LEAVING PARIS

We left the apartment about 9.30AM on 8 April to catch the RER train to Charles De Gaulle Airport. We walked down to Les Halles, which is both a Metro and RER station. Even though we allowed plenty of time for our flight to Hong Kong at 1.45PM, the administration at the airport is very very slow, slower than any other airport we've ever encountered. We had the same problem coming into France as leaving except this time, we were going to be late for our plane and our connecting flight to Melbourne. Our line for checking passengers and x-raying carryon baggage had stopped completely so Dad just created a new line by disposing of the stretch-ribbon barrier and soon we were on our way. The officials closed the barrier but not before we and all those who had followed us were getting through but even so, we were the last to get on our plane. The flight to Hong Kong was 11 hours on Air France, the flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne was 9 hours on QANTAS and we slept pretty well on this one arriving at Melbourne about 8.00PM 9 April 2010 but taking another hour to go through Immigration, collect our baggage, and go through Customs. It was good to be home but Paris, and France, had been a wonderful experience. We were sad to leave because the French people, without exception, had been so good to us. A great people, a great country, an impressive culture! Vive La France!

Inside the Eiffel Tower

,,,and hanging over the edge

Me at the top of The Eiffel Tower...

LAST DAY IN PARIS

I was disappointed that we missed getting to the top of The Eiffel Tower last time, so we headed out early to try to fix this. We got to the Tower at 10.00AM and just after we bought our tickets for the third (and top) level (324 metres high), the third level was closed. The second level is high (115 metres) but the third is awesome. You can't walk up to the third level like you can to the first and second levels - you take a different lift up from the second. We didn't take the lift down from the second though - we walked from the second all the way down. Check the pictures from the previous Tower visit with this one to see the differnece in the views.

WE LOVE THE METRO

Two shots in The Metro, and another one of the original art nouveau stations, this one at Reaumur-Sebastopol plus the only open air Metro Station we saw: Bastille.

Some photos of iconic designer stores

The first is Gucci followed by Paul Smith, Chanel, and Valentino. There were many others.

FASHIONABLE PARIS

Today we did a little bit of last-minute shopping and Dad had to go to the department stores because he found out that he can claim back some of the TVA (like our GST) tax by getting forms to lodge at Customs at the airport. We also bought our RER tickets to get to CDG airport and some 2-day Metro tickets for our last days travelling around the city. A normal Metro ticket costs 1.60 Euros but it only lasts for an hour - you can jump on and off Metro trains for an hour but then you need a new ticket. Instead, most people buy monthly tickets which allow them to jump on and off all day every day for a month. We have been buying 5-day tickets but only needed a 2-day ticket each now. On the way to doing all this boring stuff, we went through Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame is) and from there to Ile de Saint Louis, the second island in The Seine. We got a different view of The Seine while eating an Italian ice-cream - very yummy. After we did the boring stuff, we went to rue du Faubourg St. Honore, a long street filled with expensive fashion. This is where all the big fashion houses and big designers, like Valentino, have their stores. After that, we took off for home on the Metro but got off early to have some much-needed sushi for dinner. Then back on the Metro for home. I don't know how Paris would operate without The Metro - it could not function very well without it.

The beauty of The Eiffel Tower

Paris' most identifiable landmark bathed in sunlight.

"Where is this Statue Of Liberty?"

"Oh, at last...there it is."

"I'm just walking on The Seine..."

THE OTHER STATUE OF LIBERTY

It is Easter Monday in Paris and many stores are closed so we got up late and went for a long walk in the afternoon across 5 districts. It was warm and sunny so it was nice out. We walked over to the left bank of the Seine and then followed it past all the secondhand book and poster stalls, past The Place De La Resistance (to the Nazis), past the Eiffel Tower, until we reached Pont Grenelle under which at the end of Allee des Cygnes is the other Statue Of Liberty. Actually there are 2 others in Paris - the actual model for the New York statue in Luxembourg Garden in the 6th, and the third in the Musee des Arts et Metiers in the 3rd district but the one we saw is the biggest and faces towards its counterpart in NYC. We had coffees and drinks along the way and ran into a Canadian, an Australian, and an Irish engineer but this isn't the beginning of a joke! And Dad bought an 18K gold ring for 6 Euros! It is real and it is a man's ring and I want it! We couldn't walk home after 5 hours of walking so we caught the Metro back to our nearest station, Arts et Metiers (the museum is opposite the station).

Louis XIV, The Sun King

THE GARDENS AT THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

The Palace is enormous but the gardens extend almost as far as the eye can see.

THE RAIN KING?

We went to Louis XIV, The Sun King's chateau at Versailles today and guess what, it rained! What a shame! We went through the palace and headed out to the Garden - if you think the house is massive, then wait till you see the garden! And way in the distance are the Grande and Petit Trianons as well as Marie Antoinette's estate but as we got near, after walking through only part of the gardens, the sky opened and it teemed. And then hail! We were freezing, and wet, it was 3.30 PM and so we headed for the train. And when you go through the chateau at Versailles, you can well understand why there was a revolution. You can see it in every painting, every statue, and every door of gold leaf, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of each. It is meant to impress and it does but it is the absolute ultimate in kingly excess and abuse of power probably not seen since the Pharoahs and the Pyramids of Egypt. However, the Palace at Versailles is a visible reminder important to an understanding of the history of France. It is also interesting that many treaties were signed at Versailles, including The Paris Treaty (1983) which ended the American Revolutionary War with England and The Treaty Of Versailles, which ended World War One but after The French Revolution and the removal of Louis XVI, Versailles never again became the important centre of power and government that it became with Louis XIV.