Destinations :: Paris (revisited)

http://www.bagchiblog.blogspot.com

One of the anchors of the Eiffel Tower

Like the previous occasion in 1987 we had bought EuRail passes in India which enabled us to travel 1^st Class in all trains including the prestigious TGVs and the high speed trains that were basically meant for inter-city travels. In 1987 the TGVs used to ply only between Paris and Lyon and Paris and Geneva.  In the intervening ten years its operations were exponentially expanded and most of the West European cities are now served by TGV trains. TGV stands for Train a Grande Vitesse (high speed train),

So, one morning we climbed into a TGV train plying between Brussels and Paris. It was a non-stop journey and we were in Paris in much less than two hours’ time. Having researched the Paris underground my wife

On a bridge over Seine

knew which train to catch from the Gare du Nord station for the station that we were to travel to to get to our hotel. This time we had booked a (budget) hotel close to Eiffel Tower We could see the Tower from our window and could also walk across to it. It was somewhere close to the area known as Trocadero.

This time we had decided to take it easy and had decided not to rush around. We had quite a good visit ten years ago and had seen quite a bit but every evening we used to feel tired. Now we couldn’t do all that. We decided to walk around as much as possible. The Eiffel Tower was a good starting point. It had extensive gardens and lawns which we had not really noticed on the last occasion. This time we took it all in and more leisurely at that

On the grounds around Eiffel Tower

and saw the environs and enjoyed whatever we saw. The Tower has its own facets and looks beautiful from several angles. It is indeed a marvelous piece of engineering. Reclining on the green grass I kept wondering how it was conceptualized during the infancy of the Industrial Revolution in France.

We walked along the Seine looking at the shops selling curios and wall plates some of which we had at home. Some men accosted us trying to sell curios they said were very expensive. They ran for their lives as soon as they saw some policemen. As we met another such group on a bridge over the Seine it turned out that they were all Indian illegal immigrants. They made a living by operating in the Eiffel Tower area. One wondered as

On a bridge over Seine with gold-painted
capital on one of  supporting
its columns

to why they leave the comfort of their homes and undertake perilous journeys to live a life in shadows mostly in fear of the arm of the law that relentlessly chases them in an alien country.

We walked another day to Notre Dame. It was standing by the side of the Seine in all its glory. Almost a thousand years have not made any difference to it. It was as majestic as we had seen it ten years ago, I found the front portals very interesting with beautiful carvings of the Last Judgment. We tore ourselves away to go towards Champs Elysees. We walked from the Notre Dame admiring the buildings in the surrounding area, one of which apparently was the Arsenal and hence there was heavy police presence. Soon we got into a bus that deposited us on the Champs Elysees near Arch of Triumph.

Champs Elysees is the finest boulevard in the world that I have seen. I have been to quite a few world class cities in the world in the US, Europe

Notre Dame

and Far East but have never come across a boulevard like Champs Elysees. In fact, this along with almost the entire city of Paris is a planned town planned by two Frenchmen, the French Emperor Napoleon III and Georges Eugene Haussmann, in the middle of 19^th Century. They were neither architects nor city planners yet they undertook perhaps the largest urban transformation and built Paris that is called the City of Light today. Also, some others call it the City of Love as it has emerged as the most romantic city in the world.

The two, together, planned every detail including the boulevards, avenues and the streets, the height and colour of apartment blocks along these, the massive sized rotaries and so on. They also planned the

On the Charles de Gaulle Place

sculptures and friezes that would be used on buildings or at every conceivable place to beautify the city. Around 400,000 residents were displaced and 600,000 chestnut and other trees were planted along the boulevards and avenues. Hundreds of thousands square metres of open spaces were created and thousands of miles of roads were laid that included Champs Elysees which is one of the boulevards radiating from the Arch of Triumph located at the massive Charles de Gaulle Place.

