my heart is yearning, but paris is burning

a super backdated post! - there are so many travel adventures i have not recorded and written down, so here is the paris one lest i forget. paris was lovely, there was so much to do in our three days there we were fully occupied from dawn to dusk - but i did not identify with the vibe of the city, i doubt i will go back again. for me it was just good to have been there, once.

immediately upon arrival we walked past a shop of mummified rats and stuffed rodents, it was quite disgusting but it also reminded me of that scene in ratatouille:

then we visited notre dame, classic must-see of paris. there were posters all over detailing scenes from hugo's "hunchback of notre-dame", it was slightly tacky and touristy. the church itself was gorgeous though, dark with atmospheric music! we got to listen to a choir inside, and the view from the top was spectacular, with the famous gargoyles.

i don't know what this one is eating, it just looks nasty. aerial view of rest of church:

notre dame by nightfall

we also went to versailles palace! in my honest opinion, it was huge and grand but rather monotonous, there is only a certain amount of crystal chandeliers and mural-walls one can endure after awhile.

the versaille gardens were interesting though, the palace grounds are absolutely huge. we fed fat sheep with leaves, they look so fluffy and adorable from a distance until they come up close. then they (still) look fluffy but also vacant and a bit smelly.

of course, no visit to paris is complete without going to the eiffel tower! for me, this was the highlight of the trip. we arrived at the tower early evening, managed to catch sunset, and stayed till late when everything turned dark. then we caught the eiffel tower in all its lights and glory! the going-up was extremely tough though, i opted for stairs (in an attempt to be cheap) and it was terrifying climbing up because of my phobia of heights. every few steps, i wanted to give up, as kenneth put it: i was clinging onto the railings like a gecko with both hands.

we also visited the arc de triomphe after the eiffel, there was a newly-opened little museum inside. it feels slightly amusing to stand on top, watching cars go in circles around you! the view is fantastic, i never quite understand why the different streets have different-coloured lightings - is it to create varying moods for streets?

my favourite ferris-wheel postcard shot, courtesy of kenneth

we also spent close to one entire day in the famed louvre, i think it was an excellent collection of art but it was almost completely utterly boring for me. there was TOO MUCH ART to digest, we resorted to quickly walking around and glancing briefly at any pictures that looked vaguely interesting. even that became exhausting, i had to sit at regular intervals and half-close my eyes, hoping other museum-goers would not notice my lack of cultured enthusiasm.

huge crowd around the tiniest mona-lisa ever

there was also this gorgeous church we found! i forget its name, but it was near some supreme court or palace of justice. it looked boring and stone-ugly from the outside, but the interior was stunning! there were huge panes of coloured stainglass, they dyed the sunlight into every spectrum on the rainbow.

travelling with kenneth means indulging him in his crazed fish-hobby, so we went to the paris aquarium. ok it was actually fun, there were about 80 tanks full of fish species from all over the world. i still can't get over how weird the unicorn fish is though.

and no trip in paris can end without shopping! so we went to galleries lafayette, famous tourist duty-free shopping zone. it was a slight mistake: it was not quite the shopping i envisioned, because my budget fell short of the luxury goods and branded items! still, the inside of the building was fabulous, especially the famous dome and the christmas decorations. the window displays were absolutely pretty as well! it was such a lovely way to end off the city.