We arrived in Paris after a 2 hours flight from Barajas. It was kind of weird as i remember vividly how normal i felt about it all. I know i should have been enveloped with excitement, anticipation and probably immeasurably multitude of joy. I mean after all France is the most visited country in the whole world for like 5 years running!
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings#cite_note-0)
Note:* Malaysia is right there at no.9! Top TEN!!! WHoopppsss!!!*It all took a little nasty turn when we decided to ask from the information desk about the location of the hotel we are heading to. We will be staying in the Holiday Inn Notre Dame, a modern little hotel located in the bustling Latin Quarter.
We were told by a woman at the Information Desk that there is a FREE shuttle service, a compliment from the hotel, that will bring us right up to the door step. Hubby was deeply puzzled. Considering the distance of the airport to the city, it would have been a rather generous act from the hotelier. On top of that, shall they provide such excellent service, they would have mentioned the same in the bookings.
We lugged our luggages to the bus terminal, found the bus we were looking for and hubby was right. The bus catered specifically to those who stay in Holiday Inn, in the suburb of Paris. We then lugged our luggages back to the metro station to get our train tickets.
Boy...train tickets are indeed very expensive in Paris. A single trip from the airport cost approximately €14. The whole public transportation thing was kinda shaby due to the malfunctioning signboards in the station and the lack of people to get information from. The train itself was old and dirty, and the train station smelt of pee.
First impression......FAILED.
It took approximately 45 minutes to reach the city with the subway. We clamberred out of the train station, luggages in hand into the heart of St Michel. The streets were buzzing with life, cars zooming past rows after rows of old buildings, people chatting animatedly while waiting for the light to turn green, a sturdy group of black people gathered at the foot of St. Michel fountain, terazza strewned along the vast walkways as Parisians and tourists alike sipped their coffee in a cool summer evening.
I think i could start to like this after all!
The Holiday Inn Notre Dame is an excellent choice mostly due to its location. It is a stone throw away from the St. Michel metro which connects to the major metro lines, only two blocks away from the Cathedral, within walking distance to the Lourve and is nestled among a great varieties of restaurants and the bustling city of Paris.
First stop after check in.....lunch. We were so hungry (note: Air France gave us a pack of salty cookies for the flight. I wanna fly KLM next time cause they always have yummy cheese bun and the heavenly Dutch cookie whatever its name is). that we stopped in the first Crepe shop that caught our eyes. Crepes in France to kickstart our adventure, how authetic!
My choice, a salty crepe of egg and cheese!
It was close to 4pm when we finally left the creperie so we started our day exploring places close by. I would say the best way to explore and to take in the beauty that the city has to offer is by walking. That was exactly what we did. For the 6 days in Paris, we walked, we walked and we walked more! =) It helps that the city is very pedestrians friendly. Shall one get tired from the seemingly endless walk, another fun way (i supposed) to get around is through the bike sharing system. Bicycles are distributed at a vast majorities of parking stations, plonk in an Euro for a day rental, and one will be ready to go.
Our first day was spent visiting the little islands of île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité. We strolled pass the Seine, pausing to take in the view, watched as people passed us by before continuing our walk to the Notre Dame. It was a marvelous sight.
The Notre Dame (French for Our Lady) is located in the Île de la Citè is a gothic catholic cathedral erected in the year of 1163 as dedication to the Virgin Mary! Its a kind of awe to be standing there, right at the foot of the cathedral, marvelling at what people could do back in the ancient 1100s. This is an art piece of of detailed craftmanship that i can only imagine as being painstakingly etched into each and every stone that make the building.
We joined the snaking queue for a fast tour inside the cathedral. We were enveloped with still silence once in the building. The interior is very high vaulted with numerous medieval stained glass windows each having a depiction of its own as well as some collection of sculptures. The crowds in the cathedral thicken with time as we jostled past. It is interesting to note that, the Notre Dame still plays a crucial role as a focal point of christianity in France.
stained glass and sculpture
inside of the cathedral
gargoyles adorning the sides of the cathedral
We skipped the queue to the tower as it was crazily long and unmoving and ended up in the little lanes of Île-Saint Louis! It was an extreme delight as this is part of the oldest place in Paris and the little lanes are sandwiched within rows of quaint shops from florist to creperie to modern gelato place. Almost on every street corner, we bumped into people lapping happily to their ice cream cone in hand. I guess it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that we are in the zone of some good ice cream.
tubs of cookies
mountains of cookies
florist
It was then that we saw a line, which seems to be stemming out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, the queue started from a small ice cream shop! We hit the jackpot!
the many flavors of ice cream
my choice: the very rich forest berries sorbet that melts in the mouth
The spend the rest of the day walking around the ancient city by the Seine, taking in the view and the atmosphere, and trying to tune everything down after a very early morning to catch our flight from Madrid.
Day one ended with a good cosy japanese meal for two in a tiny japenese eatery we charged upon. I love the fact of how asian food are so abundant and much more common here than in Madrid and that one do not need to pay an arm and a leg for.
Day 1 ended with us retiring early to bed in preparation for our Disneyland adventure coming up next!
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