Three Days in Paris

I was told explicitly that the drive to Paris through Belgium is beautiful and not to be missed, and definitely not to be slept through. And it is a truly magnificent view. The first time you see a church spire in the distance with a quaint village around it, and then the windmills and the rolling hills, you do see the beauty. Even with the second old-style village and windmill farms it is still pretty but by the thirty-seventh little village and spire with a windmill next door, you do get the slight feeling that this is familiar.

It is an absolutely beautiful view and a magnificent drive and that is undisputable. But the mountains without end along the Garden Route or the views from the Eastern Cape just seem to be slightly more awe inspiring.

Paris is a city with little compare. The first part to be driven through is the ‘slums’ of the city. It is not quite Nyanga but it does make you realise that Africa is not alone in poverty, something that we forget from time to time. And after being stuck in traffic for a couple of hours, you think this is any other city; well it seems that way. Our opinion did not change much as we drove through the city for the first time on that night. We arrived in what seemed like the business area with skyscrapers and glass buildings; it was not synonymous with the Paris that we see from post cards. But once on top of the fifty-six story Montparnasse building, the beauty of the city was just beneath us.

All the lit-up streets seemed to lead to some beautifully illuminated cathedral or monument or church. As we moved around the platform in the chilly air, a new view from below caught our eye and soon made its way onto my camera which did by no means justice to what we saw that night. But what dominated the view was the lit up Eiffel Tower. I have never seen a photograph or a post card that captures the magnitude of the cast iron tower.

We then went to supper in the Latin Quarter which is the old Students boarding area. So it was very busy and with lots of buzz. That saw an end to our first night in Paris.

The next day we found ourselves touring around the city. Apart from the whole ‘French people’ thing, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We went to the lock bridge (where people place locks on the bridge hoping that there love lasts forever, or something like that). We saw The Louvre with the glass pyramids outside and the final Arc completing the line through the city. Unfortunately we could not visit the Louvre as most museums are closed on Tuesdays in France apparently. We carried on with our tour making are way through the city, where we saw the Obelisk and the Arc de Triomph; which is another impressive construction. We saw the le Madeleine Church and the old opera house. We visited the Eiffel Tower this time up close and in daylight; it is a truly amazing radio mast. I will leave going up the tower for my next Paris trip (I hope there is another). The Notre Dame Cathedral is another beautiful building and something to be seen. Another successful day in Paris and quite a few things ticked off my list of things to be seen.

The final day in Paris was a bit more laid back; we made our way to the north section of the humongous city. That is where the Sacre Coeur Church is. This is a truly magnificent building, beautiful and awe inspiring building and you cannot help but to not feel worthy when in a building like that. The area it is in is a lovely place to visit, where there is the painter’s square with reasonable and authentic art on show and sale.

All together I had a fantastic time in France and I hope to return as I left plenty still to do. Paris is a beautiful city and fully deserves the hype. It does not only have beautiful old monuments, impressive architecture and rich culture and history but even the buildings along the street are beautiful and old fashioned. I should probably also mention that there are a couple shops here and there. I did leave with some corny touristy souvenirs but the biggest thing I left with is an untamed craving for Nutella crepes.