Paris – An Assault to The Senses Part 2

The View From Ground Floor of GL
GL's spectacular dome
GL during Xmas night
Eating in GL's baby room

I take comfort in knowing that the week is over! It’s the weekend and my husband can take turns baby-sitting Sadia who, I might add, has been extra cranky, jumpy and clingy in her new environment. I also take comfort in digesting this bit of information – by January 2007, all the public areas in France (or is it just Paris?) will be off-limits to smokers. This is an added fillip for a possible repeat visit to Paris next year – that is, as wont, barring any fiscal and time constraints.

Since weekends are the only time we have as a family, we took the opportunity last Sunday to enjoy the sight and sound of Paris. Oh yes, our hotel is in one of the suburbs of Paris, somewhere in the locality of La Defense. Thoughtlessly, we had presumed that Paris wouldn’t have suburbs but just a sprawl of buildings upon buildings not unlike New York or London. How grievously wrong we had been!

Hence, the previous Sunday was purely allocated to spend the day in Paris. After asking directions from the nice gentleman (with good spoken English I might add – that’s another story) at the reception desk, we braved the elements. Strong wind howled and forcefully shook all the trees, hedges, undergrowth, petite people amongst others, in its path. There was only a smattering of raindrops but the wind effect caused them to assail us from every direction.

The alleged 10-minute walk to the RER (suburb elevated rail that turns into a subway in the city) station seemed endless in the ghastly weather. Luckily, we were quick on foot and managed to locate the station across a broad boulevard (not just straight up the road from the hotel as claimed by the hotel staff), which is in dire need of a pedestrian overpass. It was treacherous having to jay-walk to the other side of the road.

The rain had finally let up but it was still blustery as we waited for the train into town. It cost us each Euro2,70 for a one-way. Perhaps if we bought return it might be cheaper, no? The carriage of our choice was relatively empty. Similar to those subways you ride in the States, the train’s exterior is metallic but the seating arrangement differs in that most seats are constructed in a box-like manner with two front-facing seats lying across two opposite seats. We settled into a box already occupied by an old lady reading her dailies. Alas, Sadia became agitated with the noise the subway was making as it sped underground. Thank goodness the lady was a good sport and even shook her finger with Sadia’s cute, tiny digit.

We finally came to our stop Auber, where the Printemps department store stood in all its 43,000 square meter of glory! A massive crowd already flocked on what seems like every conceivable space inside the ground floor from which we came in. It’s nice that this train stop dedicates two exits for the two premier shopping places on Boulevard Haussman – Printemps and the beguilingly exquisite Galeries Lafayette.

Printemps was so big and confusing that we got lost merely trying to find a place to eat lunch! How nerve-racking. This was attributed to the fact that Printemps houses three separately buildings which are adjoined either at the ground floor or via flyovers on selected floors. With our almost non-existent French, we had problem reading the floor layout of these buildings and had to figure out for the longest time that they were in fact color-coded.

Having scurried to the cheapest available eating spot within the vast space, we finally sat down for lunch that consisted of two sucresants (a long, sugary stick – like those cheese sticks but sweet) and two cappuccinos. Long outings from the home always don’t go down so well with Sadia who became vocal and at intervals screaming (a new development, I must add) with the ‘over-stimulation.’ We also tried in vain to find the right time to go into the nursery cum baby room that was always full of people either changing diapers, giving food to their babies or just milling about in the room (I just added that last one as sarcasm, by the way).

I was exasperated and desperate however, that I plonked Sadia in my arms on a stool inside this big changing room reserved for expectant mothers, in the effort to nurse her to sleep. It didn’t happen however so we decided to exit the enormous shopping arena into Parisian streets. We went inside the four-storey building of The Gap, located across two streets from Printemps. Fashion-wise, the clothes don’t evolve much since my college stint, much to my disappointment. In fact, they were uninspiring. No wonder, Zara, Mango and H&M are more favored nowadays.

As we walked down the boulevard looking for familiar or interesting stores, Sadia finally slept inside her baby carrier. Which was so timely since we were drawn by the multitude of Sunday shoppers filling up the space outside of Galeries Lafayette’s Main Store. We entered the Men (Homme) Store first in a bid to outmaneuver the crowd packing the Main Store entrance and to preserve Sadia’s sleeping state. Like its rival Printemps, GL’s Men Store is also connected via an overpass to the Main Store. On the way to the flyover, we discovered a larger-than-life ‘marketplace’ retailing a variety of fresh produce and one-of-a-kind food items as well as selling food (gourmet or otherwise) to be consumed on the spot.

And what a breathtaking view it was when we stepped into to the Main Store! The Christmas decorations thoroughly livened up the place. A gigantic, glittery crystal-clear ball – a typical Christmas tree ornament – was suspended in the center of a magnificent ornate dome from which a series of colorful, kaleidoscopic images (winter motifs, butterflies, fairies, the like) were being projected. GL even devotes a ‘viewing balcony’ on each of the floor that faces the dome for people to take photos, lounge and drink free water from the water dispenser.

In view of the mob hoarding the scenic terraces, I didn’t have time to capture any photos but planned to come back just for that, perhaps today. We did however take some in the much more spacious (and relatively empty – yay!) baby room in GL when we gave Sadia her late afternoon snack.

I later found out GL, which boasts 10 floors of merchandise, is the largest shopping store in Europe! Wow, I was floored! It was also a great coincidence that we went there during the first Sunday in December since stores are closed on Sundays, except for the Christmas season.

I love GL much better than Printemps due to its beautiful façade and even more ravishing interiors. It is truly an architectural gem and a shopping paradise! What a delectable combo! The crowd wandering about outside the ground floor turned out to be looking and cooing at the wondrous Christmas child-like creations of eight window displays. It’s tradition, I’ve been told. We had to literally shove our way out of the imposing, unmoving human barricade.

Paris has been touted as the fashion capital of the world. A lack of traveling experience to Italy notwithstanding, I have to agree. Fashion and what more important is shopping! Here I was bemoaning the dearth of shopping places to visit in the Netherlands to be overwhelmed and assaulted by the extensive (almost infinite) range of selections in Paris. Indeed, I was rendered speechless. And this weekend to the Louvre and Eiffel Tower we go!