tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61974705608162408582024-03-13T09:16:40.719+05:30Different DoorsThere are so many doors to open around the world.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-45746687596414219322012-02-11T00:36:00.000+05:302012-02-11T11:17:51.527+05:30Paris Day 8 - That's one really big fleaToday was another big day for us and possibly the farthest we were going to travel (besides Versailles) on our Paris trip. We were heading to the famous flea market at Saint-Ouen, just outside the Périphérique. We left early, taking the RER B to Gare du Nord and from there, the Metro (line 4 to Porte de Clignancourt). Once you get off, you need to walk down just outside the Périphérique to where the marché aux puces begins. As we walked on I saw a sign that made me smile: Paris. It made me feel like I was indeed a Parisian coming from within the city, stepping outside the city for a little weekend shopping!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, that's Paris, is it?</td></tr>
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A very important tip (so important, it needs a paragraph for itself): Just below the flyover (a large white bridge), you will find toilets. Use them. Once you get into the flea market, there aren't too many options. You will need to get to one of the restaurants and they are scattered along the main roads and not exactly inside the little lanes of the flea market.<br />
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Now that we're done with that, it's back to the report. Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is open Saturdays (9 am to 6 pm), Sundays (10 am to 6 pm) and Mondays (11 am to 5 pm) and is the largest antique market in the world. And it really is large! Spread over 7 hectares, it's actually well organized for a flea market. Rue des Rosiers is the main road you walk through to access the markets. Get past the first few stores that house cheap, fake clothes and trinkets and get to the real deal further down.<br />
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The flea market is actually a collection of fairly well organized smaller markets. The markets are more or less divided into the kinds of things they sell...everything from antiques, furniture, jewellery, clothes and even old beer coasters! It helps if you have a map of the market (the best place is the Tourist Information Office you should visit when you get to Paris, like we did). Markets are divided by name - Vernaison, Serpette, Dauphine, Paul Bert, Biron and Malik to name a few. Vernaison had a nice mix of everything. From the charming to the macabre (especially the one housing Nazi memorabilia that just left me very disturbed, especially because of the owner who proudly shared his wares with me). Dauphine looked nothing like a flea market. It was covered and had stores divided neatly. There's more interesting stuff I found here than Vernaison. There were a lot of eclectic stores but the second hand bookstores and a print store with neatly catalogued sections that caught my attention. Paul Bert was another nice section where, again, there was a mix of everything. Some of the markets we clearly avoided. They seemed like expensive, high-value antique shops judging by what we could see and the people we saw inside (possibly getting them shipped to their villas)! We weren't here to do lots of shopping but we did want to get something that was truly Parisian from the flea market. We found lots!<br />
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We read about the bargaining and we were well prepared to do it. I'm a seasoned bargainer and I was all set to get down to it but surprisingly, I didn't need to. Everybody seemed really friendly and ended up reducing rates even before we asked. At first I thought it was a ploy but later realized it probably had to do with the time of year we were there because there weren't too many customers around. They didn't just voluntarily reduce rates, they also threw in small things we were interested in for free.<br />
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We picked up a few nice things that will remind us of this experience forever. Like the two identical letterpress printing alphabets representing our names. And yes, I did buy a whole bunch of old beer coasters that will soon hang framed next to the bar counter at home!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-9590451693879990192012-02-09T19:51:00.000+05:302012-02-09T19:51:42.975+05:30Paris Day 7, Part 2 - Head in the cloudsI was done with what I hoped was the most macabre side of Paris during the first half of the day and I was really looking forward to the second half. Something I've seen in so many movies and I had also done a lot of reading up on it. Montmartre.<br />
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By the time we got there, I was already wishing we set a day aside for it. Montmartre has a very different feel from what I'd seen of Paris so far. The people, the cafes and even the tourists seemed different from what I'd seen elsewhere. Maybe I was wrong and it was just my mind replaying all the things I've read about this part of Paris. We headed straight to Sacré Coeur because it was going to be dark very soon and I wanted to catch the Basilica in natural light. I would have loved to walk the stairs to the top but it was a tiring day and the funicular seemed so inviting. You can use a Metro ticket to ride the Funicular and the Navigo Decouverte passes we were carrying worked too. Trust the French to think of this convenience. Imagine standing in long queues to buy tickets for it and then getting in line to board the funicular again. Of course, if you didn't have a Metro ticket on you, that would still be a problem.<br />
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I saw a lot of pictures of Sacré Coeur before I left for Paris. But there was none that prepared me for my first sight of it. Against the increasingly darkening sky, it stood out like a brilliant white gem. What is it with churches and me? I'm not religious at all and I can't remember when I last went into one. Neither am I a believer of god in general or Catholicism in particular. But there's something about churches that captivate me. First it was Notre Dame, and now Sacré Coeur.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Funicular</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, that crowd isn't watching me perform.</td></tr>
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Sacré Coeur was more than just a church. It was a celebration - singing, vin chaud, food, kids running around, artists sketching, lovers kissing...and everybody smiling. We spent a while walking around the Basilica, until I forced myself to put the camera away and step inside. There was a service going on so I let the camera stay inside the bag. The inside is...well, gothic! Maybe it was the time of the day or the fact that it was the end of a hectic day for us, but I was tiring and just wasn't able to spend more time inside. Assuring myself that Sacré Coeur would get more time during my next visit, I walked out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ceiling fascination continues.</td></tr>
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The Christmas Market was running full just outside and around the Basilica. We headed to the Vin Chaud stall first and grabbed ourselves two steaming glasses (although the best I've had are the ones at the Champs Elysees market). Rave did a bit of trinket shopping and we settled down on the stairs in front of Montmartre. It was festive and crowded but the crowds added so much to the atmosphere. There were musicians taking turns performing to an eager and responsive crowd. After a long while of sitting around soaking it all in, we decided to leave.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of each please!</td></tr>
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We're incorrigible. Figuring our feet were well rested, we decided to go wandering about for a while. After lots of walking around through some of the most interesting parts of Paris I've seen, we found ourselves near a familiar landmark. The Moulin Rouge! We gambled on catching a show somewhere and after making enquiries at all the wrong sorts of places, we decided the best show for us that night would be served on a plate inside a nice restaurant!<br />
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There were lots of other places in Montmartre we planned on visiting but didn't because we ran out of time. Place du Tertre, a few blocks away from Sacré Coeur, is supposed to be a place where artists set up their easels for tourists. Considering this part of Paris has a long association with art and artists, there are quite a few artistically inclined visits we'd planned too. The Espace Dali, housing lots of work by the master surrealist, Renoir's house, Picasso's studio and the house where Van Gogh stayed. These were the few on our list but I'm sure there's lots more than this we'll catch on our next trip.<br />
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Montmartre will definitely remain one of the regrets from this first trip to Paris. Regret because I wish I spent more time here. It's a regret I'll carry until the next time I visit Paris. Because that's when I'll make up for it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-26172541477150662532012-02-08T23:54:00.001+05:302012-02-09T00:03:07.295+05:30Guest Post: Culinary adventures of the DIY kind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Well hello readers! I'm so thrilled to be doing a guest post over at Different Doors. Also because I'm talking about one of the biggest highlights of the Paris trip for me. For someone who has lovingly regarded French cuisine from afar with awestruck eyes, being in Paris meant three things: Eating, Cooking and Shopping for Food and Equipment. Whilst Eating and Shopping could easily be taken care of one day at a time, Cooking required a bit of pre-planning. Kitchen equipped accommodation? Check. Registration for a course at one of Paris' big culinary schools? Ah.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">I trawled through the options that I read about online, and before I dive into the one I picked, here's a look at what I found:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.lenotre.com/FR/Sections/Partage">Lenotre</a>: Located on the ultra chic Champs Elysees, there's a course for everyone from 40-400€</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.ritzescoffier.com/">Ritz- Escoffier</a>: Uber fancy and uber expensive. Oh, and you need to book way in advance. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://lacuisineparis.com/">La Cuisine</a>: Probably the only place that offers classes in English, and the most affordable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">(I left out options like truffle hunting and grape crushing because you can’t really do those in the city.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">But I chose, Le Cordon Bleu, primarily because of the brand name I'd been hearing all these years. Any chef worth his salt in India, trained at the Cordon Bleu. I'd dreamed of walking through those doors, and now I could make it a possibility. I carefully consulted their Gourmet courses, comparing it with our itinerary, and found one that was perfect, "Cooking for Friends" on the day that Charlie could go off and visit dead Parisians. There are two options while registering, the demonstration and the demonstration plus workshop. I picked the latter. The chance to step inside a professional kitchen, under the guidance of a real chef. Wow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I paid for my course in full over a month in advance via credit card, because seats do fill up quickly. I received a confirmation and a reminder about the class over email. And finally the day arrived. After a couple of train changes, I arrived at 8:30 am on a lonely street in the 15th Arrondissement. I was ushered in along with others who were arriving to the 1st floor cramped cafeteria where we were left to ponder our kits comprising an apron, dishcloth and printed copies of the recipes over a breakfast of coffee and croissants. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">In the classroom, watching everything upside down was interesting.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The class began on the dot at 9 am. Chef Patrick, assisted by his sous chef and translator, quickly took us through the three courses of the day, jumping from one dish to another, and back again, as and when required, fielding questions and tossing jokes. I learnt an awful lot, and it was a test in multi-tasking as I tried to watch and concentrate, while furiously scribbling down notes. By 12, the demonstration was over and it was time to taste. I savored every bite, appreciating all the flavor and technique that went into the dishes.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdcyjJUThjm0ivIdI4tBir_4QB8qGu4T-_ksYyAxvZmxE7ozS4Es7LKOXrFAD-URrhc9s4FuwzFxP3oj6r6RoZNZ84XBxgOaXn_sXuErfPgW46A6nSRD1rzfkKbs3wgdixw4qHmBnevQ/s1600/Entree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdcyjJUThjm0ivIdI4tBir_4QB8qGu4T-_ksYyAxvZmxE7ozS4Es7LKOXrFAD-URrhc9s4FuwzFxP3oj6r6RoZNZ84XBxgOaXn_sXuErfPgW46A6nSRD1rzfkKbs3wgdixw4qHmBnevQ/s640/Entree.