This might be under the category of our own first yup lots planning done by my other half in terms of booking and other things by me, still touristic kind , but to see things one has to put in plenty leg work, that kind of trip. More details not necessary on how things came about or what went on or for that matter anything...
I feel like I should not have posted some things I wrote that time on this blog, like some wise people will do but it was under the diary of impressions , hence had to mention what good , bad , wrong , right what all I noted. Skip it , ignore it, don't read it ... It was just what i wrote that's it. Some comedy things even I feel like laughing now :)
Paris: ( from notes taken that time)
supportive etc. So initial expectations were very low and this being the first stop was
hoping for something different to happen. Landed on airport & rented a cab. Notre Dame was walking distance from this place. Later turned out to be nice location, easily accessible to majority of places.
Cab driver left us on the street parallel to our hotel & it took little asking around to figure out the place. Once inside all the impressions were proved wrong. Sometimes U think why did I believe
in people & their views about the place. The staff was so dam friendly & ask them same thing 10 times they had equal amount of enthusiasm each time. Wow one hurdle down. Atleast we will not get lost
& someone can understand English & reply too. Now after my many travels this is very laughable thing :)
Eating in french bakery is a neat experience ( near louvre nice small place) Nothing is oversized like U might find in any American place, Croissants were of the size they are supposed to be, coffee too.
Don't know why everything in USA is so huge & large (all Indians after coming here would say even vegetables they feel are huge in america). Chocolate croissants were too good. Most people were very punctual in having morning breakfast, even on Sundays.
There were many early risers apart from tourists visiting bakery. ( The cook i rem was wearing the same hat white one ) One most noticiable thing was Sunday the government sends trucks to
wash the streets. Interesting .... They were like our garbage trucks. One more interesting thing was most of the individuals were washing their garbage containers too. No wonder things looked clean and neat.
and non smelly. Nice habit I guess. Most of the times U would notice small alleys exactly like U might find in India being kept spotless. ( well I think when all touristic things open kinda late
and U have plenty time while eating u tend to notice things which U might not otherwise, at least its true for me)
Wished we could only stop one thing in India, no spitting & throwing things out on roads. WOW that would be a peaceful day in every individuals life. Probably that was the most noted thing for me to start my impression of Europe among stone buildings & cobbled roads.
The railway system was easy to go around . For Bombay person, no worries at all. ( one get tickets in Bigelette shops)
Foodwise, desserts were nice, anything in bakery would be cool, pasta awesome fresh ( later i might go for italian one more ) They had fast food centres for pasta making . Just get in line
tell them which sauce U want , they cook pasta infront of you & add sauce & U are ready to go ( aldante it is ,, for indians its little less cooked but tasted nice, took pesto and tomato)
Crepe are other most popular & go to thing. One missed thing is Variety of breads .... well after travelling to some places in europe now can say like breads better there. May be because its a primary food , like variety of rotis in India. Even here I like artisan breads really good so ...) (a common ref. would be india as I am born and brought up there, so it comes natural ...)
Somehow I felt french people walk pretty fast & really walk long distances. In heels too. That might be the reason for their slim trim sizes. Fashion sense is most noticiable, even emphasis on how to look good at any age felt more. People took care of themselves. Hmm no wonder the elevators are really small & rooms too. (Even in hotels one can find tables kind of cozy and nearby). The elevators are usually so small that only one small bag & really fit person can go in it at one time. (Especially in old buildings , now with modernization things in other hotels are diff to cater to everyones needs.) on similar notes one can find since I have seen some forts in India, the doors used to be small and for tall individual one has to bend down and go inside.
Bacchi was very popular game in the gardens ,like "gotya (kanche) " kind ...
Among some of the hilarious moments were when i tried to speak french, well had pocket book with me indeed. But to let u know that helped a lot. Easy translations & not too much asking around. :)
There is a lot to see but enjoying what U see is always more important for us . While doing that if U miss location or two , it doesn't matter as much , at least U have satisfaction of being present there at that moment to soak in the surroundings , just watching people, locals, shops, interesting things. It's fun to re-live those moments & get some sense, same feel after watching your trip pictures.
Sometimes U wish , U wish for it to become cloudy, rainy and get that real feel for the place. Siene river, the beauty around, stone buildings, take U to that era U wished to visit at least once. During your Europe vacation it should rain atleast once. The magic of the place suddenly changes. It feels really great!! We luckily got those opportunities during our visit.
Bye Bye Paris ..
Hoping to visit France again.. Yes, did get a chance to re-visit when did TMB trek in later years and some towns, it was beautiful. (Annecy, nice, monaco, montecarlo, mercantour national park, lyon ..)
Some glimpses :
Post some years TMB trek sometowns glimses
