Paris Day 3 - Blogabond

Paris Day 3: We didn’t get out till mid-day for 2 reasons. 1: It was freezing outside. 2: we stayed up till late last night watching a Koreanovela. Haha! Once you start one of these things, it catches you and impossible to disengage until all 8 DVDs have gone in and out of the player. Still, we knew this was the day – for Eiffel Tower. We were in Paris and it may take a while before we could come back so we had to battle the cold. It was snowing in Turin but the cold in Paris is quite different. It bites your toes even when they’re covered in 3 layers of socks.

Kheli's composition

Eiffel: on a winter's day

Bumps of Eiffel

We emerged from out of the Trocadero station. From the Trocadero, we caught a glimpse of the ever graceful century-old tower. We tried to take as many photos as we could and then finally succumbed to the cold. And anyway, we’d seen Eiffel at day time the other day.

Turo-turo: Parisienne Version

We’re looking forward to tonight when it comes alive. For now: lunch. So we walked along a major street behind the Trocadero to try and find a cheaper option. We thought, either McDo, or Chinese. We saw a Pizza Hut sign, only to be disappointed when we found out, it was a delivery joint. We needed a warm sit-down place. We walked a little further and voila! We found ourselves in front of this Chinese/Viet restaurant. ‘Turo-turo’ style – in Paris! Haha! You literally point to the viand you like. Our bill still totaled 30E but the food was so “UMAMI” and warm! And the place was clean, and the waiter even came running a block to give us our bottle of hand sanitizer which we’d forgotten. She just made our day!

The Trocadero from Tour Eiffel

Hotel Des Invalides from Tour Eiffel

All refueled, we cued under the Eiffel for our tickets to the 3rd level. Glad to know, it wasn’t just as who’s jerking in the cold. Everyone else thought it was crazy we were all willing to suffer this much for Tour Eiffel. There were tiny little bits of snow falling on us every

Eiffel

Paris to Auckland!

now and then. But the wind, ooh, it was mean! The tickets to the top cost us another 30E+. But the view from there, worth every penny! I know a lot of people say Paris is overrated. That’s okay by me. Really, there’s two ways of looking at it: either everything is overrated or nothing is, so one must find a comfortable spot in between... For me, I think, It’s amazing to see how the city spreads itself out like the tentacles of a giant octopus, to think that it was laid out many centuries ago and still holds itself together as one of the world’s greatest cultural and commercial capitals! And my observation was that, for being the world’s most visited city, Paris is impressively CLEAN! I guess this should answer my dear friend Rose's question...

River Seine from Eiffel

Paris to Manille!

Palmiers @ Fauchon

After the climb, the smell of crepes from the stall across the road gave me the cravings for some sweets. Kanootz suggested that we should go to Fauchon instead.From Trocadero to Madeleine, it was quite a distance – but a worthy one. So, if you happen to be in Paris, do drop by Pattisserie / Traiteur Fauchon “Paris in your lips” – if you intend to splurge on some gastronomic delights even once. We’re glad we did! They have anything from the humble Madeline, to crispy palmiers, to the very posh truffle-salmon pâté. Only thing is, unless you’re a girly-girl like me, you’ll just have to bear with the PINKness of the place! Kanootz & Kheli managed fine. Following are some photos of our afternoon snack in Fauchon… Enjoy!

Our snack @ Fauchon

Cakes @ Fauchon

30E-60E each!

In the evening, after watching Eiffel Tower slowly come alive – in the cold, we bought tickets to ride a Parisienne Bateau along the River Seine. We were shivering in the cold, but it was magical! Some shots in / from the boat:

love of my life, on the bateau

Kheli under a Paris bridge

Notre Dame: evening look

Notre Dame from an evening boat

love the lights!

Parisienne Bateau illuminating a bridge

Le Grande Roue, Concorde

Eiffel Classic portrait

Eiffel: from inside the boat

Eiffel: from beneath

We thought it was going to be a half-hour ride like the Thames (UK) one, but this one lasted 1.5 hours. An added bonus! There were so many beautifully illuminated buildings to look at on both sides of the river, so much to see! There were some merry souls in the boat which gave the atmosphere a lively feel. They even got everyone else chorusing with them to Joe Dassin’s ‘Les Champs-Elysses’ – including us, even though we'd never heard of this apparently classic before. "Aux Champs-Élysées... aux Champs-Élysées...au soleil, sous la pluie...à midi ou à minuit...il y a tout ce que vous voulez...aux Champs-Élysées." What a splendid day! … More portraits of Tour Eiffel:

C'est Amour!

Eiffel: from beside

Eiffel's reflection on a telephone booth

Watch out for Part 4: Versailles… up next.

written by

garcia on December 21, 2007 from Paris, France

from the travel blog: Got 2 see what's out there!

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