Onwards to the second day in La Ville d’Amour! This day we decided to wake up earlier although we spent the whole night playing cards and laughing so hard. Of course, we woke up and departed later than planned, what do you expect? Ignoring our partly grumbling tummy, we set off to our previously planned destination: Notre Dame! Somewhere along the way, though, we couldn’t resist the sweet scent of crêpes lining the streets and Wilson and Firu bought one each. I was smitten by the girl making them. She was made up but looked effortlessly chic. Very pretty!
A little tip: never think too highly or romanticly of Paris upon visiting this place! More often than not, it isn’t. Be prepared to fight your way to take pictures – even romantic ones – in a sea of people, intending to do the same. Also, whether you need tickets or not, get in line before it grows too long! Speaking about lines, we actually queued at the wrong line to enter Notre Dame. We ended up only able to climb up the south tower – thank God it wasn’t as high as the Cologne Dome. Too bad, the interior was probably superb. But I also enjoyed the exterior very much. Gothic-styled! It was unbelievably crowded because, apparently, it was the cathedral’s 850th anniversary. Congrats!
If you cross the small bridge just next to the Notre Dame, you’d be able to see small stores/restaurants lining the streets. For lunch, we checked some out. The first one we checked out had an enthusiastic waiter, who threw a chair our way, inviting us in. We moved on to another one because it was too pricey for us. He followed us, carrying the chair, prompting us to go in. We decided on the second restaurant…only to find that they were owned by the same person. We splurged a lot on Foie Gras and Escargot! I heard the escargot was tasty – I didn’t eat it – but the Foie Gras was disagreeable. It was then that we got introduced to a Parisian mealtime, which takes at least 2 hours. My life-long dream was accomplished: I WENT TO SHAKESPEARE & CO.! It was everything I imagined it to be and more. I instantly wanted to move to Paris just so I could go there everyday. To soothe my heart, I purchased a book on Paris – which I almost finish – and a Shakespeare & co. tote bag. Yaay!
Afterwards, we set off to check out the Grand Palais, which was turned into a skating rink for the winter (or was it for the week?). The line went on and on and we ditched the place, moving towards Pont Alexandre III. By far, I think it’s the most precious plus aesthetically magnificent bridge in Paris. You can get an acceptable view of the Tour Eiffel from here as well. Afterwards, we walked along the rest of Champs-Élysées towards the Arc de Triomphe. There was an event going on, a ceremony in the centre of the arc. Some kind of commemoration, I think, what with all the generals and bouquets. We took the métro straight to the Tour Eiffel. It was massive! And I was flabbergasted. Too bad there were some construction being done, ruining the beauty of the tower. Otherwise, I thought it was a rather majestic closure of the day. Stay tuned for day 3 of the journey!
Onwards to the second day in La Ville d’Amour! This day we decided to wake up earlier although we spent the whole night playing cards and laughing so hard. Of course, we woke up and departed later than planned, what do you expect? Ignoring our partly grumbling tummy, we set off to our previously planned destination: Notre Dame! Somewhere along the way, though, we couldn’t resist the sweet scent of crêpes lining the streets and Wilson and Firu bought one each. I was smitten by the girl making them. She was made up but looked effortlessly chic. Very pretty!
A little tip: never think too highly or romanticly of Paris upon visiting this place! More often than not, it isn’t. Be prepared to fight your way to take pictures – even romantic ones – in a sea of people, intending to do the same. Also, whether you need tickets or not, get in line before it grows too long! Speaking about lines, we actually queued at the wrong line to enter Notre Dame. We ended up only able to climb up the south tower – thank God it wasn’t as high as the Cologne Dome. Too bad, the interior was probably superb. But I also enjoyed the exterior very much. Gothic-styled! It was unbelievably crowded because, apparently, it was the cathedral’s 850th anniversary. Congrats!
If you cross the small bridge just next to the Notre Dame, you’d be able to see small stores/restaurants lining the streets. For lunch, we checked some out. The first one we checked out had an enthusiastic waiter, who threw a chair our way, inviting us in. We moved on to another one because it was too pricey for us. He followed us, carrying the chair, prompting us to go in. We decided on the second restaurant…only to find that they were owned by the same person. We splurged a lot on Foie Gras and Escargot! I heard the escargot was tasty – I didn’t eat it – but the Foie Gras was disagreeable. It was then that we got introduced to a Parisian mealtime, which takes at least 2 hours. My life-long dream was accomplished: I WENT TO SHAKESPEARE & CO.! It was everything I imagined it to be and more. I instantly wanted to move to Paris just so I could go there everyday. To soothe my heart, I purchased a book on Paris – which I almost finish – and a Shakespeare & co. tote bag. Yaay!
Afterwards, we set off to check out the Grand Palais, which was turned into a skating rink for the winter (or was it for the week?). The line went on and on and we ditched the place, moving towards Pont Alexandre III. By far, I think it’s the most precious plus aesthetically magnificent bridge in Paris. You can get an acceptable view of the Tour Eiffel from here as well. Afterwards, we walked along the rest of Champs-Élysées towards the Arc de Triomphe. There was an event going on, a ceremony in the centre of the arc. Some kind of commemoration, I think, what with all the generals and bouquets. We took the métro straight to the Tour Eiffel. It was massive! And I was flabbergasted. Too bad there were some construction being done, ruining the beauty of the tower. Otherwise, I thought it was a rather majestic closure of the day. Stay tuned for day 3 of the journey!