City of Lights: Paris

Paris is known as the City of Lights, but seeing Paris decked out in all its Christmas splendour truly confirms that statement.

The domed ceiling of Galleries Lafayette

Roue de Paris in Place Concorde

Lights along the Champs Elysees

Arc de Triomphe at the bottom of Champs Elysees

Our trip began at 11:55 pm December 4/13 when our Ethiopian Air flight took off for our 3 day get away.  I don't know what's in the water here in Ethiopia (actually I do which is why we don't drink it!), but I've caught the travel bug.  In October I flew to the UK for a 3 week visit to see Allison.  The decision to fly to Paris for the weekend was far more frivolous.  Paul and I wanted a weekend away so why not fly 7.5 hrs to one of the most romantic cities in the World?  Why not indeed!

We arrived in Paris in the early morning, but surprisingly because we were able to catch a few zzz's on board we arrived relatively well rested.  I had read up a bit on the transportation system before coming so we knew to look for the RER Train to Paris.  The signage in Charles de Gaulle Airport was completely accurate to the Internet's pictorial instructions (gotta love the Internet) so we just followed the signs and eventually found the train.  What a wonderful concept to have connections to air and ground transportation.  Ottawa could really take a page from the transportation systems of both Paris and London.  We picked up a map of the train and metro system (indispensable!!) and we were set to go. After 3 full days of riding the Metro, I must say Paul and I were feeling pretty comfortable with the whole public transportation system. Nous sommes Parisiennes.

Our hotel was located around the corner from a Metro station (Ternes).  We arrived there around 8:30 am and staff there could not of been more helpful.  Although our room was not ready, they kept our luggage and even offered us breakfast.  We asked if any of the restaurants in the area would be open for breakfast.  At that early hour (Paris seems to open later) the only ones available were Starbucks and McDonalds.  OF course I was more than willing to go to Mickey D's, but Paul was less than impressed. We decided to just walk around our neighbourhood and see if we saw anything interesting.  We walked up the street, took a turn and we were facing Arc de Triomphe.  I've been to Paris twice, but even seeing it a third time, sights like this never cease to impress and amaze me. Simply wow!

You can walk through it and as well go to the top for amazing view of  Paris

Arc de Triomphe sits in the middle of a huge round about as traffic approaches from all sides

The Arc was just as magnificent as I remembered, but by now our our stomachs were starting to grumble. Not enough of course to stop at McDonalds (I tell you they were everywhere), but we did find a quaint cafe that was serving breakfast.  Okay, so it was a good call on Paul's part as the omelet was delicious, the juice fresh, the cafe au lait hot and the croissant basically melted in your mouth.  Since coming to Ethiopia we have not eaten a lot of bread because the bread is pretty dry and tasteless.  Paul says it has something to do with the wheat they use.  All I know is being in Paris meant croissants and baguettes and during our stay we thoroughly enjoyed them.  With all the walking we did we weren't too concerned about the extra carbs.

After eating breakfast we walked over to the start of the Champs Elysees and trekked all the way to Place Concorde. Like I said, we did a lot of walking during our visit.  Champs Elysees is a wide 8 lane boulevard and the wide sidewalks help with the large volumes of pedestrian traffic.  It's home to some very exclusive stores (Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Hugo Boss, Rolex) and as well car dealerships (Citroen, Audi, Mercedes and BMW).  All the store fronts are so impressive and kind of intimidating.  The street just reeks of money!! Lots of the stores have doormen.  I guess as a store if you're on Champs Elysees you have arrived!!

Collection we didn't bother to explore

What's wrong with Timex

Nice!

And nice again.

Impressive storefront

Huge building that occupies a complete corner on Champs Elysees

MY kind of store!

Convenience in a cone!

Paul's next calling?

Even the taxis are high end

After this walk we headed back to our hotel to check in.  Once we were squared away and we had perused the brochures in the lobby we settled on a Foxity City Bus Tour.  We reasoned that the bus would give us a lay of the land, but more importantly allow us to save our tired legs.

It was a wise decision because our next two days were hectic, fun-filled days spent exploring and enjoying the sights of Paris.  We bought a Metro pass and were pretty pleased with our growing ability to navigate Paris's very extensive Metro system.

When in Paris there are some mandatory to do's and Paul and I, despite the short time frame, managed to fit most of it in.

The Louvre is huge and it would take days to examine everything. The more than 35,000 art objects are housed in the Louvre Palace, the world's largest museum. We spent almost 3 hours and we were starting to experience extreme art-lag (jet lag for art galleries). You can only take in so much before you become too overwhelmed. The Louvre is a central landmark of Paris located along the Right Bank of the Seine. The Louvre Palace forms a  rectangle and in the middle of the courtyard a glass pyramid was erected. Below the pyramid is the entrance lobby. You reach the lobby by taking a two escalators and at the bottom you stand in the middle and decide which wing (Sully, Richelieu or Denon) you wish to explore.  We chose Denon as that is where the La Joconde (Mona Lisa), can be found.  Along the way we discovered more masters and sculptures.  It was wonderful.

