Epilogue to Trip

This has been a wonderful trip. Thinking back, it was planned nearly 5 months ahead, shortened once and shelved twice. However after all that happened, we really did manage to visit the many sites and marvel at these two cities and the wonders they offer.

Closing this chapter of my blog are two photos that I believe best captures the beauty of these two cities.

Versailles - The Gardens

Navigate around Versailles' home page and you can find the map of the whole compound. The gardens cover a huge part of the palace compound. The gardens stretched as far as the eye can see, and I am not exaggerating this fact. There is a huge lake in the middle of the garden, shaped as a cross. The king sometimes take a boat ride from one end to the other. Even today, there are boat operators in that lake that provide leisure boat rides.

In the background, the palace building. Countless statues populate the gardens of Versailles. It made me wonder how the garden was kept maintained in those days without cherry pickers and grass cutters. Well, if you have tonnes of French francs, this would not be a problem I guess. The paths in the gardens, contrarily to what I used to thought, were actually fine pebbles, not fine sands.

The building in the background, with the tall windows is where the halls of mirrors are located.

Fountain of Apollo. King of the Gods, the Sun God is again being used to symbolize the King's absolute power.

Versailles - The Palace

The Palace of the Sun-King, Château de Versailles was the center of administration during the reign of King Louis XIV. We arrived early in the morning after half an hour's train ride from Paris into the small town of Versailles. The queue into the palace was already long and growing by the minute. Holiday makers from everywhere and of every colours can be seen while lining up.

Versailles chapel, where royal events were celebrated was one of the nicest rooms to occupy the vast compound of Versailles. This was how the King and Queen would have seen the chapel, from the tribune royale, where they heard mass.

The chapel as viewed from the ground floor. The colour scheme, yellow and white, was used extensively throughout the palace. In the other apartments, which can be found through the link above, architects borrowed inspirations from Roman mythologies.

One of the more famous area in the Palace was the Halls of Mirrors where 17 arches are lined up to reflect the light from 17 opposite windows which faces the gardens of Versailles. It had to be made known that during the time of its construction, mirrors were among the most priced item to possess and a rarity in its own class. To have a hall lined up with nearly 350 mirrors showcased the grandeur and extravagance of the Sun King.

The Museum Which Was a Train Station

Musée D'Orsay, or the Museum of Orsay was converted from a train station and houses mostly French artworks and sculptures. The masterpieces on display here are more contemporary and focused as compared to those in the Louvre, which covers a wider area.

The Louvre was converted from a palace/fortress, the Tate Modern from a power plant and Orsay from a train station. Each museums still carries with them the tell tale signs of its previous incarnation, as seen in the Orsay, with its arched ceiling and huge clock face on the main hallway.

This was a unique way of displaying an architectural model of the Opera in Paris, not as space consuming as the rest. Was the transparent floor part of the artist's presentation? The actual reason however remains unknown to me.

Sacre Coeur which sits on top of Montmartre can be clearly seen through the huge clock at the top floor of the museum.

Many Facets of Paris' Attractions

Bicycle rides, open top bus tours are really nice ways to enjoy major cities. We covered a lot of attractions on the bike in London and on the bus in Paris. With the Paris visit pass that we bought, it came with a package where for one certain day, you could get on and off the open rooftop buses at specific stops.

The weather was great and best of all, there was no obstruction between you and the buildings. No glass panes that stops the breeze and no unsightly objects on the screens. We took the bus tour around Notre Dame, through the Latin quarters and towards Montparnasse Tower, which was our destination anyway, if we were to take the subway. We went pass the hotel Les Invalides, however we went forward and did not stop at this spot.

The Pantheon, built with inspiration from her sister in Rome, is now a burial place for various famous French. Victor Hugo's tomb is in the crypt of this building. This is sometimes referred to as the people's temple.