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">The tasting. I'd give this a 10.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">A quick break followed, during which most of us hung around the crowded little souvenir store (I didn’t buy anything, as I’d been advised that most of the limited range was available at a better quality and price at J Detou, which I later discovered was true).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Then we went on to the kitchens (where only the 20 of us who’d registered for the workshop as well stayed on), where we each had our own stove behind us, and shared one large island counter in the middle of the room. Chef Patrick watched over us, as we proceeded to put all that we’d learned to practice. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Chef Patrick was a stickler for tidiness.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">A team of assistants kept walking around, cleaning up, distributing ingredients and equipment as required, and also helping me save my venison from burning! Chef Patrick seemed to be enjoying himself as well, as he kept trying to add more and more mini lessons while we waited for the meat to cook. The mood was very light and jovial in a room full of people who clearly enjoyed cooking. We all went home beaming, carrying our steaming creations neatly packed in little bags, our freshly printed certificates in folders, and the experience of a lifetime in our hearts.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Yum.</span> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">My review on the class:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Was it tough? Very. (But probably because of a combination of unfamiliar ingredients, unfamiliar techniques, and inexperience; one doesn't usually stew venison or work with risotto, foie gras or juniper berries in India)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Was it fun? Extremely.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Would I do it again? In the blink of an eye.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Was it expensive? Yes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Worth the money? Absolutely.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, and what of the dish I cooked? Ask Charlie. He devoured it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Are you a foodie? Drool over a more elaborate account of my experience at <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.in/2011/12/cooking-for-friends-at-cordon-bleu.html">Crave / Create.</a></span><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14372890514868894535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-27622524580510978042012-02-03T23:21:00.002+05:302012-02-09T16:02:47.389+05:30Paris Day 7, Part 1 - With the dead and the livingToday was the day <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">Rave</a> had her class at Le Cordon Bleu (she's going to come over and do a guest post on that soon). So today, I had to do something she wasn't going to be interested in. And there was something that was perfect - The Catacombs of Paris. I can't imagine her being underground surrounded by a few million bones. So while she left really early in the morning for her class, I had an easier morning. The entrance is at Denfert-Rochereau, very close to where we were staying at Port-Royal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Denfert-Rochereau</td></tr>
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If you're planning to visit the Catacombs, my advice would be to get there early. And remember entry closes at 4 pm, although the place is open until 5 pm (closed on Monday). The queues were long and they allow groups of about 15-20 at a time. Also remember that there is no cloakroom once you enter and neither are there toilets. After about an hour of waiting, I was finally inside. There's about 130 steps that take you below the surface but they're not as difficult as the Notre Dame, for example. But it does get narrower and quieter as you get down, so if you're claustrophobic, it can get increasingly problematic as you proceed.<br />
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It takes a bit of walking before you get to see anything that's remotely familiar to the pictures you might have seen online. Along they way, you will encounter sculptures made by a quarryman called Décure, who used to serve in the armies of Louis XV. The structure you see there is a model of the fortress of Port-Mahon and I overheard someone saying this part has recently been restored and opened to the public.<br />
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The first sight of the actual bones is a bit disturbing. I'm pretty sure there's nothing like this (except for the Chapel of bones I've seen online) and it's a bit startling to be suddenly faced with a large stack of skulls, more in number than it seems in pictures. And once it begins, it doesn't end. Stacks upon stacks of neatly arranged ('artistically arranged' is a more appropriate phrase, actually!) bones and skulls as far as the eye can see into those dark empty tunnels. I've read that there are 6 million Parisians in there and after seeing it in person, I think that number is a very modest count.<br />
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The entire walk takes about 45 minutes and is roughly around 2 km, although it felt like a lot less. Good walking shoes with soles that have a good grip are essential. There are some parts where the stone floor is really smooth and there's one section in particular that has water (I hope!) dripping through. One of the people with us was quite startled by it actually and dropped her camera, thinking some other-worldly whatever was dripping whatever on her hand! Luckily, the camera (and her hand) survived without any damage. The exit gets you out on Rue Remy Dumoncel, a few blocks away from where you entered. There's a store right outside the exit that offers macabre souvenirs...from ugly glittering skulls to pencils shaped like bones.<br />
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By the time I was out, it was time for a quick lunch and to catch up with the wife, who came back with goodies from Le Cordon Bleu. The evening was reserved for something I've been really looking forward to - Montmartre.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-61535479501848275962012-02-02T22:53:00.000+05:302012-02-03T19:27:55.261+05:30Paris Day 6 - Off with their breathWe hadn't planned on stepping out of Paris at all when we were deciding on our 14 day itinerary. Early on, we were lucky enough to understand that there's more to Paris than we can see in 14 days. So all ideas of a quick hop into a neighboring destination (we toyed with Amsterdam for a bit!) were unequivocally erased by both of us.<br />
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Then we watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422720/" target="_blank">Marie Antoinette</a>. And the idea of going to Versailles crept in. After much debate and moving dates around, we agreed to accommodate it on the itinerary. We did a bit of research and our suspicions were confirmed - a trip to Versailles would take an entire day on our itinerary.<br />
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We left home pretty early, taking the RER B to Saint-Michel - Notre Dame and the RER C from there to Versailles Rive Gauche (€6.50 for a return ticket). It was a cold, wet rainy day and it was wonderful to see the landscape change as we left Paris. The larger buildings began giving way to smaller homes and empty spaces. There were fewer people we saw outside. Along the way, our train reached the end of its line and a local reminded us that we needed to get out and hop into another train (further proof of French hospitality that we would continue to experience through our trip).<br />
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It was easy to find Chateau de Versailles once we got off the train. We simply had to follow the crowd. As we walked up to the Chateau, it suddenly didn't seem very impressive. Was this what I left Paris for? Sure the facade and the gate are impressive but where's the rest. The rest, of course, was hidden from view right now. And all through the rest of that day, we were so glad we decided to step out of Paris.<br />
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The attractions are divided into 4 primary sections - The Palace, The Garden, The grand Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's unique estate.<br />
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The Chateau de Versailles is French classical art at its best. From the extravagant curtains and upholstery (much of which has been restored or recreated thanks to the generosity of various establishments like, if I remember right, Louis Vuitton or Swarowski) to the numerous busts and figurines scattered around. Of noteworthy value is the Hall of Mirrors in the Grand Apartments. Built during the time of Louis XIV, who converted this into much of what it is today. Imagine, this was once just a hunting lodge for Louis XIII! The Hall of Mirrors is as grand as grand gets. After walking around speechless for a while, it was time to get out to catch some fresh air, especially after having my breath taken away so many times.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is that you, Marie?</td></tr>
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The Gardens, even in freezing winter, were an absolute delight. Unfortunately, we couldn't do too much walking thanks to the the steady drizzle. But we soon had that problem sorted out. There are nice golf carts you can hire for about €75 for the first hour. There's a lot of walking to be done, so rain or sunshine, I strongly recommend hiring the golf carts. We hired one, after leaving a driver's license as a guarantee (I don't think any cop is going to want to see your license anywhere inside) and headed out to see the rest of the place. The Grand Trianon is beautiful...pink and white marble, smaller less opulent rooms, including the games room that resembled the one from the movie. We didn't spend too much time here because we were keen on seeing Marie-Antoinette's freakish little hamlet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder what he was thinking of.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a lot of walking to be done.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nap, anyone?</td></tr>
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And what a hamlet that was! It seemed like it was a painting come to life. Everything, dirt included, was perfectly in place. Maybe it seemed that way because we haven't seen a European hamlet before but this seemed picture perfect. The little stream, the bridge, the homes, the rickety crumbling staircase...even the birds flying around seemed to be deliberately planted in their respective spots!<br />
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After a long tour of the Estate and the rest of the gardens, we dropped off our golf cart and headed out of the Chateau. Along the way, we stopped for a late Italian lunch before getting our train back to Paris. I'd definitely like to see Versailles when the gardens are in bloom. And with that promise, we waved goodbye to Marie and Louis (however many there are!).<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-6549781381855523792012-01-29T21:30:00.000+05:302012-01-29T21:30:18.300+05:30Paris Day 5 - Leonardo and WilliamSo today is the day we visit a landmark that isn't just synonymous with Paris but is also perhaps the first name people come up with when they think art and museums - Musée du Louvre. The Louvre is about 60,000+ square metres large and while it actually is possible to walk through it in a day, it's impossible to see everything. I was very clear that I wasn't even going to try! I planned on hanging around with the Greeks, Romans and a few Renaissance artists. Unfortunately, the rest will have to be put off until a later trip.<br />
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After the wait at Musée d'Orsay, we decided to get to the Louvre earlier than we initially planned to. We got there a little after 9 am and there were no huge crowds to deal with. There are three entrances to Musée du Louvre - the main entrance directly through the glass Pyramid, one from the Carrousel du Louvre (the shopping mall underneath the Louvre that houses a McDonald's...yes, the one that you just cringed at!) and from Porte des Lions (which was shut when we got there because of some work that was happening). If the crowds aren't too intimidating, walk in through the Pyramid. I've heard many Parisians can't stand it but I personally thought it's a nice contrast to everything that surrounds it.<br />
