about mundane things!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Paris

Paris, the city i always dreamt of visiting some day and last month my dream came true when i spent a weekend in Paris. I have fallen in love with the city, the city has so much of beauty and so much of history associated with it. Every building has a story to tell, every street has some history to it. Amazing !!

Here i have shared some of those beautiful memories of paris..................



Thats the metro station, using the metro i travelled all around the city without any trouble!One of the world's best, even if it is among its oldest. In Paris, nothing is more than 500 yards from a Metro stop!!

The first place i visited in Paris was the Louvre Museum. Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating fromthe birth of the great antique civilisations.

The museum presents the main part of its treasures to visitors, in the new Richelieu wing, islamic art collections, oriental antiques, French sculptures, objets d'art,French paintings & paintings from the Northern school (including Rubens).Let's not forget, the ever so famous masterpieces:the Venus of Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa of Leonard da Vinci, and so many others.



Here are some more snaps of the museum






Most visitors to the Louvre stand to marvel or be horrified by the now 20 year old pyramid. It caused a huge row when it was begun but has taken its fitting place in Paris's catalogue of the monumental.



The ultimate image of Paris has to be La Tour Eiffel.Built in 1889 for the World Fair, the tower was saved from demolition in 1909 by the need for a radio antenna. The antennae now are television. It can be seen from almost everywhere in Paris but it does deserve a closer look. The classic view is from the Trocadéro with its great fountains below.



Cross the bridge to foot of this amazing 320 metre high structure, and, if you are prepared to queue, take the lift to the top (always scout to see if there is a ticket window with no queue). The view is like seeing Paris from a light aircraft.




Watch the beautiful illuminated bridges and monuments of Paris slide by as you cruise along the River Seine.The Eiffel tower looks simply spectacular lit up at night time... the image of the tower lit up in the night was breathtaking.



Arc de Triomphe, the Arc that Napoléon intended as a celebration of his victories was not finished when the Battle of Waterloo brought his downfall. It now stands guard over the remains of an unknown solider from World War I, with the eternal flame burning under it. Radiating out from its honking, jammed centre are major roads in all directions.



The Champs Elysées was designed as part of a triumphal way out from the Tuileries and planted with elms a century before Napoléon planned his arch. To one side lies the Seine, to the other grand houses of the 18th century many of which are now airline offices. It still has a splendour of its own and hints at the wealth of the Triangle d'Or that stretches away from it towards Faubourg Ste Honoré.

Talk about Paris and not about fashion..........well that wont be fair, so here the last snap which is display window of a huge showroom .



A great City, somewhere i will love to go again and again!!

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3 Comments:

Blogger chandru said...

I guess you had a nice time. the only photo missing is that boat ride.

10:13 AM

 
Blogger veryv said...

Your note touched all my soft spots for Paris. I hope that I get to visit Paris again and again. A most wonderful experience.

http://veryv.blogspot.com/

Thanks Sumana, for reviving some memories

10:14 AM

 
Blogger Sumana said...

Chandru: Well the boat ride photo is missing, becaoz i didnt take any. I was so busy taking snaps of the eiffel tower and other places from the boat...that i forgot to take snap of the boat!

Next time i will surely remember

1:27 PM

 

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