Tour
diary of France
01.10.19 Kolkata (20
30 hrs - IST) -Delhi (22 45 hrs IST)
02.10.19 Delhi (02 00
hrs IST) - Kuwait (04 05 hrs)
02.10.19 Kuwait (07 15
hrs) - Paris (CDG) (12:40 Hrs)
03.10.19 stay in Paris
04.10.19 stay in Paris
05.10.19 Paris – Versailles - Paris
05.10.19 Paris to Lyon by bus (Bus)
06.10.19 stay in Lyon
07.10.19 stay in Lyon (Tour – Beaune/Dijon)
08.10.19 stay in Avignon-St
Remy de Provence- Lex Baux de Provence - Arles - Avignon
09.10.19 stay in Marseille -Aix-en-provence-
Marseille (Bus)
10.10.19 stay in Nice (Bus)
11.10.19 stay in Nice
12.10.19. Nice to
Naples by plane (Plane )
12.10.19. Stay in Naples – Pompei (Bus)
13.10.19. Stay in Naples : Sorrento –Naples (Bus)
14.10.19. Stay in Naples
15.10.19. Naples Centrale-Roma – Kuwait
15.10.19. Naples Centrale-Roma (Train)
15/16.10.19. Kuwait-Delhi-CCU
01/10/2019-02/10/2019
Kolkata (0830 hrs) - Delhi (1045 hrs) by Air India (the fare was Rs 6245 with return fare)
Delhi (0200 hrs) -
Kuwait (04 05 hrs) (actually 4 hours journey) by Air India
Kuwait (07 15 hrs) - Paris
(CDG) (1240 hrs) - actually 6.30 hours journey) by by Kuwait Airlines
We (Sanjit-da and I) left my office at
7.05 pm for the airport and were almost missing the plane, since I was standing
in the queue of Indigo airlines instead of Air India! Initially they
were not allowing us - later after lot of commotion they allowed us !
After reaching CDG or Charles De Gaulle (Charles André Joseph Marie
de Gaulle was a French army officer and statesman, a hero of World War I, who led the Free French
Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II in order to re-establish democracy
in France. In 1958, he came out of retirement as President of the Council of
Ministers. He rewrote the Constitution of France and founded the Fifth Republic
after approval by referendum. He was elected President of France later that
year) in North East of Paris
we needed to go to a place near Orly
airport (in
South of Paris- where our Aribnb apartment is located). There are 3 terminals in CDG. When we were exiting the airport, it was already 1.30 pm
(almost 1 hour has passed. You should keep 1 hour, for all the
formalities to get over after landing. From Terminal 1, we went to
Terminal 3 (free transfer - in a "transfer" train - similar to the
one in Rome). There is no Metro line upto Airport. Regional Express Network. RER has 5 routes. This network is operated
jointly by RATP (Métro
and buses) and SNCF (French
National Railways).We have to take RER B. The
RER B station is named as "Aeroport Charles de Gaulle - 1" - this is
a misnomer – since RER B actually serves Terminal 3 (terminal 1 is connected by
a free shuttle from Terminal 3) and Terminal 2 , and not Terminal 1.The
train takes around 35 minutes to reach Gare du Nord - a very
important station - from where you can go anywhere.
We bought Visite Paris pass for 25.25 Euro - which is valid for 1-5
zones. Mobilis Pass (17.5 Euro) is also valid for 1-5 zones - which is
much cheaper. But since we have to take an airport Express from Orly Airport
(and not CDG), we have to buy Visite Paris and not Mobilis pass. It is valid
only upto 12 at night. This is a big mistake - which we learnt later
!. We should have bought Navigo Pass. For that
you must bring a Photo
and fill up a form of Navigo Pass at the CDG airport and pay 25 Euro for 7
days. Mobilis pass is quite expensive. You have to pay close to Euro 12.5 or
17.5 per day. You have to write your name in the card like Belgium.
Always keep the ticket handy, as the SNCF officials sometimes check for
tickets, and if you were without one , you
might be fined €40. Be extra vigilant
when using the RER B. Gangs target travelers with pick-pocketing especially as
the train gets absolutely packed around the center. They also operate forceful
snatch-and-run operations. For comfort
and safety, especially with multiple people and/or multiple luggages , consider
taking the bus or a car. Later we learnt this in a very hard way. The
SNCF (French national railways) operates practically all trains within
France.