At Place de la Concorde

It is a pleasure to walk on the pavements of Champs Elysees where massive stores display the latest fashions and where fashionable women strut around with a swagger showing off their acquisitions of trendy garments, hats and shoes. There are numerous cafes that put their chairs and tables out on the very wide sidewalks. Over a cup of coffee one can watch for hours this unfolding panorama. Evenings are perhaps the best to do that when fashionistas amble around displaying their haute couture.

We also walked up to the Place de la Concorde at the other end of Champs Elysees. It is perhaps the largest square of Paris but has a history written in blood. Built in the late eighteenth century it was later used as

At Place de la Concorde

a place for executions of the elite during the French Revolution. It was here that King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette, were guillotined. During those anarchical days the square was known as Place de la Revolution. Its name was changed to Place de la Concorde after the dust raised by the French uprising settled down. There is an obelisk planted here which was a gift from Egypt to France.

Paris is a place which should be visited when one is young. We were 30 years too late in getting there. But when we were young we had no money to travel abroad and when we had little bit of it was a little too late. Nonetheless, given a chance I wouldn’t mind visiting this marvellous city any number of times.

Destinarions :: Paris (1987) (Part II)

http://www.bagchiblog.blogspot.com

At the Louvre

We made a beeline for the Louvre Palace the next day. Louvre, as is well known, is one of the largest museums in the world. Originally built as a fortress in the late 12^th Century, Louis the XIV left it in favour of the Versailles Palace. Louvre was left behind as a place for display of his collections. Since then it has thrived as a museum containing a wide range of prized and famous exhibits from practically all parts of the world. Most of the pieces were from personal collections and later those that were seized during campaigns abroad were also added.

 The most significant contributions were made to the museum by

ArT Champs Elysees

Napolean III in the 19^th Century when more than 10000 artworks, antiquities, etc. were added. Today it is reported to be having for display 380,000 objects and 35000 works of art. Everything from sculptures to paintings, or sundry items that are of best and most valued for a museum are on display. It needs sustained pursuit and several days to cover the whole of the museum – the kind of time that we didn’t have. There is something for everybody, from pre-historic to ancient, Classical, Medieval to Gothic to Renaissance and so on. We saw some of the fabulous paintings of world

Notre Dame

renowned European artists of Renaissance and of various schools like romanticists, impressionists, realists etc. Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was there and so was the famous ancient Venus D Milo. The pyramids that one now sees in front of the main entrance were not there when we visited the Louvre. These were completed in 1989 to facilitate entry into the Museum and for proceeding directly to the section one wanted to visit.

The Triumphal Arch – The Arch of Triumph – is another of the monuments of Paris that is visited by thousands of tourists every day. It has inspired many more such arches elsewhere. Our own India Gate at Delhi is considered a reworked version of the Arch of Triumph. The architect Edwin

The Arch of Triumph

Lutyens was probably more inspired by the design of the Paris

Arch. An iconic monument, it stands in the middle of the Charles De Gaulle Place (earlier known as the Place de l’Etoile) at one end of the main thoroughfare of Paris, the tree-lined boulevard Champs Elysees. It is said that that it was the tallest arch until the Mexican one came up in 1938. The Arch was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon after the victory in Austerlitz. Standing tall at around 50 metres and with a width of about 20 metres it is an imposing structure with beautiful significant sculptures and friezes. As many as 12 avenues radiate from it in different directions. It is to be seen to be believed.

At Place de la Concorde

Another view of Notre Dame

At the other end of the Champs Elysees is the Place de la Concorde is a huge public square from where one can see the Arch of Triumph at the far end. It is where Louis the XVI was guillotined during the French Revolution when it was renamed as Place de la Revolution. Other significant people who were chopped down here were Queen Marie Antionette, the lawyer revolutionary Robespierre, Madame du Barry etc. The Square is acres and acres of land surrounded by beautiful gilded buildings with an obelisk somewhere in the centre. The approach to it is thoroughly interesting – through tree-line boulevard of Champs Elysees with huge shops and cafes which had tables with checked table cloths and chairs waiting for custom. The place has tremendous atmosphere which has to be savoured and cherished.

