How many books can I write? None, because no matter how much I try to characterize, words will be too feeble.
I was planning to stay for three days but ended up staying for six. Before getting there I was sceptical because everyone talks about it as a city of:
- romance,
- a little more romance
- then a little more: honeymooner’s haven
- a little more romance
- then a little more: honeymooner’s haven
That is fine with me – everyone has their opinion - but for someone travelling alone (that too primarily for business) and free, going to a romantic city (multiplied by 3) is not really “the” first choice. Nevertheless, a colleague (who could be trusted because he has been all over the world) encouraged and also explained that I could walk alone without people staring at me. For me the ultimate love story would be that of Heer-Ranjha but neither Heer nor Ranjha ever left Punjab. With that in mind I planned a few days in Paris.
The experience called Paris is alive and perpetual. It lives two lives – one during the day, and one during the night. Expensive? Yeah. Worth it? Hell yeah!!. There is just so much to see and absorb.
I stayed in a hotel at the base of the Eiffel Tower so it was really easy to just walk to it when I wanted. And I did, twice - once in the afternoon and once at night - and both the times I took the stairs as opposed to the elevator.
(Above) View from the balcony of my room.
Some pictures from that experience.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Louvre museum: I walked in the museum for about 6 hours and realized that I had covered only about 1/4th of it. From the infamous mystery of Monalisa to the beauty of Venus de Milo, there are paintings, sculptures, antiques, from all over the world. It was the first time I experienced western art and I must say that at times I had to be really liberal to appreciate it.
Arc de Triomph: Amazing views from the top of the streets all around. 
Lost: Literally I was and I did not mind it one bit. I didn’t even know what area I was in as I walked for hours just trying to figure out how to not find my way. Everything I looked at looked back at me waiting for me to ask a question or experience it. (Disclaimer: I am only talking about monuments, museums, and cathedrals etc, not Moulin Rouge or the streets of Paris after midnight). What was I looking for? Hard Rock Café.
The transport system in Paris is commendable. I thought Londons’ was the best, but Paris is by far easier and better in terms of reach.
A day before I was to leave, I went to Versailles – a palace near Paris with miles and miles of garden all around it. I think I walked around at least 5-6 km and it still had more. I will not say much, but will let the pictures idealize the experience.
I didn’t feel losing out on the romance. What I did realize (and was a revelation only after I left the city) was the number of single tourists in all the places I visited – one.
3 comments:
Paris is synonymous with romance not because it is ideal for two people in love but simply because it oozes an intangible sensuality of its own. The language tickles your ear; the music caresses, sending ripples through your soul; the drifting scents of cinnamon and cocoa from cafeteria’s; gardens, sculptures and monuments entice you with beauty and lasciviousness.
In love or not, Paris rouses feelings of it and as John Berger once put it:
"Every city has a sex and an age which have nothing to do with demography. Rome is feminine. So is Odessa. London is a teenager, an urchin, and this hasn’t changed since the time of Dickens. Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman."
Nevertheless, it has been a worthwhile opportunity for you, and I can see it has certainly been an experience...with or without the Moulin rouge!!! Lol!
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
(Ernest Hemmingway)
I’m glad you enjoyed it....
Ok I am extremely jealous
Lovely pictures!
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