Day 4: See how the Kings lived...

We had more ambitious plans for today. Versailles. Eiffel Tower - take 2. Tim's hometown. We woke up.....to sunshine!! Hurriedly got ready and made our way out....to rainy clouds again. Our trip to Versailles was quite the eventful one...as a 15 minute trip took about 90. That put a snag in our plans to visit Tim. But, we did visit the Palace and Garden of Versailles. If you remember, this was the site of the famous Treaty in 1919 that ended World
War I. It was also the home of many french kings. They sure knew how to live in grandeur. We headed back and stopped by the Eiffer Tower to say 'hi'. The day view was almost as spectacular as the night view. We stood directly underneath and wondered how the heck they build this thing. It was the tallest structure in the world until the Empire State Building came along. That is very believable since you can see it almost anywhere in Paris. With all the historic buildings embedded in the city.....there is an ordinance to limit the growth of skyscrapers. You will find that the business district is outside the city periphery and the French have done well to preserve the historic landscape of Paris. Pretty cool.

Paris was truly amazing. Traveling with Akhil was a daunting task and we were very nervous.
But, it was much easier than we thought. Granted, we got out much slower and carried around much more. But, it was worth the visit. He was a trooper and was brave with the rain and wind. Now, it was time to get ready for Bangalore. It will be a much different experience there. Still have plenty to do.....I guess we'll have a little more help now.

Day 3: How to conquer Paris in a day....

So..we were feeling a bit unfulfilled. The rain and jet lag had dampened our plans for Day 2. Sri had put together a master plan for our Day 3 and we were going to abide to it as best as we could!! We woke up all energized only to see our window foggied up and rain pouring down on the streets of Paris. No worries...we're going out and the rain will just have to deal with us!!

Picked up a chocolat du pain and Sri got croissant au raisin to kickstart the day. We were off to the Louvre! Figured it wouldn't rain that much in there!! AFter buying our tickets....we looked at each other in utter disbelief. Where the heck do we go next? Even the welcome area was like a maze. we went straight for the jugular - the Mona Lisa!! Suffice it to say that we weren't really prepared. We kinda just followed our whim of the moment. There were signs of Mona Lisa all over the museum and we still got lost. But, on the way, we did run into some amazing works. We saw greeks, romans, crusaders of the medieval times. We saw french and italian paintings. We saw sculptures and egyptian tombs. But, i wanted to see Mona and Venus!! and, there she was...among a throng of tourists. She had her own room!! After looking at all the paintings, we noticed that Da Vinci's creation was quite small compared to the average. Ok, a couple quick shots and we moved on. Speaking of sculptures, we saw Venus de Milo next. She was amazing. The goddess of love, Aphrodite had lost her arms....but, still is one of the most prized pieces in this museum. The Louvre itself is a work of art. The ceilings are adorned with translucent glass and the walls have meticulous carvings.


Ok, we were done. We probably saw 25% of the museum...but, at this point...we were just looking for the 'sortie' signs to get out!! So tired. Visually...it was too much sensation. Physically...our feet and backs were achy. Out we went.....to sunshine!! yay...perfect timing. Next was lunch!! We found a street cafe that made crepes on the sidewalk and jumped right in. After getting energized, we bought an umbrella and headed up north on the metro to Montmarte. The Sacre Coeur basilica was one of the most impressive looking churches (aside from Notre Dame) and perched high above the city. This side trip might have been one of the most fulfilling of our week. This district was very quaint and had many distinct narrow, winding streets that were colored with shops and boulangeries. We walked and walked up the streets until we saw remnants of the church. Uh oh...here comes the rain...and the wind. We trudged on and made it.....wow, what a view!! We took pictures and pictures. Lil' Akhil was cold, but cheerful. Montmarte: done.

It was about 4:30 and we were just getting going. Paris is well known for its fashion and shopping. Well, we decided to visit the shopping mecca in the Galleries Lafayette. This place puts every mall that I've visted to shame!! We got yelled at for taking pictures inside....sri was trying on one of Dior's expensive hats!! Tsk, tsk.

