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Europe 2016: Parisian romance
posted : Sunday, September 04, 2016
As predicted by my weather app, woke up to blue skies and plenty of sunshine. So this calls for sightseeing!
Not so fast, though. Planned to join a walking tour by Sandemans and there's a session in the afternoon which starts at 1pm so I dedicated my morning to a visit to Roland Garros.
I knew full well from my research that stadium tours have been cancelled in light of security concerns though if you ask me, it's an excuse because who wants to go on a stadium tour to blow up the stadium, when there are very few people around? I thought terrorists usually target crowds so that there's an audience. Oh well.
So took a 45 minute ride to the outskirts of Paris and walked over to the stadium. As predicted only the gift shop is open so got something for the sister, hung around the perimeter, and headed back to the city. I know it sounds pointless, but it's a must-do for me. Maybe someday I will be back to watch a match. 
Blue skies are here!
Not sure if they are real movie posters or are just there for artistic purposes. Like Art in Transit.
Smell aside, I like Parisian metro stations. Each station is unique. Really. Our dear Archi dept got to step it up, I mean, CCL stations generally look the same.
Entrance near Court Suzanne Lenglen, where the gift shop is.
I think all 4 slams have this.
Philippe Chatrier. Some day I'll be here!
Another long train ride back to the city proper. Gathering place is at Place St Michel and I reached at about 1215pm, so wandered around to grab a quick lunch.
Another different design.
Chequers? Now I know where GD gets his ideas from.
Cafes usually have seats facing outwards. For people watching?
Stopped by a crepe place for a quick lunch. Duno why it's so brown but it's still nice. Poulet, fromage et champignon. Have returned most of the French I learnt but I can still make out a few terms ok. And count to 10, maybe 20.
So the free walking tour! Was first introduced to this in Melbourne back in 2013, thought it's a really good way to see the city, similar to open top bus tours but you get to log in a few kilometres of walk. Concept behind is that you just have to tip the guide whatever amount you deem fit. Joined the English speaking tour (I think the other option is Spanish or was it French). Tour was to last for three hours and cover the major tourist spots in Paris. Picture time! 
My guide (in background) is actually from NZ, studied in Paris for a couple of years already.
Crossing to Ile de la Cite!
Sainte Chapelle. Guide says it's a good place to see stained glass windows, especially on sunny days like this. There's an admission fee though so I ended up not revisiting it.
Pont Neuf (New Bridge). Europeans really aren't very creative in naming places.
Statue of King Henry IV. Stopped by for a while listening to stories.
River Seine.
Along river bank.
Pont des Arts had most of the locks removed, but these guys are really determined to secure theirs here.
Ooh la la. Musee du Louvre. Didnt go in though. Figured that it would be a waste of time considering my interest level in art.
Standard pose.
What's with the obsession to keep the trees at the same height?
Finished the tour at Jardin des Tuileries. Still plenty of daylight left so retraced my steps because I didnt manage to stop for long at most of the places for good photos. And there's still Eiffel Tower which wasn't covered in the tour coz it's kind of out of the way. And my plan was to go up Arc de Triomphe during dusk so there's still a bit of time to kill. Paused here and there to plan my route (because I had limited train tickets mah) which was actually kind of going in circles so ended up with lots of walking. 
Back track. From the front. Had to wait a while so that there's no traffic in my photo :/
A mini Arc de Triomphe, with Place de la Concorde in the background. Word has it that they didn't have time to build a proper one coz they didnt expect Napoleon to win one of the battles so they hastily put this together, and he bought the story.
Back to Pont des Arts. Glass panels replacing the fencing which was so overloaded with locks that it is threatening the structural integrity of the bridge. Almost got scammed here too.
No matter, Parisians (and tourists) still find place to secure their love locks.
Cathedrale du Notre Dame!
Really here just to see stained glass windows.
High ceilings.
Another simple but effective metro exit design.
Another interior.
Random boulevard
Down Avenue des Champs-Élysées!
Stopped by to get some snacks (which ended up being my dinner)
Long walk from Champs Elysees to this beauty.
#nofilter
I was here!
Carousel underneath.
Next stop - Arc de Triomphe. Half an hour queue to go up, just in time for dusk.
All roads lead to....
The sparkling nightly light show at Eiffel Tower.
Stood in the middle of the road on some chevron markings to take this.
Parting shot.
Called it a day. A bit wary about going home at night in a dodgy neighborhood but went along just fine. Very very satisfactory day. Saw all I wanted to.
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