Paris: Day Three

I got up a bit late on my last day in Paris. Had my breakfast and checked out of the youth hostel. The youth hostel served excellent breakfast - juice, tea, coffee, crispy hard bread, butter and a few flavors of marmalades.

I left for an area called Montmartre. This is far suburb of Paris which hosts the very famous 'Sacre Couer' church atop a hill. I had to climb about 200 steps to this pristine white monument.

The climb offered the most unhindered view of Paris city. A hoard of tourist shops crowded the cobbled streets of this suburb. Caricature artists and painters had set shop in one of the plazas. The suburb has an old world charm, with narrow white streets, paved with stones or concrete tiles.

Just off this hill is the very famous adult entertainment district hosting the likes of Moulin Rouge.

Then I left for Montparnasse. It is a tall building with 59 floors in the midst of the city.
I rode an elevator to the 56th floor. The last floors of this building housed a restaurant and photographs and exhibits of the constructions of the famous landmarks of the city. The Photo exhibits detailed the construction of the metro, the sewers, the river bridges and the Montparnasse itself.

I walked up 3 flights of stairs to the open terrace. The views are spectacular and the whole of Paris is like a map in front of you - the la defense, tour Eiffel, the sacre couer and almost all the famous spots of Paris. This building has the quickest lift in Europe - 56 floors in 38 Seconds flat.

Next, I walked to a bank on the river Seine again and spent some time there. I took a bus ride to the Eiffel and was disappointed to find that the tower top was closed for repairs. Yet, I could climb to the first 2 levels of the tower. The first level took me some 20 minutes. The stairways and the landings house small plaques pointing to famous monuments of Paris and a bit of history on each of them. Plaques with amusing incidents, the history of the tower, visits of famous personalities including the tale of an elephant climbing to the 1st level make each step exciting.

The halls host details on the OTIS lifts, the challenges during construction, cost of construction and maintenance , the lighting, information on famous visitors like princes, presidents, scholars and scientists; The history of the tower, the initial protests, petitions against it and Eiffel Gustave.

Gustave was not an architect, but monumental as a builder. He was also responsible for several other successes - huge railway terminals, bridges, arches and the Statue of Liberty. There is a small version of the statue on the Seine which the US presented as a return gift to France.

There was so much controversy over the tower and it's cost that one conman even managed to sell it as scrap to a merchant saying it was to be brought down soon, since it was too expensive to maintain. He managed to forge government documents for this. The merchant, who had been tricked, was far too embarrassed to even lodge a complaint with the police.

The tower actually looks stupid even from a street away. But once you get near or under it, the size and age deliver shock you. I kept gaping at it with disbelief.

The tower has been part of the industrial revolution. It stationed the first antenna for wireless communication, helped catch enemy signals leading to the arrest of Mata Hari, has been part of structural studies, wind and space studies, atmospheric studies, transmitted the first television signals, radio signals and inspired many.

It needs a coat of paint every 7 years. When you climb the tower even towards the 1st floor, you feel a little jittery. It being an open mesh structure, you can see so much metal and empty space below. The people gaping at you seem tiny and you are constantly hit by the cold breeze.

There was little breeze during my visit, so it must be scary on windy days.
I spent a long time climbing, kept reading all the bits of info posted along the stairs great fun.

I visited Paris in a lean tourist season - winter. Yet, every place in Paris was crowded. Even the Disney tickets were discounted, but I yet waited in such long queues. I fear visiting Paris in the summers. It must be amazingly crowded.

I spent about three hours in the tower, then crossed the road and sat in the park opposite. After a few minutes, 3 ornately decorated limousines arrived and parked on the empty space in front of the park. Three Chinese couples emerged with hordes of photographers and relatives. And they attracted a lot of crowd because people were wondering what was happening.

They were apparently just married and were posing on the green lawns with the tower making a nice backdrop for their wedding photographs. Amazingly beautiful to be photographed in white gowns on green lawns with the huge world famous tower as a backdrop.

Once it grew dark, the tower started sparkling with lights. The lights were twinkling like stars atop the tower. They would glow bright and then switch off. A rare flash of light would seem to appear in the wrong places sometimes - nothing but camera flashes. The lights grew steady and the tower was beautifully aglow in a fiery red color. All to the delight of tourists who grabbed the opportunity to click a few more photos.

I was very sad that I would soon leave this beautiful city; But very happy that I had made it here and not been too lazy to plan the trip and the visa formalities. My most beautiful and exciting trip YET.

I boarded the train back to London, with a smile on my face and a hyperactive mind. I just hoped and prayed for many such exciting trips and thanked God for this one.

The atmosphere this time in the train was a little different from when I had boarded the train for Paris. It was noisy, a few British girls speaking loud enough for others to hear. And of course, fashion and style was a noticeably absent now.

sortie (Exit)