8th June 2012, 23:43
| #91 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Evening in Paris - Day 1 Bateaux Mouches, Part 2 More pictures from the boat cruise. By 10 PM, it had finally gotten fully dark and the lighting on the bridges, buildings and the Eiffel tower looked really beautiful. Experiencing the city with all the lighting was a totally different experience compared to what I'd seen earlier during the day. I dont know if it was because of the holiday season, but all along the river I could see people partying, picnicking, and basically having real good time with friends and family!                       After an eventful and wonderful day, I returned back to the hostel by midnight. For the next day, my friend suggested that I choose between Chβteau de Versailles & The Musιe du Louvre; either would require at least a whole day to visit (Louvre can go up to several days too!). I was really tired and really could not make up my mind, so decided to finalize it the next morning... PS: I just noticed the thread has crossed 10k views, with over 500 pictures already. I hope you are liking the pictures!  Last edited by chikkars : 8th June 2012 at 23:46. |
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12th June 2012, 14:52
| #92 |
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Weekend in Paris - Day 2 After a whole day of walking, I got some much deserved sleep in the night. Next morning, over coffee, discussed with my friend that I had chosen to visit the Louvre instead of Versailles. My friend suggested that I be at the Museum by 9 am, to beat the rush. Some Trivia about this great Museum: The Musιe du Louvre or simply the Louvre is one of the largest museums, most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. Over 8 million visitors visit the museum every year. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. The Museum displays the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and many other first class paintings from Italy, France, Flanders, Netherlands and England. The museum is so huge that it would take several days for it to be explored completely! The Louvre Museum is open 9am to 6pm all days except Tuesdays, January 1st, May 1st, November 11th, December 25th. Admission museum is free for visitors who fall under a list of specified categories, which includes visitors under the age of 18, teachers of art, disabled visitors and their guests, etc. Also, there is free admission for all visitors on the first Sunday of each month and on July 14. I could not use this benefit as I was there on the last Sunday of August. I was at the Museum by 8.30 am and bought myself Full-day Louvre Museum, with an entrance fee of 10 euro. I walked in to the food court area to have some quick breakfast. After the breakfast consisting some nice panini and hot cappuccino, I started walking towards the main entrance. I decided to rent an Audio Guide which would help me explore the museum on my own. IIRC, it cost me 6 euros, and at the counter I was asked to deposit a valid ID document. I showed the lady my Alliance Francaise student card, and asked if it was valid. She seemed very happy looking at the card, and asked me (in French) if I spoke French. I responded with an affirmative and explained to her in my not-so-perfect French that I was a student at Alliance Bangalore.  |
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12th June 2012, 15:09
| #93 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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12th June 2012, 16:52
| #94 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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12th June 2012, 21:11
| #95 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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12th June 2012, 21:21
| #96 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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12th June 2012, 21:25
| #97 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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13th June 2012, 15:38
| #98 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Weekend in Paris - Day 2, Musιe du Louvre By the time it was 2.30 PM, I'd had enough of the Museum and decided to leave, and see some place else. The Louvre is a place where you could literally spend maybe a week to see it all and take in the detail, but how would you remember where you started?? To see everything that the Louvre has to offer is practically impossible. If one just wants to see the big tourist attractions such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Victory of Samothrace, etc., they can make it through pretty quickly - 1 or 2 hours tops. Before heading out, I had to return the audio guide. I noticed a small coffee counter there, so decided to grab some coffee with some sweet snack. I bought apple quiche, which was awful!   Museum entrance, which bore a deserted look earlier in the morning, was now crowded with visitors!   