to get the product my mummy wants.That was how packed it was. Hmm. Most importantly, it was the amount of Mainland China people that was actually shopping in the shop. Even some of the retail personnel are also from China. After a long search, the product was no longer in stores for the whole of Paris as it was a last season product.
Continuing my way along the long avenue. I went passed a lot of sights. Palace de Concorde. etc.
Finally arrived at the Gardens. Jardin Des Tuileries. Comparing to our Sun Plaza Park, it is huge! And bustling with people. Suntanning, strolling, walking their dogs, playing with their kids or even just lazing around. This is what I think the main difference in the people back home and here in Europe. They take their time and enjoy themselves.
When the Louvre was finally in sight, I took a look at my watch and realize I had practically sprint down the Champs-Elysées. It took me only 2 hours! To my horror, there was a long queue at the main Pyramid entrance. After this took about 30 mins of my life away, I finally got in. After all the security checks, I took some time to gather my thoughts and got my directions corrected. Louvre is really huge. In the end, I decided to head out and check out Scully Wing for the Egyptian collection and make my way to see specific items in other wings, such as Mona Lisa. There was simply no time. So many things to see, so little time… Sigh…
The collections was huge. And so was the crowd. Everywhere was so packed with people. Some stairways made me felt like I was a piece of sardine going into a tin can. The Colossal Statue of Ramses II was not that impressive, I do not even think it was that "colossal". But oh well, he is the Pharaoh whom which I am most familiar with. The "Sitting Scribe" is beautiful. After a very fast 150 mins dash around the Louvre, i went to meet Chapman who was waiting for me at Starbucks. After grabbing a coffee, we decide to visit our next attractions, Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Quasimodo anyone? Hunchback of Notre-Dame? I like that story. If you do not know yet, it is also written by Victor Hugo. Good guys do not always win in the end.
Anyways! The place was quite imposing. But after we saw the queue to get in, we decided immediately we will just take a few pictures and head back to our hostel. It was so long. Maybe the next time when I am in Paris, when it is not summer. It seems that it is very difficult to travel in summer, especially to such tourist attractions.
After we got back to our hostel, we booked hostel for our next location, Milano! Next up Innsbruck - Austria! Another overnight train.
Hmm… Some of you maybe wondering about this. Why is there no mention about Eiffel Tower, arguably the most well-known icon in Paris. Alas, I did not go. Yes. You heard me. I DID NOT GO. :( Made a mistake of not going the night before. Did not know that I will be out of Paris THAT quickly. Hmm… Next time I guess… And I wonder when would that be…
