Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Bonjour tou le monde! Well we're back to work today after a nice long break. I'm starting to get over my cold now. Luckily it didn't limit us too much in Paris although I did get very tired and grumpy (poor Joseph had to put up with my pitiful antics!).
We travelled on the Eurostar to Paris and back. It was very comfortable and efficient. I think it took about two and a half hours with only 20 minutes spent in the Chunnel.
We arrived around lunchtime on the Friday and successfully negotiated our way on the Metro to La Defense. La Defense is the business district in Paris and where our hotel was. We got a lastminute.com deal to stay at the Hilton which was very flash.
After some lunch we headed off to see the Arc de Triomphe, wander down the Champs Elysees and ended up at the Place de la Concorde. It was very cold or should I say Il fait froid! Once you pass these sights you get to the palace gardens and finally the Louvre Museum which is housed in the old palace. We then went to see the Paris Opera house. Unfortunately it had just closed to visitors so we enjoyed looking at the outside. Luckily I had been inside last time I visited Paris. Some of these places are so opullant and extravagant with gold fittings, huge paintings and luxurious furniture however once you see a few beautifully decked out buildings (inside and out) the novelty wears off and you start to think of the sacrifices the poor people had to make to fund this extravagance.
The famous department store Galleries Lafayette was next on the agenda. Again the building is very beautiful and I enjoyed peeking at the John Galiano and Jean Paul Gautier collections but felt very unglamourous in my rain coat and sensible shoes! I was keen to see the Moulin Rouge but when we got there it looked very tacky. I was disappointed.
We visited the Louvre on the Sunday because it is free on the first Sunday of every month. This meant that it was very crowded! We got to see the famous Venus de Milo sculpture, Rameses III and of course the Mona Lisa.
We saw fine examples of Parisian opullance in some of the rooms that were kept as they were when the building housed the French royalty and Napolean. The ceilings are works of art with gold sculptures of angels etc, beautiful paintings and chandeliers. It's all abit overwhelming. I also loved the two big courtyards which house the big old Greek and French sculptures.
That evening we went to the Centre de Pompidou. It was a good contrast to the Louvre as it is a very modern building and houses an impressive modern art gallery. We saw many Miro, Picasso, and Dali paintings and sculptures. I enjoyed these but sometimes I wander what some of the current modern artists are thinking. It's crazy stuff.
Rewind...on Saturday we spent two hours waiting in queues to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was worth it in the end. As Joseph says, it's just one of those things you have to do in Paris (o: We got tickets to the third level and enjoyed seeing the layout of the city from on high.
That evening we walked along the Seine towards the Il de la Cite and Notre Dame. It was a very special visit as there was a soprano singing live in the church for a ceremony. It is a beautiful Gothic church a feature of which are the huge Rose windows.
One downer is that the locals are not very forgiving if you don't speak fluent French. We tried to learn a few phrases (plus I learnt a little at secondary school) and got by but they don't make it easy for you. A friend at work recently went to Rome and she said that they are very friendly and patient with you if you can't speak Italian. It might have felt a little worse because I was under the weather. Well, we are strong believers that feeling out of our comfort zone is very good for us.
I don't want to end this note negatively! It was a very good trip. It's just great to see all those famous sites and enjoy the city's beauty. The architecture in Paris is very beautiful. If it was warmer and if we had more time it would have been nice to wander around the streets more and soak up the atmosphere. We are keen to visit again as there are many more museums and sites to see. We'll just make sure we learn more French before hand!
We travelled on the Eurostar to Paris and back. It was very comfortable and efficient. I think it took about two and a half hours with only 20 minutes spent in the Chunnel.
We arrived around lunchtime on the Friday and successfully negotiated our way on the Metro to La Defense. La Defense is the business district in Paris and where our hotel was. We got a lastminute.com deal to stay at the Hilton which was very flash.
After some lunch we headed off to see the Arc de Triomphe, wander down the Champs Elysees and ended up at the Place de la Concorde. It was very cold or should I say Il fait froid! Once you pass these sights you get to the palace gardens and finally the Louvre Museum which is housed in the old palace. We then went to see the Paris Opera house. Unfortunately it had just closed to visitors so we enjoyed looking at the outside. Luckily I had been inside last time I visited Paris. Some of these places are so opullant and extravagant with gold fittings, huge paintings and luxurious furniture however once you see a few beautifully decked out buildings (inside and out) the novelty wears off and you start to think of the sacrifices the poor people had to make to fund this extravagance.
The famous department store Galleries Lafayette was next on the agenda. Again the building is very beautiful and I enjoyed peeking at the John Galiano and Jean Paul Gautier collections but felt very unglamourous in my rain coat and sensible shoes! I was keen to see the Moulin Rouge but when we got there it looked very tacky. I was disappointed.
We visited the Louvre on the Sunday because it is free on the first Sunday of every month. This meant that it was very crowded! We got to see the famous Venus de Milo sculpture, Rameses III and of course the Mona Lisa.
We saw fine examples of Parisian opullance in some of the rooms that were kept as they were when the building housed the French royalty and Napolean. The ceilings are works of art with gold sculptures of angels etc, beautiful paintings and chandeliers. It's all abit overwhelming. I also loved the two big courtyards which house the big old Greek and French sculptures.
That evening we went to the Centre de Pompidou. It was a good contrast to the Louvre as it is a very modern building and houses an impressive modern art gallery. We saw many Miro, Picasso, and Dali paintings and sculptures. I enjoyed these but sometimes I wander what some of the current modern artists are thinking. It's crazy stuff.
Rewind...on Saturday we spent two hours waiting in queues to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was worth it in the end. As Joseph says, it's just one of those things you have to do in Paris (o: We got tickets to the third level and enjoyed seeing the layout of the city from on high.
That evening we walked along the Seine towards the Il de la Cite and Notre Dame. It was a very special visit as there was a soprano singing live in the church for a ceremony. It is a beautiful Gothic church a feature of which are the huge Rose windows.
One downer is that the locals are not very forgiving if you don't speak fluent French. We tried to learn a few phrases (plus I learnt a little at secondary school) and got by but they don't make it easy for you. A friend at work recently went to Rome and she said that they are very friendly and patient with you if you can't speak Italian. It might have felt a little worse because I was under the weather. Well, we are strong believers that feeling out of our comfort zone is very good for us.
I don't want to end this note negatively! It was a very good trip. It's just great to see all those famous sites and enjoy the city's beauty. The architecture in Paris is very beautiful. If it was warmer and if we had more time it would have been nice to wander around the streets more and soak up the atmosphere. We are keen to visit again as there are many more museums and sites to see. We'll just make sure we learn more French before hand!
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