Aboard Eurostar - high-speed train service b/n London & Paris traveling at speeds upto 300kmph
Old meets new in the architecture of the Napolean Courtyard. Glass pyramid - creation of I M Pei.
Musée du Louvre, one of the most famous art galleries in the world, has around 35000 artifacts from around 7000 BC to 19th century exhibited over an area of 60,000 square metres. Well that is pretty huge to cover even in a day. Advise for visitors would be to be well planned in advance which we weren't
The building, originally a citadel then became a royal residence and took its present form in late 18th century
"Wedding feast at Cana" - picture depicting the first miracle of Jesus - turning water into wine.
Nike of Samothrace - marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). The work is notable for its naturalistic pose and for the rendering of the figure's draped garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea breeze.
Galerie d'Apollon is a homage to the Louis XIV, popularly known as Sun King.
These beautiful ceilings are in honor to Louis XIV who holds the distinction of serving the longest for any European Monarch. France grew as a big power under his reign.
warrior in thought...
Well those are my fellow companions for the tour... on extreme left is Prashanth and in the middle is Kaulo
pic in pic in pic
rich ceilings of the louvre
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Lamassu - a human headed winged bull
Champs-Élysées and in the background is Arc de Triomphe
hmm... the traffic...
well deserved meal at Flem's.... not sure what that is called, but was delicious none the less.
Day 2, beginning with a traditional french breakfast of baguette with some jam & butter, croissants and a small cup of strong & bitter black coffee. well all i can say is "that doesn't impress me much" expect for the pleasure of having breakfast sitting alongside the curb on a bright sunny day.
The all impressive western facade packed with sculpture, originally painted and intended as a Bible for the illiterate.
Picture taken while standing in queue to climb the 226ft tall South tower.
South facade of Notre Dame
Stunning stained glass. It is tough to imagine that to let in natural light, stained glass was replaced by clear glass in the 18th century.
wooden model of the original
View from the top after climbing some 285 steps. well this is only 2/3rds need to climb a few more.
view of la seine
long queues is something one needs to be accustomed to in Paris. Since it was a Easter weekend it was even more worse.
In the background atop Montmartre is Basilica of Sacre-Coeur. It is dedicated in honor of 58,000 who lost their lives during the French Revolution.
Panoramic view of Eiffel tower and the surroundings on the west
well mate you need to try harder... it is the 13-ton Emmanuel bell.
View of the Pantheon on the south.
well this one was huge,,, can't wait to see the one at Rome...
a recommended way to see all the attractions is by way of cruise on the river seine.
we deserve a break and we choose the Jardin du Luxembourg. This is the place of french senate.
this is spring time ...... fabulous flower displays & a bright sunny day
Octagonal pond and the Italianate palace
boating pond for the kids
quite a good shot...
view of the Pantheon from Jardin du Luxembourg
and now is the time for what Paris is identified with.... the Eiffel tower
La Tour Eiffel... 324m high held record as the tallest man made structure for over 40 years until New York's Chrysler building usurped the title....
the tower weighing more than 10,000 tonnes was built for th 1889 universal exhibition and was to be demolished in 20 years. Eventually what came to its rescue was not its popularity but the broadcasting antenna at the top.
that was quite a spectacle.... kept staring at it for quite some time
the sparking spectacle where 20,000 bulbs add a magical shimmer... well a still shot doesn't do any justice...
it's a long way up...
view from level two, where we get to see the city in more detail.
hmm that structure looking very similar to our own Gateway of India is "Arc de Triumphe"
Sacre Coeur
Palais de chaillot
view from our hotel room
day 3.... Musee d'Orsay in the background
ornate station clock.. yes the museum is housed in the former railway station, Gare d'Orsay. Advent of longer electric trains forced station closure.
portrait of Dr Paul Gachet by Vincent van Gogh. Dr Gachet, specialist in psychiatry, did his best to help Vincent overcome his anguish but was unable to prevent the artist from committing suicide.
self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh
The siesta by Vincent van Gogh.
Women at the Well - Paul Signac
The Circus - Georges Seurat
"Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette" by Auguste Renoir. One of the masterpieces of early Impressionism
closer shot of the ornate clock
Versailles... well we were no stranger to long queues in Paris. well all this during the global turmoil, cudn't imagine wht it wud be during boom time.
Versailles is France's ultimate royal palace. An opulent monument to the super-ego of the Sun King, Louis XIV. This chateau, away from Paris, safe guarded the royal family from the revolutionary mobs of Paris.
ceilings painted with scenes of thunderous Gods
statue of Louis XIV
The treaty of Versailles, ending WWI, was ratified in the lavish Hall of Mirrors.
the Queen's bedroom
and now the King's
richly clad with marble
this one was more like a small town than a Palace..
Moulin rouge meaning Red Windmill in french is a cabret. Its most recent claim to fame was a movie of the same name starring the Aussie actress Nicole Kidman
Day 4 begins at Les Halles, an underground station & shopping mall.
Musee national d'art moderne. yeah that is right... this is the modern art museum featuring works from 20th century & beyond. Well the exterior says it all...
view from top of the walkways
"Guillaume Tell" by Salvador Dali. Part of Surrealism movement, a rejection of logic and realism for a surreal dream world.
we have come a long way from works of impressionism at Orsay and now it is Cubism at Pompidou. People and objects are fragmented and portrayed using geometric shapes in this artform, a creation of Picasso and others.
now after that head spinning stuff at centre georges pompidou, cooling our heals at yet another restaurant along the kerbside....
Arc de Triumphe was conceived by Napolean as a symbol of his military might.
spiral staircase of over 280 steps leading to the top of Arc de Triumphe. This was pretty common for all Paris attractions (Eiffel Tower et Notre Dame)... pay money... take trouble of getting at the top and then take snaps of other attractions.... kudos to foresight of Parisians, obesity was identified as a key risk early on.
Grande Arche at La Defense, the business district of Paris
Twelve streets radiate from the Arc de Triumphe... pretty wide avenues after seeing the narrow streets in City of London...
Grand Axis - the Arc de Triomphe runs in an imaginary straight line across the city from the Louvre's Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel to the Grand Arche at La Defense. To emphasize progression, Grande Arche is twice the size of Arc de Triomphe, which in turn is twice as tall as the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.
