Paris in a day... impossible!

Paris, Paris! It's been written about in songs, books and movies for ages. None of what's been written can live up to what it actually is. I'll try my best to describe the little bit that I saw of it.

I arrived in Garde du Nord station on the Thalys train from Brussels. I found the ticket station and went to buy an all day pass so that I could ride the train/subway between locations and try to save time, instead of walking too far.

The ticket booth read: tickets and information. So I tried to make the most of getting information out of the guy selling me my ticket. He didn't seem too pleased, maybe because I was speaking in English.

Garde du Nord is a big station connecting Paris to most of the rest of France and also to the rest of Europe. The trains into Paris were so full! And the smell wasn't too good either. You had to push to get onto the train and then stand squashed up against someone else.

My first stop was the cathedral of Notre-Dame, which means "Our Lady" which as Catholics know, refers to Mary the mother of Jesus. The cathedral started being constructed in the 12th century. Some of the stained glass and sculptures are still preserved from then! It is spectacular and no picture can capture it.

Since the cathedral is called "Our Lady" there are obviously many figures and figurines of Mary. It seems that there was a big trend toward the glorification of Mary during the time that the cathedral was built. The adoration of Mary was not always such a big part of the Catholic faith.

All around the cathedral there are little areas where you can light candles and place them in the stand. There are signs suggesting a donation for lighting a candle, but the signs also say that it is up to you if you want to donate or not. You can also buy a candle if you like. Most of my pictures inside the cathedral are a bit unclear, because camera flashes are not allowed inside the cathedral.

The cathedral is not only a tourist spot, they have mass four times a day. I was surprised to hear a mass starting as I was walking around. Mass just carries on and those who want to join the mass do, those who want to continue taking pictures do too.

Around the sides of the cathedral are little chapels and small areas used to display art and objects made for the cathedral hundreds of years ago. The left hand side has little alcoves containing paintings in the style of the one above.

These were works painted by famous artists of the time. They are called "Mays" because they were put into the cathedral in the month of May, which is the month of Mary.

Some of the works have been removed and are on display in museums, all of the works still in the cathedral depict scenes from the book of Acts in the Bible. Apparently being commissioned to paint one of these was a big point in an artist's career back then.

After Notre-Dame, I had decided to go to Musee d'Orsay which contains works by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Matisse and many more. It is housed in a turn-of-the-century train station across the river (Seine) from the Louvre. I had decided not to go to the Louvre, because of time constraints.

When I arrived at the museum, there was a queue to go in. I stood in the line for a while, and then decided that since I had only one day in Paris, I should spend it outside seeing Paris.

As I walked away from Musee d'Orsay, I came across what I thought was a very typically French scene on the steps of the museum, which is in the picture above: people eating lunch on the steps listening to live music.

Since I had opted to wear a little "Paris" dress and carry a little bag to match, I had had to leave my very big "Western Europe" guide book behind. I collected some maps and information booklets at an information stand on the street. Looking at the little booklets, I then had to guess what I was seeing from its location in relation to unmistakable points.

The bridge above, I hope is Pont Alexandre III, which is a celebration of Franco-Russian friendship.

From here I did a lot of walking, finally finding Champs-Elysees, in quite a roundabout manner. Along Champs-Elysees there are many shops, I didn't get too distracted, only stopping in one or two, my eye on the goal of Arc de Triomphe. This was erected by Napoleon to celebrate the victories of the Great Army. It was commissioned in 1806 and completed in 1836.

There is also a tomb of an unknown French soldier, buried there in 1921, where a flame burns and an inscription says: Here lies a French soldier, who died for his country.

From there I walked toward the Eiffel tower. It is visible from the area around Pont Alexandre III, and from many other parts of the city, so I had an idea of the general direction, and consulted my map to make sure I didn't go down the wrong road.

I didn't even attempt to go to the top of the Eiffel tower. I'm sure the view would be amazing, but the wait in the line at the bottom is time I did not have! It is an iconic part of Paris, and it was good to get to see it.

By this time I still had not had anything to eat. I didn't feel hungry at all. I did feel a bit thirsty, but I kept thinking that I needed to see more. By the time I was walking away from the Eiffel tower it was around 17h00. I decided to look for a little cafe and wondered into a neighbourhood nearby. There weren't many tourists, lots of little cafes and restaurants. But most of them were closed at that time. Cafes and restaurants usually close between 15h00 and 19h00 in preparation for dinner.

Eventually I found a little cafe on Rue de Charles Michel. The waiter was really friendly and even had a menu in English for me, even though it didn't seem like many tourists frequented the cafe. I had some wine, lots of water and a baguette with camembert cheese. The cheese was probably the best camembert I've tasted.

After asking the waiter for some directions, I had an idea of how to head back to the centre of town. Somehow, I still headed in the wrong direction, and found a little pattisier: Le Bon Panneton, where I bought some macaroons and fondant au chocolat.

By the time I got back to the centre of Paris, I arrived in time to see the sun setting just behind the Eiffel tower. It was almost 19h00, so by this time the tourists were mostly gone and the Parisian were out of work: jogging, walking their dogs, sitting on benches along the river and on bridges. It was much quieter and more peaceful.

I tried to get to the Louvre just to take a picture of the front area. I walked through the park: Jardin des Tuileries and could see the glass cube at the front, but then a security guard came along and told me the park was closing and the gate to the Louvre was locked already. I turned back and sat on the foot bridge which links Musee d'Orsay to Tuileries, contemplating my day.

I think next time round: I will make sure I have more time. I will wear more comfortable clothing. I will carry a bigger bag.

Parisians do dress smartly, but no one really cares what you're wearing. One of the shop attendants was quite taken with my dress, he followed me around a bit, asking where I was from, talking to me about rugby and complimenting me on my dress. (He guessed I was from New York, the rugby conversation started when I said I was from South Africa.)

Personally, I still think practicality takes precedence over appearance when it comes to spending a day walking around a city. Next time I want to stay over in Paris, so a pretty dress for the night out will be in order, but jeans can look good and are quite alright for sightseeing.

I suppose I'm just not enough of a fashionista. Practicality is not part of a fashionista's vocabulary!!

My advice: go and see Paris for yourself! Nothing can describe it adequately.

Don't go in summer. Judging from the crowds at tourist spots yesterday, which was off peak, the summer months must be crazily busy. Yesterday was a bit cloudy, but the temperature was 21 degrees celsius and warm enough even for a Durbanite and sometimes the sun even came out from behind the clouds.

And never, never, try to do Paris in one day!