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Days Day 00: Changi Day 01: Paris Day 02: Paris Day 03: Paris Day 04: Berlin Day 05: Berlin Day 06: Munich, Füssen Day 07: Salzburg Day 08: Vienna Day 09: Vienna Day 10: Florence Day 11: Cinque Terre Day 12: Pisa, Rome Day 13: Rome Day 14: Pompeii Day 15: Vatican City Day 16: Barcelona Day 17: Barcelona Day 18: Granada Day 19: Seville Day 20: Seville Day 21: London Day 22: London Day 23: London Day 23: Liverpool Day 23: Manchester Day 23: Outside London Day 24: London |
Day 02: Paris Friday, 21st March 2008
Rise and shine, and who would have known that Europeans don't do breakfast in the hotel's café in shorts and slippers? Breakfast was a scrumptious spread of croissants and baguettes, jams and butter, cereal and milk, and a selection of hot drinks. All included in our nightly rates for the bed.  First stop of the day, the Arc de Triomphe. This famous Parisian monument honours French soldiers, especially those who fought in the Napoleonic wars. But most importantly for us tourists, it provides an excellent vantage point to see the beautifully planned streets and boulevards from Napoleon III's term as president - the streets all radiating from the arc. Arc de Triomphe   The climb up the spiral steps was a long one, but only one of many to come on this trip. And boy, was it all worth it in the end, for the views of the beautiful city was breathtaking! View of the city  Being in Paris, we could not help but make a stop at the Louis Vuitton store.  We were met with hail and rain soon after. When the skies cleared up, we finished our stroll down the Champs Élysées where we found lunch. Still afraid of having to confront menus in French and waiters that didn't speak any English, we settled for hotdogs from a take away stand served by a Chinese couple. Strange that we ordered food in Paris in Mandarin, but well, at least we got what we wanted! The hotdog was laced with mustard, and not the mild kind we get at home, and we were all taken by surprise by the kick it gave.  Derrick can't take it anymore   Our next destination was Les Invalides, where the army museum and Napoleon's tomb were located. The army museum was a really comprehensive one, with collections ranging from armours and weaponry from the days of knights, and exhibits of every war though to WWII. Though we had a history student and a war nut in our group, due to time constraints, and with much regrets, we had to hurry through most of the exhibits without really doing them any justice at all.   After some trouble navigating, we found the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. For a man so small (in stature, giant figure in history of course), his tomb sure is pretty big. In fact, it is made up of 5 coffinsm one inside of another, of tin, mahogany, 2 of lead and ebony, in a giant sarcophagus of imperial colored, red Finnish porphyry stone, all set in a glorifying rotunda of white marble.  We were then supposed to head to the Palace of Versailles, but unfortunately, the workers at Versailles were on strike! It is in times like this that you start to appreciate that we don't ever face such problems in Singapore. With no more plans for the day, we brought forward the itinerary of the next day, and headed to the Catacombs. But as luck (or a lack thereof) would have it, the Catacombs were closed as well!  Disappointed but not beaten, we proceeded to Île de la Cité where Saint-Chapelle and the Notre Dame were located. But it being Good Friday, the two churches were closed to public visitation. We ended up at an unplanned visit to the Conciergerie, a royal palace and prison, famous for having housed Marie Antoinette's prison cell in her last days before her fate at the guillotine. Dinner was at a Italian restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. Mostly, it was so cold, we decided to walk into the first restaurant our guidebook recommended to seek warmth. It was not a wrong choice though, for the food was excellent, and not that expensive (€20 each, that’s cheap for Paris! Gasp!). And when in Paris, you have to drink wine… or maybe it was just too cold to drink anything else.    Hak Liang trying to be artistic  Chun Yang braving the wind  Hak Liang and Derrick Daryl and Alwyn  After a long day, we were all exhausted...   
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