Lucerne to Paris
Leaving the mountains, we cross into France and pass through the scenic Burgundy region en
route to Paris. We arrived late in the afternoon and immediately check-in to our Hotel Parrostel
Montholon in the heart of Paris. The rooms were very narrow and not enough space to move around.
Basically it is just a room to stay. Nevertheless, it is in the city of Paris.
After a lousy dinner with rude waiters who does not or would not speak English, we toured the city passing through famous landmarks such as the Musee du Louvre, River Seine, La Conciergerie, Place de la Concorde -- where Marie Antoniette was kept as a prisoner, and etc. They say the best way to see Paris by night is to take a trip along the River Seine on a boat (bateua-mouche). Our stopover was Paris famous landmark, the Eiffel Tower, designed by the engineer Gustave Eiffel during a competition for a centrepiece to mark the Paris exhibition held on the Champ de Mars in 1889. The lights illuminated the entire tower from within and you could see the dramatic golden tracery it creates against the sky. We took the elevator to the top level which offered a spectacular view of the city.
We continued to Arc de Triomphe and to the renowned Avenue des Champs Elysees.
Bistros and cafes line up the avenue and it is here that you pay not just for a cup of
coffee or glass of wine but for the ambiance. If it’s not the ambiance but only the
drink that you want -- have it while standing at the counter. It cost twice more to sit down.
The bus then drove us to more museums, churches and places such as the Place de L’Opera,
Place Vendome, Pont Neuf, Madeleine, Pantheon and the Latin Quarters.
Tonight was just a "prep" for what we will be doing the following day.
Sept. 15
Paris
This morning, Monsieur Gerard, our local guide, took us to a more comprehensive tour. All of
us have the Carte Intermussees - Museum Card which was good for entry into 65 museums
and monuments in Paris. For the price of the card, we can avoid ticket lines and can walk
right into these places. Our first stop was the Cathedrale Notre-Dame. It is Point Zero
-- the point from which all road distance in France are measure. It is one of the greatest
masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Built in 1163, completed in 1330, pillaged during the
French Revolution and restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. It is at this
place where our local guide depicted the character, the hunchback of Notre-Dame.
It was built in an age of illiteracy, the cathedral retells the stories of the Bible in
its portals, paintings and stained glass. The front facade has 3 portals, the left --
Portal of the Virgin; center -- the Last Judgement; right -- Portal of St. Anne. Above
this is the so-called Gallery of the Kings with 28 statues representing the kings of Israel
and Judaea. The interior stained glass pieces portrays scenes from the Old Testament, Madonna
and Child.
Our next stop was the Place des Invalides. This monumental group of buildings was commissioned by Louis XIV in 1674 to provide home for wounded veterans. The most impressive building is the Eglise du Dome. Its baroque interior houses the tomb of Napoleon, clad in red porphyry. The emperor’s body was transferred to this monumental resting place in 1840, almost two decades after his death on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he was in exile. The bus drove us to the Palais du Luxembourg and the Jardin du Luxembourg, one of Paris’s best loved parks. It is near the Latin Quarters and frequented by students from Sorbonne.
Our next visit was the Arc de Triomphe. It is the largest triumphal arch in the world and was commissioned by Napoleon in honor of his Grande Armee and its 128 victorious battles. The arch was far from complete by the time France’s imperial army had been swept from the field at the Battle of Waterloo, and, in fact, some French defeats have been signalized here, as when German armies marched through the arch and down the Champs Elysees in 1871 and again in 1940. Beneath the arch, burns an eternal flame for France’s Unknown Soldier. We climbed to the top (284 steps high) and here you can see 12 avenues converging to the square. It is also here that I fantasized finishing the Tour de France. Our guided tour ended here.
About 15 of us decided to head towards the Louvre. The rest decided to see other places and some
wanted to have a jump-start on the shopping. Formerly a royal palace, it is perhaps the greatest
museum in the world and certainly the largest. My goal was to see the Mona Lisa
and Venus de Milo. You could spend the whole day here (they claim a decade) to see
all the collections of Asian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities.
After an hour or so, I broke up with the group to do some savvy shopping. The posh boutiques were along rue du Faubourg-St-Honore and very generally speaking, very high priced. Most of the items are also available back home but it would have been nice to bring something from Paris.
Paris by night, indeed was suited to entertaining visitors and Parisian alike. The style and chic she represents to the world by night have long been one of the foundations of her worldwide appeal. She offers a dazzling choice of dining, dancing, music, theatre or cinema, cabaret or nightclub. This evening was our last "get-together" dinner. Everybody was dressed up for the occasion. Food is a subject very close to the heart of every Frenchman. Eating is an art and a passion.
Dinner was at Relais Odean at the Latin Quarters. The dinner cost each one 195 FF or
$44.00, so we expected it to be good. The entire second floor was exclusively reserved
for the group. The LA gang went on their own by having dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The
menu consisted of either frog-legs, escargot or salad for apertif; salmon or veal
for the entree; and house wine (drink all you can). I had the frog legs and veal.
Angela being adventurous decided on the escargot which I end up eating. Lively sounds of
accordion accompanied our dinner. And like in Florence, the house wine kept coming and the
night grew louder and louder. After dinner, all those people who ate frog legs receive a
certificate. It said "Relais du Nord certifie que Monsier Joey a subi avec succes
le preuvede, Master in Frog." It probably means, you successfully ate frog
legs that night.
We decided to end our last evening by going to a cabaret. Paradis Latin, one of Paris’ lively revue spots (Folies Bergere, Moulin Rouge are some of the popular ones), offered cabaret programme "French Can-Can" which included cast of dancers, singers and beautiful topless women! I was seated at a table which included Angela, Margaret, Samantha and Stephanie. I totally ignored them that night! The two-hour performance was really worth the 390 FF or $87.00. Now I have to compare it with the one in Las Vegas!
Sept. 16
Paris to London
North through the Valley of the Somme, scene of numerous World War I battles, we stop at Vimy Ridge, a war memorial for all those Canadian soldiers who fought bravely on these trenches.
Then to Calais and our cross-chanel ferry to Dover. I bid adieu to new found friends.
