PL2 Episode 2

Hey logon,

Its me again…Rahul, from France presenting a blog on France(once again!)

A note for all who may have bumped into this blog just like that(or are here for first time, or if don’t know me):::›

I am a student from India, living in France for this summer and blogging my experiences, excursions, incidents and much more from one of the most interesting periods of my life yet(I call it PL2)…be sure to read and find out more about this place from my eyes.

°here is a short prologue to the story: PL2. Ep.1.1

°or if you want to know a bit about me

Now to the business>

What is Episode 2.0 about…

Well… in this I will try(yes, only TRY) to tell you about the city I just visited.

The place they call as city of LIGHTS or city of LOVE, its the capital of france, the capital of European union, the fashion capital of the world…its most amazing city you can ever hope to go… I call it —

THE STUFF OF DREAMS…Paris

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Welcome to Paris,

I have said I will only TRY to describe Paris…

Difficulty in describing this city comes from the fact that you cannot take any analogies to describe it and that’s because it is incomparable to any other place on this planet …no offence- Rome, London, New York(haven’t been there ;) )…but Paris phir Paris hai… it is too unique to classify, and is the most visited city in the world.

[first of all, before starting> I need to get a dictionary of superlatives…coz many would be needed in what follows,,, if you find my usage of some of them becomes repetitive, please forgive me- its because of the city, not me!!]

Sat morning in Paris at Gare d’ Austerlitz…have whole 2 days to explore!

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Going around in Paris is done best through its huge metro network(14 metro lines+5 RER lines!!)…it really is HUGE and for a first timer it is some challenge to move around in them(I was experienced enough now, after those (not so smooth)experiences of coming from airport!).

Now, when you come to Paris where else do you look to get started except at THE EIFFEL…so I got off at the Tour Eiffel metro station (and someone had told me the tower is straight from there) but I was standing at that place, looking in different directions to have the sight of it, then looked at the map- it said I was just about 200 meters from the tower…but for some strange reason I was not able to see it!! seemed really weird…Not for long though! as I had been looking at the wrong 270 degrees… then looked behind, and hidden by a thick tree cover stood the Gustave Eiffel’s creation, and THAT first sight of it —what can I say—…I used to see those sought of pictures and they felt remarkable and when you actually see that thing –for real—It feels unbelievable!!

And with that…I also became one of those very few Indians who have been to the Eiffel before going the very own Taj Mahal!!!

continuing…

…At the Eiffel, were the most number people I have seen in France (at one place ) since coming here…sought of carnival atmosphere, there were lot of catalunian people in yellow-red going crazy(later I did found out… they were from a city whose club has won the rugby championship last night in Stad de France).

Then, did the all so obvious ‘tourist thing’…i.e. got pictures taken with the Eiffel, of the Eiffel, of the place etc…after it… I DID go on the Eiffel(stairs till 1^st floor, lift after it) and that gives a great TOP-OF-THE-WORLD feel… “WOW” to describe it in short!!

Lots of interesting activities/dancing/music go around the place surrounding the Eiffel and few can be attended if you have time…are worth it!

The river boating around the Eiffel is definitely worth going(I didn’t, though!!)

Eiffel is the main attraction, but Paris has much much more…

Now as soon as you start exploring the city, you’ll feel like you are going through an open air museum. You can go from any point A to any point B in the city and in between you will come across many sites, which you would want to savor…

Like walking on the very famous— Champs-Elysées…I infact cycled there (has a cycling history with the tour de france…of course)…Lance Armstrong wore the yellow jersey 7 times through here…that was exciting…

and also, Champs-Elysées’s the home of every damn fashion brand of Paris…do little bit of exploring, and you can also find some celebrity doing shopping here or there…and needless to say that rates are astronomical…can easily burn down a million or more if you want(i.e. it you have!).

Barack Obama was also in Paris that day…he was standing at the same place as I was at the palace Charles de Galle(that India Gate type monument) but an hour earlier. So I just missed(by an hour) to take a pic of Obama and Sarcosy(nd Bruni!!) in person.

… neways…

I walked and walked gazing at the astonishing sights and experiencing amazing summer weather.

Place de la concorde is amazing, there are many other great buildings left and right of it…like the French assembly, pantheon, place invalides, Arc de Trimpode ….. others( forgotten thr names!)

And also had an awesome time doing window shopping(window licking…as the french call it) all round paris markets and in unbelievably expensive showrooms.

Museum de LOUVRE(yah, that mona lisa one)…is…as I found out…is much much more than just Mona Lisa… yes, you do see the ORIGINAL work of Leonardo da Vinci here…and to me it seemed that Mona Lisa does smile after all!!…but there is huge-HUGE collection of greek, Italian, roman, spanish, egyptian,  African, oceanic(what not!) arts and statues and memorabilia…some of them truly awesome…(but after a while gets bit redundant!)…anyways, great museum…fabulous glass structure up top of it…and palace surrounding it.

Same it the case with Museum de Orsay…but has a bigger(read: super king size!) central hall…which is some site.

Then was the Sacre Cours: one of highest points of Paris(understandably…lot of steps to go on top there)…but a breathtaking view of the entire city can be seen from here.

And from there — to the Stad de France(Remember…zidane lifted the world cup here)…great stadium..

The imposing Cathedral du Norte dame…

…The seine river that flows all along…

…The famous Moulin Rouge …etc etc

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and I havent yet told you about the things I did and people I met…lets leqve that for another episode … :)

coz the thing is…..

I can go on and on… to describe each and every place and each monument I went to and the things I did here, in great lengths (believe me there are many that haven’t been mentioned above!)…but quite frankly, there is no need…all I can say to sum it up is that Paris is one grand work of art…and quite simply each pixel gels itself together to present a truly amazing Grand Picture, and that Grandeur is so aesthetically appealing, that it makes you fall in love with the place…

And and and… hang on a sec…did I forgot to mention the ROLAND GARROS, the French Open!!

Yes! Indeed!

Federer finally DID win on the Paris clay(thanks Soderling for beating Nadal…and making it lot easier for Roger)…and I was there..Sunday evening..June the 7^th ’09.. to witness the historic moment at Roland Garros…court Philepe chatrier(ok, I was outside…watching on the big screen…so what!!)

RF has been my sporting hero for some time now and to see him complete THE GOLDEN SLAM…

Thats what you call as an icing on the cake!!!…really The Stuff of Dreams!!

Phew!

This was Paris…literally presented to you …compressed and condensed (t’was really not easy!)…but I don’t think it gives you any good idea, of how the place actually is…NOT EVEN CLOSE…the city is a symphony…true work of art…down to every detail, yes, literally(even train stations, hotels, shops, and some houses look like they are palaces)…you can click picture of any corner of the city!.

The streets, the people, the romance, the air, the sky, the ambience…everything in between…is so downright AWESOME…! You cannot say that… unless you’ve felt it…

So,

All I have to say— before closing the Paris episode…is this:

“LIFE IS NOT THE AMOUNT OF BREATHS YOU TAKE…IT IS THE MOMENTS THAT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY”—and Paris gives you plenty of those (Godap quote…saw it just few days ago…don’t know where…sure its not original!…but true never the less)

:)

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OKes then, that was Pari…and  I sign off…for now,

Till Next time…Au revoir

Comments are always welcome……