I took a nap on the train from Antwerpen to Paris and enjoyed the first-class served breakfast. (How could I afford Thalys first class? Two words: summer sale!)
The first thing I did after arriving was to buy a carnet of 10 Métro tickets. (By the way, Paris Métro was *the* best metro system in the world. Tokyo might be a contender but don't even mention New York, please.) It didn't took me much time to find my hostel, Le Village, in the busy Montmartre neighborhood. The best thing about this hostel was that it had a public patio with a beautiful view of the Sacré-Cœur. Sitting on the top of the hill with a panoramic view, the Sacré-Cœur was a popular place to be day and night.
After I came down from the Sacré-Cœur, a smooth Métro ride took me right in front of the great Arc de Triomphe.
There were four statues on the Arc. This one is called "The Triumph of 1810".
And the most famous one of them, "Departure of the Volunteers of '92", or commonly called "La Marseillaise".
Names of French generals were inscribed inside.
Some more details of the grand Arc.
And finally, a frontal view of the Arc from the center of Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
It was absolutely delightful to walk down the beautiful Champs-Élysées. I tried several times to learn to speak this word without success until I found this audio file on Wikipedia. (Look here if you have trouble playing it.) Cartier had a flagship shop here.
A few other jewelers and watchmakers were also nearby, including Montblanc, whose watch Mr. Cage happily worn.
Even McDonald's couldn't afford missing the Champs-Élysées. For the record, I did go the French McDonald's later in another place and had a "Royale Deluxe". It was the best McDonald's I had outside China.
Automakers were there too, including Renault, who drew the crowd with their F1 race car.
Interestingly, Disney store was featuring "Ratatouille", a Hollywood animation film about "La Ville-lumière", or "The City of Light".
The buildings along the Champs-Élysées were absolutely eye-catching. For example, the one with the Swatch store.
How about putting some cute babies on your wall?
The squarely trimmed trees on the Champs-Élysées were unforgettable.
The Champs-Élysées was a huge street with more than four lanes each way. But if you walked a little bit away from the main road, the side streets were quiet.
They had interesting cross-shaped traffic signs.
I walked without noticing how far I had gone, attracted by one interesting building after another.
By the time I checked my map again, I was in front of the Hôtel Dassault of the Artcurial.
I wondered whether these faces would scare people at night.
Another quiet street scene.
I was exhausted after a long walk. But I had to see the Tour Eiffel. This was what you would see from the Palais de Chaillot.
It was a beautiful view even in a cloudy day.
Details of the Tour.
The Tour was just on the other side of the Seine. After the tower, there was the Jardin du Champ de Mars, a public garden/grassland, where I laid down for a nap.
To get there, you would come across the Pont d'Iéna.
It was stunning to see the Tour close-up. What an engineering wonder!
However, I did not go up the tower for the sake of time. There was always a long line, even for the one where you pay less for walking upstairs to the middle of it.
My obsession of the tower continued. At the last night in Paris, my hostel friend Anne insisted on going out to see the tower because it would "blink" for 15 minutes at the beginning of every hour. I wasn't sure about how good it would be but didn't regret it at all after seeing it. It was spectacular; I was speechless.
In the Jardin, there were many wooden chairs for you to take a rest. You would find them necessary because the place was so big. I also managed to get a picture of two patrolling officers on horsebacks. You could even find armed offices under the tower where many tourists were. They made us feel very safe.
At the end of the Jardin, there was the École Militaire, a complex for various military teaching institutes.
I didn't know what it was but took the picture anyway because it looked beautiful. (Tourists!)
And that was the end of my daytime activities for day one in Paris, my exhausted feet yelled at me. But I still took a look at the nearby Moulin Rouge in the heart of the red light district, after a few beers.
C'est la vie, my friend. C'est la vie.
The first thing I did after arriving was to buy a carnet of 10 Métro tickets. (By the way, Paris Métro was *the* best metro system in the world. Tokyo might be a contender but don't even mention New York, please.) It didn't took me much time to find my hostel, Le Village, in the busy Montmartre neighborhood. The best thing about this hostel was that it had a public patio with a beautiful view of the Sacré-Cœur. Sitting on the top of the hill with a panoramic view, the Sacré-Cœur was a popular place to be day and night.
After I came down from the Sacré-Cœur, a smooth Métro ride took me right in front of the great Arc de Triomphe.
There were four statues on the Arc. This one is called "The Triumph of 1810".
And the most famous one of them, "Departure of the Volunteers of '92", or commonly called "La Marseillaise".
Names of French generals were inscribed inside.
Some more details of the grand Arc.
And finally, a frontal view of the Arc from the center of Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
It was absolutely delightful to walk down the beautiful Champs-Élysées. I tried several times to learn to speak this word without success until I found this audio file on Wikipedia. (Look here if you have trouble playing it.) Cartier had a flagship shop here.
A few other jewelers and watchmakers were also nearby, including Montblanc, whose watch Mr. Cage happily worn.
Even McDonald's couldn't afford missing the Champs-Élysées. For the record, I did go the French McDonald's later in another place and had a "Royale Deluxe". It was the best McDonald's I had outside China.
Automakers were there too, including Renault, who drew the crowd with their F1 race car.
Interestingly, Disney store was featuring "Ratatouille", a Hollywood animation film about "La Ville-lumière", or "The City of Light".
The buildings along the Champs-Élysées were absolutely eye-catching. For example, the one with the Swatch store.
How about putting some cute babies on your wall?
The squarely trimmed trees on the Champs-Élysées were unforgettable.
The Champs-Élysées was a huge street with more than four lanes each way. But if you walked a little bit away from the main road, the side streets were quiet.
They had interesting cross-shaped traffic signs.
I walked without noticing how far I had gone, attracted by one interesting building after another.
By the time I checked my map again, I was in front of the Hôtel Dassault of the Artcurial.
I wondered whether these faces would scare people at night.
Another quiet street scene.
I was exhausted after a long walk. But I had to see the Tour Eiffel. This was what you would see from the Palais de Chaillot.
It was a beautiful view even in a cloudy day.
Details of the Tour.
The Tour was just on the other side of the Seine. After the tower, there was the Jardin du Champ de Mars, a public garden/grassland, where I laid down for a nap.
To get there, you would come across the Pont d'Iéna.
It was stunning to see the Tour close-up. What an engineering wonder!
However, I did not go up the tower for the sake of time. There was always a long line, even for the one where you pay less for walking upstairs to the middle of it.
My obsession of the tower continued. At the last night in Paris, my hostel friend Anne insisted on going out to see the tower because it would "blink" for 15 minutes at the beginning of every hour. I wasn't sure about how good it would be but didn't regret it at all after seeing it. It was spectacular; I was speechless.
In the Jardin, there were many wooden chairs for you to take a rest. You would find them necessary because the place was so big. I also managed to get a picture of two patrolling officers on horsebacks. You could even find armed offices under the tower where many tourists were. They made us feel very safe.
At the end of the Jardin, there was the École Militaire, a complex for various military teaching institutes.
I didn't know what it was but took the picture anyway because it looked beautiful. (Tourists!)
And that was the end of my daytime activities for day one in Paris, my exhausted feet yelled at me. But I still took a look at the nearby Moulin Rouge in the heart of the red light district, after a few beers.
C'est la vie, my friend. C'est la vie.
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