Paris Day3
The 3rd day started with a visit to the Musée du Louvre. The Louvre is the world's largest museum and believe me even a week is not enough to see it completely and appreciate the things on display there.... We reached there early around 9 am and proceeded the tour... when you enter the museum campus the first things that catches your eye are the glass pyramids...
We entered from the glass pyramid and got our tickets (8.5 Euros) and took hold of the maps at the reception and started with the tour. The Louvre has 3 wings - Denon, Sully and Richelieu, and 4 floors on each wing... It’s HUGE! It's like a treasure house with long corridors and a maze of rooms. A minimum of six hours just to cover the basics. and if u r among the more artistically inclined be ready to spend you whole day here.
We started with the Denon wing, coz thats where Monalisa is... While going towards Mona Darling (as roomie S refers to it, jokingly) we came across the famous statue of Winged Victory of Samothrace. Also called Nike of Samothrace, it is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace. It is situated at the staircase intersection of the 2nd floor, I guess.
Next we kinda breezed through the chambers and reached Monalisa. Also known as La Joconde it is probably the most famous creation of Leonardo da Vinci and perhaps the most famous, most discussed, most romanticized, celebrated, or reproduced piece of art.
Since it was early there werent as many people there and I got a chance to oogle at the Monalisa for about 10 minutes... Its amost 2.5 feet X 2 feet. An enigmatic smile, and eyes which seem to be looking straight at you no matter from where u r looking at it.
BTW Photography is not allowed in most places in this wing and there are two guards standing at the Monalisa, who’s behind a bulletproof glass which also prevents the light from deteriorating the painting. From what I heard, Napolean hung this painting in his bedroom and was obviously smitten by it, much to the discomfort of his queen Josephine who had it removed from the bedroom.
6000 European paintings including works by Leonardo da Vinci, William Turner, Thomas Gainsborough, Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Van Eyck, Raphael, Veronese, Eugene Delacroix, Ingres... It also shows sketches and drawings made by some of the aforementioned artists, and others.
The next wing which we saw was Sully and here we came across Venus de Milo. Aphrodite(called Venus by the Romans), the Greek goddess of love and beauty and the statue describes just that... Pity its dilapidated, much like the Nike
There is a whole section which tells you the story of Louvre. From the time it was just a regular chateau to the time it became this museum...The construction of Louvre began in 1190 when the then King of France, Philippe II Auguste, build a fortress to protect Paris. When the Renaissance came, it became unfashionable for a King to live in a defensive castle built in the Middle Ages. The Louvre was continuously expanded by later kings until Louis XIV moved the capital to Versailles and in 1793 the Louvre was opened officialy as a museum. The glass pyramid designed by I.M.Pei, was finished in 1997.
Lotsa Egyptian items and statues in the Sully and Richelieu.
Well to tell you very frankly I am not all that artistically inclined so I had listed out a few things which were a must see for me like the Monalisa, Venus de Milo, Nike of Smothrace, the glass pyramid etc... so I stuck to a skeleton plan of covering these things but for someone who has a taste for art and is more knowledgeable, this is the place to be... But it was such a great learning experience... I dont think I have the caliber to appreciate the art or vast sea of ancient items but if a person like me is left with an indelible impression then it sure is gonna please the more knowledgeable ones… One small grudge I hold against the museum people is that noithing is written in English. Every painting sculpture has a small card with little description, but all in French. I guess the impression of French being snobs isn’t all that unjustified.
I enjoyed writing all the above coz I did a lil bit of my own research for the links and coz of that came to know of so much things which even after visiting the place I was unaware of. One more suggestion - M sure u wd have read the Da Vinci Code but if u visit the Louvre then go back n read it again.. The book will be so much more fascinating.
After Louvre we went to Montparnasse Tower which is the tallest building in Paris, 59 floors, 180+ mtrs. From here Eiffel looks the best. The ticket for going to the top is about 8 Euros. At the time of construction, it was the highest building in Europe. The 56th floor has a restaurant from where u can enjoy the view.
But the best view is from the terrace. We reached there at 4:30 but waited there till 6:30 for darkness. To see the city of lights . And it was worth the wait. Some more Eiffel pics from The tower.