Inside the Pantheon, the columns and domes were decorated with sculptures and paintings, each with their own stories to tell. From the dome, hangs a steel cable holding a steel ball, forming a pendulum which was used to show time. This is called the Foucault pendulum, named after the French physicist who performed this experiment. The pendulum, being free hanging, swings on a certain plane, even as the Earth turns. Each hour was then represented with 11degrees. We compared the time when we entered and the time we left, nearly one hour, and this was presented correctly on the scale shown.

The modern art museum in London, Tate Modern was free to public. I quote the tour guide on the river cruise, 'If you have been there before and had seen modern art, you will know why it is free' ^.^
However that was not the case for the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris. We were not a fan of modern art, but still, the architecture was amazing. It looked like an incomplete structure with exposed pipes and ventilation and support structures. There were many people just sitting on the slope before the center, admiring this bizarre building, which by itself is considered art. Modern art.

Palais Royal Musée du Louvre

Link to YouTube Video used.Use arrow keys for volume control.

The location where the Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code started; one of the most visited art museums in the world; the home of various masterpieces, art and sculpture; Behold - the Louvre.

Beneath the glass pyramid was the underground lobby and in it, hangs the inverted glass pyramid together with the smaller one at the bottom. This was the location mentioned in the fictional novel, which was the final resting place of Mary Magdalene.

For those who are expecting a Mona Lisa photo, please kindly download from anywhere online as the Mona Lisa was displayed behind a glass pane. This made photographing her a really difficult task with the reflection of the visitors without a lens filter.

The galleries in the Louvre were decorated with various masterpieces from different ages and different civilizations. It was almost impossible to visit the Louvre from one end to the other. We had to choose which galleries to visit, as we had only 5 hours. Only 5 hours...

Cupid and Psyche, embracing each other, a wonderful sculpture of the God of Love and the mortal woman he loved for dearly.

A wonderful way to move through the Louvre with all she has to offer was to first visit those that you must, and then at a leisurely pace, go through all the rest as you wish. Never rush as you might miss out one that you yourself really liked, which however may not be the main attraction of the museum.

Our Lady... Notre Dame

The famous cathedral was the center of activities for many generations. Notre Dame is synonymous with Paris itself, Victor Hugo's Quazimodo and Esmeralda, and the mysterious gargoyles. Those cryptic gargoyles that overlooked the cathedral were actually sculpted gutters.

Notre Dame was the first cathedral that I entered which allowed photography. Still there were restrictions, you were not allowed to use flash photography in the cathedral. Tripods were not allowed as well.

The stained glass windows were one characteristics of cathedral. More often than not, they depict biblical stories.

Cathedrals normally consist of several small sections, called chapels where various different services can be performed at the same time. Some with statues, some with altar. This was one with the Virgin Mary as can be seen on the plaques below her. In the cathedral was a sense of serenity, though there were many visitors. Everyone was trying their best to be silent, as a form of respect for the worshipers.

Montparnasse tower offers a spendid view of Notre Dame. Here you can clearly see the flying buttress on the side of the cathedral, as a form of support for the structure. This cathedral tower herself over the other buildings and was immediately noticeable from the high viewpoint.

Eiffel Tower

We went out really early to the tower, fearing a huge turnout of crowd. We arrived and lined up for nearly 15 minutes before being admitted into lift going up the tower. The tower looked like a huge brown electric pylon with all its trusses and rivets. The colour of the lifts to the second floor and the top floor together with the other lifting mechanisms gave a contrasting feel to the tower structure.

There were two observation decks at the top. One which was one floor lower than the other had photo guides detailing the different buildings around the tower, this deck was covered with window panes and air conditioned. We went up a few flight of stairs you exit the covered observation deck to the top. The view from the top was amazing. As the day was pretty sunny and clear, the visibility from the top of the tower was really good. The other tower in the photo which looks like a featureless black block is called Montparnasse Tower.

This was the view from Montparnasse Tower, where you could see the Eiffel Tower and the other famous attractions which were too far to admire from Eiffel Tower. Notre Dame, Les Invalides, the Pantheon and the Louvre can be clearly seen from here.

