Paris, the City of Lights!
French language is so pleasing to the ears.
First, we went to St-Michel, start of our free walking tour. It earned its name from the statue of Saint Michael overwhelming Satan.
The weather is cool but sunny, a stark difference from the chilly, grim weather in Hamburg.
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| River Seine |
Walking on to the Pont des Arts, we see the Institut de France. It is here that they debate on which new words to add to the French language, and whether the iPod is 'male' or 'female'.
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| Institut de France |
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| Pont des Arts, bridge with locks |
And opposite the Institut de France, we have the Louvre! (or the back of it anyway)
This place used to be the residential palace for the many kings of France, but fell out of favour once King Louis XIV built the Palace of Versailles.
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| The iconic pyramid |
Continuing on, we walked along the perimeter of the Tuileries Garden.
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| Joan of Arc |
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| Tuileries Garden |
On the next day, we woke up early, because it is FREE MUSEUM DAY! On the first Sunday of every month, all museums in Paris are free!
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| Sunrise from Lamarck-Caulaincourt |
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| Beneath the Louvre |
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| The inverted pyramid |
We had to queue to get in, but it was relatively short compared to the queue outside. As a tip, use this Metro entrance to the Louvre, which is less known to tourists.
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| The short queue |
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| Inside the Louvre |
Now I am not so much a fan of Renaissance, Romanticism and Baroque so here are some random pictures.
It is said that it is easier to find Mona Lisa than to find a toilet in the Louvre...
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| The famed Mona Lisa |
Yes the Mona Lisa is that small, and I won't even bother to take more pictures of it or take with her. Instead, here we have the Winged Victory of Samothrace!
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| Venus de Milo |
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| The Code of Hammurabi, an eye for an eye.. |
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| Egyptian area |
Then we moved to the Napoleon exhibit, which recreates his palace in some of its former glory.
Moving on, at this point the rest of the Louvre is just plain art.
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| Some rugs and carpets, I have no clue what I am seeing here. |
Leaving the Louvre, having seen most of the art that the Louvre is known for. Another one for the checklist!
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| Arc de Triomphe, just outside the Louvre. |
Can you imagine the number of French tourist attractions or monuments in Paris alone? If you visit Europe, Paris is a must see destination, at least 4 days.
Towards the Musee d'Orsay, the other must-see museum in Paris. This one is for the Impressionists and modern art people.
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| Opposite the Musee d'Orsay |
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| Musee d'Orsay |
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| Still, a short queue compared to the main entrance of the Louvre. |
Taking photos are really frowned upon here so this will be minimal.
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| Panoramic view |
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| This place used to be a train station, later converted into Musee d'Orsay. |
At night we went to walk at the Notre Dame, a church at St Michel. There was a mass going on.
Dinner at St Michel, consists of escargots, confit d'canard, and apple tart..
And some chocolate crepes at Amorino to end the day.
On the 3rd day, we went to take a walk on the famous Champs-Elysees.
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| Ah, Champs-Elysees.. |
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| Laduree, one of the more well-known macaron shops. |
I bought 4 macarons: Christmas flavour, St Dominique chocolate, Lemon & lime, and Rose! I do like the rose flavour a lot.
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| Christmas market along Champs-Elysees |
We walked towards Rue Saint Honore, where all the shopping is at.
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| Carpark because we got lost. |
Dinner was pate of foie gras, duck in orange sauce and creme brulee!
At night we went to find the fabled Moulin-Rouge. Well it looks a bit like Geylang.
And here is Moulin-Rouge, the greatest cabaret show in the world!
After seeing Moulin Rouge, we decided to walk back to our hostel, passing by this chocolate shop. I wish I had money to buy everything inside.
And in the distance, Sacre Coeur, which I still don't know how to pronounce.
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| 222 steps.. |
The night view at the top of Sacre Coeur is one of the best city views I have ever seen in my life, perhaps losing out to Victoria Peak by a narrow margin.
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| This picture does no justice to the panorama. |
The final day of Paris, we went up the Eiffel Tower! The weather was really fantastic, and it was a long time since I saw blue cloudless skies.
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| Walking up the Tower.. |
We got split up at the Eiffel Tower, and Alvin and Weiquan accompanied me to hunt for my Foie gras. We found it, and it was served with spiced bread. One of the best things I have eaten in life, and it was not that expensive.
Making a stop at Galleries LaFayette for Weiquan, we passed by Pierre-Herme, another shop selling macarons. I bought 3 and 1 more later because I couldn't resist.
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| Salted caramel macaron at the top. |
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| Vanilla creme brulee |
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| Chocolate and foie gras |
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| Fig, wild rose and foie gras |
Up till now, Paris is definitely the best city I've seen in Europe so far. Don't miss it if you are travelling to Europe.
