EURO TRIP PART 2

PARIS

1st day was gloomy and the Eiffel was tall but just a mass of steel. Maybe my mood wasn’t very good. Came back at night and all lit up, it looked like what it had in my imagination. Ethereal.

The climb up the tower however wasn’t. Huffed and Puffed and dragged myself up what seemed like millions of steps but the view of Paris by night was worth the effort. Took the bateaux ride down the Seine. Probably the best was to see the city in a hurry.

Notre Dame. Gothic and wicked looking. In a good way ofcourse. The park behind it has great free amateur musical performances every day.

Pont D’Alma. The tunnel where Princess Diana died. Still has many people leaving flowers and cards. Cant believe it been almost 12 years. People rush noisily to the spot and then hush when they reach there.

It was

strangely odd standing and lookingin the tunnel where she crashed even as cars whizzed in and out of it. Maybe her spirit is still around. Always was a romantic. Both Diana and myself that is.

Arc De Triomphe & Champs Elysee. Grand Arc with the worst traffic roundabout surrounding it. Indian traffic seems like heaven compared to the way Parisians drive. No wonder poor Diana was killed. The Champs Elysee is great at sunset though.

The Louvre. The global recession can end if you just sell 1/10th of the masterpieces from in here. If you ever go there leave aside a whole day for it. There is no way you can possibly complete the whole place in less than a day. The Monalisa was more beautiful than I had expected but also much much smaller. Its about 2.5 x 1.7 feet. And yes, its eyes does follow you around the room.

Sacre Coeur: Visited many churches and cathedrals during the euro trip but this was one of the most serene and spiritual places.

The steps outside has amateurs performing every evening and a huge crowd is always there. A great way to spend the evening is to take a sandwich, some bottles of wine (note: its ‘a’ sandwich and ‘some’ bottles) and sit on the steps watching the performances.

As you sit there on the steps, all around you, the lights of Paris come on one by one. Very Romantic.

This was also the area where Amelie was shot (as in movie not as in killed).

Pigalle. Just down the hillock of Sacre Coeur is the Pigalle area which is the red light area of Paris and has every conceivable sex shop/show.

The Moulin Rouge is disappointingly small.

RHEIMS (Champagne)

The capital of Champagne and very quaint but where the railway station looked very impressive. Almost like a museum.

Visited one of the champage cellars and saw literally, millions of bottles of champagne. Great place to lift the recession spirits.

The Rheims cathedral is exactly like the Notre Dame and was the place where more than 16 French kings were crowned till, ofcourse, one of the wives suggested that the people eat some cake.

BRUSSELS.

Capital of the EU but also one of the worst cities in Europe. You have to be awake 24x7 or you will be looted. Crime is sky high and the only place where I saw public property (including a statue of Elisabeth) vandalized in Europe. Shame.

The statue of Mannekin Pis is a tribute to the little boy who was taking a leak when he saw a breach in the levees and put a finger in the hole and warned the whole town. The statue is again very small.

Brussels makes great chocolate though and also has more than 250 varieties of beer.

Wait a min, this place wasn’t that bad after all.

AMSTERDAM.

Ahhh Amsterdam. Which other airport's mascot is a giant Heineken Can? And its probably the only city in the world where the city guide book has a collection of useful Dutch phrases that a tourist may need.

I know other city guides also have useful phrases but where, apart from the usual Please, Where is.., Thank You, can you find translations for such utterly useful phrases like “How much for group sex?” or “ Will it be extra if I tie you up?” or simply “Can I cum in your mouth?”. Told you so. Only in Amsterdam!

In between the obvious delights we also managed to visit 2 museums.

The Van Gogh (stunning and very well laid out) and the Anne Frank House.

With the Vatican, the Louvre, the Van Gogh etc behind us I have no doubt that the most moving experience was at the Anne Frank House. The irony is that it is empty. Just as it was the day after the Nazis took everything away. Yet you can feel everything as you walk through the small rooms.

When Shelly Winters was cast to act in the apaptation of the Diary, she promised she would donate any award she got to the museum and the Oscar she won for the movie is still there.

GENEVA

Clean, Clinical and Bloody Expensive.

The airport is one of the worst in Europe.

3 weeks, 8 countries, 15 cities and 2374 hotos later I land back at Abu Dhabi airport and there is a huge skeleton of a dinosaur on display. Apparently it is real and was bought by the AD tourism board for some millions of dollars.

Too bad culture cant be bought.

Till next time. Ciao