The Louvre Palace and Pyramid

Car access to the Louvre

Same car entrance, different angle

Pedestrian entrance cuts through one of the wings of the Louvre

Standing in the Louvre courtyard facing the Richelieu wing

Denon wing where you'll find the ladies:  Mona Lisa & Venus de Milo

The Pyramid is where you enter to descend to the lobby below

Windy day: there goes the hair!

We were really there!

Corridors seem to stretch for miles. Ask my feet!

Paul's Mona Lisa smile.

Replica of the Parthenon in Greece.  We'll see the REAL thing in May 2014

After leaving the Louvre, we found a small restaurant that was almost like a deli, long and narrow and quite crowded. After we were seated they had to turn away a few hopeful patrons.  This kind of popularity is always a good sign. We weren't disappointed.  In fact there wasn't a restaurant that we ate at that we didn't enjoy.  Paris serves up excellent International cuisine. We enjoyed Italian and Thai and our Continental breakfasts gave us ample selections of fresh fruit, yogurt, croissants, baguettes, cheese and cold cuts.

After lunch we were back on the Metro to go and see Notre-Dame Cathedral.  There was a long line up to enter, but given the size of the Cathedral the line moves quickly.  It wasn't long before we were inside. Spectacular!  Hard to believe this Cathedral is 850 years old.

Looks pretty good considering Notre-Dame Cathedral is 850 years old.

Long way up!

Taken from the back of the church.

Closer view of the alter

Stain glassed windows run down both sides of Notre-Dame.

Our day was almost complete, but we had one more stop before returning to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  Galleries Lafayette is a super upscale department store.  It occupies a complete street corner and is 6 stories high.  It's well worth seeing because of it's architecture and it's domed stain glassed ceiling.  Their display windows were all decked out with creative 3-D Christmas displays; a visual and very inventive delight. Galleries Lafayette gives merit to the expression "window shopping" because that was all we could afford to do.  A bit too high-end for us!

View of the dome  and intricate woodwork defining each level.

The moving display around the tree reaching 6 stories high

We left Galleries Lafayette, hopped back on the Metro and headed for Place Concorde.  We wanted to see the market along Champs Elysees at night.  The Christmas Market (open November and December) is a series of kiosks that line the sides of Champs Elysees from Place Concorde to just before Grand Palais.  Artisans were out in full force selling anything from blown glass figurines, jewellery, scarves, hats to pottery dishes.  Many of the kiosks sold food including crepes with every imaginable toppings, including a very popular flavor: nutella. (Al and Jenn you would have been in heaven) We were tempted to try the "hot wine", but we never got around to it.  The sidewalks which are very wide were just packed with people.  The temperature in Paris was around 10 degrees and though somewhat windy it was still a lovely evening to stroll down Champs Elysees.

One of the many displays in the Champs Elysees Christmas Market

Santa soars overhead as he tunes up the sled for his big night.

The Obelisk in forefront of  Place Concorde and La Tour Eiffel in the background

Government Buildings that surround Place Concorde all lit up for Christmas

Eiffel Tower shines brightly

View down Champs ELysees

Great! EVERYONE had the same idea as Paul and me. A quiet stroll down Champs Elysees

On our next day in Paris we moved over to the left bank of the Seine and went to Musee D'Orsay, home of the largest collection of  impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world.   Be prepared to be overwhelmed by painters including Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gaugin, Van Gogh and of course Degas!  For those who know me, Musee D'Orsay had me at Degas.  We wondered about for a few hours as we soaked in these masterpieces.  After leaving the world of art we walked along the Seine.  It felt so good to be in the fresh air breathing in the sights and sounds of Paris daily life.

Our trip would not be complete without a closer inpection of La Tour Eiffel.  The Eiffel Tower was always visible in the background as we toured Paris, but when we were actually standing directly in front of it, it's amazing how big and imposing it actually is.  It stands 1063 feet tall and was erected in 1889 for the 1889 World's Fair.  It was supposed to have been a temporary structure for the World's Fair, but now it stands as the global icon of France and is likely one of the most recognisable structures in the world.

The Seine

Bridges linking the right and left banks of the Seine

This needs no introduction!

Paul on the other side of the lens

View from the Seine

Paris, La Tour Eiffel and Us!

So that concludes our three very full days in Paris. The pictures we took and all the memories we formed will be with us for a long time.   It sure didn't take long to fall in love with this amazing city. Jusqu'à la prochaine fois; à bientôt!!