Paris calling

07/07/07 is just a week's wait, when the new 7 wonders of the world shall be revealed, one of my obvious choices next to Taj Mahal is Eiffel tower, this brought back the memories of my Paris trip last year.

Paris has been a very intriguing place for me. My romance with the city started way back in the early 90s, when Dad got back from France getting some lovely pictures. It was those brillant lights which attracted me. My French connection continued with Alliance Franchaise, whr I not only learnt the language but also got a taste of their culture..... with all these my inclination on visiting the place became stronger.

Finally on Nov 3, friday evenin, myself n my fnds set out from Germany for a weekend trip to Paris. I was thrilled to say the least. We took the ICE (the fastest train in Germany) from Nuremberg to Frankfurt (dat was an experience by itself!!!!) and continued from there to Paris in a cross-country bus. I hardly slept in the bus half bcos of excitement and half bcos of Ruchi's sleeping manners :-).
At around 5am the silent and sleepy Paris outskirts was visible ..... at 7am we were on the streets of Paris.
First impression of the city .............. It is dirty !!!

Assuming a close proximity of our hotel from the station, we did the mistake of walkin to the hotel and as obvious were lost in less than 5 mins. Now I was eager to use my limited French to ask for directions, so I walk into a coffee shop and ......
Waitress: (looks at me skeptically)
Me: Bon jour.....(err).... La place da la tetre est ou?
Waitress: ce qui.... (confused !)
Me: .(.I pointed at the the map and gestured )
Waitress: Aha.....! la place da la tetre.... allez directement, le premier droit et le gauche (in less than a sec!)
Me: (Now it was my turn to be confused!!!!!)
At dat speed I couldnt follow a word!... After this, I didnt dare to experiment my French again.........:-)

First destination was the Versailles Palace, on the way 'd the first look at the famed Tour de Eiffel from the metro. At first glance it was disappointing, it looked like a shaped iron blob :-(...... I'd expected it to taller and more appealing...... wel! But this initial disappointment was dissolved when we reached the golden lit Eiffel tower by evening. Standing at the south pillar of Eiffel tower, I realized how huge a structure it is...! And it bein a sat evenin, the place was alive and kicking. The view of Paris from the second floor was worth every second of the hr long hassle to get thr. Paris is so rightly called "the white city", in the twilight, the whiteness of the buildings were kissed by the soft blue of the evenin, sprinkled with some lights.... that picture is etched in my mind forever. And then thr was the "shimmering of the eiffel tower"....... every hour, the tower twinkles with white lights, .... resembling diamonds!!!! The last leg of the climb took us to the top floor, giving a bird's eye view of Paris, this sight was a justification for Paris being called "city of lights". It is those lights which make the city look almost supernatural..........this exhilarating experience literally made me feel "on top of the world" ...........well yeah missed someone greatly thr........:-(

Next stop Arc De Triomphe (ADT)...........the lights again..!!!! One of main arterial roads which joins ADT is Champs Elysees....... This place is a shopper's fantasy, a single stopover for almost all the famous European brands..... This place has a happening night life with shop, wine n dine experience........ so active that the last metro at 1am was jam-packed !!!
Next day, visit to louvre... half a day for such a mammoth collection... unfair!...... Those being the Da Vinci days... I didnt want to miss La Jaconda (Mona Lisa), she hung on a wall all alone.... (how can a overly hyped painting have neighbours?)........Personally I felt Da Vinci's "Virgin of the rocks" was more commendable than La Jaconde. Finally concluded the trip with a quick visit to Notre Dame, Bastille and The Opera.

On the bus back to Germany, recaping on the weekend, I realized that I 'd fantasied Paris, forgetting dat every city has its plus and minus, although it was gross injustice to judge a city in mere 2 days. One thing which awed me were the LIGHTS and the way they dress the city... Paris gets a total makeover by the night... "An evening in Paris is the most romantic date anyone can think of"

Verdict........... I loved Paris (definitely with the LIGHTS)