15th Oct (Fri) - Paris
Paris, Paris - the city that had me walking in roundabouts with my 15kg backpack and other barang barang for over an hr just to find my freaking hostel. Firstly, the hostel kinda lied. It was a really long walk from the station, approx. 30 mins.
Secondly, I didn't know that odd and even unit numbers will never appear on the same street. So I spent half hr or more walking up the street seeing unit 35 jumping to unit 37. Until I could take it no more, I took out my phone and dialed the number (I hate making overseas calls which I couldn't claim) to the hostel and was told that I should start searching on the opposite street instead. So there. What an unhappy way to start my "romantic" Paris trip.
Maybe çoz I was staying near Anvers station, I got to see a different side of Paris - not the glamour nor charming bit, but the part where immigrants conglomerate, and whereby the wedding gowns in the nearby shop displays (think of designs back in the 80s) made me cringe. I'm not saying that it was bad. It was a decent neighbourhood where things were just slightly different from the usual projection of Paris. I could even find people BBQ-ing corns or even chestnuts on a used oil barrel, placed in a shopping cart, to earn some money from passerbys. Not to mention cheap ladies boots ranging from 5€ to 30€ in shop fronts that look like our "Closing down sale" stores in SG.
And here were some of the places that I'd visited:
1) Arc de Triomphe
2) Area around The Eiffel Tower
I didn't go up the tower as (1) it was rather foggy when I was there and I didn't want to spend so much time and money just to go up there and see absolutely nothing and (2) I was tired out by the walk. But I did learn some quirky facts about the place. For instance, there was actually such a thing as a marriage to an inanimate object (i.e.: Berlin Wall & Eiffel Tower). One marriage was recently conducted in June/ July 2010 on the tower, between a girl and the tower. And because the tower is considered a female in French, it was basically a les marriage. And the girl (human) was so upset that the officials did not close the tower for her to carry out the ceremony, thus opening her to other tourists' ridicule and photography, she's now sueing them. In addition, she was upset that the officials did not grant her the wish to spend the night with/ on the tower to consumate her marriage with the tower. Erh... I don't know how she's gonna do that but intercourse/ masterbate with steel in the middle of the night doesn't sound good nor sane to me. But then again, there were at least 20 or 30 others who were already married to the tower. Hmmm... I wonder if any of them could sue the tower (and the authorities) for infidelities...
And btw, I saw students protesting near the area as well. And my sis' friend (a local) congratulated me for experiencing the "true" Paris.
And I did catch the sparkling effect on the Tower too on midnight when my sis' friend and his gf brought me around after a lovely and super filling French dinner :) Cool~
3) Notre Dame Cathedral
I didn't manage to head inside for a look çoz I was either busy getting lost in the streets or going somewhere else.
4) Sainte Chapelle
Everyone's been telling me that this was way more beautiful than Notre Dame but I only passed by it and no chance to enter it for a look. Çoz I was busy hunting around Paris for my rings. Sheesh.
5) Centre Georges Pompidou
Absolutely love this place. Go there if you like contemporary art and have a stroll in its boutique and bookshop as well!
6) Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish QuartierIf you have the time, do take a stroll from Centre Georges Pompidou to Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish Quartier. I found these more charming than the Champs-Elysées. You won't be able to find much shopping there but there were definitely some chic boutiques (think SG's Haji lane) and lots of pastry shops around :)
7) The Louvre
Had a fun time when my free walking tour guide started telling us how the Mona Lisa came to be so famous and it led to the numerous shields around her. I did went through the security check just to look at the basement of the pyramids (which wasn't exciting at all - just your usual starbucks, McDonald's & some other boutiques which weren't selling anything interesting), but I did not want to waste the money just to be one of the 15,000 pple visiting her each day. And I've had enough of art pieces çoz I'd been to quite a handful of art museums that any more of it would be a lethal overdose.
8) Champs-Elysées
Don't see what's the big deal with it. SO BORING... unless you like branded stuff. And oh, H&M just opened a boutique there. If you buy anything from that branch, you'll receive a specially embossed H&M paper bag with the words "Champs-Elysées" on it.
9) Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Wooooohhhh!!!!! DINOSAURS!!!! I like.
10) Moulin Rogue & The red light district
Apparently my hostel was just a few streets from the red light district (where you'll see rows and rows of sex shops and clubs).
11) Place de la Concorde
Witnessed the "ring" scam being carried out on a fellow Asian traveller. But as I was travelling alone, I thought I better stay clear, just in case. And my free walking tour guide (a girl) was also a bit hesitant as well. But in the end, a Caucasian girl in our group went up to the victim and the guy and asked the guy to fuck off. The guy was super pissed and he kinda pushed her. That's when another guy in my group pulled her away. Upon seeing that she's part of a bigger group, the "scamer" went away grudgingly. Kudos to the girl. But the victim seemed to have went away without even saying a "thank you"to her. How rude and what a disgrace.
All in all, I'm not in love with Paris but neither do I dislike it. Even though it was only my first time there, I fear that it may become another Rome in years or decades to come - where it becomes truly touristy and little would be left of its romantic charm. So go there soon before this becomes the reality.