After almost 1 hour journey, we got down at Antony RER. Very near to Antony RER is Orly Airport. Then we took Orly Val (after a little walk from Antony RER,)- three compartment driver less "monorail type" tram (transfer service) to get down at Airport de Orly (Mobilis Pass will not allow you to avail this special tram).
The host's husband was there. The host will come at 8 pm and husband will go to office at 9 pm. We used Google translate to chat with him. He told me there is big super market called Intermache - you have to walk for 8-9 minutes.
It is not a touristic area. The price is quite reasonable here - Fatty Salami at 10.5 Euro (Rs 850) for 1 kg is quite reasonable. It is similarly priced in Kolkata , if not more. It really tastes good. Sausage is 10 Euro per Kg. We bought some Olive by weight. We bought big Bread (Multi-grain) for 1 Euro. There was another bread (around 1 Pound) for 65 Cents - but it is not multi grain. We bought some juice (2 litres for 1.3 Euro) and sauce. We bought cheese (for less than 2 Euro), 3 Pizzas (very cheap ) for 1.50 Euro and 2 Peperoncino Pizza for 1.8 Euro ! Really Cheap ! What we bought thinking as Wine, later turned out to be Apple Cidar ! We paid 17.5 Euro - and we made provision for 3 days, we were in Paris.
After that we returned home and did not go out.
Understand France
France has a large number of decorated caves from the upper
Palaeolithic era. In 600 BC, Ionian Greeks ( Greeks from Izmir of Turkey
) from Phocaea founded
the colony of Massalia (present-day Marseille),
on the shores of the Mediterranean
Sea. This makes it France's oldest city. At the same time,
some Gallic Celtic tribes penetrated parts of eastern and northern France,
gradually spreading through the rest of the country between the 5th and 3rd
century BC. The concept of Gaul emerged
during this period. The borders of modern France roughly correspond to ancient
Gaul, which was inhabited by Celtic Gauls. Gaul was then a prosperous
country, of which the southernmost part (e.g. Modern day Nice) was heavily
subject to Greek and Roman cultural and economic influences. Gaul was a
region of Western Europe first described by the Romans.
According to one theory Iron Age inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland
should be regarded as Celts.
Around 390 BC, the Gallic chieftain
defeated the Romans and ransomed Rome. The Gallic invasion left Rome
weakened, and the Gauls continued to harass the region until 345 BC when they
entered into a formal peace treaty with Rome. But the
Romans and the Gauls would remain adversaries for the next centuries, and the
Gauls would continue to be a threat in Italy.
Around 125 BC, the south of Gaul was conquered by the Romans,
who called this region Provincia Nostra ("Our
Province"), which over time evolved into the name Provence in
French (E.g Nice, Cannes are in Provence - South East France. My friend said it should be pronounced as Provos. Nobody will understand, if you pronounce it was Provence). Julius Caesar conquered
the remainder of Gaul and overcame a revolt carried out by the Gallic
chieftain Vercingetorix in 52 BC. The Gallic Wars resulted
in 1 million men sold into slavery and another 3 million dead in
battle. Gaul was divided by Augustus into
Roman provinces. Many
cities were founded during the Gallo-Roman
period, including Lugdunum (present-day Lyon), which is considered
the capital of the Gauls. These cities were built in traditional Roman
style, with a forum, a theatre, a circus,
an amphitheatre and thermal baths.
The Gauls mixed with Roman settlers and eventually adopted Roman culture.
From the beginning of the 5th century, the Barbarian
Invasions resumed in Roman Gaul. Celtic culture was
revived and independent petty kingdoms arose
in this region. The first leader to make himself king of all the Franks was Clovis I,
who began his reign in 481, routing the last forces of the Roman governors of
the province in 486. Clovis I was the first Germanic conqueror
after the fall of the Roman Empire to convert to Catholic Christianity. France
was given the title "Eldest daughter of the Church" by the Pope.
The name France comes from the Latin Francia or "realm
of the Franks". Originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire. Frankish
Empire, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. The
Franks embraced the Christian Gallo-Roman culture and ancient Gaul was
eventually renamed Francia ("Land of the Franks"). The Germanic
Franks adopted Romanic languages. Clovis made Paris his
capital and established the Merovingian dynasty,
but his kingdom would not survive his death.
The last Merovingian
kings lost power to their mayors of the palace (head of household).
