Tags
Autumn, Eiffel Tower, Le Pantheon, Musee du Louvre, Musee du Orsay, Paris, photography, travel, travelling
I am still getting euphoria over my last trip to Paris.. especially when I look back at tons of pictures which I took during the trip. Alone, four days trip, met couples of new friends, miles of exciting walk, lots of surprises! good and bad one but overall travelling alone wasn’t as bad as I thought before..Paris is indeed a beautiful city! I came at the right time where I could finally see the rich colors of autumn foliage again and unexpected winter festival! It was a great trip ever and one thing crossed my mind when I landed in this beautiful city was I wish I can live in Paris but now..on a second thought maybe Rome is better ^^
I booked the cheap flight to Paris around 2 months before, haha.. since then I planned the itinerary but it never got finished..there are so much things to see in Paris and with only four days trip I got confused on the lists.. Really I am not a good planner! I though I can make it on the last minutes.. but then I was thinking as long as I have the map everything will be just fine, hehe.. It was my very first lonesome travel outside Rome.. When I browsed for the travel tips I came across a site called Couchsurfing.. I then decided to surf in Paris hoping that I will meet new friends there.
Since it was a cheap flight, the departure time was very early..at 6.45 am! and my home is far away from the city center so I had to leave home at 2 am >.< I walked alone in the misty and cold night.. but I wasn't afraid! The only worried in mind was I will missed the flight.. or the flight will be cancelled or something.. I took the night bus to reach the shuttle bus to the airport. I was lucky on my way to find the shuttle bus stop I met Ciriana, a kind Italian girl that coincidentally have the same flight with me ^^ We sit next to each other in the shuttle bus and on the plane.. talked a lot and yep I found my first new friend in my trip ^^
I landed in Paris Beauvais Airport and took the shuttle bus to Paris city center. I saw the autumn colors from the bus.. the falling leaves around the amazing architecture.. eventhough it was cloudy that day but I love the atmosphere.. I fell in love with Paris city immediately and wished I could live in Paris..
My first destination was Tour Eiffel! I never imagine before that I could finally see La dame de fer, The Iron Lady with my own eyes.. It stands quietly in the gloomy Paris sky.. I love the colorful park, the fountain, the green grass and the river around the Eiffel Tower. The view was magic. I enjoyed walking in the romantic Champs de Elysees Park with Eiffel tower in the background.. I walked further to the Napoleon Tombs and the famous Hotel Les Invalides.. every step that I took brought me to a new breathtaking autumn view.. I don’t know how can I describe my feeling when I saw this huge lovely park in front of Hotel Les Invalides.. The park was covered by yellow autumn foliage.. fascinating! and the park leads me to Pont Alexandre III, amazing golden bridge which span over the Seine river.. At the end of the bridge there is Grand Palais and just across the street is Le Petit Palais.. with the colorful flowers in the front yard and the crowd… I saw the crowd! when I got closer and closer.. I found out there was a winter festivals! It was so merry.. There were many stalls for food, drinks or souvenirs..There is ice skating rink with so many Christmas decoration, Santa Clause, Deers… and sooo many other cute things.. People were having fun.. children, teenagers, and also old people were gathered there to enjoy the festivals. I bought delicious chocolate filled with cream.. tried one and I ended up buying another 12, haha..
Passing through the festivals I arrived at Place de la Concorde and next to it there is a Ferris wheel, Paris eye! 😀 Huge and gleaming in the sunset sky.. this is the Paris center! I walked to the bridge of Seine river and then took a night shot of Palais Bourbon and Musee du Orsay..from there I could see the Eiffel Tower laser show.. It was very windy that night but I was happy because the small and handy tripod I brought could work very well even in the strong wind ^^ The next place I visited is Musee du Louvre.. one of the world largest museum and become even more famous because of the Da Vinci Code movie 😀 This museum was once a palace and built from 1190. The grand glass pyramid in front of the palace becomes the entrance to the museum. I didn’t go inside since I arrived very late at night and everyone says it takes at least one whole day to see all the expansive collection of this museum. So, I save it for later ^^ I felt exhausted that time but I managed to visit Arch de Triomphe where there was a light festival.. the buildings and the trees were decorated with thousand of colorful light.. my night became brighter ^^ and the last place I visited was the Eiffel tower but maybe because my energy was drained out.. I didn’t make good photos that time, hehe..
That was the end of my first day in Paris.. The rest of the days of my trip were even better! Bright and shiny days, blue sky and clouds! I just love the sky! Visited amazing places like Paris Plage, Notre-dame Cathedral, The Panteon, Jardin du Luxemburg, Paris Mosque, Moulin Rouge, Montmarte walk, Sacre Coeur, Jardin du Tuileries and back to Avenue des Champ Elyses.. quite a list huh? Well, Paris is enchanting in everyway ^^ I then met several other new friends, French guy as my host, Russian girl which surfed together with me, kind Marrocan guy who had helped me during my crisis time 😀 and a very funny Korean guy! Yep.. this is by far the best trip I have ever had. I can’t wait to have another one.. a week from now ^o^ hope the journey will be as great as Paris! Meanwhile I will let you enjoy the pictures ^.^