Paris and back...

Last weekend, i went to Paris. Of course, like everyone who plans to go to Paris, i had heard tons of stories about where to go, and what to do, and things to buy. No way would i be able to do all that was said in just 2 days. So i relied on a friend in Paris to plan everything. She's been in Paris for 3 months now, so i figured she would know whats hot and whats not.

I took the train from Grenoble very early on Saturday morning, and got to Lyon in 1.5 hours (100 kms, yeah a bit slow). And then, i boarded the TGV, which lived up to all the stories i had heard about it... This train did the next 500 kms in under 2 hours !!! It was still dark when i boarded at Lyon (the sun rises now at around 8 am) but as the day got brighter, i realised that the train was quiet, but super super fast. It rolled through the countryside at around 250 km/hr.
I must also tell you what it is like when two TGV's pass each other. I was reminded of those speed-time-distance math problems, where they say a train is going at so-and-so speed and how long will it take to pass a man on a cycle. Well, here's my own question :
Two TGV's at 250km/hr each, are moving towards each other.
1) What is the relative speed
2) How long does it take to pass a guy looking out of the window in one of the trains
3) Mention any side effects
Answer:
1) 500 km/hr !!
2) A blink of an eye
3) You feel a gentle jolt as the trains go by (the first time u think your train is going off the track, and wonder what just happened)

I got to Paris at 9, and travelling 600 kms in 3.5 hrs still intrigued me. But the feeling was lost when the train entered the suburbs of Paris. I felt like i was in Mumbai !! Parisian suburbs are not very welcoming....

Amruta recieved me at Gare de Lyon, and the Paris metro ride only added to my shock and surprise. The subways are smelly, dirty and dingy. They even have white tiles on the walls, and i felt like Neo in the subway station in Matrix Reloaded (ok, wierd comparison, sorry). For some odd reason, the chairs in some metros are 4 feet apart. If a friend and you take the seats, you have to carry out a conversation like its a long distance telephone call. In the "newer" subway stops, the seats look like suspended animation space travel chambers from a sci-fi film (did you ever see Event Horizon?)

Anyway, we visited lots of places on Saturday. The opera, Galleries La Fayette (any womans shopping dream, i suppose), Sacré Couer (Sacred Hearts church, in English), Les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb), Tour Montparnasse (brilliant view of the Eiffel), Concorde and The Louvre (not all of it, just the outside and the glass pyramid). We also went to La Defense, which is the business district in Paris. Later in the evening, and rightly so, we walked along the one and only Champs Elysees, and up Arc de Triomph.

This point, was the highlight of the day. See, the Eiffel Tower is lit up by serial lights every hour between 8pm and 3am for the first ten minutes of the hour. And it is a brilliant sight. It cannot be captured by camera, and is simply breathtaking !! We saw this at 10 pm from the top of Arc de Triomph. Then we walked down to Trocadero Garden to see it again at 11pm !!

Got home, crashed !!

Woke up early the next morning, and headed to Disneyland outside Paris. Even took the wrong train and headed in the wrong direction before finding our bearings. Disneyland was fun, and we spent the day trying out the different rides. (Note: my friends claim i'm a scared cat, and i guess i am. i dont mind accepting that i dont enjoy being in topsy-turvy roller coaster).

Pirates of the Carribean - seriously well done sets and scenes, but nothing fun or extraordinary in the ride... just a boat ride
Big Thunder Mountain Mine - now, this was a good roller-coaster !
Star Wars - highlight of the day. kick ass simulator, where you fly in a X-wing fighter during the bombing of the Death Star (must do for star wars fans)

Took the train back from Paris to Grenoble (direct TGV), and this time the train i did 600 km in less that 3 hours. That was fast !!!

Overall impression of Paris: Paris Sucks !!

I know i know... u must be thinking "he's nuts". But Paris reminded me of Mumbai (yeah, i dont like Mumbai either). People here have no time for anything apart from their lives. Everything is costlier than the rest of France, and some places in Paris are really dirty, which i really really did not expect. Having said that, it is still a great place to visit, and you will find tourists everywhere (i think Parisians dont particularly enjoy that).
Women in Paris are hot !!! But its not natural beauty. Everyone is TOO conscious about fashion and make-up is a second skin !

Halfway through saturday, i actually missed Grenoble! Thats when i realised how much i like being in Grenoble, a small town (which Amruta calls a village), but content with itself. People in Grenoble will smile and greet you. I dont think people in Paris even know how to smile. Finally, when i got off the train on sunday night, i heard the familiar sound of a Tram on Line-A go past the station, and i felt i was back "home" !