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We in wonderland – Part 2

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by knot2share, Dec 15, 2009.

  1. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Centre Pompidou – This was our meeting place the following morning. Located in the 4th arrondissement, this is the largest modern art museum in Europe and also houses a vast public library. It took us about 20-25 minutes by walk from our apartment to get to this place. The building looked very strange to us. The centre is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1963 – 1974 and was officially opened on 31 January 1977 by the then President. The design of the centre was unique as the building had all its functional conduits for plumbing, electrical wires, air-conditioning, safety devices etc all exposed. The reason behind that being it would give more space inside the museum for what it was really intended. Centre Pompidou was elected the 4th ugliest building in the list of 2009’s Top 10 Ugly Buildings. (I am proud to add that Melbourne’s Federation Square building was listed 5th on that list!). In front of the museum was the place for all street performers, jugglers, sketch artists, bands etc. We also saw two men entertaining the crowd with the didgeridoo.

    We spent a good 3-4 hours in the museum and had the chance of seeing some brilliant works, including pieces by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet. I could not make much sense of most of the works in general and unfortunately was not able to appreciate them. The play of colours on some of them was amazing and some looked very pleasing to the eyes. There was a section of modern art by women artists only. It was interesting but some of the ideas were really crazy to me. At the end of 4 hours, our brains became saturated and so we decided to have lunch and set out walking again. This time we were heading towards Notre Dame Cathedral, a gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral, again in the 4th arrondissement and located on the eastern half of Ile de la Cite.

    The name Notre Dame means Our Lady in French. This cathedral is one of the finest examples of gothic architecture. The extensive work outside on the walls of the Cathedral was amazing. All our eyes were looking up, transfixed at the intrinsic details. One could keep clicking their camera to capture every bit of the building, but after a few frantic attempts, it would all seem a waste. It is realistically impossible to capture a place like Notre Dame through a camera lens. We stood outside the cathedral for as long as we could trying to absorb and observe the detailing on the walls and doors. Notre Dame was damaged a lot during the French Revolution and a major restoration project was undertaken in the 19th Century.

    I recall that when we had visited the St Paul’s Cathedral in London, all were expected to either maintain silence or talk very quietly. No photography was allowed. But Notre Dame was the complete opposite. It is a church for anyone to visit when they felt like. The minute we stepped in it was magic and what we saw before us was mind blowing and simply breathtaking. There was a sermon going on at the same time and everybody automatically lowered their voices. The lights, the candles lit everywhere and the smell of incense, sound of prayers and the bells, the beautiful huge stained windows, the extensive work on the pillars and ceilings – all this had a magical effect on us. We sat on a bench and closed our eyes in prayer. I think the feeling was so overwhelming for both of us that we could not stop ourselves from feeling emotional and spiritual for those few minutes. It was so calming and seemed like a totally different world from outside. Does not matter what time of the day or night it was, the sight of the cathedral from outside was beautiful and mesmerising, if not more, each time.

    We felt pious as we stepped out of the church and just stood there wondering what to do next. Our next plan was to end up at our Parisian friend’s apartment for dinner. We walked along and studied the METRO map, as we had to take the train to reach them. There were a couple of interesting observations we made during the day. When it came to following the road and traffic rules, Paris reminded us a lot of India. In Paris we noticed that if the pedestrian signal was red, people would still cross the roads. But we waited for the signal to turn green before crossing the road and this attracted a few strange looks from the locals. It seemed like we were doing something against the norm and very soon we followed suit.

    Another observation was the etiquette of using the METRO. The train we had hopped on was packed with the evening rush. At every station there were lots of people getting on and off. We were used to the routine where in a crowded train the people standing closer to the doors stepped off the compartment, to make way for people inside trying to get off. So my hubby did the same and he barely had time to step back into the compartment. The doors slammed shut immediately and he was stuck with his back-pack sticking outside the door and his body struggling to get in. The train showed no mercy and I don’t think the driver checked the mirrors before moving on like how it happens here in Melbourne. A few bulky guys yanked both his hands and managed to pull my hubby inside before the train picked up speed. Our cousin who visits Paris often on work gave us this advice that one should NEVER step off the train unless it was the station to get off. The carriage could be crowded with people stepping all over you, but they would somehow find a way to get off.

    After that adventurous ride, we reached the apartment and relaxed listening to soft French music and French conversation. We were served some Pastis too which made me relax even more and I was engaging in conversations quite contrary to my normal quiet self. After the lovely dinner, I helped them clear the table and dishes and we took the train back to our apartments. It was 2am by the time we hit the sack. The following day was promising to be another exciting one. We once again decided to meet up at Centre Pompidou as early as possible. We were heading off to Montmartre, located north of Paris and in the 18th arrondissement.
     
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  2. amihere

    amihere Platinum IL'ite

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    Sree your narration is wonderful dearJ Metro reminded me of Mumbai locals where there is no need for us to get into the train and get out. Just allow the crowd to take you ha ha. Waiting for the next part..
     
  3. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Thx Ami! Read all your comments so far and yes ekadesham Alice in wonderland experience thanney!! You are right about the METRO crowd being like Mumbai trains. But there was always a fear factor while travelling for some unknown reason. It could have been due to the place not being very familiar.

    I am working on the next parts......actually onnum ezhuthi thudangilla ithuvarey. Will do so soon.
     
  4. Sheebavinod

    Sheebavinod Gold IL'ite

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    Da, nhaan sherikkum onnu pedichu keto hubby stuck aaya para vayachappol. Thank god all was well. Enjoyed dear. Pakse ee kathiruppu aanu prashanam. pettennu next part poratte:thumbsup
     
  5. Jayashree Natarajan

    Jayashree Natarajan New IL'ite

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    Hi
    I am planning a trip to London, France and Switzerland next summer. Was little confused as to where to begin from. Saw your write-up and got glued to it. You have done a wonderful job and please get going. Let me make notes for my travel too. Your writing is so precise and I am loving it. Waiting for your next :):)

    Thanks
    Jayashree
     
  6. manchitra

    manchitra Senior IL'ite

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    I liked the narration about Notre dame ,especially about the the way you described the service,
     
  7. Jpatma

    Jpatma Silver IL'ite

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    K2S,
    Lovely narration, one thing nice about travelling is we learn a lot. You have lovely narration style that keeps the reader in awe.
    I must call your travellogue "K2snde yatryum ormagallum"
    Jaya
     
  8. Mindian

    Mindian IL Hall of Fame

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    hi sree,

    i am with you in wonderland..read both your blogs today and your wonderful narration brought back memories .

    i agree with what you say ...walking with a good pair of shoes, a camera and the map is the best way to see maybe any european city?

    we had gone in june so there was daylight till 11 pm when we used to return back.. and i was totally awestruck with galeries Lafayette....maybe because europe was my first visit abroad?:)

    i liked your detailed travelogue:thumbsup
     
  9. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    A great narration, Shree. You saved me a trip to Europe.
    I have started becoming addicted to your style of direct, simple, no-flowery language type of narration.
    well done, keep it up.
    sridhar
     
  10. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Sheebs - We too got really scared when hubby got stuck like that. In fact the same happened to our other cousin also at the next station ! Orikkal sambavichhu lesson padichhilla and so one more padam we got. Pinneya the cousin who had come on work, told us about not getting off at any cost.

    Kurachhu koodi dheeraj rakho yaar, rest is following soon :)
     

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