The Eiffel tower consists of three different paints, with the one at the bottom the darkest brown and fairer nearer to the top of the tower. The fields in front of the tower was considerably empty considering that we arrived early in the morning. Come nightfall, throngs would crowd this field to enjoy the magnificent display of lights on the Eiffel tower which starts at 10pm. Lights lit up randomly across the tower, which gave a feel of a glittering jewel, the iconic jewel of Paris.

Bye Bye London, Bonjour Paris!

Definitely it was better to take the train rather than the plane from London to Paris. When you only have one week for both cities, a few hours waiting for boarding in the airport and traveling between airport and cities were not logical, in our rational, anyway. It cost slightly more, however the stress-free travel and also the great country-side view that you have during the journey was worth it all.

The journey from St Pancras International in London to Gare du Nord in Paris took only 2hrs 15 mins, with 45 minutes boarding time prior to departure. Eurostar is a longer version of the TGV, having a long-standing position as bullet train of Europe.

Coming out from the train, we felt a complete change in atmosphere. The weather was extremely warm and humid, we were perspiring even before reaching the hotel which was just 5 minutes away. The people were more 'casually' dressed and there were numerous beggars and gypsies asking "Do you speak English?" around the train station. We tend to see a lot of that in other parts of the city as well. First impression received was not the Paris that we had in mind, maybe we had higher expectations of the City of Lights and Romance.

We planned to see the Eiffel Tower on the second day, leaving the first day for exploring around the hotel and also for a relaxing walk. We went to Sacre Coeur, where the unpleasant "friendship band" event occurred, cutting me short by 10eur and a bad impression. Hopefully the next few days can make up for this event. Can't wait to see the tower in person, though.

Trafalgar Square

In 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson led the British Royal Navy into victory in the historic Battle of Trafalgar, against the combined fleet of the French and Spanish Navy. 22 ships out of 33 ships were lost by the French and Spanish while the British navy lost none of her 27 ships. He lost his life in this decisive battle and affirmed his place in British history as a hero. Trafalgar Square was named in honour of this battle and Nelson's column rises above all in this square.

Nelson lost his arm in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and his life in the Battle of Trafalgar. Legend has it that in order to bring him back after the victory in Trafalgar, the men on board the Victory put him in a barrel of whisky as a pickling substance. As opposed to others who died in sea and were subsequently thrown to the sea, he was brought back to England for a state funeral.

Next to the square was the National Portrait Gallery. We did not have a chance to visit it though, our time spent in London was actually too short. It was well recommended as well, but we have to save it for another time, if any.

We did however have time to linger around the square even after nightfall. The gallery was closed at that time. There were still quite a crowd at the square, just enjoying the cool night breeze. We had our share of people watching as well, sitting on the staircase to the gallery, with a higher vantage point.

The Palace and the Palace Guards

Who would have known that there are two lone guardsmen standing on their own for you to have a photo with them... Not really though, they are there for actual duty, protecting the palace. Look around for them, walk further away from the palace and grab this photo opportunity up close and personal.

Psst.. you know, they are not allowed to talk or move around freely. When someone would ask for photos to be taken, they would just gently nod their head and not speak a single word. However this is the conversation that we had with one (not the one in the photo...)

Me: Can we have a photo with you?
Guardsman : Sure, no prob!
After,
Me: Thanks!
Guardsman : Cool! See you!
A rather cool guardsman compared to the rest and not so uptight.. hehe

The amount of people around the front of Buckingham Palace was amazing. They were all gathered around for the changing of the guards. This is a really elaborate ceremony where one team takes over the duty from the other one and was done everyday around 11am during summer. This spot was recommended by our bicycle tour guide, Jim from London Bicycle Tour. It was included in the London Pass that we purchased and was one of the few nicest offers.

We came back again to the palace for a photo and met a Spanish family. After some short and simple conversation in Spanish (ahem.. not that bad, they understood me! ^.^) we took a photo of them and they returned the favour.

An experimental shot inspired by a similar shot seen elsewhere. Can you see the palace?

