Paris - City of Artists and Dreamers

Recently I visited Paris with my family. It was a week long and easier than I expected it would be. So what did I think of Paris? Somehow, it was charming and arrogant at the same time, historic and modern, mindblowing and impressive. I like to think of touristy Paris as a giant theme park called Art & Culture Land which has rides like 'Museum Jump' and games like 'Red Wine Swill' and visitors who wear berets, like Disneyland visitors wear their mouse ears. But that is not the Paris I will make nostalgias of. I want to remember the Paris of Artists and Dreamers. Here are a few of my favourite excerpts from my diary of the trip:

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Paris
19th March

"It's so strange to write the words 'Paris, 19th March' on my diary. That is something I imagine is a copyright phrase of aspiring authors and the characters created by them, used to begin a description of their often romantic, often lawless, but always entertaining adventures in Europe and here I finally am."

20th March

"Our first close up view of the Eiffel Tower was from a park across the Seine, the perfect view in my opinion. It was probably also the perfect spot for a sunset picnic. It is quite odd to actually see this giant structure in reality after all the many times you see it on TV."

"We bought a five day metro pass and dove into the world below. The Parisian undergroun is a world of its own and definitely has a lot more character than the one in Copenhagen, but not as much as the one in London. What can I say? I am biased."

"After heading back to the hotel for a siesta of sorts, we dined on the Champs Elysees at a nautical themed restaurant where dishy waiters walked around dressed as sailors. Our waiter was a handsome fellow with a heavy charming French accent. The highlight of the dinner was when we ordered mojitos and I ordered one with champagne in it, aptly titled 'Bubble mojito'. Mr. Sailor Waiter repeated our order as follows, "Deux mojitos et un bebble. Oui?" After that I insisted on calling myself Bebble."

21st March

"Here I must mention and endorse the Lonely Planet as an I-Ching for travellers. In it was written very clearly how one could jump the queue at the Louvre by buying tickets at the Virgin Mega Store instead. Thus, we breezed through, okay, not exactly breezed through the line but atleast our wait wasn't longer than 30 minutes while others languished for eons outside the glass pyramid."

"The Louvre was not at all what I expected a museum to be; it was crowded, noisy and confusing. Our first goal was to pay our respect to the Mona Lisa which was much smaller than expected. I ended up taking more pictures of the crowd that stared at it agape than I did of the actual painting. After lunch in the over crowded self service cafeteria, we headed up to the less frequented Northern European sections. The lack of thronging masses was like a breath of fresh air."

22nd March

"I now know why it was good to be the King of France. The view from the top step of the grounds of Chateau des Versailles of the rolling battlements is spectacular. It is so majestic that you really do feel that you own all the land as far as the eye can see. It was magical walking in the grounds watching the play of sunlight and cloud shadow in the wind and the sky's reflection in the water of the fountains. Also adding to the atmosphere was the stately Baroque music. There was one piece especially with heavy downbow notes for the violins and lots of intricacy from the cellos, that I enjoyed. Dad bought himself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from the grounds and Mom made us wait there till 15:30 to witness the splendid fountain displays. A few photographs, many 'oohs' and a rainbow sighting later we headed back to the train station."

"The boat cruise along the Seine was perfect. The sky cleared up and the sun shone down. It was like a trip to the past and back. I enjoyed the sights. The guide on the boat was impressive as she spoke French, English, Spanish, Italian, German and Russian fluently, translating everything immediately. I saw the Notre Dame and learnt that its bells have names - Francois, Petite Sofie and big Emmanuel who is sounded only at important events and rings out in a loud F#. I learnt that D'Artagnan actually did live in Paris. I learnt that the oldest bridge in Paris is actually called Pont Neuf which means New Bridge and that second hand book sellers have been selling subversive banned literature there since it was built. I also heard that Joe Dassin song, 'Aux Champs Elysees'. Its so strange but everytime I walk on the Champs Elysees, I actually start humming that song."

23rd March

"The Metro station close to the Sacre Coeur is called Abssesses. I guess that means abyss in French because no other description better fits that station. The exit from the station was a wide spiral staircase that seemed to wind its up forever. Along the way, there were paintings and depictions of Parisian life above, which was quite pleasant. "

"It was a beautiful day outside and we walked up the gently ascending staircase to the Basilique Sacre-Coeur. Tourists and believers flocked everywhere but despite the thronging masses, it was beautiful. There was a spectacular view of Paris from the terrace half way up. Of course, the whole situation was enhanced by the harpist busking on the steps. I almost died of sheer joy looking out onto the City of Lights listening to Concerto de Aranjuez on the harp. One of those moments you want to capture for future nostalgias as Vikram Seth put it. Inside the Sacre-Coeur on Easter Sunday was a moving experience. It was crowded with a lot of disrespectful tourists, but somehow still blissful and calming. It reminded me very much of Tirupathi as there few places of worship where you are enveloped in such an atmosphere of calm despite the crowd."

"After lunch we walked around what seemed a shady part of town, near the metro station, Barbes Rochechouart. One metro ride later and we were in a completely different world - the peaceful suburb of La Muette, home to the Musee Marmottan Monet. Here for the second time in my life, I saw a Morisot up close and I confess I am in love. While Monet is the undisputed King of Impressionism, something about Morisot strikes a chord in me."

24th March

"I was up late as usual reading my Mansfield. The highlight of this trip has been my discovery of the Morisot and Mansfield Joys of Life. I was reading a story of a French writer who lives in Paris. The story describes his life, his apartment with sloping walls and views of the rooftops of Paris, the cafe lifestyle and I couldn't help but smile as I looked onto the sloping walls of my hotel room with its views of Parisian rooftops."

25th March

"Mom, Dad and I breakfasted in Cafe Pomme du Pain on Champs Elysees. We ate our croissants and coffee while sitting on the upper floor watch life float by on Champs Elysees and that was an awesome feeling. Watching the women with high heels stumble, the lost tourists unfurling the maps while busy Parisians went about their lives as usual. Watching the world go by. "