Bits and Bytes of life...: Europe Trip - Day 15 and 16

Last but not the least place on our itinerary was Paris. We were expecting the experience to be quite a contrast from our last 3 days spent in remote towns of Switzerland. We were excited to explore Paris. We had a long train ride from Switzerland to Paris. We reached Paris around evening time. We checked in our hotel which was about 10 minutes walking distance from a metro train station. Paris is a huge city so it was critical to be close to a subway station in order to get to the main attractions easily.

Obviously, the first place we decided to go to was the wonder of the world - Eiffel Tower. We got on the subway and headed to the Eiffel tower. Paris is like Italy in terms of people watching..almost like a fashion show everywhere. So the train ride was quite enjoyable :).

On the subway

We got off at the metro station and walked towards the Eiffel tower. It was evening time so the lights had not been turned on yet but nevertheless the Eiffel tower looked magnificent. We took some shots of the tower.

The magnificent Eiffel tower

We did not have plans of actually going up the tower today as we were saving it for my birthday tomorrow night. We sat amongst the hordes of tourists in the small park right next to the tower, admiring its beauty.

Garden near the tower

After an hour or so the light show began on the tower. If I remember right, the show happens every 30 minutes and goes on for 5 minutes. The lights flashed on and off everywhere on the tower and the tower looked even more beautiful with the twinkling lights. Also the atmosphere in the garden where we sat and saw the spectacular show was very friendly with people just hanging out and eating and drinking. Felt like the 4th of July fireworks night that we experience in the US.

Twinkling lights at the tower

Well, we didn't have any picnic food so we headed out to try try to most famous street food of Paris- crepes. Crepes are thin pancakes which have sweet and savoury fillings in them. We got one with nutella filling. It was fantastic. I also enjoyed watching how they were preparing the crepes. The way they spread the crepe batter on hot griddle reminded me of our desi dosas. After we filled our bellies with delicious crepes we got on the subway and headed back to our hotel.

The crepe shop

Loved the crepe with nutella

On day 16 - our second day in Paris we planned to head out to see the famous Palace of Versailles. We got up little late and it was almost 11 by the time we reached there. There was a huge line outside the palace to get in. I got in the line and Rakesh got in the another line to get tickets. So that way we would at least optimize the wait time. After waiting in the line for about 45 minutes finally we got an entry into the magnificent royal palace.

Near the palace entrance

Outside the palace

The palace which was built centuries ago is a remarkable achievement of French art. King Louis built this royal palace which embodies classical french art. The palace also had political importance for some time. The palace was mesmerizing and you could feel the king's opulence and extravaganza. Checkout some of the pictures below.

View of the garden from the palace window

Right next to the palace there is a huge garden - Garden of Versailles. It is little silly that we had to buy a separate ticket to enter the garden which was a part of the palace. Anyway we got our tickets and entered the garden. You also get a map of the garden which was useful to check out different sections of the huge garden. The garden is sprawling over a very huge area and is built in classical french style. We saw meticulously manicured lawns, bouquets of flowers, beautiful trees and huge fountains with beautiful sculptures everywhere in the garden. We waited until 3 pm as the fountain show begins at 3 pm. The fountain show is a musical fountain show so the whole garden has beautiful music playing everywhere and the fountains dancing to the tunes of the music. The sheer splendour was amazing and impressive.

First look at the garden

Water show at one of the fountains

After the day spent in scorching heat we were really tired and headed to our hotel to catch some rest in the our cosy air conditioned room. We then got ready and headed to Eiffel tower. We first saw a glimpse of the Arc De Triomphe and then walked along Champs De Elysee which is a prestigious place is Paris with all the luxury cafes and speciality shops. This street is one of the priciest real estate in the world.

Arc De Triomphe

After spending some time here, we reached Eiffel Tower and got in the line to get tickets which by the way is usually shorter if you go after 9 pm. We got our tickets and were ecstatic to get on the lift that takes you to the second level. There were too many people. We enjoyed the city views from the second level. Needless to say Paris is a huge city. The glamorous city glittered with lovely lights. What a sight it was!

Yay got our tickets

Glittering city of Paris

We then took the lift to the topmost(3rd) level of the Eiffel tower. I was so happy to be celebrating a milestone birthday in Paris. It almost felt like yesterday we were just toying with this idea. I never thought we would actually make it to Paris for my birthday. It was a indeed a dream come true. I was so happy and thankful to my dear husband for planning it so impeccably.