Western Europe - Day 10

Paris (FRANCE) We left the hotel at 9 am to pick up Ms Monica of Lebanon who was the local guide for the city tour. Apart from the light drizzle, it was a lovely day.

Yup. This one is hard to miss.

This had to be the scene which we must have seen ... like a gazillion times.

The tunnel where Princess Diana met her death.

Champ Elysees - Avenue of Paradise Long queue outside the LV boutique

During the French Revolution, the square was the site for the guillotine. It turned into a bloodstained stage as the revolution descended into anarchy. The revolutionary government executed more than 1200 people here, surrounded by cheering crowds. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette was guillotined here. Place de la Concorde is situated at the end of the Champs-Elysées. Today it is famous for the Luxor Obelisk (a 3,300 year old Egyptian obelisk erected on the square in October 1836),

Largest square in Paris.

Fontaines de la Concorde

King Louis Philippe installed above obelisk, a gift from Egypt.

Palais du Lourve (former royal palace) Now a museum displaying Mona Lisa as well as Venus de Milo

After alighting the coach near the above location, we noticed a dodgy couple and was immediately alert. An elderly woman in her late fifties, looking utterly duplicitous hung around us in a dubious manner. Her companion was a shifty-eyed lad in his late teen. After issuing the necessary shots, we scampered into the safety of our coach while the unhappy predators watched in dismay.

Erected by Napoleon in 1806 as a memorial to his victorious battles.

War memorial

Standing at a height of 196 meters, the Montparnasse provided a panoramic view of Paris.

As seen from the Montparnasse.

LUNCH was at the Hard Rock cafe where we had excellent racks of ribs grilled to perfection.

After lunch, the coach dropped us next to the stainless steel T-Rex for the river cruise on The Seine.

Institut de France

The Palais Bourbon, meeting place of the French National Assembly.

as seen from The Seine

Musee D'Orsay

Formerly a railway station, currently a museum

The Notre-Dame under repairs due to the April fire earlier this year

Notre dame

Ile De La Cite Cradle of the city of Paris where the first inhabitants settled.

Notre Dame (celebrated by Victor Hugo in his famous novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

Ms Monica explained that the  Île de la Cité (picture above) is a natural island within the city of Paris.  It is the epicenter of Paris and the location where the first inhabitants first settled in the medieval city. This is also where the famous cathedral of Notre-Dame is situated.  The streets of Paris were built around this epicenter and numbered outwards. The bigger the number assigned to the street, the further it is from the Notre Dame.

Conciergerie

Former prison during the French Revolution, currently used mostly for law courts. It was part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cite.

In "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, Charles Darnay was transferred to the Conciergerie to await trial. The Conciergerie was a Gothic palace that was converted into a palace of justice in the late 1500s, at which time some sections became prison cells. Under the revolutionary government, its importance as a prison grew, and it housed the revolutionary tribunal.

Palais De Justice

The Musée national de la Légion d'honneur

Hôtel de Ville

The Zouave statue is used as an informal flood marker in Paris: the footpaths along the embankments beside the Seine were usually closed when the level of the river reached the feet of The Zouave, and the river was unnavigable by the time it reached his thighs. At the time of the 1910 Great Flood of Paris, the floodwater reached his shoulders.

Zouave statue at Pont de l'Alma

The river cruise was interesting as most tourist attraction could be seen along the river. It was a tad windy and chilly where we were at the top deck but the view was great. Next, we were carted to the Galaries Lafayette for more shopping. More bags of goodies were gathered. More in our group purred at the fulfillment of their voracious appetite. Mine was settled at the restaurant where dinner was served.

Escargot, Grilled chicken/beef, Crème brûlée, washed down with wine.

For an extra EUR 20 per head, we were taken to see the Church of The Sacred Lady and the Blinking Lights of the Eiffel Tower.

The coach dropped us here for a walking tour up a slight incline to the church.

We walked past a row of small souvenir shops towards a funicular service which took us up the slope to the Church of the Sacred Lady. Dodgy characters at the top offered black market tickets for the return ride.  At the top of the funicular service, we found ourselves in the middle of two paths. The one on the right led us towards the church while the path on the left took us to The Place du Tertre.

The Church of the Sacred Lady was a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was so packed with tourists that pushing our way into the interior was an impossibility. We strayed off instead to the Place du Tertre.

The Place du Tertre is a square in Paris with a rich history. It was opened to the public in 1635 as Montmartre Village central square. From the end of the 18th century until World War One, this was the hang-out area for painters, songwriters and poets.

With its many artists setting up their easels each day for the tourists, the Place du Tertre is a reminder of a time when Montmartre was the mecca of modern art. 

Artists occupy every square inch of the square selling their canvases and offering to sketch portraits of passersby.

At the beginning of the 20th century, many painters including Pablo Picasso lived in this area.

We left the Church of the Sacred Heart and was dropped off at another square where a large crowd had gathered to see the blinking lights shimmering from the Eiffel Tower. It was a spectacular view, and a fitting end to our Western Europe Trip. On the morrow, we leave Paris for the long flight home with a short transit at Dubai. Going home is the best part of the journey.

"So which country did you like best?" An old friend wanted to know.

"Switzerland",  I answered without hesitation. "I liked how over-the-hills-and-far-away it was" not that that meant anything but she needn't have to know.  In retrospect, I think it was the rolling hills, picturesque cottages and lakeside view which inspired my reply. Cows had nothing to do with it, but then again, cows seldom do.

As for the country I liked least, why that would have to be France.  The Louvre and Eiffel Tower had its charm certainly, but I kept having to watch out for pick pockets and petty crime so half the fun was gone by the time we reached Paris.

At the end of the day, after all's been said and done, I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Home is Best!"