One mayor of the palace, Charles Martel,
defeated an Islamic invasion of Gaul at the Battle of Tours (732)
and earned respect and power within the Frankish kingdoms. His son, Pepin the Short,
seized the crown of Francia from the weakened
Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pepin's son, Charlemagne, reunited the Frankish kingdoms and built a vast empire
across Western and Central Europe.
Proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III ,
Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural
grandeur. Charlemagne's son, Louis I (Emperor
814–840), kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not
survive his death. In 843, the empire was divided between Louis' three sons,
with East Francia going to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I,
and West Francia to Charles the Bald.
West Francia approximated the area occupied by, and was the precursor to,
modern France.
The Carolingian
dynasty ruled France until 987 AD, when Hugh Capet,
Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of the Franks. His descendants—the Capetians, the House of Valois,
and the House of Bourbon—progressively unified the
country through wars and dynastic inheritance into the Kingdom of France. French Renaissance (1400–1650) saw a
spectacular cultural development and the first standardisation of the French
language. It also saw a long set of wars, known as the Italian Wars,
between France and the House of
Habsburg. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the
Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire.
The monarchy reached its peak during the 17th century and the
reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers at
the Palace of Versailles, Louis XIV's personal
power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the
leading European power. France became the most populous country in Europe and had
tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. French
became the most-used language in diplomacy, science, literature and
international affairs, and remained so until the 20th century. Louis XVI, Louis XV's grandson, actively supported the Americans,
who were seeking their independence from Great Britain (realised
in the Treaty of Paris (1783)).
The financial crisis aggravated by France's involvement in
the American Revolutionary War was one of many
contributing factors to the French Revolution.
Facing financial troubles, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General (gathering the
three Estates of the realm) in May 1789 to propose
solutions to his government. As it came to an impasse, the representatives of
the Third Estate formed
into a National Assembly,
signalling the outbreak of the French
Revolution. Fearing that the king would suppress the newly created
National Assembly, insurgents stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789,
a date which would become France's
National Day.
In early August 1789, the National Constituent Assembly
(earlier called National Assembly) abolished the
privileges of the nobility .
In November 1789, the Assembly decided to nationalize and sell all property of
the Roman Catholic Church which had been the largest
landowner in the country and cancelled the authority of the Church to levy
taxes. In September 1791, the National Constituent Assembly forced King Louis
XVI to accept the French Constitution of 1791, thus turning
the French absolute monarchy into a constitutional
monarchy.
The National Convention, chosen in the first
elections on 20 September 1792, succeeded the Legislative Assembly and on 21st
September abolished the monarchy by
proclaiming the French First Republic. Ex-King Louis XVI
was convicted of treason and guillotined in January 1793.
Political disagreements and enmity in the National Convention between October 1793
and July 1794 reached unprecedented levels, leading to dozens of Convention
members being sentenced to death and guillotined.
Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the Republic in 1799
becoming First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire (1804–1815). As a
continuation of the wars sparked by the European
monarchies against the French Republic - on Napoleon's Empire. Napoleon’s
armies conquered most of continental Europe with swift victories. Members of
the Bonaparte family were appointed as
monarchs in some of the newly established kingdoms. These victories led to the
worldwide expansion of French revolutionary ideals and reforms. In June 1812,
Napoleon attacked Russia, reaching Moscow. Thereafter his army disintegrated
through supply problems, disease, Russian attacksand finally winter.
After the catastrophic Russian campaign Napoleon was defeated and
the Bourbon monarchy restored. After his brief return from
exile, Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo and the monarchy was re-established (1815–1830).
In 1830, French troops conquered Algeria, establishing the
first colonial presence in Africa, since Napoleon's abortive invasion of Egypt in
1798. In 1852, the president of the French Republic, Louis-Napoléon
Bonaparte, Napoleon I's nephew, was proclaimed emperor of the second Empire, as Napoleon III. Napoleon III
was unseated following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and his regime
was replaced by the Third Republic.
Understand Paris
Paris is one of
Europe's largest cities, with 2.2 million people living in the dense, central
city and almost 12 million people living in the whole metropolitan area. Paris
has the reputation of being the most beautiful and romantic of all cities,
brimming with history and capital of culture, art, fashion, food and design of
Europe. It is home to the world's finest and most luxurious fashion designers
and cosmetics, such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent, L'Oréal, etc.
