My 20 Observations about Paris

First things get this clear, Paris is not France, they are distinct, there is a lot to France than just Paris. But of course you can expect what to see once you land in Paris. Most importantly, its not just a tick mark item, you are insulting a city like Paris if you come here just for tick on your bucketlist. 

We landed in UFO-ish airport of CDG (Charles de Gaulle) Paris with tubes and tunnels taking us from one terminal to other and then through the metro to our destination. The first thing which was pleasant about Paris was its climate, coming from Indian sub-continent, that was much relief.

Did you know this airport is also called as Roissy Airport before it was renamed on great Charles de Gaulle

                                   

I think, France owes a lot to axis forces during world War II. Lot of its historical monuments and culture are intact today because of its friendship with them. The history is sowed in every nook and corner of Paris and its sub-urban areas. France is a blessed country with Paris sitting at the helm like a charming ageless princess. Paris was worth all the hype and fame it commands. It's one of the places in the world, where you point camera in any direction and you get a picture to cherish. Earlier such place I visited was New Zealand, pure raw nature and beautiful serenity. Paris is meticulously planned in an exquisite setting, bestowed by amazing climate.

1 - View from Arc De Triomph, not a single structure is uneven, obstructing the view. You can view the city scape from here and details of city planning. If you are an architect student, then you can get a lot of ideas from here. 

First day was bit tiring, jet-lagged, as we had just landed. Settling in the hotel to plan what to see in a city that offers you so much is really difficult - its a problem of plenty 😃. Good thing about our hotel Yooma was it is walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, just 10 minutes crossing the Bir Hakeim metro station which is situated over the bridge. Highly recommended as its quite modernish looking hotel in city filled with Romanesque and Gothic architectures.

2 - The Lourve, inside view. I thought the I would get to see "The Monalisa" in much bigger size, but was disappointing. My view - Monalisa is too much hyped.But Lourve is a must see, you can spend an entire day inside this museum and the courtyard vicinity above. You got that, the entire museum is underground. 

Thanks to the Big Bus in Paris, you are able to see the vast architectural beauty of Paris by spending lot of time at each place, be it a palaces, churches, administrative buildings or monuments. You can just hop on & hop-off them from anywhere and frequency is amazing.

3 - All the statues on top must be in gold, its like a unwritten rule. This monstrous face caught my eyes on top of the Academie Nationale De Musique, mind you there was an entire army of them peeping from the roof top, watching down straight in your eyes. Each of these terrifying faces are unique. 

4 - When you enter such a museum, with such an exquisite art, you keep on circling yourself looking up and around, confused what to click and which art to leave. Must see if you are an art lover, even if you're not you will be spell bound by the artifacts on display the richness of the French past. #Lourve 

5 - The street artists of Paris are omnipresent, this grand old man had a sweet sorrow in his violin tune, just hear, he plays the magic on the one of the many bridges on Seine river. I recalled the story of Joshua Bell, this person is worth $1000 ticket !

6 - I was always fascinated by the electric vehicles (EV) from my childhood and I found them in abundance in France. Small cars, bikes, mopeds, three-wheeler's, bicycles and buses. Paris has charging points at almost all public places which shows the importance given to EV's. There are lot of app based public electric bikes which you can hire to do sightseeing. It is the best way to roam around the city, moreover you can pick up and drop these vehicles from any point and drop. 

7 - You will find such strange looking faces on almost all the buildings, structures and monuments. Some directly looking at you, some smiling, laughing, some in pain. Observe their expression details on each of these faces. You will find monsters, common people, angels, gods, kings and so on. It is really interesting to note the stories behind each one of them. 

8 - This structure doesn't need an introduction. Tried to capture it in full, but if you dont have a wide angle lens its impossible to capture entire tower from its immediate vicinity. As soon as you land in Paris get the tickets, since its one of the seven wonders of the world, there's a lot of rush no matter which day of the week it is. If you have strong legs you can climb up to the level 1 and then take elevator. Make sure you visit every corner of the tower and spend good amount of time  on top. 

You can reserve your place on the lawns for hours and just imbibe the scenery around this magnificent structure. Truly worth your entire day.

The two things which are very common in Paris city, points 9 and 10 below

9 - 

On the left, the lamp post with locks galore. No its not locked because it valuable, these symbols of lasting love, locked and left to withstand time. 


These can be found on almost every bridge, lamp posts, on boat anchors along the Seine river walkway, ancient grill of door, you name it. Since Paris is a "city of romance" this is so very common.  