At Place de la Concorde

The other major place of interest is Notre Dame, the Catholic cathedral in Paris, the seat of the city’s Archdicese. I remember when my late brother came back from Frankfurt way back in 1953 and told us he had been to Paris too my father asked him whether he had been to Notre Dame. Since then we have been aware of this famous cathedral. This is perhaps the only Gothic church in Paris and is

At Arch of Triumph

considered as one of the largest in the world with around 5000 square metres of floor space. It has various architectural features which were innovative used later by architects in other structures, for example the flying buttresses (an arch that supports a wall). Its portals are heavily decorated. Its spire is so pointed it seems as if it is piercing the sky. Its stained glass windows are fabulous and the church is reputed to have fantastic acoustics. Situated close to the River Seine it sort of dominates the River with its presence, particularly so because of its vast plaza which provides stunning views of the façade. Full of statuary, the Cathedral is virtually a work of art – architecture and sculpture mingling together effortlessly.

Paris is perhaps the finest city I have ever visited. Its avenues,

Notre Dame and its pointed spire

broad boulevards and uniform skyline (unlike the confused skyline of ours) and tasteful gilding of most buildings which are more or less of the same height are admirable. It has history and there is so much to see. It is after all a planned city built to the planners’ specifications and most of the buildings are more or less homogeneous in design. One feels that a great amount of thought was paid to the element of perspective while building the city. The River Seine adds to its beauty as it wends its way through the city. Its banks not only are superb and exuding romance they are ideal places for loving couples to snuggle and cuddle. No wonder, it is known as the most romantic of cities.  The people are gorgeous – the men and women are instinctively fashionable; Paris being the fashion capital of the world. They dress well love to flaunt their accoutrements and equipage . It is an amazing place and it leaves one wondering as to how it really ticks.

*(Concluded)

Destinations :: Paris (1987) (Part I)

http://www.bagchiblog.blogspot.com

Sacre Couer

 Others in our group were to come to Paris from England. I had not joined them in their across-the-Channel trip. I was instead in Geneva and had taken in Basle and Lucerne in the few days I had. We were to meet at Paris. One morning I took the TGV (Trans Grand Vittese), the fast train the French had connected Paris and Geneva with. TGV in 1987 was still in its infant stage. They had one more line from Paris to Lyon. That’s about all that they had.  Now, however, they have expanded phenomenally to most of Western Europe. My wife and I had travelled in it from Brussels to Paris and back ten years later in 1997.

Geneva to Paris is about three hours’ comfortable journey by TGV.

Artists' Square at Montmartre

  The Eurail passes that we had enabled us to travel by TGV in First Class. It travels at more than 350 km/h. The French have been lucky in being able to travel by train at more than 200 miles per hour since 1981. Perhaps, such speeds are not so much necessary for a small country like France. We, instead, need high speed trains more than them as the distances are formidable but we are struggling to put one on the tracks.

Aview of Eiffel Tower

Paris is everybody’s dream destination. It is in the same league as London, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, etc. – perhaps more coveted than any of them. In our parts, politicians sell dreams telling people that they would convert their towns into a Paris; they, however, hardly ever try as they never mean what they say. Paris is a popular destination all over the world. In 2013 it was at the top of tourism destinations with as many as 32 million people visiting it.

My first recollection of Paris is a photograph that appeared in newspapers after defeat of Germany in World War II of General Charles De Gaul marching down Champs Elysees skirting the Arch of Triumph sometime in late 1945. The round-about around the Arch is now called Charles De Gaul Place. Later Hollywood

A portrait being painted of a visitor

movies of the 1950s like the musicals “An American in Paris” with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron and “Gigi” (pronounced Zhee zhee)  starring Lois Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier and again Leslie Caron set in Paris made the place a little familiar with its famous landmarks, its pavement cafes with distinctive checked  table cloths and the River Seine. Talking of the River I am reminded of the chartbuster Eartha Kitt song “Under the bridges of Paris” that was very popular in the 1950s  played frequently over the Delhi All India Radio in its  Friday night program of Western light music ”A date with you”.  A book that gave me information in pretty good detail was Moulin Rouge (meaning Red Mill), a biography of the famous artist Toulouse Lautrec. I read this very interesting book in 1955 and soon there