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Musée du Louvre is huge and comprises 3 wings - Richelieu on the left, Sully in the centre and Denon on the right. Richelieu houses the Oriental Antiquities, Sully the French and Greek and Denon is Italian and French. Remember to check in stuff - if it's winter and you're wearing jackets, check them in near the Richelieu Wing, or you have heavy baggage, check them in under the Pyramid to the right of the Denon Wing (if you can, stuff your jackets into your bag and check everything here). There's quite a bit of walking to be done and you don't need anything heavy on you (it's also warm inside, so don't worry about wearing jackets).<br />
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There were a few pieces we were sure we wanted to spend time with (surprisingly, the Mona Lisa wasn't one of them!). As we walked through the Roman and Greek sections, we caught a glimpse of The Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Daru staircase but we were going to catch it later, so we continued on until we reached Venus de Milo. Ok, time for a little truth. It's a beautiful piece but I just can't honestly say it's the best. Not even as compared to others from the same era. There, I've said it! But before I get slayed, let me quickly add that this is just the opinion of one who isn't an art or history aficionado. This is just my regular everyday Joe (or Some Charlie) take on Venus. I did give Venus her time, though. I stood around trying to genuinely understand why it's such a talked about piece. From the slightly twisted stance, to the angle of the shoulders, to the view from the right...I just didn't get it, pardon my ignorance. I kept wondering what would happen if Venus was replaced by one of the other pieces from the exhibit, would people still gush over it? What if there were decades of praise surrounding that piece instead of Venus? Would they appreciate that one more and leave Venus behind along with one of the other pieces in a corner? I guess we'll never know. But I'm going to give Venus another chance on my next Paris trip. I'm sure the millions who adore her do so for a reason.<br />
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The next 'big ticket' item was The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I can't think of a better place than the Daru staircase for this piece. At first sight, I felt how I did when I first saw Venus de Milo. But this one grows on you. As you walk around you begin seeing more...the wind blowing against the contours of her body, the stance, the angle at which she leans forward, the detail on the wings. It seems like she might just flap those wings and take a little flight around the Museum for a while.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Daru staircase</td></tr>
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Next, da Vinci. Yes, I did see that famous one of the woman with the 'enigmatic' smile but there were two other pieces that I really loved. John the Baptist and Bachus. There's something eerie about them. The slightly manic expressions, that weird smile, the finger. With the million da Vinci conspiracy theories going around, you're tempted to look deeper and search for symbolism. I did that too for a while until I figured it's pointless wasting time that's much better spent enjoying the work.<br />
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From here, we finally walked into the room housing the Mona Lisa, possibly the most crowded room in the entire Museum. I was actually more interested in the gigantic Wedding Feast at Cana that hangs directly opposite the Mona Lisa. I didn't imagine it would be so big. So as I kept walking backwards to see it from a distance, I encountered a bunch of Japanese tourists. They were a little intrigued why I was looking away from the Mona Lisa instead of at it. So a couple of them looked in my direction for a second, possibly told themselves I was mad and turned back, cameras held overhead, to Mona Lisa.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somewhere out there, she's there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wedding Feast at Cana</td></tr>
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After walking through the rest of the Denon Wing, we decided to stop and head out of the Museum. We were getting what we call museum syndrome...there's only so much you can absorb and after a while, you're just looking at stuff without actually seeing it. We walked out through the Richelieu Wing, stopping only briefly to see a few displays. That was all we could take of the seriously overwhelming Musée du Louvre. We will be back to visit the Louvre on our next trip...primarily for the Richelieu Wing that's also of special interest to me. But to try and cram it all in one visit just isn't worth it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under the Pyramid</td></tr>
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We weren't really tired, just a little numb from seeing so much. And Paris has a perfect antidote to numbness - walking. We took a walk along the river to Shakespeare and Company on the Left Bank. Sylvia Beach's bookstore was a haven for a few literary greats I've read. This was the birthplace of Ulysses. We lost ourselves for a while inside the bookstore, while a young girl practiced piano next to us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fountain outside the bookstore</td></tr>
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That was the end of a packed day. This first trip to Paris is increasingly beginning to feel like a little wine tasting expedition. We're just sampling a bit of what Paris has to offer, so we can come back for long leisurely glasses of what we like in the many visits that will surely follow.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-44741621946276820512012-01-28T00:01:00.000+05:302012-01-28T00:05:59.405+05:30Paris Day 4 - Looking for Quasimodo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's one place in Paris that's really special to me. A place I first heard about as a child, reading about a certain hunchback and the towers. Over the years, as I continued seeing pictures of it and reading up on its history, the fascination grew. But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared me for the first time I set my sights on it. It was as if the illustrations from that old Victor Hugo book from my childhood suddenly came alive.</div>
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Every time I walked past the Notre Dame for the rest of my trip, I stopped and gazed longingly, much to <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rave's</a> growing worry that I might just decide to spend a few years at its footsteps! Given the chance, I'd gladly do it!</div>
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We began the day much like the others that would follow, grabbing breakfast from the bakery downstairs and eating it while we walked to the RER Port-Royal. It was a particularly cold morning and that walk from RER Saint-Michel - Notre Dame to the cathedral was pretty swift! Thankfully, there weren't too many visitors around when we got there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I could stand here all day.</td></tr>
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As you approach the Notre-Dame, one of the first things you encounter is Point Zero, considered the official centre of Paris. Except us, it didn't seem like a big deal to the rest of the people around.<br />
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The detailing on the entrance is really intricate. There's so much to see and I wished I had my long lens fitted on my camera so I could get a closer look at the work. The Kings of Judah were there, as was the devil weighing souls on judgement day and the unmistakable St. Denis holding his own head.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Denis holding his head.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weighing of souls.</td></tr>
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Inside, it was gothic architecture all through. I will never forget the first view as I stepped in. You don't really get a sense of how big it is when you're standing at the entrance. It was magical...the ceiling that seemed like it was impossibly tall, the blue light coming through the windows, the music that seemed to be coming from some faraway place (or was that just the sound in my head?).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a patch on the real thing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hate doing this but everything was perfect for this shot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's no photograph that can catch these beautiful windows.</td></tr>
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It was so quiet when we were there, we could hear our footsteps as we walked. Although I was raised a Catholic, I'm not religious and do not believe in the concept of god. But there's something about Notre Dame that tells you there possibly is something more to it than stone and glass.<br />
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Although I could have easily stayed inside longer, we had to head out because we were planning on climbing up the towers. And boy, was it cold! We waited for close to an hour in line and it was really windy! We actually braved it out to the very end and began the long climb up. It's 400-odd steps on a winding staircase that never seems to end. If you have climbing disabilities, my advise would be to avoid the climb. There are people behind you on the narrow staircase and it's almost impossible to stop and catch your breath. There are also very few alcoves where you can stop and rest and most of them can just about fit one person. So if there's someone already resting there, you have no option but to walk on. But for those who can make it, it's worth every step on that staircase! For now, I'll let the pictures do the talking.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9xLYt2f_yttXoJ-GrR_Hz8t9_BFNGfPYL__2lmO2cq5Vhesw23eILJ4i43yqiB5dSWq6uw3x4kSbgTy5mqkJ6nou7iSe6usil3XmHpMrfva72Mcd3YovjBe1WFToU1XuiHgHxNi6RCWVq/s1600/4Day12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9xLYt2f_yttXoJ-GrR_Hz8t9_BFNGfPYL__2lmO2cq5Vhesw23eILJ4i43yqiB5dSWq6uw3x4kSbgTy5mqkJ6nou7iSe6usil3XmHpMrfva72Mcd3YovjBe1WFToU1XuiHgHxNi6RCWVq/s640/4Day12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quasi, get here right now!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NjaQBv-brL-fr_mRVblo6vdKwbpgE5uoiXD86IhduPpI4uw02dtvmqepvb72yG5T7Vr-31eKXxswUTwM-DoVWrX7CfCE_rUElCK_05w6XpmAnarvI3BpyGWXI0XzuPT31pcAJptUr2yf/s1600/4Day9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NjaQBv-brL-fr_mRVblo6vdKwbpgE5uoiXD86IhduPpI4uw02dtvmqepvb72yG5T7Vr-31eKXxswUTwM-DoVWrX7CfCE_rUElCK_05w6XpmAnarvI3BpyGWXI0XzuPT31pcAJptUr2yf/s640/4Day9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How does everyone look so stylish down there?</td></tr>
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<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizifGVNY-HM5jn45MQyugt5gA5QnGkWLhC59UUseF9HwSIP96vdTwkUOF_5W9hdrFGcAOsmbbEN5WlGne7tDvWq1KfirCvOOqQbLcADioqoR6x9LKSU1hXMLmW2lY7kvFp3Ey3el61PCCN/s1600/4Day11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizifGVNY-HM5jn45MQyugt5gA5QnGkWLhC59UUseF9HwSIP96vdTwkUOF_5W9hdrFGcAOsmbbEN5WlGne7tDvWq1KfirCvOOqQbLcADioqoR6x9LKSU1hXMLmW2lY7kvFp3Ey3el61PCCN/s640/4Day11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sacré Coeur in the distance.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-QiyU66O9dXcYwNi9g9XZ3JWg-7XQzfbZxWYpQQa8_dvrlXr133vJOC89UZYVw2wlkdLG_XdTuCSpQa7PKLTlcRD9jxIuvl0MSJKu1IOMnkaqxD_i_5SjZ9_gbNqwRvAzYLUSMkbz8pz/s1600/4Day10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-QiyU66O9dXcYwNi9g9XZ3JWg-7XQzfbZxWYpQQa8_dvrlXr133vJOC89UZYVw2wlkdLG_XdTuCSpQa7PKLTlcRD9jxIuvl0MSJKu1IOMnkaqxD_i_5SjZ9_gbNqwRvAzYLUSMkbz8pz/s640/4Day10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello beautiful!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAupBsxEqViPwqYDEZq1yT-dce1835-PHi8E1W8GLLZnLOejZTe-4srGI5cruiAO67dyVGb_lxHrzJb-xz527uZGUtlWQY20pvJa7PglduD3Z9CtAumG8HLNr8dLsPWl6qQ3oMnB4JaTNa/s1600/4Day13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAupBsxEqViPwqYDEZq1yT-dce1835-PHi8E1W8GLLZnLOejZTe-4srGI5cruiAO67dyVGb_lxHrzJb-xz527uZGUtlWQY20pvJa7PglduD3Z9CtAumG8HLNr8dLsPWl6qQ3oMnB4JaTNa/s400/4Day13.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So this is where the music was coming from.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
If I lived in Paris, I would visit the Notre Dame every day. I really mean it! And without a doubt, I'm sure I will feel exactly how I did when I first saw it. </div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-81133744940378085792012-01-26T23:38:00.000+05:302012-01-26T23:40:47.040+05:30Paris Day 3 - A day with VincentPeople who know me will vouch for the fact that I'm pretty vocal (and stubborn) about my views on art, what the world considers artistic and what art should stand for. So it can get a little dangerous for people to hang around with me in a place like Musée d'Orsay in the likely event that I might get a little too vocal!<br />