It is a dream of every couple to visit Paris and to do take vows for life. You will see people locking (and of course lip locking too) and throwing the keys in the river, so nobody finds it and their love will be "locked" in these locks forever!

 
10

On the right, well not a face-palm but a typical street artist covering his face when you point a camera to him. Duh Camera shy ! You will find talented street artists everywhere in Europe, and Paris is not an exception. 

The amount of professionalism can be seen in their acts and also the money they spend on their costumes. Its really noteworthy, the way they perform with full passion on streets everyday. Unfortunately, not everyone notices them unless its really a famous tourist place flocked by thousands of tourists. 

We spotted this guy with golden colored appearance, just across the Eiffel on the Seine sidewalk. He was quick to cover his face as soon as he spotted a camera pointing to him. 

11 - The Seine river cuts through most of the Paris, a very systematic transport system with organised cruise trip is like a siesta. Take a wholesome continental meal and get on one of these cruise. Its a must if you're short on time and want to cover Paris in a days' time. 

12 - Something for the foodies. Your Paris trip is a waste if you do not eat out local continental food at a road side cafe or restaurant sipping French wine. By the way water is expensive than wine or beer, so you know what to do 😉 

13 - Shoots and more shoots. As mentioned above, its a very picturesque city with lovely photogenic locales, amazing backdrops. How can professional photographers miss that?Being the city of romance, you will find a lot of bridal shoots happening all over the city and if you're lucky then you might even stumble upon a movie shoot. 

14 - Great views of the city - Of course the Eiffel Tower gives you amazing views. But if you want to relax and enjoy the views with children playing around and the world famous football juggler - Iya Traore - you need to visit the Sacre Cour. From the lawns even if you do not have a artistic bend of mind, you can see the linear view of the city, meticulous planning and the designs on every corner. 

15 - The Eiffel tower souvenirs - you will find them all over the city. Beware do not go for the expensive ones which you can get in any shop. Buy it from the street vendors, mostly from the black people. They are willing to bargain if you have the skills.  

16 - Indian restaurants (owned by South Asians), they will have all Indian names. Accept the fact that Indian cuisine is world famous and is liked by everyone. Indians craving for home food and Non-Indians alike, come here to taste that spicy food and to get the feel of India. You will find them everywhere with little efforts but mind you they are not cheap.  

We met Nepali, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi chefs who cooks great Indian cuisine in their respective restaurants. 

For the vegetarian (and vegan) travelers, such restaurants are delight, since they cannot have everything that is on offer in the restaurants. 

Refer to the my blog Time Lapse Europe, have mentioned all the Do's and Don't for the travelers. 

17 - The ever pleasant weather of Paris has to be experienced. Whether you visit in summer, spring or winter, there always a chill in the air, whether it rains or sun sunshine, the crispy pleasant weather always keeps you fresh all the time. Even though we visited in July, which is full on summers, it was a amazingly pleasant weather. 

18 - The amount of planning to use the space for monuments, residential apartments, hotels is amazing. You will see half-mile long parks, monuments, palaces and museums, which was planned centuries ago makes you think the foresight of those people. And each of these monuments are a master piece, maintained and fitted in the new city like a professional. You will not realize, when you traverse across the city, in a big bus, but when you take a bird's eye view from one of the several vantage points in the city. Coming from region where we are cramped up for the space, the planned details makes you wonder, is it luxury or necessity. But, that's what makes Paris a truly a top global city.

19 - The entire city is a ramp-walk, with models walking down the street with their designer outfits with or without make-up and in style. The fashion capital, doesn't need to try too hard to be one. 

You will easily find a person in an Armani carrying a Louis Vuitton bag and getting down from a Ferrari or a Porsche.

The streets leading to the Arc De Triomphe are shoppers haven. Around Avenue des Champs-Élysées, you can find numerous international fashion and lifestyle brands. 

20 - Just across the Louvre, in hop-skip & jump you will find a serene garden by the name Tuileries Gardens. It features a typical French landscape garden and great for strolling or just relaxing after a tiring and a long walk in the Louvre. One common feature of such gardens are the feminine statues and other sculptures.The amount of detailing is something which you cannot miss. The garden is so lethargic that you do not feel like leaving from here. 

Hope you will have some more observations or if you're planning to visit Paris, then you can try these places and just observe. Your feedback is welcome and you can comment below for your views. 

Note: Please take prior permission before duplicating/copying full or part of the blog and pictures. 

