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.
Another busy and pleasant day in Paris.
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