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Learning from our Louvre experience with queues, we had a quick breakfast and headed to the RER Station at Port-Royal, so we can get to the Museum before everyone else does. We quickly hopped to Saint-Michel - Notre Dame on the RER B and then to Musée d'Orsay on the RER C. All through the Paris trip, I've smiled so much whenever I used the Navigo Découverte. It really is most convenient while traveling around Paris...you don't even need to take it out of your bag. Just wave your bag over the purple scanner and beep yourself through.<br />
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I'd say we were at Musée d'Orsay pretty early. The people who were already there wouldn't say the same. We hoped our Museum Pass will help beat the queue but almost everyone in front of us had the pass as well. But this was one queue we didn't complain about, thanks to the wonderful quartet of musicians playing right outside the museum. About 30 minutes later, we were inside.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkIKGhFYXPSIpY-LmhF3jwl1nyU_2pmL10Fj-Hj9RigqXMKFrDFlNiO0ogrmARTjYDJWplKsyiZjzHT4IcmwFcN0dHo_svP72yilLhLbfxV5aamU0bJcU59030fzIKbt0I6uZCNwkZedz/s1600/3Day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkIKGhFYXPSIpY-LmhF3jwl1nyU_2pmL10Fj-Hj9RigqXMKFrDFlNiO0ogrmARTjYDJWplKsyiZjzHT4IcmwFcN0dHo_svP72yilLhLbfxV5aamU0bJcU59030fzIKbt0I6uZCNwkZedz/s640/3Day1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And we thought we were early!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr22qA0TNOEYzR0e9mL_v0g_Vc3feTpBFre_QIn5XA9O-gA-rHZGkHUp9vdP0i_fxmrUlHSLCRHSh0nNMcls6VYkIvqNOq0v_-obMAgDpErI20Ug1oO-_sodLGXiRt5p69yK2vC4i3EXW/s1600/3Day2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr22qA0TNOEYzR0e9mL_v0g_Vc3feTpBFre_QIn5XA9O-gA-rHZGkHUp9vdP0i_fxmrUlHSLCRHSh0nNMcls6VYkIvqNOq0v_-obMAgDpErI20Ug1oO-_sodLGXiRt5p69yK2vC4i3EXW/s640/3Day2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Queues aren't so bad if you have your personal Quartet for company.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg3K7QmQGf63oSMUIRDjSR9VTIrqnXb6IR5TOiUpZaV_iPu-wHuhxUAVubEHiMNKHQE4KoQzfWD-4Gfza0YEHMPU3lRPpZF1dArg8OdbIYF3I8mEuY25wYnacEW1hbeGOxwJPZlReuxIm/s1600/3Day3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVg3K7QmQGf63oSMUIRDjSR9VTIrqnXb6IR5TOiUpZaV_iPu-wHuhxUAVubEHiMNKHQE4KoQzfWD-4Gfza0YEHMPU3lRPpZF1dArg8OdbIYF3I8mEuY25wYnacEW1hbeGOxwJPZlReuxIm/s640/3Day3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the famous Space Invaders mosaics. This is the one outside Musée d'Orsay.</td></tr>
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The Musée d'Orsay is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a former railway station that's way too beautiful to be used for something as common as commuting. I decided to put my camera away because I really wanted to focus on the Impressionists (and post-Impressionists) and nothing else. They were all here...Cézanne, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Gauguin and the one artist I've followed all my life but whose work I've never had the privilege of seeing in person - Vincent Van Gogh. I'm no great art critic, so I'm not going to get into detailed explanations of the pieces here. But Van Gogh really stands apart. There's something there that isn't anywhere else. And I don't mean style or form...it's an obvious observation that every artist in there does have her/his own unique style. But there's just something about Van Gogh.<br />
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We spent the entire day at Musée d'Orsay. My back was bad from sleeping two nights on a mattress I'm not used to (it had nothing to do with the mattress, I just take a while to adjust!). But I kept walking on, focussing on specific sections. After a while, there's only so much your mind, like a sponge, can absorb. After saturation point, you're just walking around and looking at pieces numbed. So we decided to not do that and stepped down to the lower level and people-watched. Young students sketching away in their art books, old couples in serious, hushed discussion and the occasional annoying flash-wielding photographer that I never fail to glare at!<br />
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By the time we got out, it had begun raining and was getting dark. With nothing else to do that evening, we decided to walk down Boulevard Saint-Germain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4-YEtxQa5l8zHfcflx2_Lu2pICMpEjN2DtjIk1nOdJ53K0toWHvAD6wQA1Yffn7NdJEhA9OiSy9k19hpR8fYAxKsbbuSnCZ5Txpqrm_EBPT1QhHCB6Vnu7VXM7hUWB2h0QE2X8qUrQ7g/s1600/3Day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4-YEtxQa5l8zHfcflx2_Lu2pICMpEjN2DtjIk1nOdJ53K0toWHvAD6wQA1Yffn7NdJEhA9OiSy9k19hpR8fYAxKsbbuSnCZ5Txpqrm_EBPT1QhHCB6Vnu7VXM7hUWB2h0QE2X8qUrQ7g/s640/3Day4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll have that, that, that and...oh yeah, that one too, s'il vous plait.</td></tr>
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Paris has this funny habit of creeping up and surprising you when you least expect it. And Église de Saint-Germain des Prés did just that. Although I'd heard so much about the Église de Saint-Germain des Prés, we hadn't put it down on the list for today. Much of the inside was covered but the little we could see was ethereal. There was a service going on, so out of respect, we didn't want to walk around too much. But we promised to come back here, maybe on this trip but definitely on the next.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXfv-mkKlgQrT7dHQfnAAOYz8ptDHXTKhastKvXzF6aD0Hw2DxFI5ng_GBprVp4HD0Dw-VKOP0MLb31InQESg6SM9ab_fXP-OIJK6LkuZfYe9LLir66AfmfukMEZZolzS3DuTHlkxbkkn/s1600/3Day5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXfv-mkKlgQrT7dHQfnAAOYz8ptDHXTKhastKvXzF6aD0Hw2DxFI5ng_GBprVp4HD0Dw-VKOP0MLb31InQESg6SM9ab_fXP-OIJK6LkuZfYe9LLir66AfmfukMEZZolzS3DuTHlkxbkkn/s640/3Day5.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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We continued walking on down Blvd Saint-Germain to get to RER Saint-Michel - Notre Dame. Along the way, we made a fantastic discovery that we'd re-visit often during our trip - Rue de la Huchette. The 'food street' as we'd often refer to it. There's almost every kind of cuisine out there. We decided on something absolutely French tonight and had our first taste of Escargot. We loved it! I could eat this everyday and not complain at all! Along with the escargot came oysters. And after that enough food and wine for a small army!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13Tr5IUeUd8zhwCbTryN38M1ZoKp-JTAORE9QpHEbHX51cbHG_RyP25N9BwqKD3GfUw6zrf0O3e2Z1CBzbSCBsQZmQRWn9bMoXQU_3eiATqhgokUtdJYyF8S1aO9U0qVP5BbPrDKy-1yh/s1600/3Day7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13Tr5IUeUd8zhwCbTryN38M1ZoKp-JTAORE9QpHEbHX51cbHG_RyP25N9BwqKD3GfUw6zrf0O3e2Z1CBzbSCBsQZmQRWn9bMoXQU_3eiATqhgokUtdJYyF8S1aO9U0qVP5BbPrDKy-1yh/s640/3Day7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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With stomachs full and glasses empty, we finally left Rue de la Huchette as Michelle crooned that her baby just cares about her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRcS8cOpj6JOeX1e3hXgYZT-8Mb_vplWxAM2Rnomt9a60fuuP5-XR7jKU9P76l66E9xve_V-hA12-A4-EwrnAf0yYJDlKQ0pULx7sJF-b_iTYsrqO3mSDCKQ5lBTAlHqxNjDDW4oZADKr/s1600/3Day8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRcS8cOpj6JOeX1e3hXgYZT-8Mb_vplWxAM2Rnomt9a60fuuP5-XR7jKU9P76l66E9xve_V-hA12-A4-EwrnAf0yYJDlKQ0pULx7sJF-b_iTYsrqO3mSDCKQ5lBTAlHqxNjDDW4oZADKr/s640/3Day8.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"My baby just cares for me..."</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-21616552966985343582012-01-25T15:13:00.000+05:302012-01-27T08:44:41.722+05:30Paris Day 2 - Mozart, Claude and LouisThere were a few things that needed to be done before we set off on our second day to Musée de l'Orangerie, Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. We needed to stop at the Tourist Information Office first and get maps and literature to help with the rest of our trip. We also needed to get pre-paid phone SIM cards to call people back home in India.<br />
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After a wonderful breakfast at home, thanks to the wonderful boulangerie downstairs with the equally wonderful lady who managed it, we set off to Pyramides.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiueIGhsKsCvR7o3VFTBT7Yk2TnSyKgfkl5IycNLwQM1D-L7aXxrPTXK_WCLjk0_KqFDo0MGyhjEHiFl1LG8AOPRTySx4Cte6gmulJ-zow3k3mR4XED2IWi9uKIWztI7PT-p539h5qBvg_v/s1600/2Day1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiueIGhsKsCvR7o3VFTBT7Yk2TnSyKgfkl5IycNLwQM1D-L7aXxrPTXK_WCLjk0_KqFDo0MGyhjEHiFl1LG8AOPRTySx4Cte6gmulJ-zow3k3mR4XED2IWi9uKIWztI7PT-p539h5qBvg_v/s400/2Day1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The freshest breakfast ever!</td></tr>
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The Tourist Information Office is right across the Pyramides Metro exit. The office is a destination to visit in itself! Shelves packed with literature in at least 4 languages, neatly divided in sections, all for free. The folks at the desk were equally helpful and quite fluent with English (although <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rave's</a> French helped make conversations far more friendlier). Once we were done, they also pointed us out to the closest mobile outlet for our pre-paid SIMs. We walked down to the SFR store down the road and picked up our SIMs quite easily.<br />
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We decided to keep walking a little further down the road to take a peek at the Palais Garnier. Our first view of it and we knew Musée de l'Orangerie had to be moved to another day...we were going to the Opera! I stood so long ogling at the Mozart bust at the entrance, I almost had to be dragged away. Oddly, the first thing I set my eyes on was the ceiling (my fascination for them would only grow through the trip). Everything seemed so grand...the curtains, the gold painted decor, the furniture, the chandeliers and, of course, the ceilings!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wolfgang</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27Y8ya71h6YAmIQLql7jYQ4mEasRtgdeZUlrjJGinV1KvgC7ordRA2_hOQShC8k5qm51RwWqeCoThizCtoHK0kQMIEa0PpDynI32RyQnHKb4eVlttaPQIRAeShaK57tTYyKIme_HfxxG8/s1600/2Day4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27Y8ya71h6YAmIQLql7jYQ4mEasRtgdeZUlrjJGinV1KvgC7ordRA2_hOQShC8k5qm51RwWqeCoThizCtoHK0kQMIEa0PpDynI32RyQnHKb4eVlttaPQIRAeShaK57tTYyKIme_HfxxG8/s640/2Day4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My affair with ceilings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnkHKEXpXkcBt4_7iCANDsVIHWUYhhwzjHI1i4pKhQJ-YTrRK-dMaCh9S7XuMOiLk3mVyiJJ6S__AecPDXlMfwTzvVmdgpJkVxUo_qAmtbw6SCouDFGSUJWiDTe4V3ulud8ujLKuuDwzd/s1600/2Day5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnkHKEXpXkcBt4_7iCANDsVIHWUYhhwzjHI1i4pKhQJ-YTrRK-dMaCh9S7XuMOiLk3mVyiJJ6S__AecPDXlMfwTzvVmdgpJkVxUo_qAmtbw6SCouDFGSUJWiDTe4V3ulud8ujLKuuDwzd/s640/2Day5.jpg" width="404" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My affair with ceilings. Again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More ceiling.</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, there was a rehearsal on when we visited so we weren't allowed inside. But just as we were done and ready to leave, we noticed an open door! I've seen videos of the insides of an Opera but nothing prepared me for this. The stage was still being cleared, people from the production were still walking around, the sound engineers were still at work...and I stood in silence, both ecstatic with my first view of the inside of a theatre and horrified at the opulence that seemed to cover every square inch.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next time, we'll be sitting here.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvp54e9ZVp_oVlHpddtstzKO5CVlBPRDElHpdZxdE4QSYz_chBrt4mAnUE_IOipd-z_GOIU_yEVsDY99Q9BZ8Dnz5kSTmN9hLlrbr1IPGKLKDoLLs9F0_y7bpZMou0mzgnTlYpA_Uzt0uA/s1600/2Day9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvp54e9ZVp_oVlHpddtstzKO5CVlBPRDElHpdZxdE4QSYz_chBrt4mAnUE_IOipd-z_GOIU_yEVsDY99Q9BZ8Dnz5kSTmN9hLlrbr1IPGKLKDoLLs9F0_y7bpZMou0mzgnTlYpA_Uzt0uA/s640/2Day9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well worth the money!</td></tr>
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Still spellbound, we left for a nice long lunch and began walking to Musée de l'Orangerie. Our hungry eyes wouldn't let us pass on the Monet's after all! It's not too far from Palais Garnier (about 1.5 km on foot). You walk down the Metro Opera stop, via Place Vendome and through the Tuilleries...the perfect walk after a heavy lunch. Over the years, I've seen so many pictures of the famous Monet pieces here but I was a little disappointed when I first saw them. But the disappointment didn't last too long. You need to sit and drink the pieces in. Slowly, I began seeing what Monet would have years ago. The reflections were slowly coming to life. The light felt like it was passing through the leaves. The trees felt like they were slowly changing colour. Keep staring long enough and it felt like you were actually there in that garden and everything around was real. At some point, they stopped becoming paintings.<br />
