So we set out on our drive to Paris on a Monday morning at around 8:30 am, we had booked tickets to the Lourve museum at 3pm, and since Paris is just a five hour drive from Geneva we hoped to reach in time for that. We stopped at a petrol bunk to fill up on fuel and picked up some
croissants for breakfast. This is the chocolate croissant I had… and it was pretty amazing. Usually gas station food is not that great, and we were kinda expecting that outcome but we were pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be some of the best croissants we’ve eaten on our trip… my brother says it’s because everything made in Geneva is fresh and with quality ingredients. So yeah, thanks petrol bunk for some great croissants for the road.
The drive to Paris was pleasant with farms and rolling hills and impressive castles on rolling hills… charming everywhere you look.
We drove straight to ibis where we had booked a room and where I had stayed in 2015 during the pilgrimage trip to Europe.
This was our room with three beds, that sofa pulls out into a bed… quite cramped, but I guess that’s normal in Paris.
With the car in the parking lot of the hotel we took an uber to the Lourve museum and made it in time for our allotted slot. (Uber’s are quite economical there if you want to get to a place quickly, otherwise the metro is the best option to roam around in Paris)
There are separate queues for online booking and you enter easily through that… no waiting required.
So it was my second trip to Lourve and apart from the crowd the place is pretty impressive. I liked the frill and the lace work on her gown…
And here’s the description of the painting, in case you are interested…
Rarely you see paintings like this, usually Mother Mary is covered up and a great deal is made about her virginity… so this painting stood out. (Point to be made: Being a virgin or not being one doesn’t take away anything from any woman, after all it is actions/words/thoughts that define a person.)
Some nude art on the ceiling… look at the human form, the muscles rippling… brilliant work.
More ethereal anatomy on display…
A shot taken from the canteen… we were really hungry since we hadn’t stopped for lunch on the way. Those croissants were the only thing we had in the morning… and by 5pm we were exhausted with all the walking in the museum, so stopped at the canteen for a quick bite of sandwich and chips.
A really nice painting… the tree… the village landscape.
Another painting that stood out… her stance, not coy or brash… just matter of fact, pleasant… natural, normal. The folds on her dress, quite impressive too…
A description of the painting…
Something else that stood out… these hooded figures carrying a person.
Just goofing around here…
and here.
An eerily attractive gothic sculpture… the museum is quite huge, you’ll need atleast four or five days to absorb it all. A few hours were all we had, so we saw whatever we could.
These mona lisa (and other paintings) chandeliers at the Lourve add a nice touch to the place. After a bit of shopping at the museum store, we found out (through google maps) that Notre Dame Cathedral was quite close to Lourve, so we started walking along the Seine
… and came across beautiful paintings like this,
And vintage treasures like this…
oh yes, I was hyperventilating away…
Look at that row of character tinted vintage books…
James Blunt song comes to mind: You’re beautiful, it’s true. And I don’t know what to do, ‘Cause I’ll never be with you.
And here the Notre dame, we kinda knew it would be closed.
We just walked around…
Took in the sights and went searching for the most amazing bookstore…
There were signs along the way…
A quaint little street just near Notre Dame…
And here it is… the most amazing place in all of Paris.
Open books…Open minds… Open Doors… Open hearts…
Every nook, cranny and crevice of this place is filled with books and other beautiful things…
Came across this book about the Great Mother, the divine feminine aspect… and it talks about Kali.
Then it mentions Durga, Parvati… Himalayas.
That’s me reading about the Great Mother…
There’s a house cat that walks over the books like she owns the place and jumps into your lap if she likes you…
A window…
A typewriter to write whatever you want… left our imprint here.
And notes from so many people from all over the world pinned up here…
I couldn’t get enough of this place… they have an adjoining cafe too.
The view of Notre Dame as the sun was setting…
Just a cute little restaurant oozing charm…
A sausage crepe I bought at a small shop…
Then we decided to go to Arc de Triomphe to see the Eiffle tower at night. This was our dinner at a nice little place near the Arc, A l’Etoile d’Or.
This was my vegetable crepe, and it was pretty good…
Arc de Triomphe
We climbed 284 steps all the way to the top to see…
The Eiffel at night…
After this we walked along Champs-Elysees for some time then took an uber back to the hotel. It was a nice day in Paris… fell into a sound sleep back in our small little hotel room.