St. Lucia

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

I Wish You Enough

I was cleaning out my mailbox when I saw a forward that I’d received a while back. I don’t often pass on forwards but I’d like to share this one on here:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Paris Tours continue…

I can’t believe that my time here is up already. Yesterday, I went to the Louvre, the Eiffel tower, Saint Chappelle, l’Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysées. I started off at the Louvre. It is immense but I only spent a couple of hours. I figured out some time ago that my limit in any one museum is about 3 hours. From the Louvre, I walked along the Seine to Pont Neuf and had lunch on the left bank. Then I went to St. Chapelle. It was not sunny so I missed the light show but the architecture and stained glass windows are beautiful. I took the metro to Notre Dame and spent some time walking around the cathedral, studying the portals. I meant to go to Place Concorde next but I got on the wrong train and went to the Eiffel tower instead. It’s an imposing structure up close. I thought of taking the elevator up but I don’t like heights so I stayed on solid ground and enjoyed the view around the Eiffel tower. I never imagined what the area around it looks like. It’s a green space with little ponds, ducks, flowers, trees. I stopped to watch some ducks and to admire the flowers blooming in winter. For some reason, I get extra pleasure from seeing flowers blooming outdoors in the winter.

The next stop was Arc de Triomphe. I started walking but gave up at I’Aena metro stop and took the metro to FDR. I watched the Arc de Triomphe from across the street.  My feet hurt and I didn’t feel the need to see the grave of the unknown soldier so I returned to the metro and went to my hotel.

It gets dark here in the winter. I got to the hotel at 6 p.m. and it was already dark outside. I spent some time responding to emails, watched tv, and went to bed. I planned to wake up early today to go to Versailles but …

I didn’t wake up til almost 9 this morning. I first went shopping on Rue Haussmann. Wow! The window displays at Galleries Laffayette and Printemps are extraordinary. Many of them depicting scenes created from puppets on strings. I’ve never seen such elaborate window displays in my life. I stopped to look at each of them. They’re like little masterpiece creations.

From Haussmann, I went to Montmartre and walked up to Sacre Coeur. The climp up definitely woke me up. I had a crepe for lunch afterward and headed to Rue de Rivoli. I was on line 12 of the metro which went to Place Concorde so I decided to stop there and walk down Rue de Rivoli. I’m happy that I made the visit. Place Concorde is grand, in true Parisien style. There are two fountains, a ferris wheel, and several statues. I think that it’s magnificient.

I bought a few items on Rue de Rivoli before heading to Luxembourg to meet a friend. I hadn’t seen this friend in 3.5 years, since I left India. She’s visiting Geneva and Paris from Mongolia. We walked along St. Michel and had dinner together. While having dinner, I saw a man with a Macbook and asked him where the Mac store is because I’d been having trouble finding it. He showed me the location on the map. My friend and I rode to Chatelet les Halles together. She continued on her way while I walked to rue Bernard. I got to the store in time to see it being closed. Aaargh.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

123►

Another busy and pleasant day in  Paris.

City of Lights

It was lightly snowing when I got to Paris yesterday afternoon. I took the RER from CDG to the city. I hadn’t seen snow or been in a cold climate for three years and was a little worried about the experience. It was fine, however. I was imaging the wind chill of Ottawa but Paris weather is much calmer.

After a quick stop at the hotel, I set off to explore the city by foot. I walked along Rue St. Michel and visited Notre Dame. Then I walked along some more, just looking around the city until I got to Champs Elysées. It looks like a Winter wonderland. The trees along the avenue are all decorated in blue, white, or red lights. There are decorated stalls all along the avenue, selling winter wear, candles, jewelery, crepes, hot wine, chocolate, fudge, … I wanted a hot chocolate but few places seemed to have that. I thought about buying a gingerbread cookie but decided against it. I walked until Franklin D Roosevelt metro stop. My feet were complaining by then so I got the metro and went back to Luxembourg stop, transferring at Chatelet. I planned to pick up a hot chocolate on my way to the hotel since the hotel has no restaurant and only serves breakfast but all the café were closing already! I didn’t realize that cafés in this area close by 8 p.m. No hot chocolate, just early bed so I can start off early in the morning to explore the Louvre.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

12►

Looking to the Sky …

I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent most of my life living in spaces where I can look at the night sky and see the stars. Friends point out constellations; sometimes I see them. I know little of the workings of the planets and the stars, but something about the sky grabs my attention and demands that I look up on a dark night. This week was special; I’ve been watching Venus, Jupiter and the moon every day. Well, I missed them on Monday. The promise of the night sky has pulled my up the stairs to the rooftop. There was no smile for me, no frown either, just a triangle in the sky. As I gazed at the night’s sky tonight, I saw the triangle slowly disappearing, unfolding into a line.

Smiley face picture: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081202-venus-jupiter-photo.html