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The size of Monet's canvases were almost unreal. Imagine painting them in sections, at different times and then stitching all those individual pieces together...it's fantastic if you can pull back and, quite literally, see the big picture.<br />
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Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed, so I respected that and refrained from using my camera, although a lot of people were quite trigger happy. I wasn't keen on actually shooting any of the Monet pieces individually but I did want to shoot a few panoramas. Well, for now I'll make do with the beautiful panoramas on the Internet. There's lots of other pieces to see here as well...Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Utrillo, Renoir...but there were two artists in particular that I fell in love with - Modigliani and Soutine. I've seen some of the work in books or online but they're quite captivating in when seen for real. The two were actually friends and there's connection between their individual works. Soutine went into depression after Modigliani's death and continued to paint in depression that's evident in his work. He has that remarkable ability to make you cringe at his pain and still stand there, enjoy it and sadistically ask for more. The Musée de l'Orangerie is definitely time well spent and my advice would be to not leave after seeing the Monet's. Give Soutine a shoulder to cry on too.<br />
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After watching the sunset from Tuilleries it was time to move on to Champs-Elysees. It was a destination that I was morbidly afraid of walking into primarily because I was worried about <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">you-know-who</a> and the designer stores! Thankfully, she was more excited about the Christmas Markets that line up Champs-Elysees at this time of the year. The markets are fun and there's everything from chocolate to clothing to food to jewellery to rides for kids. We kicked off our walk with some wonderful Vin Chaud and let the crowds just carry us on. Everything was so festive and we we were glad we decided to brave the cold and pick this time of the year to visit Paris.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflLzvF6RIDKGAnaNj5ikTEggJprBIIP54espCy36nnxYJ1PUqYFlrqmDhgpMc7JP53O2pVMsYpkhvfwBjoM6AayBn9chBjWcSXpANiKXiQNRUZJ2ksCb1NYIWhW5TrYMAZgVm-P6pRVAM/s1600/2Day13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhflLzvF6RIDKGAnaNj5ikTEggJprBIIP54espCy36nnxYJ1PUqYFlrqmDhgpMc7JP53O2pVMsYpkhvfwBjoM6AayBn9chBjWcSXpANiKXiQNRUZJ2ksCb1NYIWhW5TrYMAZgVm-P6pRVAM/s640/2Day13.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ferris wheel at Champs-Elysees.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwJajbngWEFNbJc3x_Bc7zCEeZA0jAppATHQ3a085nHdG1VW8uG5sOC9Ji2AQcXJCeztqqodHOZGb19CeuisPgcQprx06rvWL6OCavJrfQQKV0P0Wm3b5JvbLh2j4xe6ZjvW_L2aAcyq6/s1600/2Day11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwJajbngWEFNbJc3x_Bc7zCEeZA0jAppATHQ3a085nHdG1VW8uG5sOC9Ji2AQcXJCeztqqodHOZGb19CeuisPgcQprx06rvWL6OCavJrfQQKV0P0Wm3b5JvbLh2j4xe6ZjvW_L2aAcyq6/s640/2Day11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was too old to ride this. Damn!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dancers on Champs-Elysees. We caught them thrice!</td></tr>
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Champs-Elysees was one big festive party! There were sales everywhere, the store windows looked spectacular (especially Louis Vuitton) and there was celebration on the streets. This was just Day 2 and Paris had already shown us so much!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-48440587839998544462012-01-23T22:08:00.002+05:302012-01-25T17:06:39.199+05:30Paris Day 1 - When plans changeIt was a Sunday...the first Sunday of the month and our very first Sunday in Paris! To say we were excited is a gross understatement. It was cold, possibly the coldest I've ever felt (coming from Mumbai, India, that's hardly surprising).<br />
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Our bodies were still adjusting to the time difference and even though we were tired from a long flight from home, we were up at 5 am, long before the alarm went off. We fixed our first coffees at our wonderfully stocked rental apartment and we were out on the streets at 8.30 am. Being the first Sunday of the month and we had the Louvre lined up first on our list since entry is free on first Sunday of every month. After a bit of walking around, we found our way to Metro Gobelins to take our train to Louvre-Rivoli.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The walk to our first Metro ride</td></tr>
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Paris has a way of changing your plans. You're sometimes walking briskly to some place you have planned out and an inviting bistro or cafe stops you in your tracks and before you know it, you've spent a greater part of your day watching Paris go by from your cafe table. Sometimes, it only takes the whiff of freshly baked croissants to change your mind. For us, on this first Sunday, it was tourists. We ooh-ed and aah-ed in the short walk to the Pyramid, only to find a seemingly endless line of tourists snaking their way in endless loops, waiting to enter. We were disappointed but not worried. We'd anticipated this a bit and already planned on swapping today's plan with Day 5 on our <a href="http://differentdoors.blogspot.com/2012/01/paris-14-day-itinerary.html" target="_blank">itinerary.</a> So Musée Cluny (or Musée du Moyen Age, to use the exact name) and Panthéon it will be today.<br />
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Before heading off to Musée Cluny, we decided to catch our first Parisian breakfast at <a href="http://maps.google.co.in/maps/place?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=cafe+le+corona+paris&fb=1&gl=in&hq=cafe+le+corona&hnear=0x47e66e1f06e2b70f:0x40b82c3688c9460,Paris,+France&cid=7735045109536087662" target="_blank">Cafe Le Corona</a>, just across the Louvre. Stomachs full, we decided to walk to Musée Cluny, which wasn't too far away. As a little detour, we walked down to Place Saint-Michel. We'd visit this area so often during our stay but the first time here would always be unforgettable. It was crowded but we spent a few wonderful minutes here, dividing our time people watching and staring in awe at Saint Michael. Even with the scores of tourists, pigeons, teenagers and a fantastic soap bubble hawker, it made a beautiful sight!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lion, the pigeon and St. Michel</td></tr>
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Musée Cluny is old. And it was beautiful! From the wonderfully illustrated books to the rescued stained glass from Sainte-Chapelle to massive rings worn by former Popes to lots of other Christian memorabilia, this was a journey back to a time when religion was art's primary inspiration.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It felt like she'd move any second.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of what you found here had to do with this direction.</td></tr>
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There's lots to see out here. My advice would be to find a section that captivates you and sit down. They seem like simple sculptures or paintings, but sit down and watch them in silence and they begin to grow into something a whole lot more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtW9C9FjjNA_K0XlXveD778fdo4BgAEL1cY1mTocFneGPRXJPZzN275OX6fBn655_9QB9boyX9jCX_G008aA7XkT4W8zdkwmsLu9CclX7QlilmrINIGsP3OdEr1QToxKQ628KWzMDnYo6/s1600/1Day7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtW9C9FjjNA_K0XlXveD778fdo4BgAEL1cY1mTocFneGPRXJPZzN275OX6fBn655_9QB9boyX9jCX_G008aA7XkT4W8zdkwmsLu9CclX7QlilmrINIGsP3OdEr1QToxKQ628KWzMDnYo6/s640/1Day7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things once lost, are now found.</td></tr>
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And sometimes, it also helps to stop looking around you and look up. I did that at many places we visited and caught some of the most intricate ceilings I've ever seen.<br />
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From the imposing largely religious themes at Musée Cluny, we decided to walk down to the Panthéon after a short lunch break (which was also a good excuse to rest feet that weren't accustomed to museums). It's not a very long walk, roughly about 1.5 km in a straight line across the island.<br />
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The Panthéon is imposing. From the first time you set your eyes on it, you know there's something special about it (or as I soon would discover, underneath it). The Panthéon was originally built as a church and was later converted as a mausoleum for great Frenchmen. It apparently swung back and forth from being a church and a mausoleum until they finally settled on letting it stay a meeting house for the intellectuals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutF9g_NVLatXriuDG8KdGzQXWv3KKnX0q98HcMNBTLcfIL9sgD6E66EKussNXGK4-KRepXFdA3K9Jdw5ksn2eaKschPUtMHJN_DotTwraXvpDbbFYKJSj8jp6GiSKHE07sz_8CyHyxpqZ/s1600/1Day10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutF9g_NVLatXriuDG8KdGzQXWv3KKnX0q98HcMNBTLcfIL9sgD6E66EKussNXGK4-KRepXFdA3K9Jdw5ksn2eaKschPUtMHJN_DotTwraXvpDbbFYKJSj8jp6GiSKHE07sz_8CyHyxpqZ/s640/1Day10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's much bigger than it looks in pictures.</td></tr>
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At the entrance is an inscription, AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE. To the great men, the grateful homeland. And they're all down there. Voltaire, Hugo, Dumas, Zola, Braille and the Curies. Of particular interest to me was Foucault's Pendulum, the physicists famous experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the earth. It's something I'd read about as a kid when my fascination for Physics began and it gave me goosebumps to actually be standing there, watching it gently swing by under that spectacular dome. In the picture below, you can see the pendulum at a distance through the crowds.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's very easy to feel very small inside here.</td></tr>
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We spent an about an hour walking around and taking it all in. It seemed like we were re-living a part of history itself and I half expected to bump into Voltaire or Foucault as I turned a corner. The Panthéon can get really intimidating. And this was just our first day in Paris! After walking around and taking more pictures than I should have, I just had to slow down and breathe. And walking back to the the end, where those massive doors stay shut, and just standing in the silence seemed like a perfect way to end this visit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnuzKk4ts8TGX17tWDdmEe7BVuwRXjjZVK57VvLuL3hb_10QxJrd6nF0BmBtnPRtpttytX8RCN40zPtrPuzciJ-FpEVfElk7KWBYoO_1YCD6LvAOlJ2nyLQbgtySLf3m3CKZ4_8ahuanE/s1600/1Day13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnuzKk4ts8TGX17tWDdmEe7BVuwRXjjZVK57VvLuL3hb_10QxJrd6nF0BmBtnPRtpttytX8RCN40zPtrPuzciJ-FpEVfElk7KWBYoO_1YCD6LvAOlJ2nyLQbgtySLf3m3CKZ4_8ahuanE/s640/1Day13.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the smaller version is just as magnificent.</td></tr>
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I know quite a few people who passed on the Panthéon during their visit to Paris. If you have the time to spare, and that's just an hour, I would strongly recommend it. It's a homage from the fatherland to a few of its great men. If you ask me, it's the perfect place to begin making your connection to this one-of-a-kind city.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-76207530440320327732012-01-20T21:01:00.001+05:302012-01-20T21:01:55.207+05:30Paris - The arrivalWe've never been out of home on time ever. But this was different. This was our first visit to Paris! And we were packed and ready to step out even before time. We had a flight to Delhi from Mumbai, from where we had a connecting flight to CDG. Flying internationally from Delhi turned out to be quite a nightmare. Extremely long queues, too few security counters, unhelpful staff...my advice to anyone flying out of the country via Delhi would be to get there even before you actually think you should.<br />
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We had a little over 6,500 kilometres to cover on an Air India flight (not always a great option) and our scheduled arrival at CDG was 2200 hours. We ended up sleeping most of the time, considering there really wasn't any interesting in-flight entertainment. We landed at CDG on time with almost no turbulence, much to <a href="http://craveorcreate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Rave's</a> relief.<br />
