Le Paris Visite....

The train pulled into the Eurostar terminal at Gare du Nord in Central Paris. It was only when I got off the train that I realised that I didn't know a word of French.

Gare du Nord is a station like any other but the architecture of the building is balanced and harmonious. I was to find out later that all architecture in Paris - Opera Garnier, Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries, Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Hotel des Invalides, Basilique du Sacre Coeur, Jardins du Palais Royal, Galaries Lafayette - have the same sense of balance, symmetry, harmony and space - a testimony to a brave attempt of the modern man to create a 'civilised world'.

Le Pyramides forms the entrance to Musee de Louvre which houses the Mona Lisa - 'the most famous painting in the world'. La Gioconda - as the French call the Mona Lisa - is a surprisingly small painting in comparison to its fame or to the gigantic painting on the entire opposite wall "The Wedding Feast" by Paolo Veronese which is truely impressive, magnificent and telling. Le Pyramides Inversee at Carrousel du Louvre is also quite intriguing.

My favourite place in Paris is undoubtedly - Avenue des Champs-Elysee. A bright sunny day, cafe-au-lait with croissants and engaging conversations with Parisian friends truely make Paris a memorable and an unforgettable experience.

The Eurostar Experience....

This was special - as it was my first visit to Paris. And i was travelling by Eurostar. I've always loved travelling by trains and the Eurostar, based on the TGV, is right at the forefront of train technology along with the bullet trains of Japan. All promised to be a great experience....

Arrived at Waterloo International Eurostar Terminal, checked-in, went through customs and everthing was fine, nice & comfortable and before I knew I was sitting in the train looking forward to the roughly 2.5 hours the train journey....

The Eurostar started noiselessly and travelled at a comfortable pace through to Dover - the English countryside was breathtaking in the setting sun. The driver announced that we would enter the Channel Tunnel and would be under for about 20 minutes. Sure enough, 20 mins and a very smooth ride later we emerged from the tunnel on the other side in France.

This was when one got to experience the real speed of the TGV technology and the Eurostar (since the French run their TGV trains on modern tracks unlike their poor English cousins who still live on the old). The neat villages in the tidy French countryside shot past the window and in the the strange light that is there every evening, one couldnt help but feel that one was part of a lovely and beautiful painting....