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You know the saying, there's a silver lining behind a dark cloud? Well, I've always thought that this was a dumb line used only by sods like Chicken Licken until recent events in Paris made me change my mind...
Hubby and I had a weekend in Paris and while we were there, we experience the warmth of a city notorious for its folks who love nothing more than to rebuff foreigners. Yes, we heard the horror stories. And to make things worse, hubby had a fall . Make that a bad fall, on blades, that made his knees go 'pop' like the weasel. Yeah, he had surgery to repair the weasely knee. Undeterred by all these, we had a rendezvous one weekend in Paris. Hubby flew in from Frankfurt and I, from Singapore. The good news was, the bad leg did not get in the way. No siree, ZE BAD LEG milked lots and lots of sympathy points. Many kind Parisians went out of their way to help us and ze bad leg even gave us priority in museum queues. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the other tourists when the security guards at the Lourve went straight to my husband and kindly ushered him to the front. I could have sworn many of them shot that evil look at their partners as the desire to kick them in the shin grew strong. Can't blame them, afterall, Paris was blazing hot at 32c ! Same crazy temperature as Singapore.We must have downed many bottles of Evian that day but it was worth it. We saw the Mona Lisa, dined at a chic little cafe in Rue Cler, toured the Notre Dame and saw the Eiffel Tower when it was sparkling like a glow bug at night. Lovely.
Yeah, because of ze bad leg, I saw kindness coming out from the people who were rumoured to be nasty and unkind. It can't be further from the truth. Parisians are, on the whole, nice. It warmed my heart each time a local gave up his seat in the Metro for my limping husband, helped him with his luggage or even moved aside for him. Even when I was alone without ze bad leg, I was treated no differently, many kind souls helped me when I lost my way and personally walked me to my destination even though my French sucked. I had a great time here and the experience made me believe in silver linings.
After spending a weekend with Hubby, I stayed behind alone in France while he went on to Germany. Glad I did, I indulged in the arts, the lights and every hedonistic delight I could think of in Paris. What gave me the greatest joy, I discover, wasn't shopping in Champ Elysee, looking at Art at the Lourve but just sitting still and looking at the splendour of Paris at night. I had the chance to do so while on a night cruise on the Seine River.
I always had a burning zeal to be like my hero....LANCE ARMSTRONG! Though I didn't do the Tour de France, I did a night cycling tour of Paris, a day cycling tour of Versailles and Giverny. It satiated my desire to some extent and gave a whole new meaning to sight-seeing.
- Pros:World class museums, Divine Architecture and Good, really Good Food
- Cons:Stuffy subway trains in summer
- In a nutshell:This place is MAGIC !
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Comments (25)
Still supporting Lance;p He's now into marathons just as I am!
Absolutely wonderful tip!!! This is the kind of experience that new travelers need. Thank you so much for the tip. Well written and very clear. THANKS!
Hi Glen, Interesting to feel how my country is perceived by foreign tourists. Thanks for your page, full of sensitivity and humor. I hope hubby's knee is now OK :) PS: Sorry, but Lance Armstrong is no more so popular, based on doping high suspicion.
What a beautiful photograph from La Tour at night!
Hi , any cheap hotels and what did you mean by self image stamps on thursdays. I forget where it was the page. Also, are there any out of the way like country area antique shops there ? thanks for the tip on the Eiffel Tower lights Joyce
Excellent B/W picture of the notre dame - thx for the memories
Love Saint Chappelle. It is, to me, the most beautiful chapel in the world.
Lots of fine updates to this page since I last looked at it! I spent ten days in Paris in June and had a great time touring by bicycle and going to all the opera houses.
nice page, i will be in paris alone in end of august. any suggestions for a girl on her own
Glen, this is your Page de Triomph! bpackers best is here... Eifel Power to you!
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