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It helped that I'd done a bit of research on CDG. CDG is a pretty large airport but it's as well organized as any other large international airport. We had quite a few things to do at the airport before heading out and we divided tasks. I headed off to get our RER tickets and the Navigo Passes we'd be using during the duration of our two week stay (you can read more about that in one of my previous posts <a href="http://differentdoors.blogspot.com/2011/10/bonjour-paris-part-two-getting-around_14.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Contrary to what I heard, the staff at the RER station were extremely polite and patient. I would discover later during my trip that almost everyone in Paris is polite, patient and friendly as long as you behave in exactly the same way with them. We had to call our landlord on arrival and we hadn't gotten our French SIM cards yet. Unfortunately, there wasn't a store at our terminal where we could get one, so we had to buy a phone card to use at one of the many phone machines scattered all across the airport. Using the card is a bit of a problem if you don't understand French since all of the instructions are in French. Again, we encountered a wonderful French traveller who volunteered to help make the call for us.<br />
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We had an apartment booked at Port-Royal and taking the RER B made perfect sense from the airport. There are quite a few other options as well but considering our apartment was within walking distance from the RER station at Port-Royal, it seemed like the most practical and efficient option.<br />
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Paris was cold! Especially since we were flying in from India, where the temperature was about 32 degrees Celsius before we left. It's a good thing we packed jackets or pullovers into our hand baggage, so we didn't need to open our locked checked in baggage for them.<br />
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Around 30 minutes later, we were at Port-Royal. It was quite late at night and most of the shops were shut, except for the restaurants. But even the empty Port-Royal streets looked so beautiful. After a quick tour of the house by our patient landlord, we zipped up and headed out to our first meal in Paris. We couldn't quite decide if we wanted to eat or just walk through Paris on our first night here. But the weather outside and the prospect of a nice hot meal soon overpowered the urge to continue walking and we sat down to have the first of our many fantastic meals in Paris.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-16708029410128846952012-01-17T16:07:00.002+05:302012-01-20T20:43:18.057+05:30Paris - The 14-day itineraryConsidering 14 days is quite a long time in Paris (although nowhere close to long enough), we decided it's better we have a rough idea of what we want to do during this time. While I do believe it's exciting to not plan everything out and let the city surprise you, I think it's essential to do a bit of homework before you leave. So while we made a rough itinerary for our trip, we were open to the idea of throwing away something that's planned if we discover something else to do on any particular day.<br />
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It's important that you orient yourself to a city before you decide to explore it. And that's just what we did (there's more on that over <a href="http://differentdoors.blogspot.com/2011/10/bonjour-paris-part-two-getting-around_14.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Besides helping you getting around easily, it's also important you do this before creating your itinerary because it helps you club visits to places that are close to each other. Most museums or monuments are also closed on particular days, so it's also important to get as much information before you set down an itinerary. [A brief list is at the bottom of this post, along with links to most places.] We discovered that buying the <a href="http://en.parismuseumpass.com/" target="_blank">Museum Pass</a> for 6 days (the Pass is also available for 2 and 4 days) is a great option because of two primary reasons - it's much more economical and it also helps you beat long queues. Invariably, there's one long line to the ticket counter and another one that you get into to enter. With the Museum Pass, you will only need to stand in line for entry. If you're planning on visiting quite a few museums and monuments, I strongly recommend the Museum Pass, which gives you access to over 60 museums and monuments multiple times. The only hitch with the Pass is that you need to use it for consecutive days following your first use. So to make best use of the Museum Pass, we had to club as many museums together on our itinerary.<br />
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The Museum Pass comes as a handy booklet. On the reverse, you add the date you first use it along with your name.<br />
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Open the booklet to find a listing of places you can use it along with a short description.<br />
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After a little planning and shifting around, here's the schedule we finally settled on:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
4th Dec, SUNDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée du Louvre (This was the first Sunday of the month, so entry was free at <o:p></o:p>Musée du Louvre. Which meant we didn't have to use the Museum Pass on this day.)</div>
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5th Dec, MONDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée de l’Orangerie<o:p></o:p></div>
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Champs Elysees<o:p></o:p></div>
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Arc de Triomphe<o:p></o:p></div>
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6th Dec, TUESDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée d’Orsay<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée Rodin<o:p></o:p></div>
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7th Dec, WEDNESDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Notre Dame<o:p></o:p></div>
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Walk:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Left Bank booksellers<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shakespeare & Co.<o:p></o:p></div>
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St. Severin<o:p></o:p></div>
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Place St. Andre-des-Arts<o:p></o:p></div>
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Place St. Michel<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sainte-Chapelle<o:p></o:p></div>
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8th Dec, THURSDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée Cluny<o:p></o:p></div>
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Panthéon<o:p></o:p></div>
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9th Dec, FRIDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Versailles (Since we were only buying Navigo Passes for Zone 1 & 2, we'd need to buy tickets to get to Versailles.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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10th Dec SATURDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Catacombes de Paris<o:p></o:p></div>
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Montmartre<o:p></o:p></div>
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11th Dec, SUNDAY<o:p></o:p></div>
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Les Puces de St. Ouen (The flea market is also active largely on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, so it had to be fit into the only proper weekend we have.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Canal Saint Martin<o:p></o:p></div>
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12th Dec, MONDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Free day, ride the Batobus, hop on-hop off<o:p></o:p></div>
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Belleville<o:p></o:p></div>
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13th Dec, TUESDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Musée Marmottan<o:p></o:p></div>
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Champ De Mars<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eiffel Tower<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jardins du Trocadero<o:p></o:p></div>
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14th Dec, WEDNESDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jardins du Luxembourg<o:p></o:p></div>
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St. Sulpice<o:p></o:p></div>
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15th Dec, THURSDAY:<o:p></o:p></div>
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La Cemetiere Pere LaChaise<o:p></o:p></div>
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Centre Pompidou</div>
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16th Dec, FRIDAY<o:p></o:p></div>
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A free day to catch up on anything we might've heard of or
missed during the previous days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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17th Dec, SATURDAY</div>
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Flight back home<o:p></o:p><br />
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Over the next few posts, I'm going to try and recap some of the big highlights of the trip. Of course, I will never be able to capture the magic that was Paris but hopefully, while trying to do so, I might just be able to re-live some of those moments.<br />
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<i><u>FOR TRAVELERS:</u></i><br />
1. <a href="http://en.parismuseumpass.com/" target="_blank">Museum Pass</a>: Vital if you plan on visiting major museums and monuments/landmarks.<br />
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2. Holidays (it's best to also check on the site directly for additional information and other National holidays when they might be shut):<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/en/homepage" target="_blank">Musée du Louvre</a>: Free first Sunday of the month, open every day except Tuesdays </li>
<li><a href="http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/" target="_blank">Musée de l’Orangerie</a>: Open every day except Tuesdays </li>
<li><a href="http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html" target="_blank">Musée d’Orsay</a>: Open every day except Mondays (open late until 9.45 pm on Thursdays)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.musee-rodin.fr/" target="_blank">Musée Rodin</a>: Under renovation until April 2012</li>
<li><a href="http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/homes/home_id21040_u1l2.htm" target="_blank">Musée Cluny</a>: Free first Sunday of the month, open every day except Tuesdays</li>
<li><a href="http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm" target="_blank">Catacombes de Paris</a>: Open every day except Mondays </li>
<li><a href="http://www.marmottan.com/index2010_uk.asp" target="_blank">Musée Marmottan</a>: Open every day except Mondays</li>
<li><a href="http://www.centrepompidou.fr/" target="_blank">Centre Pompidou</a>: Open every day except Tuesdays </li>
</ul>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-76347029117580876882011-10-14T14:34:00.008+05:302012-01-17T17:07:23.097+05:30Paris Part Two: Getting around<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[I'm writing this post while we're still making plans for our trip. We will be visiting Paris in December 2011]</span><br />
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Figuring where to stay in Paris can be an exciting (and exhausting!) thing to do. But what next? Paris is a city that offers, as the cliche goes, something for everybody. There's art, music, architecture, food, education, fashion, shopping, people watching...more to do and too little time to do it all. Given that, it's good to get your bearings right before you visit and figure what's a good way to get around. And at the very end, I'll tell you the best way to get around in Paris!<br />
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<b><u>Understanding Paris</u></b><br />
There are two simple things to remember about the geography of Paris.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4SEDNVKDol3CPFoctxbNj5y8bIW8Mg7f4RjyLeDKj90sehQEZnl9DQag51iDFlqOisukMekaqjPR5ZoPKynDdCrtXn_JrHQzw6g4DPqN8NmJjnF1uTaML9yD2t4RPGJq7-2s4UK8BC-U/s1600/Paris_arr_jms-num.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4SEDNVKDol3CPFoctxbNj5y8bIW8Mg7f4RjyLeDKj90sehQEZnl9DQag51iDFlqOisukMekaqjPR5ZoPKynDdCrtXn_JrHQzw6g4DPqN8NmJjnF1uTaML9yD2t4RPGJq7-2s4UK8BC-U/s400/Paris_arr_jms-num.gif" /></a></div>
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Image source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_arr_jms-num.gif">Wikipedia</a></div>
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The first is that the River Seine divides Paris into two rough halves - the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and the Right Bank (Rive Droite). Areas north of the the River are the referred to as the Right Bank and those south of the River comprise the Left Bank. The Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, Luxembourg Gardens, Musee Rodin and the Saint Germain des Pres area are some of the notable Left Bank occupants, as is Paris' famous Sorbonne University. The Right Bank features notables such as Musee du Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Sacre Coeur, Montmarte, Centre Pompidou and the famous Marais neighborhood.<br />