We walked by the Opera district (quite the architecture, also) and hopped on the metro back to the hotel. After a quick clean up, we were right back out. This time.....two of the major Paris icons - Le Tour Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe!! We ventured out to one of the more popular photo spots and took some night pictures of the Eiffel Tower. Every hour on the hour is when the tower glitters and it truly is a sight to see. We did our best with the rain....but, made one last pit stop...at the Arc de Triomphe. Even though we made it here on Day 1, I wanted to check it out from another angle....the famous streets of Champs D'Elysees. The french armies rode through here to be honored and celebrated and you couldn't find a better landmark. It was a great way to end the night and one of our busiest days yet. Paris....what a beautiful city......la ville lumiere...

Day 2: Burgers and Pizza??

Akhil's first night in Paris was relatively low key. I guess he found the hotel bed comfortable. We woked up...and, zut alors....it was 12:00!! I guess the jet lag kinda hit us. We were scheduled to meet up with Tim at 3:00 for a stroll around the Louvre and towards Notre Dame. What a cutie pie that little Jeanne is..!!

Alas, the rain had stopped and we strapped Akhil on the baby Bjorn and were on our way.
After getting off the metro, which is super efficient and very clean, we followed the 'sortie' signs outside. Tim pointed us in the direction of the Louvre. Sri and I were amazed at how big it really is.....what a masterpiece. Now, we could understand why an entire week can be spent just walking the halls of Le Louvre. We saved our entry for another day and walked towards Notre Dame along the river Seine. It turned out to be a fine day and we really got the Parisien feel as our feet crossed old cobblestone roads and we noticed schoolchildren running in the parks.



Paris really is a historic town. There aren't many skyscrapers, there aren't many imported cars.....mostly a scent of the olden days. Ahh...there it was....the famed Notre Dame de Paris! We looked, but couldn't find quasimoto. But, we did see the gargoyles sitting atop the church. We soaked it in for a minute and then bid adieu to Tim and Jeanne. After a snack for Akhil, we walked across the Seine (on a bridge, silly!!) to Cafe Panis. We were welcomed by a very nice waiter whose English was much better than our French. I had a juicy hamburger and Sri had a club sandwich with french fries. It was our first (and only) sit down meal....but, totally recharged us!!


Along the walk back to the metro, we tackled the rain and ducked into some street shops. My GPS, (aka Sri), was already in prime form. Give her a couple more days and she would be ready to publish her guide to Paris. However, on this day, we went around in circles a bit. the rain got a bit heavier. We didn't have a parapluie (umbrella) with us......akhil was enjoying the rain, though. His frequent shouts of glee were melodies to us.

We returned to the Concorde LaFayette around 9:00 and were exhausted. I decided to get the tripod out for some pictures from our window. Sri ordered room service and got pizza!! We had a nice dinner in our room with a sparkling view of the Eiffel Tower. Lil' Akhil? He was doing his power naps before turning in for the night.

Day 1 - Nous arrivons!! Bonjour Paris...

Well, we stepped onto Air France with every bit of nervousness possible. Little Akhil was on the verge of turning five months and ready to embark on his first flight.......for nearly 10 hours!! But, he was great. He met a friend sitting in the bassinet next to him and they exchanged smiles and frowns all the way to Charles de Gaulle airport. Sri and I were pretty whooped.





Luckily, our friend Tim was visiting home in Paris and picked us up from the airport. That made a huge difference as we strolled into our hotel without much pain at all. After checking into our room, we discovered a view!! Yes, both the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Wowsers.....what a nice surprise.


After some cleaning up, we ventured out and met up with Sri's cousin, Shanti. We walked around the famous Champs D'Elysees and then took l'elevateur to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Not only is this the finish line for the Tour de France, but also the celebration venue for many of the past armies of both the Napoleonic era and beyond. We learned quickly about all the rich history of Paris. So many beautiful architectures and sites for visit. Only 4 days.....I wonder how much we can really see? We returned to the hotel and played with the kids for a bit along with some chaud chocolate and cafe americain. It had been a looong day, and we were ready to turn in. C'est finit...pour maintenant!!