Day two: the city of wonders

Paris is the city of wonders. The historical buildings and tourist spots were simply magnificent and breathtaking. Once you have tasted the city and held a conversation with a native without using English, you will start to feel a bit cosmopolitan yourself. Honestly, I only knew how to speak two French words, “bonjour” which means hello and “mecy” which means thank you. Its quite amusing that the moment I use those local words to interact with Paris gentlemen, they suddenly turn into some cheeky and friendly bunch of people.

I still remember that on the second day, when I was on my way towards the metro station to go to city centre to start my wonderful discovery, there was this middle aged gentleman greeted me in French while sun bathing in the early morning sun. Honestly, I didn’t understand a single word he said, but I simply reply “bonjour”. He was so pleased with my response and continued to bombard me with more and more tongue twisting French words. I can only vaguely understand that he is one of the street artists who draws and sells portraits. It amazed me that in this side of city, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, people still live as an artist to survive, still retain the colorful culture and the original artisticity scent of the early artists such as Vincent Van goh.

Notre-Dame looms large over the Isle de la Cité, and is the most enduring symbol of Paris. It wasn’t that big to be truth. If you are expecting something which is as magnificent and as mysterious as what in the Disney cartoon “the hunchback of Notre dame”, you will be in big disappointment. I always thought that the cathedral will at least have the height of the sky scrappers and a big mysterious bell tower. But when I looked from the outside, I simply can’t picture the story of Quasimodo, the fictional hunchback and the Notre dame together. Hence I decided not to pay extra to climb up the 387 step to the top of the towers to see the close-up views of the famous gargoyles, and the great bell that was rung by Quasimodo. Honestly, in my opinion, its not exaggerate to say that Liverpool Anglican cathedral is even bigger that that.

See what I mean?

But what really attracted my attention was the fact that the cathedral can be considered one of the of the world’s Gothic masterpieces, simply look at the sculptures on the wall, which consists of thousands of sculptures like gargoyles and the ‘be-headed’ angel. i felt shivers run through my spine with only a look at those statue, its like they are whispering some mysterious stories that I never knew.

After that, I continue my journey to the Pantheon, Apostle chapel which stores the statue of Jesus’s 12 disciples, Musee de Lourve which display many famous Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Asian antiquities, painting, drawings and sculpture. Please don’t even attempt to see it all in one day, cuz its impossible. The most famous one is none other than Da Vinci’s enigmatic Mona Lisa. One interesting fact about the paint is that it is protected by bullet proof glass within its own room and taking photos is strictly prohibited. It surprises me that the museum actually was designed by a Chinese architecture who borrowed the concept of the pyramid as it was clearly seen from the picture that the top of museum is in glass made pyramid shape, while the museum itself was underneath the main entrance of the pyramid.

Like Edinburgh, Paris is divided to half by a big river, called river Seine. There is cruise service along the river during daytime and night, which cost around 10 euro per trip. It wasn’t a pleasant experience if you are expecting something romantic and sensual. First of all, it is impossible to look cool and posh at the same time when you try to resist the great momentum of the wind threatens to blow you off the boat. Hence I prefer a slow walk along the river bank while have a great view on some Paris gentlemen walking in nice suit and some tourist leisurely taking photos. Walking along the river and you can see all the big attraction of the Paris, for example De Concorde, Eiffel tower, Triumph de arc etc.

Eiffel tower is just a normal Telecom-like tower at the daytime, if you know what I mean. But at night, it turns into such a magnificent view. The light at the top of the tower shone straightly to the sky, it feels like a tunnel which connects to heaven. The whole tower dances in the glimmering lights in the dark. It surprises me that the tower itself wasn’t that popular in its olf time. According to the history, it was built as a temporary structure to commenmorate the centenary of the French Revolution and was considered an eyesore by many. There were petition to have it pulled down and was only saved for it had become an important for telegraphy.

The tower is consists of 3 levels, whereby each level has their own restaurant and some souvenier shop. The highest of its 3 levels offers a wonderful panoramic view over Paris. As the height of the tower increase, the boarding fees also increases. The long queue of people waiting to go up the tower has made me given up the idea of enjoying the night view of the Paris city up from the high. However, according to other tourist, they said that the night view from Sacre coer was even more beautiful than from Eiffel tower.

Well this lead to my final day in paris, the unforgettable memory of the night at Sacre Coer.