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The second thing to remember is that Paris is divided into Arrondissements numbered 1 to 20. The 1st Arrondissement is located in the historic centre of Paris (on the Right Bank) and the other 19 spiral outwards clockwise on either sides of the River Seine. This division might sound complicated but it actually makes getting around and planning much easier (and you can thank Emperor Napoleon III who did this in 1860). Each Arrondissement has it's own distinct character, sights, history, cafes, restaurants and bistros. The last two digits on the Paris postal code tell you which Arrondissement you are in (75001 to 75020).<br />
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Paris offers great options for travellers to get around. There's the network of trains (Metro and RER) and Bus to pick from. While most of the information is available online in detail, including the fantastic <a href="http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/">RATP</a> site, I'm just going to give you a quick overview of the basics.<br />
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<b><u>The Metro</u></b><br />
The Metro, like metros in most other cities, is a quick, efficient way to get around with stops at every station along each line. The Metro has 300 stations and 16 lines, each with a unique colour. The lines are numbered 1 to 14 but there are two secondary lines 3b and 7b. The lines are named according to the name of the terminal station.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbvNefE_PxVvKGDYHTOvA_xNEsT5cMBIeln-b5mh5IEQB6voBPyhyTK5gvc_oTxZ_fbqYbFgLZ0h7jRabW9pXsvZ9tWvH8ZckLSZtwBFzHL9cW9fq-118FlDLMyg08yF9p40TNSt8H7fD/s1600/metrosymbol.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbvNefE_PxVvKGDYHTOvA_xNEsT5cMBIeln-b5mh5IEQB6voBPyhyTK5gvc_oTxZ_fbqYbFgLZ0h7jRabW9pXsvZ9tWvH8ZckLSZtwBFzHL9cW9fq-118FlDLMyg08yF9p40TNSt8H7fD/s1600/metrosymbol.jpg" /></a>The Metro runs from 5:30 am to 12:40 am from Sunday to Thursday and 5:30 am to 1:40 am on Fridays and Saturdays, with trains at an interval of a few minutes. The <a href="http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/">RATP</a> site has detailed information, including maps, so I won't go into the details here.<br />
It's important to figure tickets before you travel, since public transport in Paris offers a variety of ticketing options - single & multi-day tickets, weekly, monthly & yearly passes and ticket booklets. Tickets are valid for the Zones that you purchase them for and the prices referred to here are largely only for Paris and not specifically for the suburbs or sights out of Paris, like Versailles. For more details on the pricing for different zones, visit the <a href="http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/">RATP</a> site.<br />
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<i>Single ticket:</i> A single ticket (called ticket t+) costs 1.70€ and is valid for one single continuous journey, including change of lines to your destination or on the RER. A better option for travellers is a booklet called the Carnet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAG9gxq64bPd0w3R-57i2pSrSRfl6MbL9E_3Gc8aubPahQvlo4KWq5Q8N_C53DhUpePBPgNMKh2UJMXNlcEiOyVTT6wkqoBWbzLxKa-xFxlak4RdRkwmjm_4CNlfNH_NZtTKNEb_dBhfzB/s1600/1351_12_57---Paris-Metro-Sign_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAG9gxq64bPd0w3R-57i2pSrSRfl6MbL9E_3Gc8aubPahQvlo4KWq5Q8N_C53DhUpePBPgNMKh2UJMXNlcEiOyVTT6wkqoBWbzLxKa-xFxlak4RdRkwmjm_4CNlfNH_NZtTKNEb_dBhfzB/s200/1351_12_57---Paris-Metro-Sign_web.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<i>Carnet:</i> A Carnet is basically a booklet of 10 single tickets sold at 12.50€ (at 1.25€ a ticket, it's a better option than buying single tickets). You don't get an actual booklet. What you get is a set of 10 tickets to use whenever you want to. There's also a discount for children from ages 4-9 (under 4 years old ride free).<br />
<i>Day ticket:</i> Called the Ticket Mobilis, it gives you unlimited rides on the Metro during operational hours for 1 day. It costs 6.30€.<br />
<i>Multi-day tickets:</i> Called the Carte Paris Visite, this is a pass that is valid for 1, 2, 3 or 5 days and for different Zones. In addition, the Visite also comes bundled with discounts at certain attractions. From what I've read and researched, it's not a very good option compared to the Carnet or the...<br />
<i>Pass Navigo Decouverte:</i> For people like me who are staying for more than a week, this is a fantastic option. No flimsy tickets to deal with, no fumbling with the ticket slot, no nothing. The catch is it's valid from Monday to Sunday with no continuous 7-day usage period from midweek. The card is activated on the Monday following the day you purchase the card and expires the following Sunday. So if you're arriving mid-week, a Carnet is still a better option. It's priced at a great 18.85€ per week (but remember to add a non-refundable 5€ fee for the first time you buy the card). Remember to carry a 2.5cm x 2cm photograph for the paper nominative card that accompanies the plastic card. Both cards must be carried together for use.<br />
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<b><u>RER (Reseau Express Regionale - Regional Express Network)</u></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRzDmTnmwX2JD6gAfdV8SoTby0VMKU475PAiA0YeugwFftis4CkAhzj1bstXrekSZROJRTNVG7yKthxl08C881fLfRj3mVxoaZGA0bBri_q2cVzm1xriyYZR_mFnoz-_wTRfIoibTkdno/s1600/1351_12_51---Paris-RER-Sign_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdRzDmTnmwX2JD6gAfdV8SoTby0VMKU475PAiA0YeugwFftis4CkAhzj1bstXrekSZROJRTNVG7yKthxl08C881fLfRj3mVxoaZGA0bBri_q2cVzm1xriyYZR_mFnoz-_wTRfIoibTkdno/s200/1351_12_51---Paris-RER-Sign_web.jpg" width="133" /></a>The RER is pretty much like the Metro, except these are fast trains with fewer stops. There are 5 lines (A, B, C, D & E). The <a href="http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/">RATP</a> site has detailed maps of the RER that you can download. If you're arriving at CDG Airport (detailed out below in the section of getting to and from CDG Airport), the RER connects you to the city. It's also a great option if you're visiting Euro Disney. If you're travelling wihin Paris, the Metro ticket (or pass) can be used on the RER as well.<br />
The following passes are valid for travel on the RER: Ticket Mobilis, Carte Paris Visite and Pass Navigo Decouverte. But do remember the fares for the passes and the tickets are determined by the zones you buy them for.<br />
<b><u>Bus</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIADC93Tl47cXseVRTO6d7Uxn3ubxNVLxL0ngpIreWVgtWrz25nGiRg8EyURch-bWjyfibMz9ofAWP_GToHsG88TUREQYpnpvGh7G_PoR_8R5gWYXBtht7GemuUWMQ9DRkbmTuWliRxhAa/s1600/1351_12_1---Bus-Stop--Paris--France_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIADC93Tl47cXseVRTO6d7Uxn3ubxNVLxL0ngpIreWVgtWrz25nGiRg8EyURch-bWjyfibMz9ofAWP_GToHsG88TUREQYpnpvGh7G_PoR_8R5gWYXBtht7GemuUWMQ9DRkbmTuWliRxhAa/s200/1351_12_1---Bus-Stop--Paris--France_web.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Travelling by bus in Paris is a fantastic option. It's definitely the most scenic way to get around and it also gives you the option to hop off if you've seen some place interesting where you want to make an unscheduled stop.<br />
There are Bus stops every few blocks all over Paris and some of them act as points where different lines intersect. Buses run from 5:30 am to midnight, although it would be wise to check the actual timings since not all of them run until midnight. There's also a night bus network, called the <i>Noctilien,</i> that runs through the night. Buses on this network aren't as frequent as the regular buses and aren't as well-spread either. Arm yourself with a map for the Noctilien to avoided getting stranded late at night. Some buses also run through a lot of scenic routes but I'll list them out in future posts on things to do and see in Paris. [I've just re-written some bits of this section, thanks to helpful advice from <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.in/members/djkbooks">djkbooks</a> at tripadvisor.com. I've learnt a lot from him and other experienced travellers on the <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowForum-g187147-i14-Paris_Ile_de_France.html">Paris Forum.</a> Do not skip checking it out!]<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoFu2HJLvQFi31BIwOe4ob9VXLTYPRSkhiAAu6sC_-E7TNmfUOOcLu87Pt6K-jzmd-gBJQaWXQOOqOxlNdWdNwD0JDLWy61r17m5U6zYqAftqmXf2-Rd7RbucEDQ6Nj3Uqz5p_3e8a5gf/s1600/1351_03_4---Bridge--The-River-Seine--Paris--France_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoFu2HJLvQFi31BIwOe4ob9VXLTYPRSkhiAAu6sC_-E7TNmfUOOcLu87Pt6K-jzmd-gBJQaWXQOOqOxlNdWdNwD0JDLWy61r17m5U6zYqAftqmXf2-Rd7RbucEDQ6Nj3Uqz5p_3e8a5gf/s200/1351_03_4---Bridge--The-River-Seine--Paris--France_web.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<b><u>By River</u></b><br />
Venice has it's Gondolas, Paris has <i><a href="http://www.batobus.com/english/index.htm">Batobus</a>. </i>Well, they're not as romantic and exclusive as the gondolas but the Batobus River Shuttle is still a great way to explore Paris. The Batobus is basically a hop on-hop off service that has 8 stops along the River Seine - Tour Eiffel, St-Germain-des-Pres, Jardin des Plantes, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre-Dame, Hotel de Ville and Champs-Elysees. The boats run at different frequencies around the year but on an average, you can find one every 20 minutes or so. Tickets are available in a variety of options. 1 day pass (14€), 2 day pass (18€), 5 day pass (21€) and an annual pass (60€). Remember, on the 2 day and 5 day pass, it's 2 or 5 consecutive days from the first day you use it. The Batobus is definitely a great way to see Paris and I suggest at least a 1 day pass where you can hop on and hop off at every stop and see the bits of the city around these stops. The link to the site has detailed information on the rates, points of sale and timetables around the year.<br />
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<b><u>From Charles de Gaulle Airport</u></b><br />
<i>Train: </i>You can get from CDG Airport to Paris in a number of different ways - train, bus or taxi/shuttle.<br />
The RER B line runs from CDG Airport to Paris city with stops at Gare du Nord, Chatelet les Halles, St Michel/Notre Dame, Luxembourg, Port Royal, Denfert Rochereau and Cite Universitaire. The ticket price is 9.10€. If you have heavy luggage, it's not advisable. Escalators aren't available at every station and are known to be shut without prior notice. It's also not the easiest thing in the world to cart large suitcases in and out of packed commuter trains.<br />
<i>Bus: </i>There are quite a few bus options available. Air France operates buses from both Terminal 1 & 2. There's also the RoissyBus & RATP that connects CDG Airport to Paris city.<br />
<i>Taxi:</i> Depending on when you arrive, the number of passengers and the luggage you're carrying, taxis are an option you can also consider. If you're a larger group (or willing to take a shared taxi), a shuttle is also an option.<br />
I'm intentionally not going into the details in this post because there's a lot of information available online, especially <a href="http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-cdg-ground-transportation.htm">here.</a><br />
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Things to remember:<br />
<ol>
<li>Familiarize yourself with the map of Paris.</li>
<li>Familiarize yourself with the Metro map. It looks complicated but it isn't.</li>
<li>Watch for pickpockets at stations.</li>
<li>Pick the best ticket option on the Metro and RER. This depends on which day of the week you're coming in, how long you're staying and what your schedule is looking like. For all practical purposes, a Carnet is a great idea. For those coming in early during the week or on a weekend, the Pass Navigo Decouverte is excellent.</li>
<li>Tickets and passes are valid for both buses and the Metro.</li>
<li>Tickets to and from certain venues (CDG Airport, Versailles, etc.) may not be covered by what you've purchased previously. So check your zones and buy separate tickets for these journeys.</li>
<li>If you've got a lot of luggage (more than one large item per traveller), spend a few extra Euros and get a taxi or a shuttle.</li>
<li>Download a Metro app on your phone or begin using the RATP site. It's really helpful and user-friendly.</li>
<li>Ben Lam has written what I consider the Bible on travelling in Paris by train. I've found <a href="http://parisbytrain.com/">his site</a> invaluable. I'm sure you will too when you check it out. Or you'll kick yourself for not checking it out once you get to Paris.</li>
<li>If you're lost, don't worry. You can walk your way out in Paris.</li>
<li>Finally, here's the best way to actually get around Paris: by foot.</li>
</ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197470560816240858.post-58641854169350475952011-10-01T18:34:00.024+05:302012-01-17T17:07:33.301+05:30Paris Part One: Stay<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[I'm writing this post while we're still making plans for our trip. We will be visiting Paris in December 2011]</span><br />
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A couple of years ago we had this sudden idea to go visit Paris. Rave, I think, was born with this urge. She’s quite a Francophile, ever since she began studying French in school. We didn’t do much about planning out a visit when we first thought of it (with the exception of buying a Lonely Planet guidebook), until recently.</div>
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Before we started, we hunted for people who’ve blogged as extensively about the time before their travel as they have about their holiday. It would’ve really helped novices like us get a better understanding of how to go about doing it. But that’s what we hope this series will do – help other travelers with their pre-holiday planning and show people what we’re doing daily during our 14-day Paris holiday. These posts begin now while we’re still planning our trip and booking our stays.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTcfcubz6lUZPtf1LfvYDVwQrRJmvWXTGzr_9rRJ1mN7Qe3TnA6Ffz66F9XIQoQDzEEaYkIx9xDbANEcDYlyXsTx-vMelVbvbrMoLd7eeLpdXzn0qghSZgG6G8fdK6RNlJAaYYso-0Z-t/s1600/7743497-i-love-paris-in-the-fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTcfcubz6lUZPtf1LfvYDVwQrRJmvWXTGzr_9rRJ1mN7Qe3TnA6Ffz66F9XIQoQDzEEaYkIx9xDbANEcDYlyXsTx-vMelVbvbrMoLd7eeLpdXzn0qghSZgG6G8fdK6RNlJAaYYso-0Z-t/s200/7743497-i-love-paris-in-the-fall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Now, we’ve spent over a month planning this two-week holiday (3<sup>rd</sup> Dec – 17<sup>th</sup> Dec 2011) and along the way, picked up two other traveling companions as well. This post is a brief glimpse of how we went about planning the trip the last 4 weeks. Needless to say, there’s still plenty of work to be done.</div>
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One of the first things I did was begin reading short (specifically short and not detailed) descriptions of Paris. This gave me a brief picture of what the city is all about and how much time we need to spend there. Well, Paris is everything (definitely more than the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower, cafes, bistros and escargot). And there’s never going to be enough time to experience it completely. But two weeks is what we have and we began working towards that.</div>
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Early on, we decided to not stay at a hotel. We weren’t backpacking but we weren’t on a very big budget either. [We’re traveling from India, where the current exchange rate is 1 Euro to 68 Indian Rupees. Trust me, that’s not good at all if you’re Indian!] Another big reason to not stay at a hotel was because we really want to experience Paris the way Parisians do. I will never be able to get the ‘r’ in French right or pronounce ‘Bonjour’ exactly the way it should be, but I can at least try and stay in an apartment with Parisians for neighbours, shop at the grocery store they do and hopefully get on a first name basis with the closest baker and barman!<br />
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Here are a few other pros and cons of an apartment as opposed to a hotel or a B&B.<br />
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<i>Pros:<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>It’s much, much larger than a hotel room.</b> Hotel rooms in Paris are notoriously small from what I’ve seen and read. Some don’t come with wardrobes and the cheaper ones barely have room for two people to move around at the same time.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>It’s much, much cheaper than a hotel room. </b>A good hotel room isn’t very cheap (at least not for us traveling from India!). Weekly rates for apartments are also much lesser than daily rates. With a hotel, it’s almost always a fixed price that you multiply by the number of days you stay.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>It’s more than just a room.</b> Sure, you can cough up your family’s fortune on a hotel suite but for travelers like us (who don’t have surnames that end with Trump), it’s out of the question. An apartment is a home. Even the tiny ones come with a living room, dining space, an open kitchen, a bedroom and bathroom. Even a studio measures up better than a similarly priced hotel room (if you do actually find one that’s liveable at that rate).</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>You get a kitchen.</b> For people like us who love cooking (and eating), that’s just perfect. The thought of cooking up our own breakfast or a nice dinner or a midnight snack sounded just too good to exchange for room service.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Everything you need is only a few doors away.</b> There are bakeries, cafes, patisseries, grocery stores, pharmacies, fresh fruit… You could dial room service a easily pay twice as much for a croissant . But think about actually standing at a bakery, picking what you want and waking up in the middle of the night slightly hungry and finding a basket of croissants waiting at the dining table.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Appliances.</b> I’m a big coffee drinker and I like walking up to the kitchen and refilling my cup whenever I want to. If you’re staying longer, nothing beats having your own washing machine and dryer. Or a microwave to warm up a little leftover that’s sitting in your refrigerator.</li>
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<i>Cons:</i></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Cleaning up.</b> You’ve got to do it all yourself, just like you would at home. Some apartments have cleaning up help (which you need to pay for as extra).</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Linen.</b> Your linen isn’t changed every day (or alternate day) like it is at a hotel. Want your linen changed? Wash it, press it and change it yourself.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Dishes.</b> Although every apartment I came across had a dishwasher, you need to do the dishes yourself. You’re not eating every meal at home, so it isn’t really a huge chore.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Essentials.</b> Toilet paper, shower gel, shampoo, dishwashing powder, detergent, soap, etc., you have to get yourself. Although many apartments come with a few bare essentials to get you started right away, you need to get the rest yourself during your stay. No elf that replaces used bottles of shower gel or shampoo while you’re away spending the afternoon with a naked Venus at the Louvre!</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>No room service.</b> 3 am hunger pangs? Sorry but there’s no quick dial on the phone to order a sandwich.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>No bellhops. </b>Some apartments have elevators, some don’t. That’s something to think about while packing every item of clothing you own.</li>
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If you do decide on an apartment, make sure you check on a few things.<br />
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<li>Check which floor your apartment is on and if there’s an elevator. Lugging baggage up a very high floor may not be a good idea. Also consider climbing 5 floors after a night of partying.</li>
<li>Check on linen. Most apartments come with linen and a set of towels. Don’t expect 5 star quality linen. This is just the kind of stuff you have at home so you should be fine with it actually.</li>
<li>Check on the security deposit - how does it get paid and how long before you’re paid back. </li>
<li>Some apartments also offer a cleaning service if you’re staying for long periods. If there isn’t one, check with your owner if one can be arranged. </li>
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In the end, it all comes down to the kind of holiday you want. A hotel works great for some people. For others, an apartment is more originally Parisian. As <a href="http://www.ricksteves.com/">Rick Steves</a> says, we prefer traveling through the ‘back door’. It keeps you closer to the streets, gets you to mingle with the locals on the streets, puts you in touch with the local bakers…essentially, it’s living local in a foreign land.<br />
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Before I began doing any kind of research, I first went through some of these sites. I’m sure there are many like this, but here’s where I got started.</div>
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<b>Brief overview of Paris<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Paris#b">Paris on Wikitravel</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.ricksteves.com/">Rick Steves</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g187147-Paris_Ile_de_France-Vacations.html">Visiting Paris on tripadvisor.com</a><o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="http://www.parisescapes.com/">Paris Escapes</a><br />
<a href="http://www.understandfrance.org/">Understand France</a><br />
<a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/">David Lebovitz</a><br />
<a href="http://www.parisnotes.com/">Paris Notes</a> (a wonderful site that has unfortunately stopped its service but you can still access all its back issues)</div>
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There’s lots of other information elsewhere. Notably, Lonely Planet, which gives you great information but I’ve found it more tuned to budget travelers/backpackers. So make sure you go through a few of these for a couple of days and get a fix on which one’s best for your travel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Apartment Listings<o:p></o:p></b><br />
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Honestly, there are millions of places that can help you out. So what I’m adding here is only a short list of the ones we went through.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.lodgis.com/en/paris/">Lodgis</a>: It’s an agency that throws great options and I’ve interacted with them briefly and they seem good. Just remember while dealing with an agency, there’s an agency fee that you need to pay as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.airbnb.com/">AirBnB</a>: Great place if you need to get in touch with the owners directly. AirBnB has listings for entire apartments as well as B&amp;Bs or rooms with apartments that you can share with guests. There’s a small fee attached with the service.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.all-paris-apartments.com/">All Paris Apartments</a>: Again a great place to find an apartment. From what I’ve seen, a tad less pricey than the others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/">Holiday Rentals</a>: Great prices, loads of options. You can contact the owner directly so there isn’t an agency fee attached.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.feelparis.com/en/">Feel Paris</a>: Nice user-friendly site, average prices and some really good apartments. Again, it’s an agency, so there’s an agency fee to cough up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.parisattitude.com/">Paris Attitude</a>: A fairly good collection, lots of price brackets to swing between.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.vacationinparis.com/">Vacation in Paris</a>: Lots to pick from, fairly good prices.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.homelidays.co.uk/">Homelidays</a>: Great place, great apartments, lots and lots of options. This is actually a listing where owners list their apartments, so you deal with the owner directly. This was the one we finally settled with! We found a great apartment and a wonderful owner we’re dealing with. But more on that later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Things to remember:</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Do a bit of reading before you go hotel or apartment hunting. It’s going to give you an overview of the different sections of Paris so you can decide which area suits you best.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Really, really do consider an apartment over a hotel.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">It’s tasking but go through a million apartments before you decide on the one you want.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Make a shortlist of about 8-10 apartments and then begin contacting the agency or owner to check availability, extra costs, etc.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Once you’ve found one, don’t ever, ever, ever look at another rental site! You will find more interesting ones and it just doesn’t ever stop. Ask us!</li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Important: Don't judge the quality of an apartment by either the quality of the website that it's listed on or the quality of the photographs.</li>
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Coming up in the next post: We know where we’re living, so now what?</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0