A large part of the
city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has the second highest number of
Michelin restaurants in the world (after Tokyo) and contains numerous iconic
landmarks, such as the world's most visited tourist site the Eiffel Tower, the
Arc de Triomphe, the Notre-Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame is French for "Our Lady" and
refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary), the Louvre Museum, Moulin Rouge, making it the most popular
tourist destination in the world .
The city of Paris
itself is officially divided into 20 districts
called arrondissements, numbered from 1 to 20 in a
clockwise spiral from the centre of the city (located at the front of
Notre Dame). You might stay in the "5th", which would be written as
5e in French.
The Layout of Paris by district (important ones only) :
• 1st (1e) : The geographical centre of Paris and a great starting point for travellers. The Musée du Louvre, the Jardin des Tuileries, Les Halles, Palais Royal and Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel are all to be found here.
• 2nd (2e): The central business district of the city
• 4th (4e): Notre-Dame de Paris can be found here.
• 5th (5e): Jardin des Plantes, Universités, La Sorbonne are located here.
• 6th (6e): Jardin du Luxembourg, Place Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain des Prés can be found here.
• 7th (7e): Tour
Eiffel and its Parc du Champ de Mars, Musée d'Orsay can be found here
• 8th (8e): Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, le Palais de l'Elysée can be found here.
• 10th (10e): Gare du
Nord, Gare de l'Est, Porte Saint-Denis, can be found here.
• 12th (12e):Opéra
Bastille, Gare de Lyon,
• 18th (18e): Montmartre can be found here.
Schematically, those on the west of Paris are wealthy residential communities. Those to the northeast are poorer communities, often populated by immigrants.
Paris started life as the Roman settlement on the Île de la Cité, the island in
the Seine currently occupied by the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. It takes its present
name from the name of the dominant Gallo-Celtic tribe in the region, the
Parisii. At least that's what the Romans called them.
The Romans held out here for as long as anywhere
else in the Western Empire, but by 508 AD they were gone, replaced by Clovis of the Franks, who is considered
by the French to have been their first king. Clovis' descendants, Carolingians dynasty held onto the expanded Lutetian state for
nearly 500 years through Viking raids and other calamities. The Capetian Duke
of Paris was voted to succeed the last of the Carolingians as King of France.
The medieval period also witnessed the founding of the Sorbonne - as the "University of Paris", it became one of the most important centres for learning in Europe - if not the whole world, for several hundred years.
In the late 18th century, there was a period of political and social upheaval in France and Europe, during which the French governmental structure, previously a monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change. Notable events during and following the revolution were the storming of the Bastille 4th arrondissements, and the rise and fall of Napoleonic France. Out of the violent turmoil,the French Revolution, emerged the enlightened modern day France.
Hitler's order to burn the city was thankfully ignored by the German General von Choltitz who was quite possibly convinced by a Swedish diplomat that it would be better to surrender and be remembered as the saviour of Paris, than to be remembered as its destroyer.
Following the war, the city recovered quickly at first, but slowed in the 1970s and 1980s when Paris began to experience some of the problems faced by big cities everywhere: pollution, housing shortages, and occasionally failed experiments in urban renewal.
During this time however, Paris enjoyed considerable growth as a multi-cultural city, with new immigrants from all corners of the world, including most of northern and western Africa as well as Vietnam and Laos. These immigrants brought their foods and music, both of which are of prime interest for many travellers.
Immigration and
multi-culturalism continues in the 21st century with a marked increase in the
arrival of people from Latin America, especially Mexico, Colombia, and
Brazil.
Paris is well connected to the rest of Europe by train. There is no central station serving Paris and the 6 different stations are not connected to each other. You need to know in advance at which station your train is arriving, so as to better choose a hotel and plan for transport within the city.
• Gare du Nord - TGV trains to and from
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany (Thalys), and the United Kingdom
(Eurostar) and regular trains from Northern Europe. Passengers coming in by train from Charles de Gaulle Airport can also
get off here.
• Gare d'Austerlitz - regular trains to and from the centre and southwest of France (Orléans, Toulouse), Spain and Portugal and arrival of majority of the night trains.
• Gare de l'Est - ICE/TGV to and from Luxembourg, Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart, Munich in Germany.
• Gare de Lyon - regular and TGV trains to and from Southern and eastern France: French Alps, Marseille, Lyon, Dijon, Switzerland (by TGV Lyria): Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel - Bern - Interlaken, Basel - Zurich, and Italy.