London Bridge is Falling Down.... Is it?

Link to YouTube Video used.Use arrow keys for volume control.

Contrary to popular beliefs, the bridge that has rising road portion for river traffic is not called London Bridge, it's the Tower Bridge. London Bridge is a bridge further upstream the Thames which is a box girder bridge.

The bridge was designed to be aesthetically pleasing, blending in with the rest of London's architecture. It did it really well and was a real pleasant sight.

Next to the Tower Bridge was the HMS Belfast, a floating naval museum. This cruiser had participated in the Second World War but was then converted into a museum ship.

The Tower Bridge is still functional, however, new technology for rising the bascules, as those portions are called, were applied. It now functions as well as a museum, where the original steam engines and part of the lifting mechanisms are on display.

Didn't I mention previously that it still functions today? We had the chance to see the roadway being lifted. Imagine this sight during the time of its opening, in the year 1894. Imagine during that time, such a bridge had been envisioned and was eventually built to ease river traffic and as a pedestrian crossing.

When the bascules were lifted, we were among the many sprinting from the left tower to get further from the bridge itself to get a better view. Such thrills, just to catch a glimpse of the Tower Bridge in action.

Sir Christopher Wren's St. Paul's

London's Great Fire of 1666 burnt down nearly 80% of London city. Among which was the old St. Paul's Cathedral. This gave a chance to Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild numerous public building, including St. Paul's and fifty other churches. This cathedral was inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Rome. The dome is second only to St Peter's in the world.

Have it been opened on Sundays for the public, it would have been among the first few sites for us to visit. But alas it was only on our second day that we have the chance to enter this magnificent cathedral.

After climbing up the winding staircase we reached the Whispering Gallery. The acoustics of the gallery was so well accomplished that when one person sat on one side and whispered to the wall, the other sitting on the opposite was able to hear the whisper. We thought it must have been some gimmick for attracting tourists, but after seeing how one couple did it, we tried, and amazingly it really is true. A search online shows that this can be accomplished with any gallery with a dome structure and can be found in other domed structures as well.

After the Whispering Gallery, we climbed up even higher and came up at the top of the dome, on a viewing balcony where we were presented with this magnificent view. If you look close enough, you can see the London Eye in the middle of the photo.

This is the Great West Door with the clock tower. This was where the entrance to the Cathedral was located. The pigeon was a pleasant surprise to me as well, as I didn't expect it to pass my frame. I noticed it only after the photo was downloaded to my laptop.

This view can only be seen from the river, on board a Thames river cruise, while we were passing the Millennium Bridge. This bridge was also known as the Wobbly Bridge, due to the fact that when it first opened to the public, the bridge started swaying sideways due to the passing crowd. The bridge was closed and modified to eliminate that.

What's Black, Red and Goes Around on Wheels?

London Buses and London Cabs!

Bright red London double-deckers are seen everywhere in the city. The ebony black London cabs are more expensive to travel in but really spacious and comfortable for the passenger at the back. We saw one guy put his bicycle in the back together with him when he board the cab. O_o

It pays to wait a while for one of them to pass you just before you click on the camera. You'll see them everywhere! Beep beep! Buckingham Palace!

I thought they were all black, but I was proved wrong with numerous with different colours and some even with patterns. Honk honk! Another one driving along Westminster Bridge, passing the magnificent London Eye!

There goes the bus! In front of Royal Albert Hall, opposite Hyde Park where Royal Albert Memorial is at! It was fun sitting at the top floor, at the very front. You can feel as if the bus will run down those people in the bus stop waiting to board while it came to a smooth stop.

The Royal Albert Memorial sits opposite the Hall. I'd found a way to take a photo of both of them. (Me and my gal were captured in the photo as well, try to find us... ;P )

Now in Westminster Abbey! They were everywhere! It was nice to travel on them, when you had the day pass or better still, the Oyster travel card. You can hop on and hop off as the daily rate was capped: Unlimited travel around the city and just blindly going up any busses!

Now, this is called traveling in style, the London way!