One of the legs of the Eiffel TowerAdd caption

was an eponymously named film with Jose Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Paris, too, traces its history back to more than 2000 years. Named after the Celtic people called Parisii, it was founded in the 3^rd Century BC. By the 12^th Century it had become the largest city in the Western world. In the 18^th Century it became the centre of French Revolution. One can still see a few place connected with the Revolution. Post revolution there was a period of unrest though Napoleon Bonaparte ruled for more than a decade and a half. It was, however, under Napoleon III that Paris witnessed some works on infrastructure, wide boulevards, massive sewer line projects, parks and massive and now famous gardens like Bois de Boulogne. What we see in Paris today are largely the results of the works carried out in the 19^th Century.

This time we stayed not in a pension but in a budget hotel situated

Another portrait expert

very near the Tuileries Garden which has its own history. It was conceived and created in 1564 by Catherine of Medici as a garden attached to the Tuileries Palace. Located between the Lovre Museum and Place de la Concorde – two very important landmarks of Paris – it became a public park after the French Revolution. As they say, this is one park where during the 19^th and 20^th Centuries Parisians “met, celebrated and promenaded”. Once while going out for sight-seeing I peeped into the garden and found it in good deal of disorder, most unlike a European garden. It discouraged me from exploring further. Maybe what I saw was not

A Parisian street

a place meant to be well-displayed and was hence left pretty much untended.

We headed for Sacre Couer – our first destination. It is located on the Montmartre Hill and is a Roman Catholic Church with a basilica built more than a hundred years ago. Situated at the top of the Hill it dominates the area. The basilica though architecturally nothing great but is a beautiful piece of architecture and pleasant to look at and people love just to hang around in its green, pleasing and salubrious surroundings.  Montmartre Hill is the highest point in Paris and is also known for art and artists who started collecting on the hill to paint and display their art. It all started during the belle epoch (beautiful era) between 1871 and 1914 – a period that was marked by optimism, regional peace in Europe, cultural revival, happiness and hope. Many now-famous artists like Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, et al lived and worked at Montmartre.

 We moved to the artists’ square on the hill only to be captivated by

Another view of Sacre Couer

a fiesta of art and colour. It was a veritable fair, packed as it was with colourful artists’ stalls with artists painting portraits or caricaturing or sketching landscapes out of sheer inner drive. Sitting under temporary structures they would paint a portrait of a tourist with astounding likeness in no time. Women love to get their own portraits painted and many of them were seen sitting for a painter. The cafes were crowded and tourists were enjoying the surrounding quaint architecture as also the walk on the streets of cobbled stones. It had an amazing atmosphere – elevating and edifying. Reluctantly we moved down the stairs of Sacre Couer and caught a bus for our next destination. We passed through what was Montmartre’s night club and cabaret district. On the way I spotted Moulin Rouge; regrettably I couldn’t take a picture of it.

Our next destination was the iconic Eiffel Tower an amazing structure of wrought iron. Named after its engineer Gustave Eiffel it was built in 1889 as the entrance for the World Fair of Paris that

An artist at work

was held to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world and it is also the most visited monument in the world. An amazing structure; one realizes the enormity of the Tower once one is close to it or beneath it. As tall as about 80 stories, it is more than 1000 ft. in height. It has restaurants on the first and second levels and one can go up its three levels by stairs or by lifts and even to the top by lift. The original lifts were made by the familiar Otis Company. As happens with every new initiative, there was strong resentment against the Tower. Writers, painters, sculptors and architects and the “passionate devotees of hitherto untouched beauty of Paris” all came together under the banner of “Artists against Eiffel Tower” to lodge strong protests with the government against the project. Among the protesters was that famous man of letters Guy de Maupassant. My wife went up the lift and she had a great panoramic view of Paris from up there. I moved around down below taking random shots.