• Gare de Bercy : Overnight trains from and to Italy
• Gare St Lazare - trains to and from Basse-Normandie
• Gare Montparnasse - TGV and regular trains to and from the west and south-west of France (Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse the fastest way and Spain).
All these are also metro stations.
The SNCF (French national railways, like Indian Rail) operates practically all trains within France. The SNCF website allows booking and buying tickets up to 2 months in advance. There are significant discounts if you book weeks ahead.
There are a number of different kinds of high speed and normal trains:
• TER: The regional trains (Train Express Régionale); cheapest tickets, though prices are variable on the time of day of departure. RER are slower, stopping at almost all stations. (RER is a network is operated jointly by RATP (Métro and buses) and SNCF. It is different from TER)
• TGV: The world-famous French high-speed trains (Trains à Grande Vitesse) run very frequently to the Southeast Nice (5-6h), Marseille (3h) and Avignon (2.5h), Geneva (3h), Bern (4h30), Zurich (4h) in Switzerland and Dijon (1h15), the Southwest Bordeaux (3h).
• Thalys A high-speed train service running daily to/from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It can be a bit expensive compared to normal trains, but cheap enough if you buy in advance.
• Intercity: Intercity trains leave for all parts of Europe, including overnight trains to San Sebastian in Spain, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.
• Eurostar: The Eurostar service connects Paris with London St. Pancras directly and Brussels indirectly, as well many other destinations indirectly. Travel time between Paris Gare du Nord and London St Pancras International currently averages at 2h 15min, following the opening of a new rail link in late 2007. Eurail and InterRail passes are not valid for this train
• CNL: The overnight services (City Night Line) by the German operator Deutsche Bahn
By bus
• Eurolines, A trans-European bus company
that offers trips from across Europe and Morocco to Paris. Generally offers
prices significantly cheaper than the train at the cost of much longer
journeys.
OUIBUS, part of the French transport network, now offers bus service to London. I have used it number of times.
• FlixBus, offering routes from
Paris since summer 2015 from the station Paris Porte Maillot. I
have used it number of times and saved lot of money for me !
Get around
The best and cheapest way to get around Paris is on
foot, and secondly, using the Métro.
On foot
To get a great orientation of the city on foot while seeing many of Paris' major sights, you can do a West to East walk from the Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame. This walk takes about 1-2 hours without any stops.
Start at the top of the Champs Elysees (at the Arc de Triomphe) and begin walking towards Place de la Concorde. On the way you'll see the major stores and restaurants of Paris' most famous avenue, Petit Palais and the Grand Palais to your right. At Place de la Concorde, you'll be able to see many of Paris' major monuments around you. In front of you is the Tuileries, behind you is Arc de Triomphe, behind you to your right is the Tour Eiffel and Musee d'Orsay. Continue straight ahead and enter the Tuileries Gardens passing by fountains, flowers, and lovers in the park. As you continue straight ahead, and out of the garden, you'll see the pyramid entrance to the Louvre directly in front of you.
With the pyramid directly in front of you turn to your right and walk towards the Seine. Now you can walk along the Seine (eastwards) until you reach Pont Neuf. Cross Pont Neuf and walk through the Latin Quarter, cross the river again to reach Notre Dame cathedral on Ile de la Cité.
Another interesting walk in the city let you discover the top sights of Montmartre in a few hours. The smartest travellers take advantage of the walkability of this city and stay above ground as much as possible. A metro ride of less than 2 stops is best avoided, since walking will take about the same amount of time and you'll be able to see more of the city.
Paris and its surrounding areas are served by different rail systems:
• Métro - Look for the Métro stations, marked
with a large "M" sign
• RER - Regional Express network used by suburban
commuters and services to airports (CDG) - RER A, B, C, D, and E.
While sharing a single system of tariffs, you have to take care to validate your ticket when switching from one system to another.
Keep your ticket or pass with you at all times as you may be checked. You will be forced to pay on the spot between 35-50 euros
However within the city of Paris, there is little functional difference between the RER and Métro (there are numerous transfers between the two networks, and a ticket for the Métro is also valid for the RER within the city limits ).
