Paris - Week 4

Day 25 Thursday - 17th August

Anu was coming in today, so I was all excited abt that. She reached safely but as is generally the case, I was swamped with work..all morning I was jobless...and just when I had to leave, things started falling into place!!! Murphy is the most influential man in this century and many to follow I am sure...

Introduced Sachin to the evils of taking the bus from office to home. Don't think he is every gonna walk again or maybe just outta sheer desperation. I like walking..correction..I love walking..remember the time in Jerusalem when all Sandeep and I did was walk..and of course the brilliant walk around Paris with JP..the problem with having a love for walking is that you don't realise how tiring/painful it can get for the people around you...But anyways, Paris is a beautiful place to walk around and the route to the office is complete with a nice bridge over the Seine and a glimpse of the Eiffel..

Took Anu to the symbols of Paris..the Grand Arch, the Eiffel and Arc De Triomph!!! She was quite impressed!!! The Eiffel tower twinkling at Trocadero can be an overwhelming sight...even for the seasoned traveller who has been there and done that...and everytime I look at that sight..it still manages to take my breath away..
Returned home to a good South Indian meal and tachi..was out like a light

Day 26 Friday - 18th August

Got up 4 hours later to pick my mom up from the airport...Was sleep walking and I didnt realise it till I actually opened my eyes 20 mins later!!! Reached the airport well ahead of time..and stood watching all flights from the UK or US either being cancelled or postponed...

Later today, as we all revelled in the magnificence of Paris and wondered about the plight of our country we realised something...India has always been a peaceful country..we have never conquered another country or kingdom and we don't have any plans to..On the contrary, we have always been the plundered and besieged underdog. Goes a long way in explaining the difference in our country and say, a country like France. They were ruled by kings who acquired hordes of money from plundering and conquering lesser kingdoms and this money they put in to the infrastructure of their city. Paris has had a metro since 1910!! Bangalore will hopefully have a metro in 2010. A century behind??? And what do we lack?? Brains?? Manpower?? Money?? Infrastructure?? Or should we just blame our kings for it??
Showed my mom a little of St.Michel Notre Dame and then the Arc de Triomph..nice day in all..had a bad pizza on Champs Elysses and returned.

Day 27 Saturday - 19th August

Woke up quite early but by the time we left for Mont St. Michel, it was past 11 am..after going around Paris we managed to set off on the right road..Typical European country side..lush, verdant, breath taking...I could go into rhapsodies describing the place but shall refrain from doing so..it has to be seen to be believed..

Reached this quaint town called Caen (pronounced Koh..)...very pretty town with the river running right through it...and yachts anchored along side the road...reached there around 1.30 and we were positively ravenous..however, French law (or so it seemed) does not "allow" most establishments to serve food after 2...So by 1.45, all doors closed upon us...managed to find an Arab guy who bent the rules..and we had a feta cheese sandwich for lunch. Went to this beautiful cathedral...but you see one cathedral in Europe, you have pretty much seen them all. Have a strange feeling of deja vu as I write this blog coz I have a strange feeling of having written these things already...

Drove on to Mont St. Michel..dozed off for a while but Anu told me that the scenery outside was just beautiful..the weather in France is an unpredictable as a woman's moods...One instant its sunny..the next it it's pouring so hard that you cant even see the road in front of you..the third..its cold and the 4th its probably sunny again...

Stayed at this nice European Villa at Mont St. Michel and visited the castle and its narrow alleys filled with shops..saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time...Mont St. Michel is on the north western coast of France..just overlooks the English Channel...reached the villa and sunk...into these super soft beds..had a good sleep...

Day 28 Sunday - 20th August

Woke up really late....left Mont St. Michel...on the way to Paris, stopped at this château ruins in Domfront where we also had our lunch...consisted of croissants and brownie...abt the only vegetarian food we managed to salvage from the place..reached Paris around 6...and then set out to the Eiffel and Arc De Triomph...saw the Eiffel twinkling again..and this time Sachin captured it on the handycam..so I have the moment stored for posterity..

Climbed up the Arc De Triomph...the view!!!!! You ain't seen Paris if you haven't gone up the Arc...what an amazing view..12 roads...from allsides of the Arc..Champs Elysses..the Grand Arch..Sacre Cour...the Pantheon...the Eiffel..the Concorde..Notre Dame..its Paris in a nutshell..so if you have only an hour in Paris and you wanna see it all..climb up the Arc De Triomph at night..

Returned home to crash..

Day 29 Monday - 21st August

Woke up an hour later to drop Anu off at the airport..drove the car a little on the way back..was totally kicked abt it...reached the hotel and promptly fell asleep again with the consequence that I was quite late to the office..my bad!!

As I read this blog, I feel that the quality of my writing is drastically deteriorating...i seem to be going through a slump of sorts..so I’m sorry if I have bored ya..shall endeavour to improve!!!