Canal Cruise and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Got up had breakfast packed our Lunch the usual one and started off.  First we went to the Station nearby and got the 3 day train tickets for Zone 1, 2 and 3.  Here the zones are numbered.  With a little bit of difficulty we did manage to communicate to the ticket clerk about our need and she gave the ticket in a jiffy.
I felt even though we did not know a word of French the Metro was quite user friendly.  We had already booked our tickets for what ever we wanted to do and had  noted down the station and also how to go there.
 We were to go to Canal Cruise today and I did not know what to expect but the reviews in the net was really good.
 we went by train to the starting point of the canal cruise.

Initially the boat sailed  in the Seine river  and we could see many monuments which the guide was pointing out to us.   The Notre Dame Cathedral was excellent seen from the boat.

Slowly the Boat entered the Canal and the experience was out of this world.  Some part of the canal is built underground and like any underground road  the canal is below the road.  When you look up from the underground tunnel on which the boat is moving you can actually see the road and the sky above you.  It is some thing which is really unbelievable.  I was amazed to  know that this was built in 18 Hundreds that is 19th Century.

The underground tunnel and the sunlight from above.

The beauty of this boat ride was that we were travelling from a lower level of the river to the higher level and this is achieved through a system of gates and locks.  Before we entered the canal from the river there is a place for the boat to stop with gates locked from both sides and once inside this place  the boat stops the gate through which we came is closed  and some lever is operated by the boat man and water gushes through the other side into this waiting place (shall I call it waiting room?) and slowly the level of water increases bringing the boat up.  Once it is level with the other side the gate is opened and the boat moves up.    The gates are closed once again. We were to pass through around 10 such gates and lock system and it was fascinating for me to watch every time.

The gate and the gushing water.

Now the water is in level and the open gate.

This was a very new experience to me for being a city bred girl from Bangalore I have had no chance to go on boat rides in canals,  except on holidays on some small lakes.

Now I could understand what the person on the boat ride in Windsor Castle  in England was talking about.  He was saying that due to gate systems the journey to London would take almost 24 hours as the boat has to wait its turn in the gates and locks and showed us a gate which I could not  comprehend.

Later after I came back from the trip and talking about this to Vinayak, he mentioned that big ships are lifted in such methods in Suez  canal to navigate the ship to move to  higher level .   Surely these trips are lessons I  learnt about which I had   no inkling what so ever.

The ride inside the tunnel was for about a Kilometer or so and afterwards it was nice seeing people on both sides of the canal and lovely bridges from which people were looking at these boats and also many (narrow) small bridges which went vertically up one side (unlike tower bridge which opened both sides) like a sore thumb and vehicles waiting on both sides.

The gate system continued even after coming out of the tunnel.

Some bridges  simply turned to one side allowing  the boat to move on and you can see a car waiting at the signal to cross the canal after the boat passes through and the bridge comes to its original position.

I wish I was standing on the bridge watching the boats and other sights.

These leisurely walks I could not afford this time and there were many planned things waiting for us to do.
 In general in Paris,  I noticed many many people lazing around, in parks and public places just like that especially youngsters.  This I had not seen in London where everybody seemed to be very busy.

Our cruise came to an end after about 2 hours plus and we got down and sat in some place  and had our packed lunch which I had brought with me.  We had coffee and proceeded to our next destination the Notre dame Cathedral.

We took the underground metro and reached the Cathedral.  We had to walk quite a bit  to go near the magnificent Cathedral and the building was marvellous and  my hubby clicked numerous pictures as each carving, statues were  asking for our attention and wanting us to record for ourselves that we did see them!

The seating facilities in the Paris underground attracted our attention and these small details are the ones which makes ones trip nice and good.

Ah, Notre Dame you are standing sideways! I can not help it.....

 We went inside and were allowed to take pictures.  There was an exhibition inside the church  where some artifacts of the church were displayed.

again side ways... ah...

In front of the Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral.

I also sat and prayed and lit some candles  also.

Stained glass work inside the Cathedral

 The exhibition was held because  they were celebrating the 850 years of the building of the cathedral.  Oh it  is such a nice building and stands so majestically for such a long time.  I was reminded of our Tanjore Brihadeeswara temple built in 11th century by Raja Raja Chola. Just like our temple this is also a place of worship even today but it is being maintained very well.

                                          this picture is also turned side ways.

This is one of the artifacts in the exhibition made of silver.  There were many and my hubby took lots of pictures. I have just posted this one.

I had taken a flyer in the boat which  gave details about a shopping mall called Lafayette.  The picture looked very nice and the station to go into it was on the way to Notre Dame and so we decided to check it out.
On our way back to our hotel from the Cathedral we went there and it was such a wonderful building with many floors  for shopping.

                                          Many floors of the shopping mall.

