Well, Day2 started quite early at 4:00 AM as we had to be ready by 6:30 to check out and depart from the hotel.So far so good, everything went fine and as scheduled we departed from the 'Gallieni' station at 6:30 AM( it was the first metro for the day).We were heading to the next destination called 'Versailles Palace'.
I dont know the historical value but i do know that Mr L N Mittal booked this palace to celebrate his daughter's wedding. And entire Bollywood fraternity was present here to bless the couple.Anyway, not to deviate to the bollywood, we reached the destination by 8:00 AM and following signs reached the palace by 8:30 AM.It was a village, i think, quite far from Paris and by the time we got down there were almost nil co-passengers in the train.
5th destination:Palace of Versailles
Located at a village called Château de Versailles.After,more than an hour of journey in metro followed by a train, we reached here.On reaching the station, we realized our two day pass was not valid this far by distance.And there was no facility to take extra tickets, but i think government also understood this problem so they kept one gate without any lock.It was meant for passersby like us:).When we reached the palace,the extravagant space, the warrior on the horse, the 'golden' painted gates, two ever immortalized gate keepers makes you realize that this monument does represent the remnants of the power it had.After all,Louis XIV stayed here with his family.
The dome of the palace is made of gold, but the gates are painted gold now.
There was a big queue for the visitors to take ticket and peep inside the palace.We roamed around the palace for a while and moved ahead to the next destination.Of course didnt bother to see the palace from inside.Alas! the agent was not there to discuss the rental conditions!! So we moved ahead:).
6th destination:Notre-dame
One of the most famous church in Paris.The mass was 'on' when we entered the church. Entrance was free and the ambience was calm.As soon as you will enter the church,you will notice different types of drawings mostly glas paintings in the ceiling and several statues smiling at them.Its a big church and even if you roam around each painting and statues just for 1 minute, it will take around 1 hour to complete one round. During my last visit in 2008, there was an exhibition here in which 'a thorn in the crown of Christ' was on display.
Actually visiting these places make you even realize more that the maintenance of Qutub minar and Taj-Mahal is equally important as curbing the menace of corruption in our country.
7th destination:Louvre
Our next destination was Louvre museum which is home to some of the best creation of art.After all, Mona Lisa and The Last Supper share the same room here.The entrance to the museum was also through the underground metro station.So as soon as we came out of metro, we were in queue to move inside the museum. Best part is, Sundays have free entrance.The closer you move towards the museum, you will find yourself near,'Inverted Pyramid' which will remind you of the last chapter of 'Da Vinci code' where just below the inverted pyramid,there is small pyramid which conceals the 'Holy grail'.
Fiction or Fact, you still feel close to something 'historical'.There are three entrance to Louvre. It is practically not possible to roam around Louvre in one day,without going for a long run and remain determined not to see any paintings. So to guide you and make your tour experience better, there are navigation devices available for rent in 6 euros which you can use to decide which type of tour you wish to take.Like if you want to see only masterpieces, the device will guide you step by step to see each masterpiece and finally guide you out of the big museum. Dont forget to make a fixed rendezevous point before embarking on the tour if you are going in small groups.
It was already around 11:00 AM when we decided to visit Monalisa and deviate from the original plan of roaming inside Louvre for three hours.Monalisa was on third floor and the road to meet her was crowded.With some effort and patience we reached the big room from where the famous lady had been smiling all this while.Infront of this painting, lies the giant painting of 'The Last Supper'.As you look at this painting, the perfection of masterpiece captivates you.The best part with this painting is you can move closer to the printing and get yourself photographed easily).
While returning from Louvre, we decided to go to Eiffel and stay there for the remaining part of the day.
Lunch:
On our way to Eiffel, we made a stopover at a restaurant on the way.To experiment with the French food, our order contained French fries, Pizza, Pasta, Omelette and Coke. Except for coke, everything else was 'different' in taste. While Indians prepare omelette with onion, and at least coriander in it.
The French omelette is devoid of any such luxury. It doesn't contain even the salt:). Anyway, we tried to gobble up to compensate for the amount it was coming to be but this strategy backfired since one or two of us had started getting vomiting sensation post this cruel attempt. The bill came to around 50 Euros.
Disheartened but bold, we moved on to Eiffel tower.
8th destination:(Final one):
We came back to Eiffel to take the ride this time and see Paris from top.It costs 8 euros if you go to first landing. But it takes 13 euros if you wish to go to the 'Top'. So to scale the heights and reach to the top, we took the obvious choice.In the queue to take tickets, it was amazing to see, one of the police man wished me 'Namaskar'. Remember the 'model indian concept' from Day 1:).
The weather conditions were deteriorating now. Temperature was already hovering around -3 to -4 again.And we were talking of going to the top. The thought itself was chilly, we were wondering about the 'to be' experience.Tickets were taken we started the ride on Eiffel.The lift took us to the first landing.Paris was in full view now.Windy ofcourse.Bones were chilling.Nevertheless we joined the queue for the next lift to the top floor.There is one restaurant on the first landing so if you want to have some snacks or anything to eat, you can have it here.Not to waste our time and remaining 'little' energy; we proceeded directly and joined the long queue.Now if you thought we were the only idiots who have decided to go till Top;you are mistaken:).There were around 50 people in queue with us.A long chilly wait of around one hour took us near to the lift and further to the top.Temperature must have been around -10;worse;wind was also enjoying our 'not so good' situation.After spending around 10 minutes and struggling with the weather, we decided to join the 'sane' group and started the journey downwards.After enjoying for some more time, the glory of Eiffel, we moved back to the Hotel.
Took the luggage and journey started back to Amsterdam.
The snowfall has not obstructed the path and bus reached on time.Tired and exhausted we parted ways from our friends promising to plan for the next trip.
=Thank You=
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