And just to end it off, here are some random snapshots taken around Paris:
Secondly, I didn't know that odd and even unit numbers will never appear on the same street. So I spent half hr or more walking up the street seeing unit 35 jumping to unit 37. Until I could take it no more, I took out my phone and dialed the number (I hate making overseas calls which I couldn't claim) to the hostel and was told that I should start searching on the opposite street instead. So there. What an unhappy way to start my "romantic" Paris trip.
Maybe çoz I was staying near Anvers station, I got to see a different side of Paris - not the glamour nor charming bit, but the part where immigrants conglomerate, and whereby the wedding gowns in the nearby shop displays (think of designs back in the 80s) made me cringe. I'm not saying that it was bad. It was a decent neighbourhood where things were just slightly different from the usual projection of Paris. I could even find people BBQ-ing corns or even chestnuts on a used oil barrel, placed in a shopping cart, to earn some money from passerbys. Not to mention cheap ladies boots ranging from 5€ to 30€ in shop fronts that look like our "Closing down sale" stores in SG.
And here were some of the places that I'd visited:
1) Arc de Triomphe
2) Area around The Eiffel Tower
I didn't go up the tower as (1) it was rather foggy when I was there and I didn't want to spend so much time and money just to go up there and see absolutely nothing and (2) I was tired out by the walk. But I did learn some quirky facts about the place. For instance, there was actually such a thing as a marriage to an inanimate object (i.e.: Berlin Wall & Eiffel Tower). One marriage was recently conducted in June/ July 2010 on the tower, between a girl and the tower. And because the tower is considered a female in French, it was basically a les marriage. And the girl (human) was so upset that the officials did not close the tower for her to carry out the ceremony, thus opening her to other tourists' ridicule and photography, she's now sueing them. In addition, she was upset that the officials did not grant her the wish to spend the night with/ on the tower to consumate her marriage with the tower. Erh... I don't know how she's gonna do that but intercourse/ masterbate with steel in the middle of the night doesn't sound good nor sane to me. But then again, there were at least 20 or 30 others who were already married to the tower. Hmmm... I wonder if any of them could sue the tower (and the authorities) for infidelities...
And btw, I saw students protesting near the area as well. And my sis' friend (a local) congratulated me for experiencing the "true" Paris.
And I did catch the sparkling effect on the Tower too on midnight when my sis' friend and his gf brought me around after a lovely and super filling French dinner :) Cool~
3) Notre Dame Cathedral
I didn't manage to head inside for a look çoz I was either busy getting lost in the streets or going somewhere else.
4) Sainte Chapelle
Everyone's been telling me that this was way more beautiful than Notre Dame but I only passed by it and no chance to enter it for a look. Çoz I was busy hunting around Paris for my rings. Sheesh.
5) Centre Georges Pompidou
Absolutely love this place. Go there if you like contemporary art and have a stroll in its boutique and bookshop as well!
6) Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish QuartierIf you have the time, do take a stroll from Centre Georges Pompidou to Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish Quartier. I found these more charming than the Champs-Elysées. You won't be able to find much shopping there but there were definitely some chic boutiques (think SG's Haji lane) and lots of pastry shops around :)
7) The Louvre
Had a fun time when my free walking tour guide started telling us how the Mona Lisa came to be so famous and it led to the numerous shields around her. I did went through the security check just to look at the basement of the pyramids (which wasn't exciting at all - just your usual starbucks, McDonald's & some other boutiques which weren't selling anything interesting), but I did not want to waste the money just to be one of the 15,000 pple visiting her each day. And I've had enough of art pieces çoz I'd been to quite a handful of art museums that any more of it would be a lethal overdose.
8) Champs-Elysées
Don't see what's the big deal with it. SO BORING... unless you like branded stuff. And oh, H&M just opened a boutique there. If you buy anything from that branch, you'll receive a specially embossed H&M paper bag with the words "Champs-Elysées" on it.
9) Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
Wooooohhhh!!!!! DINOSAURS!!!! I like.
10) Moulin Rogue & The red light district
Apparently my hostel was just a few streets from the red light district (where you'll see rows and rows of sex shops and clubs).
11) Place de la Concorde
Witnessed the "ring" scam being carried out on a fellow Asian traveller. But as I was travelling alone, I thought I better stay clear, just in case. And my free walking tour guide (a girl) was also a bit hesitant as well. But in the end, a Caucasian girl in our group went up to the victim and the guy and asked the guy to fuck off. The guy was super pissed and he kinda pushed her. That's when another guy in my group pulled her away. Upon seeing that she's part of a bigger group, the "scamer" went away grudgingly. Kudos to the girl. But the victim seemed to have went away without even saying a "thank you"to her. How rude and what a disgrace.
All in all, I'm not in love with Paris but neither do I dislike it. Even though it was only my first time there, I fear that it may become another Rome in years or decades to come - where it becomes truly touristy and little would be left of its romantic charm. So go there soon before this becomes the reality.
And just to end it off, here are some random snapshots taken around Paris:
Labels: Paris - 2010
posted by ikan bilis at 3:41 AM
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