Viewing Paris from Along the River Seine

If sightseeing on foot or by bus is too boring for you, there is another way to view the beauty of the city of Paris. You may consider viewing Paris from along the river Seine. There are a lot of boats operators in Paris offering boat excursion to view Paris from along the river Seine. Depending on your choice, most boat operators offer lunch and dinner on the cruise as well. When we were in Paris, we rode the boat provided by well-known boat company, Bateaux Mouches. 

The name "Bateaux Mouches" translates literally into "fly boats" ("fly" here is referring to the insect). However, Wikipedia said that the name arose because they were originally manufactured in boatyard situated in the Mouche area of Lyon. Since the river Seine is centrally situated in Paris, the boat tour covers a great deal of the city. Both the left bank (rive gauche) and the right bank (rive droite) are visible from the boat. The boat is also offering the best view of Pont Alexandre III, which is the most extravagant bridge in the city of Paris.

Pont Alexandre III connects the Champs-Elysees quarter with Invalides and Eiffel Tower area. When you are passing the bridge, you can see clearly there is a relief at the centre of the bridge. It is named the "Nymphs of the Seine". 

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A lot of Parisians are spotted enjoying their evening stroll and having a chit chat session along the river bank. We do not have this luxury in Jakarta especially since the river is so dirty, it's brown in color and there are a lot of illegal settlements alongside the river banks. 

Another famous landmark in Paris which can be seen from the boat is the Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. 

Last but not least, tourists will be able to see Eiffel Tower clearly from the boat as well. Despite seeing it for numerous times, one can't help but to feel amazed by the tower. 

The cruise trips last around one hour and it costs Eur 13.50 for an adult, without meal. If you are interested in finding out the complete details of the price, you can check it out at their website. 

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Walk on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees

The Avenue des Champs-Elyssees is a boulevard which is famous amongst tourists who come to visit Paris. The boulevard runs between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. The boulevard is full with theatres, cafes and luxury stores. Talking about the luxury stores, the ladies on the bus gasped immediately when they saw a huge Louis Vuitton store. Other than LV, the Champs Elysees is also home for luxury brands such as Guerlain, Lancel and Hugo Boss.

You can also find souvenir store along the Avenue des Champs Elysees too. If you do not know where to find, simply go for the store who has I <3 Paris words for a banner. A lot of high street fashion stores can be spotted on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees too such as Zara, H&M, and Gap. The international make up store, Sephora also has its store here. 

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Our tour bus dropped us off at the other end which is nearer to the Arc de Triomphe. We could see the boulevard sign on the fence. Avenue des Champs-Elysees has been a favorite venue for a lot of national events such as military parade and tour-de-France. 

Every year, the largest military parade in France passes down the Champs-Elysees on Bastille Day on 14 July. In addition, the last stage of the Tour de France has finished on the Champs-Elysees. This is really one awesome road to walk on. 

At the end of Champs-Elysees, we can see the Arc de Triomphe, a monument honouring those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. Wikipedia states that the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. 

"In the sun, under the rain

At noon or at midnight

There is everything you want

at the Champs-Elysees."

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Yummy Macarons at Galeries Lafayette, Paris

Whenever you are joining a tour group from Indonesia, one thing is certain, the itinerary will include a lot of shopping. And our tour to West Europe is not an exception and hence, here we are at Galeries Lafayette. Galeries Lafayette is an upmarket French department store chain. We visited the main store of Galeries Lafayette but it seems that it has a lot of branches both in France and outside France.

If you are a Longchamp lover, you should come to Galeries Lafayette and join the queue line to enter the store. Yes, I am not kidding. A lot of queue is formed outside the branded store inside Galeries Lafayette including Louis Vuitton and Chanel. This is because most visitors to this department store come from China and they are known to come in big groups. Galeries Lafayette even has a special tax refund counter to cater for Chinese customers. 

I did not really have budget for any bags so after my mum bought her Longchamp, we just walked around and settled down at McDonald's upstairs. Time for me to drink my Les Frappes. 

My mum and I got bored after 45 minutes waiting for the other tour members at McD, so we decided to look for whatever we can try. I am not talking about fashion or bags though. I am talking about food. And since we are in Paris, it is just right to try one of the famous Parisian dessert named Macarons. This is the first time I bought 10 macarons at one time, even the lady behind the counter was shocked. She double checked the order with me to make sure she heard correctly. Does the Parisian never order macarons in such a big quantity? 

The above macarons which we bought for no-name store (okay, it's probably has a name but I did not really pay attention to the name) is so good. The texture just right, the taste is not so sweet and yet, delicious. We love it! 

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And just like that, we bought a box of macarons from another store but this store is apparently Pierre Herme's. He is a French pastry chef who is famous for his creation of macarons. We bought a box of 7 macarons. The box is so cute!

The macarons sold at Pierre Hermes are very unique in terms of color and taste. I mean, it has macarons with purple color, for goodness sake. 