There are 16 Métro lines (lignes) on which trains travel all day at intervals of a few minutes 05:00-00:30 (Saturday night/Sunday morning: 01:30), stopping at all stations on the line. Trains usually come 2-3 minutes apart during rush hour and 5-10 minutes apart during other times
For the Metro, a single ticket costs €1.90. A pack of 10 tickets (carnet) can be purchased for €14.90 at any station. RER + Métro & Bus + Tram are 2 separate systems, but they use the same tickets. This means you have to use a new ticket if you transfer from Bus to Metro or vise versa.
Strikes are a regular occurrence on the Paris public transit system. Generally during a strike, there will be reduced or no service on certain lines but parts of the network will continue to operate; however, in some cases the entire network may shut down completely. We faced this problem every day and keep this in mind, before planning for airport – you might even miss the flight. It occurred to us - not once , but number of times. So the metro very unpredictable – you must have a back up plan.
Landmarks with Metro Stations :
• Arc de Triomphe
(8th) — Métro/RER Charles de Gaulle-Etoile (1, 2, 6, A)
• Catacombs (14th) —
Métro Denfert-Rochereau (4, 6, B)
• Château de
Versailles (Versailles) — RER C Versailles
Rive Gauche
• The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) (7th) — Métro Bir-Hakeim (6) or RER C Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel . Eiffel Tower staff held a strike on May 22nd, 2015 as a result of increased pickpocketing gang activity in the vicinity. Paris is no nightmare for tourists because of pickpockets. Be very very careful. We have been targeted twice. I have never seen such an unsafe metro
• Sacré Coeur (18th )
— Métro Anvers (2) or Abbesses (12)
• The Louvre, (1st) — Métro Palais Royal-Musée du
Louvre (1, 7)
• Musée d'Orsay, (7th ) — RER Musée d'Orsay (C) or
Métro Solférino (12)
• Rodin Museum, (7th)
— Métro Varenne (13)
• Picasso Museum, (3rd
)— Métro Saint-Paul (1) or Chemin Vert (8)
• Musée
Marmottan-Monet (16th)— Métro La Muette (9)
• Giverny - The inspirational house and gardens of the Impressionist painter Claude Monet are a day-trip away. The gardens and its flowers are the most interesting part of the visit, so avoid rainy days.
http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/fr/paris/paris.htm
By bus
Since the Métro is primarily structured around a hub-and-spoke model, there are some journeys for which it can be quite inefficient, and in these cases, it is worth seeing if a direct bus route exists. A bus ride is interesting if you want to see more of the city. When boarding the bus, you'll have to validate your ticket like any other place in Europe.
Be aware that you cannot transfer between the Métro and the Bus with a single-ride Ticket like Budapest . However, you can transfer from bus to bus, or between the bus and the tram, within 90 minutes of validating the ticket.
Another option for travellers who want to see the sights of Paris without a stop on every street corner is the Paris L'Open tour Bus, an open-topped double decker hop on hop off bus bus . You can purchase tickets at the bus stop. A one-day pass is €31 for adults.
By boat
There are several excellent boat services which make use of the Seine. As well as providing easy, cheap transport to much of central Paris, excellent photo opportunities abound. You can buy a day or 3 day ticket and hop on and off the boat .
There are trams too in Paris.
Talk
Generally French is spoken at all the tourist places. For most Parisians, English is something they had to study in school.
When in need of directions what you should do is this: find a younger person or someone reading a book or magazine in English, who is obviously not in a hurry; say "hello" or "bonjour" (bon-zhor) and then start by asking if the person speaks English, "Parlez-vous anglais?" (Par-LAY voo on-glay?) ; even if the person can read something in English, speak slowly and clearly; write down place names if necessary. You will probably get the cold shoulder if you stop someone in the métro (such as a middle-aged hurried person who has a train to catch), fail to greet them and simply say "where is place X or street Y". It happened to us more than once.
If you speak French,
remember two magic phrases : "Excusez-moi " [ex-kuh-zay muwah ("Excuse
me") and "Pourriez-vous m'aider?" [por-EE-AY voo may-DAY]
("Could you help me?") especially in shops; politeness will work
wonders.
This is not to say that Parisians are in fact, by nature, rude. Parisians'
abrupt exteriors will rapidly evaporate if you display some basic courtesies. A
simple "Bonjour, Madame" when entering a shop, or
"Excusez-moi" when trying to get someone's attention, are very
important; say "Pardon" or "je suis désolé" if you bump
into someone accidentally . Courtesy is extremely important in France .
