Europe Trip - Day 2 , Paris

Day 2 : 18 April 2005

Started the day at the Champs Elysees. Ruchika wanted to buy a digital cam and taking Sid along out she went camera hunting. She took what felt like an eternity, while the rest of us sauntered about the place. The office of Publicis was located nearby and it looked magnificent with the huge Paris 2012 logo lighted up across its face. Infact this logo is visible where ever you go in Paris. Almost every major building including the Eiffel tower sports the logo. The fight for hosting the 2012 Olympics is between Madrid, London, New York, Moscow and Paris. That’s some list.

Ruchika meanwhile was still hunting, and Shubada looked as if she would mount a horse and gallop away to hunt down her. Finally the lady returned with a prized Sony 5 mega pixel digital cam .A pretty neat buy I would say.

From there we got onto the now familiar red hip hop bus and were on our way towards louvre. Again we passed through many landmarks, including the tunnel where Lady Diana was killed, the Invalides, the Military school, Tuileries etc.

Maybe it is the effect of reading the Da Vinci code but all of us were very much interested in visiting the Louvre. We got down by the Seine and walked our way into the building. I think the building must have been some palace, it was so huge. The glass pyramid was the centerpiece in the courtyard and we spent a lot of time walking along the perimeter of the buildings and the pyramids. We then took the staircase that takes us to the foyer below the pyramid, which houses the lobby and the ticket counters. Like most other tourists we were interested in watching the grand gallery (now more famous as the place where Jacques sauniere was killed) and of course the Mona Lisa. We purchased the tickets and got into the Denon wing. After climbing a few stairs and past many paintings and sculptures we entered the grand gallery. I was never a person who was interested in paintings and works of art, but I couldn’t help but get awestruck by the masterpieces that dotted the gallery. The paintings were almost life like. I kicked myself for not having done some research about the artists whose works were on display.

After having walked past innumerable masterpieces we entered the most famous room in the Louvre, the one in which the lady resides. Perhaps the most reproduced face in the world; the real painting looked small and vulnerable. We also chanced upon another masterpiece made known to us by Dan brown- Madonna on the rocks. We had seen just one gallery in just one of the wings of the museum; it would take days for a complete tour of the building. Also saw l’pyramide inversee, another work made famous by the Da Vinci code.

By the time we had come out it was afternoon. We walked towards the chatelet shopping district. Maybe we were on the wrong road or place, but I did not find the place very interesting .There were shops all right but nothing special to write home about.

Then once again we took the hip hop bus and got down at the Trocadero and walked the long pathway towards the Eiffel tower, at every step, drinking in the marvel of engineering that was standing in front of us. This time we were well in time to get the tickets to go to the top. Though we toyed with the idea of climbing up, better sense prevailed and we decided to take the elevator. There are 3 stages en route to the top. One has to change elevators at the second level. There are souvenir shops and also restaurants in these 2 stages. We stepped out of the elevator into a circular observation room on the third stage where the distances from that point to all the major cities of the world are given and of course you could have a great view of the city.

From this room we had to climb us a small staircase to reach the topmost level of the tower. The time was around 9 pm, the chilly winds were biting into our faces like thorns. At this level you have the refurbished office of Gustav Eiffel with real life models of the architect and his wife. The view from above was simply breath taking; the city of lights was decked up in all its glory. We could see the Seine winding along the city with illuminated boats lazily cruising on them, the various bridges across them, the circle around the Champs Elysees, the Notre Dame and Sacrecour in the far distance, and all the major landmarks of the city We spent a considerable amount of time walking around the place, one did not want to get back to ground level.

With great reluctance we got back to the hostel. The next day we had the train to Italy and so this would be the last day in Paris. We had spent just 2 days here; it was almost a crime –allocating only a couple of days to this capital of the world. Each one of us were so captivated and enthralled by the sights and sounds of Paris , that am sure all of us would want to return for more.