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Paris City Tour:
The tour guide standing at the front of the bus was giving his routine tour talk in English, Spanish and German, I think. But since I didn't hear any 'Achtung', I wouldn't swear on it. Being to France for the first time didn't help much in noting down the names of the places we visited that day. My ears had not been acclimatised to the French language as yet.
Book Stalls After passing some rows of shop houses, we passed alongside the River Seine. The bus drove slowly giving us time to take pictures. This is the "Palais de Justice", the palace where Marie Antoinette spent her last days. Take note of the boxes made out of wood/metal? along the stone wall on this side of the river. We were told that these were book stalls and on weekdays, books and such would be sold from these box-turn-stalls.
Palais de Justice on the otherside of the river.
Rivers and Canals
Everywhere I look while on the bus ride, I would see the river. Or maybe they were actually canals. There were bridges criss-crossing the waterways, and there were boats, big and small, on the water. Some of the buildings were built alongside the canals. What really impressed me was that some of the buildings were built around the 12th and 13th century.
Notre Dame de Paris A long time ago, I read a novel called "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by a 19th century author, Victor Hugo. I was cracking my head to remember whether it's the Notre Dame in Paris or the one in Holland. I vaguely remember talking to Johan on one of the car trips and he did mention a Notre Dame in Holland. Anyway, very remotely hidden in my mind, I guess it has something to do with a handicap Frenchman, Quasimodo, who fell in love with a young gypsy girl, Esmeralda. Or have I been carried away by the Disney animation movie of the same name.
But on this particular day, there was some sort of high level visit, or something. Several huge, luxury cars stopped bearing important looking men at the entrance. They were welcomed by soldiers (?) standing in formation. The front of the building was covered with plastic sheet suggesting some restoration work were being carried out.
Soldiers in formation.
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The Eiffel Tower and her admirers.
Romantic:
The Eiffel Tower At last we were taken to the viewing area to watch the famous Eiffel Tower from afar. There were already many people there when we arrived. People with their eyes fixed to the tower as if reliving the many movies they saw with the Eiffel as a backdrop. I was equally enchanted by it and I had to pinch myself several time to check whether I was really there or I dreamt the whole thing. It is not so much the tower itself, but the romantic story behind the building of the tower. It also almost got torned down in the early part of the century, but saved by the need to use it as an antenna for telegraphy. Or else I would not be there admiring its beauty, uniqueness and history. |
The Mimic I bought a couple of handbags for my sisters at the viewing area. Although earlier the weather had been clear, some drizzle started to fall but not heavy enough to wet. However, the wind was getting stronger and the thick winter coat I was wearing seemed not thick enough. So I moved up front to where the bus was suppose to wait for us. Hey, suddenly I found this statue-like thing, totally in white, standing motionless. There were many onlookers curiously circling the mimic hoping for him to open his eyes or something. After taking a picture of him, I dropped some money into a round tin in front of him. I stood in front of him for several minutes, but I didn't see him move at all. Then I saw the bus, and off I went to seek refuge from the cold wind.
Fellow Tourist The lady on the seat next to mine smiled at me. I asked her where she came from. She told me she was from Brazil and that she came alone on a business trip. I asked if she understood French, she said no. But she can speak Spanish.
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to be continued |
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