The funny thing is, we prefer the macarons from the unknown store. We probably prefer the simpler taste of macarons because Pierre Herme like to mix a various taste (which is good, I never say it's bad) into his macarons. 

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Architecture City Sightseeing in Paris

Paris is a city full of architecture marvels. It is probably due to its history that Paris has a lot of buildings designed in different style. It is a good thing that most of these historical buildings and statues still remain until this day for us to take an architecture city sightseeing in Paris. Thanks goodness, it was such a good day back then. 

First, we passed by La Madeleine, a Roman Catholic church which was historically designed as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army. After the fall of Napoleon, King Louis XVIII decided for the structure to be used as a church, dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Chopin's funeral was held here. Although interestingly the funeral was delayed almost two weeks because prior to his death, Chopin has requested that Mozart's Requiem be sung. The Requiem had major parts for female voices but La Madeleine had never permitted female singers in its choir. The church finally relented on condition that female singers remain behind a black velvet curtain.

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The next architecture wonder that we saw is named Academie Nationale de Musique. The building was used to be Palais Garnier, a 1,979-seat opera house which was built from the year 1861 to 1875. This opera is probably the most famous opera house in the world due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel "The Phantom of the Oepra" and, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical.

When we are making a turn at the corner, we saw a big Lancel store. I first made my Lancel purchase in this trip to Paris without knowing what kind of brand is this. Well, Lancel is not as popular as the other high class brands like Chanel and Dior in Singapore and hence, I totally never know about its existence until I visited Paris. If you don't know how famous Lancel is, well it is apparently an excellent brand in France. From a French's point of view, Lancel's class is somewhere above Longchamp and below Chanel and Dior.

I am quite happy with my purple canvas bag which I bought from Lancel. And I am not gonna be copies by other people in Singapore because most of them are wearing Longchamp anyway. LOL.

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Place de la Concorde, A Major Public Square in Paris

During the history class in high school, our history teacher taught us about the years of French Revolution. The storming of the Bastille was the turning point for the French Revolution as Bastille served as a symbol of the abuses of the monarch, who reigned in those days. Other than the historical storming of Bastille, another historical event during the French Revolution is the execution of the King Louis XVI and other prominent figures like the Queen Marie Antoinette by the guillotine. Place de la Concorde was the spot of the execution. 

With that kind of bleak history, I cannot help but feel some kind of eerie vibe from otherwise, a bustling public square. Tour buses usually stop by at the area opposite the giant Egyptian obelisk. The obelisk of Luxor was given by the Egyptian government in the 19th century. It is decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramesses II. 

It is best to visit Place de la Concorde in the morning as there are not many tourists visiting the square yet. Behind me lies the Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation. There are actually two fountains at the Place de la Concorde and both of them are built in the same period. 

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When you are looking to the North from the Place de la Concorde, you will notice that there are two identical stone buildings, separated by the Rue Royale. The eastern one is the headquarter of the French Naval Ministry while the western one is the historic luxury hotel named Hotel de Crillon. A lot of high political figures had stayed in Hotel de Crillon over the history. Benjamin Franklin is one of those people.

Hotel de Crillon has just been undergoing a major renovation and it is now managed by Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. This picture was taken back in 2011 so if you are interested in checking out the new look of Hotel de Crillon, you should go to its website here.

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Les Invalides, the best photo spot to shoot the Eiffel Tower

Bonjour! Hope you guys having a great sleep (if you happen to just wake up from your dream, it is). If you are not, well, hello anyway. Let's continue our adventure in Paris, shall we? After having nice breakfast over at Hotel Mercure, we hopped on our bus and ready to go to see the one and only Eiffel Tower. Since our hotel is only 5km away, our journey did not take very long. For now, let's wave hello to the river Seine once again. We will see a lot of Seine later on. 

Right, every tourists in Paris will definitely go to the Eiffel Tower with one objective in mind, to take picture of the whole tower. But we did not have to be a math genius to figure out that it is impossible to take picture of the whole tower if we stand too close to the tower. With that theory in mind, where is the best photo spot to shoot the Eiffel Tower then?

While we were thinking about that question, our bus driver has stopped to let us alight at Les Invalides. Les Invalides is a complex of buildings in Paris which consist of museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, which is the building's original purpose. Okay, I took the whole thing from Wikipedia so I guess the fact should be pretty accurate. Our tour guide also mentions that the building is also served as a national institution for disabled war veterans. The famous Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military leader, is also buried here.

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 The complex itself is huge so we did not have time to enter the building. Sigh. One thing about joining a tour group is the inflexibility. But I suppose we have to live with it. When we visited Les Invalides, the yard was used for some photoshoot or filming project. Quite a happening event. 

Oh right, of course I have not forgotten about the Eiffel Tower. Les Invalides which is located just across the Eiffel Tower, is happened to be the best photo spot to shoot the Eiffel Tower. Don't believe me? Ta-dah! Whole levels of the Eiffel Tower captured in one shot with the blue sky and white clouds as an added bonus. =P

Access to the second floor of Eiffel Tower is available for sales (full rates are available here) to tourists. However, a lot of travellers comment that the queue for the tickets (or the lifts, I am not very sure) can take at least 2 to 3 hours. So, do plan your time wisely if you want to include climbing up the Eiffel Tower as part of your itinerary. 

