“He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more
tragic.Nothing is more sublime.” ― Victor Hugo
The flight from
Muscat landed at Paris Charles De Gaulle
making one wonder why a French Capital bore the name of the Prince of Troy from
the Greek mythology who had abducted Queen Helen and initiated the Trojan wars.
This was an emerging city in the medieval past, but
a century later it
has got transported to the most happening city with its modernity, monuments,
and the relevant plan. People call the city of
Paris, the city of love, the city of lights
and perhaps a phenomenal capital city. One could definitely sense love as the
city was rich in resources, architecture, amenities, cafes, restaurants, and
theatres, captivating beauty, and broad spaces for pedestrians, and planned
greenery all along that included a metropolitan graciousness with the end of
monarchy. It was named the ‘Citivas Parisiorum’ or the city of
Paris, which was derived
from the early inhabitants who were a
Celtic Parisii tribe.
The large airport, the serene
atmosphere, the cool breeze after a fresh drizzle of rain, and the ambience
transported one to the present, far away from the Greek Mythology.
Every place in this rich city worked
on sensors. The lights operated when they sensed a human presence, water gushed
out as soon as the taps sensed the presence, and the evening sky also seemed to
welcome us with a fresh spurt of rain sensing our charisma as we walked out of
the airport into the city.
We were introduced to the driver
of the Coach, Mr. Roland and ushered into his clean and well maintained luxury
coach. Mr. Roland looked young and was
in good physique, one had to peer into the lines of his face to know his
actual age. He was formally dressed and looked like an executive, but his work
involved great precision and perfection. He opened the coach storage and
arranged our luggage in an orderly approach. We saw the young, the elderly, and
the middle-aged were all self sufficient. Perhaps the unavailability of help or
the dignity of
labour had nurtured a positive attitude in the people and this outlook did wonders to visitors like us.
The next morning we began our
tour from the Arc de Triomphe, which was built to honour those who had fought for France and died during the French revolution, it was one of the largest triumphal arch once upon a
time with intricate architecture. It is
located on the bank of the river Seine with 12
radiating avenues and was built to honour Emperor Napoleon’s victory. Numerous visitors from all over the world
could be seen in the city, Special double Decker buses with open seats plied
around the city to make the visit memorable for those who wished to travel in these buses.
The city is well connected with
Monuments giving one the reflection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and French architectures.
One can see a few of these tall monuments like the Egyptian Luxor Obelisk at
the
centre of the place also known as ‘Paris Needle’. This helps one understand
the reign of Ramesses the second. The city has cathedrals, museums, many
beautiful restaurants, and monuments like the Pantheon, the Roman Catholic
Church Sacre Coeur, the Opera House, the Flame of Liberty
replicating the torch
carried in the hand of the statue of liberty, Les Invalides, Golden angel mounted
on the Bastille Monument, bridge of
Pont Alexander III and many more evoking
deep admiration for the plan and design of the city.
The star attractions were the
Eiffel tower and the cruise on the river
Seine.
The river seine has almost eleven bridges where couples pledge their love by
leaving padlocks with their names on the railings after locking it; the key is
then hurled in the river to mark their everlasting love. The
Pont Des Arts Bridge
is considered auspicious, and so its railings were filled with padlocks, and
the weight of these padlocks made it dangerous to walk on the bridge. This led
to a movement to save the structure and tons of padlocks were removed. People who are fanatical about the longevity
of their love are willing to hang it on the street lamps that line the bridge.
People say the trend began with a Roman tradition, but the origin traces back
to
Italy, yet we find the
gesture in many more places like
Melbourne and
Munich.
At the
Eiffel Tower,
we saw a massive crowd of tourists from all over the world, making serpentine
queues to buy the tickets to climb the Tower. The long queue filled us with
remorse and fatigue, but the orderliness, the swiftness and thrill kept us
going despite the frosty breeze that seemed to freeze people. After a couple of
intense security checks at various spots we were led to the elevators which
dropped us on the second floor of the Eiffel tower. We saw the youngsters; the
elderly, and children run to occupy the corners in the elevator that gave a
view of the city of
Paris
as it rose above the floors of the tower. They admired the city, waved hands,
hugged each other for having travelled so far and lived their life robustly. It
was thankfulness for their existence in the prized present. The top floor was
the coolest, but the feelings were the warmest. The tower has a lot of space,
telescope at various spots to view the city, and rickety stairs for those who
love climbing the stairs.
One wonders how this huge lanky
structure could evoke love. The whole structure is made up of three shades of
the metal Iron and the structure has around 18000 pieces of Iron. This envisage
by Gustave Eiffel became a hope, an assurance and a legacy
of
France.
It bonded the people in many ways, the oneness of the people made it unique and
it became a symbol of adulation. There is a huge lawn and a well designed ground
on one side of the tower where lakhs of people could stroll, rest, jog and
cycle for you find the healthiest lot of people here who are conscious about
their well being. The citizens run along the river, cycle on the shore, sit
with friends on the green grassy patches, making one reminisce the good old days
when people
socialized in reality.
We were ushered for a cruise on the river
Seine. We saw the whole city in the bright evening light, though
it was eight in the evening. The
comfortable huge deck and the beautiful scenery kept us
mesmerised as we saw
all the monuments and the greenery once again.
In the night, Mr. Roland decided to take us back to Eiffel tower; we
were tired of watching the Eiffel tower
the nth time.
Everyone wanted to visit
the Opera House or the busy streets, but we saw the lights being switched off
and darkness
plunge the Eiffel tower. We could now see a few lights and a lot of
darkness, but at the gong of eleven we saw life bubbling with gusto when twenty
thousand lights flickered to bring the tower alive. We felt our hearts beat aloud
with an uproar from thousands who were waiting for a glimpse of this wonder
with an unknown joy of being alive, perhaps it was the divinity of
deep love for the place and the people around for making life so precious and
invaluable.
Everyone wanted to visit
the Opera House or the busy streets, but we saw the lights being switched off
and darkness 
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