Time Lapse in Europe

This was a trip of a lifetime, and I am sure many more to follow. Getting a 18 days off from work was a daunting task and so is matching the dates with friends traveling, applying for Schengen visa, planning meticulously almost for a year. We had changed the plan so many times since there were uncertain facts about itinerary, stay and local transport. With so much to include in just 18 days, we were spoilt for choices!! Voila but it was done nonetheless in a way we wanted.

This was the route map for us, a completely customized self organised trip. We landed in Euro zone from Munich in Germany,starting from Mumbai ✈️ Munich ✈️ Paris 🚅 Toulouse 🚅 Girona 🚙 Lloret De Mar 🚙 Barcelona 🚌 Valencia ✈️ Lisbon ✈️ Frankfurt ✈️Mumbai. 

Even after planning so much, we were not sure every morning, about which places to include when we were actually at those places, that's the fun part as you have so much of options that European cities offer and also as unplanned traveler. You are on your own and no fixed plan, just a roadmap (read google maps) and eagerness to explore, experience. The stories of co-traveler, you meet along, sparks your curiosity and yes online reviews also plays a part in your decisions. The time got lapsed so fast, that it went past like a quick time lapse video with so much happening in those 18 days.

The objective of the this trip was to curate professional content which will have long lasting memories, monetize it, as well as precisely advise on DO's and DONT's for Europe. 

Some DO's if you're planning a trip on your own, either solo, couple or small group. 

DO's

1. Only plan the destination cities/towns, never plan on which places to include within a city/town unless its a must see, try to be as flexible as possible. 
2. If you are an Asian, traveling to Europe, make sure all your documentation is thorough, passport, IT returns, Bank statements etc unless you have already visited Europe before. You need to get the visa from the country consulate of where you are spending the most of your days. Eg, in our case it was Spain. 
3. If you have Schengen stamped earlier already on your passport, explore the BnB, hostels for the stay, else you will have to give all the details of your stay with dates during the visa processing. 
4. Do carry enough food, if you are vegetarian as the options gets reduced. Even if you're non-vegetarian it always great to save on food cost which is quite high in the restaurants. The Indian food is more expensive in European restaurants, than in India because of the exclusivity and demand. 
5. Do make use of the amazingly efficient options of public transport anywhere in Europe, they are economical, connectivity is great, not hard to understand. If that's not your cup of tea then just hire a bicycle or electric vehicles or walk. We were covering 10-15 kms every day on foot. Although it was tiring, it was worth the every step with took in wrong direction. 
6. Make sure to do an inter-city train journey.

DONT'S

1. DON'T take European summer for granted because you are from the tropical country climate. It can be quite harsh. Carry enough sunscreen and a proper sunglasses if you're visiting Spain since it gets a lot of hot during July-August with temperatures hovering around 35°C and more in the day. 
2. If you're not sure about driving, do NOT go for self drive option, it will set you back in terms of time (due to parking) and also money. Driving in Asian countries is not same as driving in Europe. Unless you are very sure about your driving and have an international driving license and experience. Albeit with such a great public transport I will advise you not to go for it. 
3. DON'T only depend on the major attractions you know and have read on internet, connect with local communities, mingle with travelers, stay at a hostel of backpackers and make a plan with them, you will get to see gem of places you haven't heard of and which doesn't exists on google maps. 
4. DON'T buy foreign exchange at the airport or even banks, always get it from your local forex exchange or agent who will give you best rates. 
5. DON'T go through agent for visa, air tickets and hotel booking. Take some time out to do your own research, ask people who have already visited those destinations, or your friends who are working in your destination country. Always book your own airline tickets, make use of the coupons, you will save substantial amount of money, while doing it. Reliable sites for booking air tickets GoIbibo.com, Skyscanner.com and for hotel & hostels Booking.com, Airbnb.com and Hostelworld.com  

Remember just plan the destinations, never plan the local places for sight seeing, it becomes quit monotonous to see tourist places only. An unplanned sight seeing, throws up a number of surprises, about which I am going to talk about. Check out my detailed blogs below for each of our destinations.

• France - The Eternal Beauty. Read My 20 Observations about Paris
• The Best of Spain - 20 Best Moments in Spain
• Portugal - A complete surprise package

For more tips and details, you can leave your comments below and I will surely get back to you. For now enjoy the ride and let me know if you have planned a Europe trip. 

Note: Please take prior permission before duplicating/copying full or part of the blog and pictures.