Paris
HIGHLIGHTS OF EUROPE - Day 2 - 16th April 2016
The LOVE capital of the world needs no particular introduction. Dipped in history and filled with renowned monuments, structures, museums and churches at every nook and corner, the French capital takes the cake when it comes to being visited the most throughout the year. It is said that the city houses over 40000 restaurants. The largest food market on earth can be found here. It was surprising to know that all the distances within the city are generally measured from the Notre Dame. The Genesis of Mona Lisa happens to be here. Not only Vinci, but the city is known to have produced some of the greatest artists have been produced here.
The city is noted for its high cost of living and abandoned metros. Its most important landmarks curve around the SIENE river. We had just under 8 hours in this city and tried to make the best of it. We preferred staying put in Brussels (Belgium) and looking around neighbouring countries of THE NETHERLANDS and FRANCE from there, as the fastest trains between them reach in less than 2 hours time. We targeted Amsterdam, Keukenhof and Paris as short day trips from Brussels city.
Early that morning we boarded a train from Brussels - Gare du Nord Station to get to the main station and the THALYS fast train from there directly to Paris. The total travel time is just about 2 hours. We reached the Paris Gare du Nord station by 9 am. We opted for the BIG BUS PARIS tour. This bus journey began from bang opposite the train station and was super easy to board. We had booked ourselves on this day tour much in advance. This tour helped us to cover most landmarks around the Siene river.
Getting off at the train station, we boarded the BIG BUS PARIS . This tourist bus begins its journey each day from outside this main railway station. We booked ourselves a combo ticket on this day tour consisting of main landmark visits around the Siene river including a Siene river cruise. This was the best way to see the city our short time. The tour began at 9:30 am and the comfortable , open at the top bus zoomed past narrow roads before heading to the main, wide streets of Paris. We soon got past the CHAMPS ELYSEES. A stunning gateway - ARC DE TRIOMPHE - arching over a 2 km long avenue with an almost 70 metre wide road is what one can see here.
Labelled as one of the most beautiful avenues, the road is lit on both sides with cafes, stores, shops fit enough for a great shopping experience, apart from the huge offices and office spaces. The audio guide provided all the required information as we moved past each and every landmark. The bus cruised past the wide avenue explaining the history behind the place , while the song “OOO CHAMPS ELYSEES” kept our feet tapping to a catchy number.
The Big bus tour is a highly organised one and stops at all important points with audio explanations and sticks to its time schedule. This gives you the freedom to choose your stops in advance. The entire circle is completed in about 2 hours and so it keeps repeating this circle. So if you have missed a stop, you can always get back there during the next circling. The first hour or so saw us walking all around the open roofed bus. It was exciting to the see the entire city go about its daily routine as we savoured these images.
We got off opposite the Eiffel Tower. Our visit to the tower itself was planned a little later. We headed to the pier lying opposite to the tower to board our Siene cruise. You just need to climb down a few wide steps to get a view of the pier itself. The cruise was scheduled for 11 am. We joined the queue of another 100 people and boarded the ferry on time. The one hour cruising began . I felt the boat was so huge that in certain places it was just a few metres away from hitting the sides of the canal. Crossing bridges and landmarks we hardly noticed how the hour flew by. It was delightful to see the city from the waters. We met another fellow Indian - Niveditha from Delhi who joined us for the rest of the day as she was stuck single in the city. The outer deck was relatively free and good enough for some personal group pictures.
The Inside of the boat was spacious with "bench type” seating, fit enough to accommodate all passengers. By the time the boat returned to the pier, it had started to mildly shower. Once off the boat we had our home cooked &. Packed lunch and topped it up with YUMMY fries with mayonnaise from a Srilankan’s shop opposite to the tower, near the pier. Till date that taste is remembered by all.
We paid a visit to the erstwhile wonder of the world next - the EIFFEL TOWER. We didn't have enough time to climb it. The close views of the Iron tower helped us to appreciate this masterpiece of an ARCHITECHTURE. There is an elevator that lifts enthusiasts all the way to the top for a price. The tickets are available both onsite and online. The tower is named after its own architect - GUSTAVE EIFFEL and was actually built as an entry to a competition of monument building , during the celebrations of the French Revolution centenary. It stands at 300 metres in height and is synonymous to Paris, which we all know.
If you get a chance , please do read up the pages of BRITANNICA relating to the construction of this tower. You will surely appreciate it more. It was the tallest structure in the world until 1929.We spent a few hours around here before the BIG BUS arrived. Boarding the bus we immediately grabbed some free, BIG BUS rain coats and filled our bags with a few before taking our seats. The bus was a watery mess with almost all its passengers dripping from heading to toe. It was a unique experience. It was a little past noon and we sat beside our window seats trying to make the best of this WINDOW TOURING experience. We did not bother to get off at any stop except for the LOUVRE MUSEUM.
At this point, the downpour had subsided to a large extent with a few droplets here and there, which we managed with raincoats and umbrellas. Walking into the mammoth sized square that displays a huge, glass pyramid on one side of it and elegantly styled building covering all its 4 sides. We had around 30 minutes in this area so all we had time for is for a few photographs out in the open. We had to skip the museum visit. It was 3 pm and our train back to Brussels was scheduled for 4:30 pm. We walked it up to the NOTRE DAME. It took us 20 minutes to get there. That is when we realised that this particular ROUTE of BIG BUS does not get to the railway station before 5 pm. There was chaos. It was nearing 4 pm and we were tensed about missing our train back to Belgium.
The kind bus driver instructed us to immediately get off, take an underground metro by purchasing tickets at a nearby kiosk and rushing directly to the train station. We did so and finally managed to board our THALYS return train on time. Phew ! we saved our buck.
We did enjoy a stop at the giant wheel too during the day. There are many other pictures we took around the city . Guess our PARIS IN A DAY was fruitful !