                                                    The roof in the central court yard.

We returned to the hotel and freshened up .  We proceeded to Arc De Triomphe.  This is next to Charles de Gaulle Station.  Very nice place.  Lovely to walk around.  This is the monument for the Soldiers and it is one of the most well known places in Paris.  

In front of the Arc de Triomphe

The workmen ship in the roof of the Arc

On the Side walls....

We had bookings for dinner and a show in La Lido. We walked there from the arc de triomphe   As an youngster I had heard so much about it in the 1970s and wanted to see the show.  It was OK.  Food was good and they served Champagne.  The stage settings which are very famous was not bad. This is on the famous road called  Champs-Élysées,  .  The walk on this road is supposed to be very nice but we did not have time for it and we came back to the station after  the show and returned to our hotel.

The Boon (Bane) called power cut.

I was going through some old papers as I needed some information and found this piece written in August 2004.
 Now with power cuts looming large any time  in Indian Cities and almost two years of darkness in Tamil Nadu this post might evoke anger for even thinking of it as a boon.  Any way let me share this.

The other day there was a  power cut in our apartment in Bangalore.  Unlike other times, it was evening, when the power went off and after initial cursing, I settled down for the wait game not knowing how long I had to wait.
 I got all the candles out and suddenly it dawned on me that,   my candle lit living room is looking grand.

My five year old grand son was running around.  I was at a loss as to how to engage him.
 No TV. No home work, no story book reading.  All my story telling (stock) was  getting exhausted virtually.
Then it dawned on me that I can really have a great time with him like I used to do with my kids.  It used to be really a welcome change for all of us  (my three kids and their dad and myself) when power got cut.  The word game used to begin.  Me trying to trap my kid with words ending with E and my little one trapping me with words ending with Y and I used to be at a loss for words starting with Y after some time.  Then  it was time for naming the capitals of Countries and talking about the far off lands which we dreamed of visiting one day.
Back to my grand son,  since he was too small for word game,     I made him sit and started number games with him.  Skipping numbers by 2.   When I started 0,2, he caught up and was really excited.  Then started the reverse counting.  I was amazed how a five year old could sit in a place and wanting to play more number games.  There was nothing to distract him as only two of us were there and we could go on and on with so many variations.  When at last the power  was back and the electric lights were on, suddenly there was an intruder.  The T.V. too came to life and his attention towards me was completely disrupted.  I thanked the Electric Company for giving me the few  hours of great time with my beloved grand son.

I did play word games, and naming the Capital games,  later  when we went on long drives.

Today my little grandson is all grown up into a tall six footer who is  a fresher in the High School  in USA.

Paris here I come.....

Today, 28th August , 2012, Tuesday we started from London to Paris in the Channel Train which goes under the sea.   Immigration was completed in the London Railway Station itself and  we were let into the platform just few minutes before the departure of the train.
 It was a very comfortable journey of about 2 hours plus  and I was excited  about the under the sea experience.  But I could feel no difference in the  journey.  Had I not known that   we were going under the Sea I would not have realized it.  I had expected to have some sensation in the ear (just like it happens when we climb up in the aircraft).  I could not even feel the speed of the train which was around 300 Kms per hour.
Later when I was discussing this with my brother he told me that the train/Car we take to New York City, every time using the Lincoln Tunnel  or any other tunnel is also built under the sea  as New York City is an Island.  This I had not realized at all and later when I went to US in the end of the year I could appreciate  the journey from New Jersey to New York much more than I usually do.  We did  go there couple of times.
We reached the station Paris Gare Du No rd.  As the immigration formalities were done already we just got down like in any other station and came out.
We had not booked any taxi like we had done on reaching Heathrow Airport,   so nobody was waiting for us .  We went out and joined a queue for the taxi.

We were quite apprehensive about France because we were told that the French will speak only their language and even if they know English will not care to answer us in English.
We had written down some sentences and words in French , but I am happy to say that we never had to use the paper and show it to people to help us.  Hurray.

We had booked the hotel near the Eiffel Tower  near a train station.  We told the taxi driver the name of our hotel  (Citadine Tour Eiffel)  and he drove us to the place which was quite congested and crowded road unlike  London.  (Now the comparison will start with London and I feel it is not right but I can not help it).
The hotel entrance was not very impressive,  but luckily the person at the desk spoke  English and our room was  not bad, but some hiccups were there, like Microwave oven not working etc which we had to get rectified.    The best part was the station Bir Hakim was just opposite to where we stayed and just when we stepped out of the hotel we could go to the station.
Our first visit was to the local super market which was very near (we had searched in the Internet and knew the location and had the maps so that we could just walk there) and bought the  basics, bread , jam, fruits etc.  We found it very difficult to communicate to them as to where to find Natural Yogurt, and finally managed to locate it and buy that also. By now we had, had our lunch and we were ready to venture out to  see places and our first visit was to the Eiffel Tower.  This was just a walk from our hotel and since the Tower was visible to the eyes we just followed  our eyes.  It was quite a distance, but walkable.

