Day 2: 11 October 2009, Sunday
After a good night’s sleep, I adjusted well to the seven hours’ time difference and woke up full of energy and anticipation. It was an exciting day ahead because KP and I were making the trip across the English Channel to Paris! I deposited my big suitcase with the reception at Palmers Lodge hostel because I would be returning here next week. I then met up with KP and took the Tube to King’s Cross St. Pancras.
We had booked tickets on the Eurostar for £29.50 (about S$70) each. The journey from St. Pancras International in London to Gare du Nord in Paris would take less than 2½ hours. It was my first time taking such a high-speed rail service and I was very impressed. The train was so silent and smooth that we didn’t even feel it when it moved off from the station at 11:00am.
When we arrived in Paris at 2:17pm, our good friend, QM, was already at the station and he gave us a warm welcome. Once again, it felt surreal that we were meeting so far away from home. From Gare du Nord, we proceeded to QM’s apartment to drop our bags before heading out again.
Having worked and lived there for a few months now, QM was pretty familiar with Paris. He said that the best way to explore the sights was on a bicycle. All across the city, there are stations where you can rent bicycles and return them at any station. This bicycle sharing system is called Vélib’, which is a portmanteau of the French words vélo (“bicycle”) and liberté (“freedom”).
To use the system, you will need to buy a subscription. You can choose either a 1-day or 7-days short term subscription, or a 1-year subscription. As of April 2021, the subscription fee for a 1-day pass is €5 and that of a 7-day pass is €15. With a subscription, you can rent an unlimited number of bicycles.
To create an account, all you need is a credit card, so foreigners can use Vélib’ too. With a subscription, bike rental is free for the first half an hour of every individual trip. If you exceed the half hour, you will be charged €1 for the 31st to 60th minute and €2 for the next 30-minute block, with an increasing price scale. The pricing system may have changed since 2009, so check the Vélib’ website (click here) for the latest rates.
The good thing about Vélib’ is that the first half an hour usage is free. Therefore, in order to avoid incurring additional charges, we tried to return the bikes before the half-hour grace period was up. However, we couldn’t avoid them completely as there were a few times when we reached a station but all the docks were filled. As such, there were no empty docks for us to return our bicycles so we had to find the next nearest station, causing us to exceed the grace period. No matter what, it was still cheaper renting the Vélib’ bikes than travelling on the Metro.
Since it was our first day in Paris, QM brought us around the main tourist attractions as a way of introducing us to the city and orientating us. It was a pretty balmy day with overcast skies, but otherwise, nice for cycling. The first stop we went to was the Eiffel Tower. Seeing one of the icons of Paris, and indeed, one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks in person was definitely a dream come true. You have to remember that this was my first trip to Europe, so everything was novel to me.
Next, we cycled to Les Invalides, a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France. The Dôme des Invalides, with its impressive golden dome, is the tallest church in Paris at a height of 107 metres. The church is also the final resting place of French military and political leader, Napolean.
As QM had promised, cycling was a great way to see the city because it allowed us to cover a large area in a short period of time. We also got to see a lot more by cycling on street level compared to taking the underground Metro train. After cycling for just a short while, it was quickly apparent that Paris is a very beautiful city. I really love how the buildings have a uniform colour scheme, appearance and height. The streets are neatly laid out and the buildings are grand and full of character.
Following that, we cycled along the river Seine. Many of the world’s major cities are centred around a river, like London (river Thames), Shanghai (Huangpu) and Budapest (Danube). Paris is no exception. The river Seine flows through the heart of France’s capital city, providing the backdrop for a million postcards and capturing the hearts of travellers the world over. It is easy to see why Paris is frequently touted as the most romantic city in the world.
Next up was Musée du Louvre, or simply the Louvre, the world’s largest art museum. As today was just an introduction to Paris, we didn’t enter the museum but just took photos of the exterior. The iconic glass pyramid designed by the late I.M. Pei dominated the central courtyard. Even on a gloomy day, it was impressive and beautiful.
We continued our whirlwind tour with a quick visit to the Paris Opéra, officially known as the Académie Royale de Musique. Founded in 1669, it is the primary opera and ballet company of France. The opulent Palais Garnier building is a thing of beauty in itself. Perhaps one day I will dress up in a tuxedo to watch an opera performance here.
Next, we went to Place Vendôme, a large square with a tall bronze column in the centre. The Vendôme Column was initiated by Napolean to commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, which resulted in a French victory. It was modelled after the Trajan Column in Rome and completed in 1810. The 44-metre-high column is decorated with bas-reliefs carved out of stone and arranged in a spiral fashion all the way to the top of the column.
From Place Vendôme, we moved on to the nearby Place de la Concorde, where another famous monument stood. In the middle of Paris’ largest public square is the Luxor Obelisk, one of a pair that flanked the entrance to Luxor Temple in Egypt. The other obelisk remains at Luxor Temple. The 23-metre granite obelisk was given to France in the year 1829 and took over three years to ship. It was finally installed at its present location in 1836.
By this time, the clouds couldn’t hold on anymore and it started to rain. We brought out our brollies and proceeded to Champs-Élysées, perhaps the most glorious shopping street in the world. The avenue is flanked on both sides by luxury shops, cafés, theatres and flagship boutique stores. I love how the 1.9-kilometre avenue is perfectly straight, spanning all the way from Place de la Concorde to Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. The expanse and spaciousness of the avenue really gives it a sense of grandeur unlike anywhere else.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant at Champs-Élysées called Chez Clément. Paris is renowned for its fine food so we wanted to have something nice for dinner, after having had McDonald’s for our lunch earlier. It wasn’t really a very fancy restaurant but the food was good enough.
Post-dinner, we took a leisurely stroll towards the river Seine. Along the way, we passed by the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. It was the place where Princess Diana passed away tragically in a car crash on 31 August 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
At the north end of Alma bridge (pont means “bridge” in French) was the Flame of Liberty, an exact, golden replica of Lady Liberty’s torch. It was offered to Paris in 1989 by the International Herald Tribune to celebrate the 100th anniversary of publishing an English newspaper in Paris. The Flame of Liberty became the unofficial memorial for Princess Diana after her death in the tunnel beneath the bridge. In 2019, the site was officially named Place Diana.
As we walked along the banks of river Seine, the Eiffel Tower shone like a gleaming beacon across the water. The tower was specially lit in red and white from 6th to 11th October 2009, in conjunction with the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Red and white were chosen because they are the colours of the Turkey flag. Coincidentally, they are also the colours of our Singapore flag, so we felt like it was for us too. We were lucky because tonight was the last night of the special light up.
I dare say that Paris is even more beautiful at night, especially with the river Seine and Eiffel Tower as the backdrop. The twinkling lights from the street lamps and the cruise boats sailing down the river only added to its beauty. As we walked up close to the Eiffel Tower, we were awed by how massive it was, all 324 metres of it. We would return another day to ascend the tower. For now, we just marvelled at it and tried to take as many photos as we could. They didn’t turn out very well because it was hard to take good shots at night with our digital cameras.
For five minutes every hour, there was a special show where lights on the tower would flash, causing the tower to resemble a huge Christmas tree with lots of bling bling. That was amazing to watch and a memorable way to end our night. It was only our first day in Paris and I was in love with the city already. Much more to come over the next few days!
