Aug 31
Sainte Chappelle
This is one of the Gothic chapels in the heart of Paris very close to the Seine river. Requires a Museum pass or $8 entry ticket. Here are a few photos:
After that we were roaming around in the downtown near the river and sitting in a park in the middle of the road (I used to smirk at tourists I see in NY City or any busy city for that matter!).
Eiffel Tower
We then took the Metro to Eiffel tower and walked. We saw a lot of artists, vendors selling mementoes, water, drinks, etc. There were quite a few Indians who were selling the mementoes in Hindi.
There was a huge line at the bottom of the tower but kept moving fast. A sign board said “40 Minutes wait time to the top”. I thought this is going to be one of those not so good experiences. There are actually 3 levels (At the 1st level there are restaurants, which may need reservations on a busy day). 2nd level provides a good view of the river and park. 3rd level which was really crowded and we had to wait for a few minutes to get a view from certain vantage points. But it was all worth it (I thought this is not going to be very different from the views at the top of NY – Empire state building or the Boston Prudential Tower. But it was totally different with all the historical sites, scenic parks and very few high rise building around).
Sep 1
Notre Dame
Next day morning we started late because it was dark and looked like it could rain at anytime. We had brought umbrellas and took just the camera and some snacks with us. When we reached Notre Dame by Metro it had started raining. When we stepped into the Chapel, I was astounded with the majesty of the inner architecture. For a few moments imagined the French kings stepping into that majestic structure and felt bad for thinking of missing all this (My wife is an art and museum enthusiast whereas I love nature, hiking, etc).
It took more than 2-3 hours to see everything in there.
Hôtel des Invalides (Napolean’s Tomb)
Walked around this marvelous site and the bridge leading to it.
Champs-Élysées
A very lively cultural melting pot akin to Times Square in NY.
Arc de Triomphe
A huge arch that looks like the India Gate, Delhi.
Eiffel across Seine
There are no words to describe this.
Sep 2
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
When we saw this basilica from the distance we were not very sure where we had seen it but it looked very familiar. After getting closer and looking at the stairs and the environment we knew that we had seen it in ‘Amelie’ (One of my all-time favorite movies). The atmosphere(The musicians, living statues, carousel) so good we didn’t want to leave. But Louvre was awaiting.
Musée du Louvre
I feel tired even thinking about Louvre. Such a huge palace with what seems to be an infinite set of collections ! We decided to buy the Voice Guide for the Louvre without which we wouldn’t have understood even a single art and would have just taken pictures in front of them not knowing their significance.
Monalisa was a disappointment for me (as expected). I’m probably not artistic enough to notice the geometry and presentation of the picture. Some of the arts/statues that really turned our attention are here:
Sep 3
We started early around 8:30 for our flight back to Newark. This is my second time at Charles De Galle airport and once again I realized it was a poorly designed airport. We got off the Commuter train and had to walk and cross 2 terminals to reach ours :-).
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