The only
train that serves London to Paris route is Eurostar. The trip was fast,
smooth and comfortable. Before you even finish your dream, you’re already
in Paris. Just after two hours, everybody is speaking a different language
and using a different currency! I know I shouldn’t compare two different
places rather find their own uniqueness but I can’t help myself from
comparing London’s St. Pancras to Paris’ Gare du Nord train
station. St. Pancras is modern, spacious, and clean while the latter is
dirty and overcrowded. I guess St. Pancras raised the bar really
high. I’ve read a lot of reviews saying that Gare du Nord is a haven of
pickpockets so be very careful.
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Gare du Nord
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Europe's busiest train station
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| Luxembourg Metro |
From Gare du Nord, we took
the metro, specifically the RER line to reach our hotel. It
took us just a few minutes to reach the Luxembourg stop which is a short walk
from our hotel. The obvious difference between
Paris and London is its architecture. French
buildings are mostly made of marbles while in London buildings are made of
bricks (I later learned that the French find bricks cheap). Both are beautiful in their own way. However,
the thing that caught my attention the most was the wet streets. It must have been raining here like in
London. We had enough of the rain. It makes a place gloomy and sad, not to
mention cold! All our pictures in London
are dull! I would not let it ruin Paris
for me.
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| Where to go next? |
I was waiting to feel
the charms of Paris but it did not hit me.
No accordion music in the background, no mimes in the park, people
aren’t wearing berets and where the hell is Madeline?! I refuse to believe that those are just
stereotypes! To make it even worse, our hotel
room isn’t served by the lift so my sister, Nicole, and I carried our 5 luggage
weighing 20 kilos each up 3 steep flight of stairs. Welcome to Paris!
But I did not give up
on this “City of Love”. My sisters and I joined the evening river tour of Discover Walks. I’ve read a lot of good reviews about it and
it’s solely based on tips so I said why not.
We were really desperate to experience the magic of Paris. We hoped that this tour will bring it and it
did! We met Alex, our tour guide in
front of Charlemagne’s green statue in front of Notre Dame. He was very kind, knowledgeable and proud of
his city. He grew up in Ile-de-Cite near
Notre Dame. He is an authentic Parisian
so he knows what he is talking about. He
tried to get to know everyone in our diverse group made up of Indians, Chinese,
Paraguayans, Spanish, and Americans. The
tour starts at Notre Dame down to the River Seine and ended in one of Paris’
most romantic spot “the Titanic”, as how Alex called it, in Square du Vert-Galant. Two hours definitely was not enough. We wanted
more! He told us secrets, mysteries and
legends surrounding Paris. Everything started to make sense. Before we knew it, it hit us. We fell in love with Paris!
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| The beautiful Pont des Arts |
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| I'm finally in Paris! |
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| The River Seine has salmons in its waters |
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| Oh la la |
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| Our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! |
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| Cafe Le Depart-St. Michel |
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| Touristy Rue de la Huchette |
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Leafy Chestnut trees in Place Dauphine
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| For a moment, I felt like a local here |
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1. Train from London to Paris: Eurostar Website
2. Be vigilant. Gare du Nord is not the safest place in
Paris. Read here.
3. Buy the metro's carnet (10 tickets per pack).
4. In Paris, green light for pedestrians doesn’t
always guarantee a safe crossing. Based on my experience French drivers tend to ignore that rule. Be careful when crossing the streets.
5. Join a free tour and thank me later: Discover Walks, City Free Tour,
Sandeman’s New Paris Tour.
6. Always ask the French first "Excusez-moi. Parlez vous Anglais?" (Excuse me. Do you speak English?) before speaking English.
Playgroup Singapore those sisters are cute :) is that a boat? amazing
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