Quickie: Don’t Trifle with Eiffel/Count Them 55,000 Bulbs at Galeries Lafayette/Busy, busy Boulevard Haussman

GL's twinkling Christmas tree
Frog on an Ornament
Close-up
GL's glittery facade
Au Printemps' swath of lights

The weekend started off on a great note. For one thing, the weather was unusually sunny, after a few days of overcast and windstorm. And another thing was that Sadia’s in better spirits after napping in the morning and following a week of adjustment.

About a quarter to 1 pm, we arrived in town – precisely at Arc De Triomphe – following a long, circuitous walk in the well-lit underpass from Charles De Gaulle train stop that we hopped off. Arc De Triomphe took my breath away. It is bigger than I had imagined from television accounts and cinematography. I was bedazzled by its sheer beauty and anachronistic contrast to the immediate modern surroundings.

The four relief sculptures at the bases of the four supporting pillars popped up at me almost life-like! Only after I viewed at home the photos that we took that I realized there were people enjoying the sight of Paris from on top of the Arc. How much is the price to scale the wall of the Arc, so to speak?

From the Arc, facing eastward, we could see an impressive view of the long undulating stretch of Champs Elysées. The famous Avenue was dotted with people and vehicles, goaded on by the mild weather. Further ahead on the horizon was the Eiffel Tower – our next destination on foot.

The hike to Eiffel was longer than expected that Sadia fell asleep in her cozy and warm baby carrier. Along the way, we took pictures of stunning old buildings as well as the statue of Bonaparte before reaching Palais de Chaillot which houses five different museums and a National theatre, and Pont D’iena, the bridge linking River Seine to the Eiffel Tower.

The grounds surrounding Eiffel were full to the brim with tourists and locals alike. Not to mention, those (mostly Indian) street peddlers selling 'unlicensed' Eiffel mementoes and a group of young women-beggars who, if you looked long enough, are Muslim. What a sad turn-of-event! We saw them convening on the grass, ravenously biting their teeth into some baguettes.

We opted not to stand in the long-winding line forming underneath the Eiffel to get tickets to the top. God willing, we will be back next year to go up the Eiffel before departing for Malaysia. By the way, if you are in a group of 20, you get priority to go up at a discounted price of less than Euro10 (the standard ticket price is Euro11).

After snapping loads of photos, both at the foot of Eiffel and farther away at the Park of Champ de Mars, we trekked down south in search for the nearest Metro subway. Though hungry, we chose to eat at Boulevard Haussman area to take pictures of Galeries Lafayette’s marvellous interiors and to avoid the lunch crowd within the vicinity of Eiffel.

It was 3pm by the time we ate delicious toasted tuna paninis packed with sun-dried tomato and rocket leaves, at this baby-proof-and-friendly eatery called Lina’s on the children/baby floor of GL.

Thereafter, we set out to photograph the Christmas decorations in the centre of GL, only to be surprised with the presence of a huge Christmas tree purportedly with 55,000 bulbs draping its foliage. Hanging from the top of the dome, the resplendent tree hovers over some of the cosmetic/parfumerie counters on the Ground Floor. Giant Christmas ornaments (see-through or solid) – one of which previously mentioned in my last blog - flanked the tree from all sides.

Before it got dark, we made our way through the massive crowd on the pavements of Boulevard Haussman enroute to the RER subway station. Christmas lights dressed up both the Printemps’ and GL’s exteriors to the hilt.

Our plan to go to the Louvre on Sunday was also deferred for our next trip to Paris. The long line to get tickets, on a Sunday AND especially in this crummy climate, deterred us from traipsing into one of the world’s largest collection of arts just to gawk at Monalisa or Venus De Milo.

We went to GL instead on Sunday – quite late around 1pm we were out the hotel’s door – to get Parisian keepsakes as a remembrance of our visit here. In fact, we didn't even go outdoors at all since the train stop led us straight into GL's Homme (Men) Store! We figured those alfresco outings to monuments or museums could wait until the Spring or Summer when strolling along this beautiful, historical city would heighten our sensations and cooperate with our cracked feet and joints!