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Mercure Paris Porte De St Cloud Hotel Review

Hello all! As the sun has come to set, it is time for another hotel review. In my visit to Paris, my tour group stayed in Mercure Paris Porte De St Cloud Hotel. The hotel was classified as business hotel but it is located in downtown Paris. Hence, the location is pretty near to all the major attractions in Paris.

The hotel looks pretty grand from outside too. It is after all a 4 stars hotel. It is located 5 km from the Eiffel Tower and 8.9 km from the Musse du Louvre. 

The lobby has exuded a retro vibe about Paris by displaying an old picture of hotel visitors in the old day. I do not really know how old but the picture is in black and white. The hairstyles of those people look pretty oldies to me. Anyway, at this rate, I just want to get my room key and jump into bed. Funny, actually all I did today was sitting on the bus. #ironic

This is our twin bedroom. It comes with the basic necessities like flat-screen TVs, minibars and desks. A free wi-fi (which is deemed important in these generation) is available in the room too. The room is clean, which is very good in my book. Some hotels did not even understand the basic necessity of cleanliness. 

The bathroom comes with a bath tub. Basic towels and bath kits are also provided and they are clean. Okay, I am starting to sound like a clean-freak but I really hate seeing some dirts during my stay in a hotel. Especially since I have paid for the room. 

So far what I have seen seems to be pretty consistent with the review of fellow travellers over at Tripadvisor. You can check Mercure Paris Porte De St Cloud hotel review at Tripadvisor here.

With my bed on set and the sun has set, I will bid you adieu for now. 

"Please believe me.

This isn't easy. 

I just need to say goodbye."

- Who Is Fancy

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A Snapshot of Paris from My Window Bus

Even before stepping on the soil of Paris, I have fallen in love with the city. Paris is such a beautiful city and no wonder a lot of poets associates Paris with love and romance. So, since the summer day is still young, the sun is still in the air, our bus driver continued to bring us circling the city of Paris. This is fun because this means I can continue taking a snapshot of Paris from my window bus. Or snapshots I suppose. One click will not be enough when you are travelling to Paris. 

One thing that I noticed, Paris has a lot of bridges crossing over the river Seine. In fact, there is a total of 37 bridges in Paris. From the total of 37, there are three pedestrian bridges and two rail bridges. At the moment, we are passing by one of the bridge named Pont d'Austerlitz. Pont means bridge I suppose. It owes its name to the battle of Austerlitz in the year 1805. 

The bridge itself was constructed four years before the battle of Austerlitz. When it was first constructed, the width is not wide enough up to the point it was considered dangerous. Hence, another construction was done to widen the bridge until it is ready for its second inauguration in 1885. 

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A few metres ahead lies another bridge. This time, let's say hello to Pont d'lena which links the Eiffel Tower on the left bank of river Seine to the district of Trocadero on the right bank. The bridge was opened in the year 1814. 

After a series of bridge, we passed by a random cemetery in Paris. The cemetery is not as flowerful as what we have seen in Brussels before. 

Before we know it, it was already near 8pm at night even though the sky still looks pretty bright thanks to the summer time. But our bus driver needs to finish off his day soon and hence, we were going to the hotel pretty soon to check in. Okay, see you another day then! 

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The beginning of my adventure in Paris

Four hours away by coach from Brussels is the beginning of my adventure in Paris. My first impression of Paris, well, the traffic was quite horrendous. Especially on the highway entering Paris. We were stuck for nearly one hour just to reach the city centre of Paris. In addition, we were not really impressed by the suburbia of Paris because it is just look kinda unkempt and not safe. Our tour guide also advise us not to stay in any hotel located in the suburb of Paris even though they may cost cheaper than the hotel in downtown Paris. A lot of burglary occurs at these hotels, apparently. 

After a number of stories unfold, we have finally arrived at the downtown Paris. Ah, the beautiful city of Paris turns out to be amazing. The city is full of beautiful architectures. 

Alongside the River Seine, there are a lot of booksellers setting up a street-store. These booksellers are referred to as "Bouquinistes". They sells used and antiquarian books and they set up their trade along both banks of the Seine. The tradition of selling second-hand books has began since the 16th century. Wow, never thought the Parisian loves reading so much in these modern days.

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I was so excited when our bus passing by the Louvre Museum. This is the most iconic and historical museum in Paris. After the movie called Da Vinci Code coming up, the museum become more and more famous. My friend's father, a fan of the Louvre, can spend six days to admire the museum. While our tour group, did not even have any minute to spend inside. *cry*

We were also passing by the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Wikipedia says that the arch was built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate Napoleon's military victories of the previous year. It was built in the same year with Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, which is across the Champs Elysees. 

This is just the beginning of my adventure in Paris. Can't wait to find out more about the city tomorrow morning! 

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