Travel Tales - Paris

After spending a couple of months obsessed with planning the trip we at least understood that less was more with luggage. We started our light journey for Paris with barely a couple of hours of sleep - at 3 in the morning :) I know the timing may sound un-earthly, but the excitement of 'travelling abroad' kept us going! We managed to reach St. Pancras to take our 'Euro Star' in time - but without our boarding passes - thankfully they were printing them out at the station! Through the barricades, we reached the border control. Since Paris was not our main destination, we had visas from the Italian embassy. Making the people behind the counter slightly suspicious. That went alright and our passports got stamped with 'Left Londres' :)

(I am a stickler for getting more and more stamps on my passport - if in different colours even better!!)

I must confess, I was asleep for most part of the journey :D But we did enjoy a hot chocolat in the restaurante carriage of the train with some fantastic views of Paris scenery :) Soon it was time to get down at Paris Nord terminal. It is huge, I would say bigger than London Victoria or St. Pancras (I can see many Britons raising an eyebrow over that!) and it is confusing (definitely much more than ANY of London stations). 

Like most technology savvy, well planned tourists these days - we had a plan - to go to Canal St. Martin- for a lovely Parisian breakfast. However, as it would appear - the destination was not as popular with the locals :D So we did what the tourist information officer explained to S - day passes on Paris Public Transport & off to Monmarte - Basilica of Sacred Heart. It is a beautiful church, built on top of a hill. Weather being nice to us - we had some amazing panoramic views of the city from there. After spending some quality time at the church, we had our brunch at a small cafe bottom of the hill. I would not stay it was the best I have had, but I guess it was all about the ambience :)

By now we had got grips with the metro map and managed to reach Arch De Triomph without much difficulty. Again, with sun out of the clouds, it made a fantastic view. It is a monument inspired by Arch of Titus in Rome (which has inspired hundreds of victory arches over centuries) built in the memory of the 'unknown soldier'. It marks one end of the fancy Parisian street of Champs Elysees. 

We walked around Champs Elysees - which was truly Paris for me. Fancy window displays, specialised restaurants and cafes, delis and dedicated dessert bars! We had lunch in one of the good looking places which had even better food in great seats with a superb view :)

(I am also a stickler for seats in a restaurant, they have to be in a corner, but not by the doors or the toilets, with perfect lighting and view :) )

Our next set of destinations took us around River Siene - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Lourve. 

Eiffel Tower - well by now the sun had said bye and it was a little colder by the river and it was super crowded!! Even then, it is an iconic structure and it surprises me how people may perhaps not recognise Paris with some of its prettier monuments, but would do so instantly with a picture of Eiffel Tower. We did spend some time around it trying to get decent pictures & some trick photography inspired by fellow tourists :D

Next, on a double decker train to Cathedral of Notre Dame - a very elegant monument with grand facade. On a nice sunny day, Notre Dame will be my pick to spend an afternoon with a book with loads of 'chewables' and a hot drink. Its majestic spires make perfect backdrop for a historic read!

From there we went to the Lourve - already a bit tight for our flight to Rome, we panicked a bit - I think we took a bad decision to switch the stations at the last minute and were lost for a little while. A nice looking French man gave us a few directions (I think all French people are aware that their country lacks what is called - sign posts!!) and we finally managed to reach the grand grounds of Lourve (the gallery itself was closed - and is a reason we must plan another visit to Paris soon). S loved its geometrical layout and of course the famous glass pyramids. Wish we had a bit more time to sit and absorb. 

Intelligently - we took a taxi back to Paris Nord and managed to catch our train to the airport JUST IN TIME :) :)