Some pictures of the outside area         The amazing, controversial pyramid. The pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre. Here's some trivia I found off the internet: Commissioned by the late French president, Franηois Mitterand, la Pyramide du Louvre was completed in 1989 with much controversy. Its symbolic construction was in part to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. The modern glass structure was designed by the Chinese American architect Ieoh Ming Pei in the heart of the courtyard of the Louvre (Cour Napolιon), along the symbolic Axis leading through to lArc de Triomphe. The pyramid is surrounded by a few smaller ones and an inverted pyramid, all of which crown the underground expansion of the Louvre that was completed at the same time. Leading up to its construction, France was divided on the issue.. Many saw the modern construction as shockingly offensive and an insult to the high French architecture of the Louvre. Others believed it was a way into the future and pointed to the fact that much the same division occurred upon the construction of the Eiffel Tower a century earlier. The latter won the battle and today, la Pyramide du Louvre is deemed a success by nearly everyone.      Hopped on to a Metro train and got off at the St. Lazare station.   Where to go???  |
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18th June 2012, 20:32
| #99 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights I decided to go back and explore some more of the Avenue des Champs-Ιlysιes again. Unlike the previous day which was very warm and sunny, this afternoon the weather was very cool and breezy.       Found this interesting piece of art inside one of the shopping complexes.   Wow, so much bling!!  Walking further down the street, I noticed this bistro which also had an open seating area (from where I clicked this pic). I thought it was time for me to have the meal which I had always wanted to, and had visualized! "Do as the Parisians do" is what I was told prior to my trip to Paris.  As I walked in, I was greeted with the friendly staff who spoke only French. Yes, seriously! None of the waiters or the managers spoke any English. I managed to speak with them in the little bit of French I'd learned, and they responded appropriately. I was happy and surprised to see that my French was being comprehended by Parisians!!  I was so delighted that I dint even care for the exorbitant prices on the menu.  I ordered a combo meal which came with a Salad, Choice of Main (Pasta), Choice of Dessert (Tiramisu) and beverage. The food was really really tasty, the staff very friendly, and overall experience - wonderful! Cost me 35 Euros, and I wasn't complaining!   |
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18th June 2012, 20:53
| #100 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Weekend in Paris - Day 2, L'ATELIER RENAULT As I started walking again after the wonderful meal, I noticed this place which looked like a car showroom, but also filled with young people enjoying desserts and drinks inside. I was curious and went in to check it out. The Renault Atelier was indeed quite a surprise, with smart showroom/exhibition space on the ground floor, and the bright, airy and futuristic multi-level restaurant/bar. The ambiance was light and joyous. The restaurant serves pretty tasty food and not at ridiculous prices, which is very rare in this neighborhood!            It was 4 PM, and time for me to head back to the hostel, freshen up, pickup my bag and reach the Gallieni bus depot before 8 PM to catch my Eurolines bus to Amsterdam! Although I would've preferred to spend more time in the city, overall it was a very satisfying and eventful weekend trip to Paris, and I thoroughly enjoyed it thanks to the meticulous planning by my host! Last edited by chikkars : 18th June 2012 at 20:54. |
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19th June 2012, 11:10
| #101 |
| BHPian  | |
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19th June 2012, 12:02
| #102 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Quote:
Well, I have uploaded almost 700 pics already and have only a few more left from the trip, which I shall post soon. | |
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28th June 2012, 21:04
| #103 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 150
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| Re: Travelogue Country of low lands & the City of lights Last week in Amsterdam The 3rd and last week in Amsterdam, I could not go out much because of work. I stayed back at Eindhoven for 2 days, to spend some time with my other colleagues. We did some major shopping the Indian way, bargaining hard for souvenirs at the local market.  Bought several kilos of chocolates, perfumes, watches, clothes, shoes and what not! Here's the last set of some random pictures (mostly cars):                      Alrighty, folks. That brings us to the end of the travelogue. Like always, I thoroughly enjoyed writing my travel experience; hope you guys liked it too. Thanks to all of you who read, appreciated and provided your comments. Thanks, also to the person who rated (again) my thread with 1 star  .I'd like to end the travelogue with 2 pictures that bring a smile on my face and fond memories of the trip!   Last edited by chikkars : 28th June 2012 at 21:05. |
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29th June 2012, 11:16
| #104 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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