Alas it is turned as usual, can not help it......

I was not initially impressed by the Eiffel Tower but once near it , it was really impressive and huge giant of a steel structure which is  really a marvel.  The place in front of the Tower which was supposed to be a garden with fountain etc is not maintained well and may be that is why I felt disappointed initially.

We went and bought tickets to go up the tower.  They take you up in lifts and there are steps also which we can climb. There are two stops and it takes you  till the last level. 

There was a big queue and we joined the queue.  It was not yet dark and tower was not lighted.  

                                                     The lift ......again this photo is turned......

The above two pictures shows a room  at the top level.  The builder had a room for himself and used to entertain famous guests in that room!!  They have just kept some figures representing the visitors and host and we could see this room from outside and take picture.  I was impressed with great Mr. Eiffel.

                                                   view from the top of tower.

                                                  The Bridges as seen from the Tower.

                                                           Another view from the top.

Coming down by the Steps....

The lighted Eiffel Tower.

By the time we  started coming down the Eiffel Tower was getting lighted and by the time we came to the ground it was completely lighted.

There were many hawkers who were selling the small replicas of Eiffel Tower, The key chains and what not.  The best part of it is that all of them were made in China.  

We sat there in front of the Tower even though the lawn was not that good  still  it was really nice looking at the  Eiffel Tower.  It was really The Eye Fill Tower.

We returned to our  room by walk... 

Last Day in London/London Eye

Today (27th August 2012) is the last full day in London as tomorrow morning we need to pack and leave for Paris. After breakfast  we went to Tower Bridge  to see the opening of the Bridge.  We went little earlier and stood in a Vantage point so that we could  take the pictures/video of the event.

Standing on the Bridge which would open later on.

The bridge is open now.

Exactly at 9.45 the Tower Bridge opened slowly in an inverted V shape to allow a small ship to pass under it.  Seeing  such  a sturdy road on which we were standing and crossed  only a few minutes earlier  was amazing.

 I had imagined it to be a very long drawn affair and would take minimum half an hour, but hey and presto the moment the ship passed , the bridge came down and was lying flat like an 'innocent thing' making us wonder whether the same bridge had gone up as if in defiance against what ever!!

  Then the vehicles which were waiting in the red signal started passing up and down like in any normal routine signal.

Now we hurried to Victoria Albert Museum.  This Museum was set up by Albert the Royal Consort of Queen Victoria to exhibit collectibles.
  This was our second visit as we had decided we would come here again.  We spent about three to four hours here.

My favourite Tragedy Queen.

Silver Bowl.

 Silver item 

Enamel portrait set in pearls

 Court Dress

Embroidery work 

The Exhibits were wonderful and the jewellery and silver item collections were excellent.  There were so many tapestries, paintings, wood carvings and what not.  But we had to see these hurriedly as we had our own remaining program to follow.   

We came back to room around 2 p.m. to have lunch and started for West Minster Parliament building. 

What a lovely  traditional building to have a Country's  Parliament.  

We went to West minister Abbey but did not go  inside.  we did not have the time and we had not made bookings also as we had to go up in the London Eye.

Westminster Abbey

We  had made  bookings for the London Eye and so went and joined the queue directly, without having to wait to buy tickets.  The London Eye experience was very good and we  could recognize all the famous monuments as we had visited them in the past week.  Even we could recognize Windsor castle even though it is not very near,  as it was a very clear day.  it was a very good  finale to our week long trip.  

We came down and took a stroll on the Westminster bridge and came to the boat ride point which is called the river cruise  on Thames for which also we had tickets bought earlier.

  it was a beautiful ride and we were taken under quite a few bridges on the Thames and  with the evening breeze it was a lovely experience .  The Weather for our whole Trip had been very kind and  I kind of fell in love with this City sitting on the  boat.

The London Eye

                                        View of a Bridge from the London Eye

View of the palace from the London Eye

                                           Inside the London Eye   ( Carriage?? )

  

View of Tower Bridge from the Boat.

I had taken some pictures with some of   the Olympic Mascots figures which were kept in different places in London . Here they are...

We returned to our room and I decided if I every get another chance to visit London I would do more Museums in a leisurely way.

We got up the next morning , had break fast and went  to the Train Station St. Pancras International  to get the Channel Train the EuroStar to Paris.

The Place where we stayed.

 Our room, behind me is the small kitchen.

                                                                      The Train Station

                                             

                                               The Channel Train.

Good Bye London  Hope to see you again some day.