After this we went to see the Arc De Triomphe and Champs Elysees. These are the places which look completely different during day and night so I suggest you pay them short visits just to adore the beauty in the evening and night.
The biggest (and perhaps the only) disappointment of the Paris trip was Moulin Rouge. They have jackets n tie compulsory. DAMN!!!! Sirf bahar se hi dekh ke aana pada. You can also attribute it to the lack of enough planning:-( So people dont forget to pack the necc stuff in case u planning to go to Paris and intend to see the Moulin Rouge. Had to console myself by the thoughts that somethings should be left for the second trip.
Paris, la Ville Lumière - The City of Light, Heart of Europe, Romantic City, the City of art and culture. Where artists got inspiration and recognition. The city which has stood the test of time. Where lovers walk hand in hand on the banks of Siene.
All I can say is "I'll go back some day."
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Complete Paris Album
On our way out we met a group of Indians (yes Indians are everywhere in Paris) whom we met last day at the Chateau. Turns out they are guys from my company who are working in a project in London. During our entire stay in Paris we bumped into each other many times. Beware of the people at the foot of the basilica who will approach you and ask for money. Best thing is to ignore them and they dont pester you for long. In the neighborhood is Place du Tertre where you will find many caricature artists. From the top of the basilica the whole city looks very beautiful and the view is wonderful.
Next Stop Eiffel Tower. We got down at Trocadero station and approached the Eiffel from the Palais de Chaillot side. This way you get to see the Eiffel from a distance and the palace as well.(If u get down at the Passy station u surface right at the foot of Eiffel). The vast green expanse beneath the tower is the Parc du Champs-de-Mars which contain the Trocadéro fountains. Luckily they were running when we were there. Seeing Eiffel had a spellbinding effect on me and I remember not moving for a minute...
Gustave Alexandre Eiffel built it for the 1889 Universal Exhibition. It wasn't meant to be permanent but then they placed the Radio transmission, and later TV transmission, on it and hence it survived. What a shame it would have been had they demolished the structure. Anyways we got the tickets (Euro 10.70) n started the ascent on Eiffel. We went straight to the top taking the lifts and decided to take the steps on our way down. That way it is less tiring. The view from the top is a sight to behold. On a clear day you can see upto 60 kms, but the day we visited it was slightly clouded so my guess is we were seeing upto 30 kms or something.
The tower has 3 platforms at 57.63 mtrs, 115.73 mtrs and 276.13 mtrs. First level has a restaurant, souvenir shops and an ice skating rink> The second level again has a restaurant. The top level has some scenes captured in statues like Eifel meeting Edison. On all the levels there are telescopes which need 2 Euros to operate. Do see the city through these. We walked down from level 2 to level 1 and all the way there are placards pasted which mention some facts realted with Eiffel e.g. Mata Hari was caught in 1914 coz the Eiffel intercepted her transmissions.
Finally we headed back to the Eiffel in the evening for the Siene boat ride and to catch the the lady at night.
Now Manish, my manager who was also in Paris with family, at the same time (as were my other colleagues Datta, Satya n Suresh with their resp families) calls me up n tells us that we should def visit Notre Dame that day as they were having the service on the eve of Xmas and the whole place was worth seeing. So we head to "
One of the more interesting features of Gothic architecture is the gargoyle. Hideous monstrous looking creatures, which were to scare off evil spirits and attract pagans(remember Da Vinci Code) to the Christian Church. Many of the multi-headed, mixed creatures were pagan symbols associated with chaos. The grotesque images that gargoyles conjure frightening representations of damnation and perhaps a reminder to lead the spiritual, religious life.
There are many beautiful bridges on the Siene(the most beautiful Pont Alexander III to follow in Day 2). The amusing thing is that Pont Neuf or The New Bridge is the oldest bridge in Paris :-)
Finally called it a day and headed for our hotel. We tried dinner at an Indian restaurant in the vicinity of our hotel, which was near Gallerie Lafayette , which goes by the name "Kashmir Palace" or something similar. Mark my words people. DONT GO THERE. All their nans and parathas are the same(thick n undercooked). The Baingan ka bharta doesnt have any baingan and the Daal Makhani is made with Masoor ki daal. I mean c'mon who makes Dal Makhani with masoor ki dal. Bad end to an otherwise fantastic day.
