Our hotel was called the Fleche D'Or, the Golden Arrow. It was to the north
of the centre, near Gare San Lazarre railway station. The hotel was pleasant
enough. You could have swung a cat in the room; but only if the cat were dead,
unconcious, or otherwise unconcerned about having it's head cracked on every
wall. But we didn't care. We only needed a place to sleep when we weren't
exploring this marvellous city.
We started exploring the next morning and began with perhaps the most famous
of all landmarks in Paris,
the Eiffel Tower.
I had purchased a 'flash' new camera and special fish eye
lens, duty free, on the way over. With it I was able to take some superb
panoramas of Paris.
In the afternoon we went to
Notre Dame (No, not the college. The cathedral!)
famous for it's
carvings,
as well as it's
SUPERB stained glass
windows and the
gargoyles.
Last but not least, of course,
'the bells, the bells.
In this picture we have a rare view of a Bell, inside a bell. (Geddit?)
Of course we went to The Louvre. The 'pyramid'
entrance in the courtyard is an interesting focal point. The art work inside
is superb. You could spend days in the place and not see it all. We only had
half a day so we acted like real tourists and rushed round to all the old
favourites. The Mona Lisa was 'enigmatic' and mobbed
with people. As was the Venus de Milo.
We spent one whole day at the Palace of Versaille. It was a day well spent.
What a place! Everything about it was 'over the top' and gorgeous. The
Royal Chapel is magnificent. The gardens are gigantic and gorgeous. The
Hall of Mirrors (where the treaty to end World
War I was signed) resonates with history. The profusion of details extends
to the marvelously ornate ceilings.
We went for an evening cruise down the Seine. Very touristy I know, but very
pleasant never the less. We had frogs legs and lobster with loads of
champagne. We got that superb view of Notre Dame by night that you see at
the top of the page.
Obviously we had thought about 'Di' whilst we were in Paris, but hadn't
planned to do go out of our way to visit the scene of the accident. But it
turned out that the 'Batueax Mouches' river cruise left from right beside
the infamous underpass. Our taxi to the boat took us over
the actual tunnel. I saw the flowers and realised
where we were. After the cruise we bought some flowers
and laid them with the others. Reading the cards on the other
bouquets and thinking about what had happened made for quite a sombre moment.
But this mood was only temporary. We thouroughly enjoyed our visit and I can't
wait to go back. There is so much more to see. Either I was very lucky or
Parisians do not deserve their reputation for rudeness. I speak no French
(other than 'un grande bier, silvous plais') but had no trouble getting help
where ever I went. On the whole I found the people friendlier than Londoners.
(And the food is SOOOOOOOOO much better that it makes it hard to under
stand why it is so bad in the UK.)
If you have never been, then go; as soon as possible. I am only sorry that
I waited so long.
In Septemeber last year we took a last minute
break and flew to Paris from Manchester.
The weather in the UK was horrid but by the time we got to Paris
it was really nice. It would stay that way the entire time we were there.
Pleasantly hot, with almost cloudless blue skies.
