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 Our
hostel was about seven minutes' walk from the Metro station. We
checked in, had a shower and left for my most dreamt-of destination -
the Louvre Museum. Located in a grand, old building, an original part
of which was a palace for the French kings, the museum has grown so
much over the centuries that one would take months to see it. But we
had only a day. The entry ticket cost 5 francs, which was high
considering the free entry in all museums in the UK. At the gate, we
were handed a brochure, which gave the entire layout of the museum,
with each room numbered and catalogued. It also showed the location
of important artefacts so that you could decide what you wanted to
see first. Since the museum is so large you need to prioritise your
preferences. I had my list by heart, so we headed straight for
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet,
Rembrandt, the Renaissance and post-Renaissance art and
impressionists' gallery.
Your feelings when you actually behold
masterpieces like The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, or Venus de Milo cannot
be described. The Louvre has separate galleries dedicated to the
Great Masters. I was totally overwhelmed in the Vincent Van Gogh
gallery, with the yellow of sunflowers everywhere. In the gallery of
impressionists, I could almost actually hear the rustling of the
leaves and passing of the breeze. In the Louvre, you can see -
starting from early Italian medieval church art of the 12th century
to modern artists like Picasso - an unbroken chain of continuity of
styles, themes and subject. I was very much fascinated by one
sculpture. It was a column with three beautiful female figures around
it. These were the goddesses of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The
sculpture is said to have played a very important role in inspiring
the French revolution.
The next day, we went to the Eiffel Tower, the
modern soaring structure of steel that is the very symbol of Paris.
We started to climb after paying an entry fee of 6 francs. We kept
going up and up till we could see the whole of Paris spread below.
The tower is located in a beautiful plaza called Trocedero, where
hawkers sell French fries and hotdogs made with spiced sausages and
gypsies offer silver jewellery, beads and other knick-knacks. There
is a lovely park behind the Eiffel Tower called Champs de Mars, where
we spent the afternoon walking about and looking at the plants and
sculptures.
From there, we took the Metro to the Notre Dame
Cathedral, the image of which has always lingered in my mind from
'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', the famous novel by Victor Hugo. The
outer facade is so magnificent that when I suddenly saw the towers of
the church before me, my heart almost missed a beat. The towers! The
ornate gates! The beautiful interior! The belfry ! The story of the
gypsy girl and the hunchback came alive before my eyes. A 13th
century structure in Gothic style which probably took 100 years to
build, it is a Catholic Church and has a large image of Christ
overlooking the altar. All the important French monarchs are buried
here, including the last French king Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie
Antoinette (the Queen who is supposed to have said before the French
revolution, "If they {the people} don't have bread, let them eat
cake"). During the revolution, the royal couple were imprisoned at
the Conciergierie and later guillotined. Their minor son, Louis, was
spared, but he was very sickly and suffered from tuberculosis and
died soon after.
We roamed all over Paris on foot, stood under the
Arc de Triomphe and visited Les Tuileries and its exquisitely
landscaped gardens, which are interspersed with marble sculptures and
fountains. It is like an outdoor museum. We sat by the sculptures and
had our picnic lunch as we watched children roller-skating. I have
not seen a more beautiful open area. From there, we walked to the
River Seine. We sat on its banks and meditated on the beauty and
grace of the city for a while and then took a cruise in the Bateau
Mooch, which shows you all the beautiful sights of Paris along the
river.
In the evening, we went to the Pompidou Centre, an
example of modern French architecture with an excellent library, a
gallery of modern art, a café and an exhibition hall for the latest
in art and sculpture. Gypsies staged a show in the Centre's
courtyard, acrobatics and feats with fire which transported the whole
atmosphere to medieval times. From the Centre, we walked along
pavements lined with cafes. The chef in one of them was preparing
pancakes called crepes, which looked like our South Indian Dosais. My
mouth started watering. The chef was filling the crepes with
chocolate, honey, cheese, sweet sauces, nuts and all kinds of
goodies. The dosai image appealed strongly, but I did not want it
sweet. I tried to explain with signs and gestures that I wanted
salted crepe, no honey, no chocolate but cheese, salt, pepper, onion,
mushroom, etc. He would show me containers with different types of
filling and I would nod or shake my head to say yes or no. A small
crowd gathered to see this Indian woman with long hair and
Kancheepuram sari getting a crepe made to order. A lot of women
stopped to feel the silk and touch the zari. The chef became very
enthusiastic and went on frying crepe after crepe as my husband and I
and other customers kept eating. I ate four and my husband ate five.
When we wanted to pay, he refused to accept money for what I had
eaten, but allowed my husband to pay for his crepes. In his broken
English, he explained, "Madame No, Monsieur yes," A marvellous taste
of French hospitality.
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