This level of extreme
politeness is about the closest one can come to a magic wand for unlocking
Parisian hospitality. If you know some French, try it!
Cabaret shows
Cabarets are traditional shows in Paris. They provide entertainment, often towards adult audiences, with singers and dancers or burlesque entertainers. The most famous one is at the Moulin Rouge. The tickets usually cost from €80 to €200, depending if you have dinner before the show.
Eat
Paris is one of Europe's main culinary centres. It may, however, come as a surprise that Paris isn't considered the culinary capital of France; Paris has long been considered by some people as second to Lyon for fine dining.
Take away falafel or
Sawarma usually goes for €5 or less. Lebanese food is by far the cheapest in
France. We have been to these shops number of times.
Phone cards are available from most "Tabacs" or Tobacco shops.
We had our breakfast
with the food which we had bought yesterday from the supermarket. After that our
host (physiotherapist) dropped us at a convenient place - from where we can go
easily go to Louvre museum by taking metro (Palais de Royal). She goes to her parents’
house near Central Paris- which is also her chamber. We bought the ticket in
India. There is a grace time of 30 minutes from the appointed time. After that
time, you have to stand in the normal queue. We reached little late. But we
were lucky since there was not a queue.
The Louvre is one of the world's largest museums and houses one of the most
impressive art collections in history. This magnificent, baroque-style palace
and museum — sits along the banks of the Seine River in Paris.
The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in 1190, but was reconstructed in
the 16th century to serve as a royal palace. In 1546 , Francis I, who was
a great art collector, had this old castle razed and began to build on its site
a royal residence, the Louvre. Under Francis I, only a small portion of the
present Louvre was completed. Like many buildings, it was built and
rebuilt over the years. During its time as a royal residence, the
Louvre saw tremendous growth. Nearly every monarch expanded it, according to
History.com. In 1682, Louis XIV moved the royal residence to Versailles, and
the Louvre became home to various art academies, offering regular exhibitions
of its members' works.
The National Assembly opened the Louvre as a museum in August 1793 with a
collection of 537 paintings. The museum closed in 1796 because of structural
problems with the building. Napoleon reopened the museum and expanded the
collection in 1801, and the museum was renamed Musée Napoléon. It was
Napoleon Bonaparte who created the foundation for the museum the Louvre, as it
is known today.
The Louvre's collection includes Egyptian antiques, ancient Greek and Roman
sculptures, paintings by the Old Masters and crown jewels and other artifacts
from French nobles. Its works span the 6th century B.C. to the 19th
century A.D.
The displays are divided into 8 departments: 1. Near Eastern Antiquities; 2.
Egyptian Antiquities; 3. Greek, 4. Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; 5. Islamic
Art; 6. Sculptures; 7 Decorative Arts; 8 Prints and Drawings.
Without any question, the Louvre's most famous work is Leonardo da Vinci's
"Mona Lisa" .This small, iconic painting — it is only 21 by 30 inches
is covered with bullet-proof glass and flanked by guards. This protection is
the result of it being stolen in 1911. (It was recovered in 1913.) The
line to see the Mona Lisa can get quite long.
Apart from that there is "Venus de Milo" , "Winged Victory" , the ancient Greek
sculpture also known as "Nike of Samothrace" . Other popular works
include the Code of Hammurabi, Leonardo da Vinci's tragic sculpture "The
Dying Slave" . Eugene Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People,"
which depicts the bare-breasted Liberty goddess leading a charge in the French
Revolution and is thought to have inspired Victor Hugo's "Les
Miserables" .
The Louvre’s paintings representing all periods of European art up to the
Revolutions of 1848. The paintings after
that date that the Louvre once housed, were
transferred to the Musée d’Orsay upon its opening in 1986.
We saw many pictures of Raphael, Boticelli. There
are some Monet also. The Egyptian collection is huge. I think I have
missed one floor . It seemed to me Hermitrage meseum is equally good, if not
better. We finished at 3 pm. Before leaving Louvre, we went to the museum
courtyard. Architect I.M. Pei
designed a glass pyramid structure in the courtyard. We bought some key rings
also.
Then we walked up to King George V Metro station walking and went to see the Concorde by Metro and got down at Concord Metro station. It was gifted by an Egyptian general to French. The heart of this square is a 3300 year old Obelisk. Obelisk is memorial stone (monolith) .You can see hieroglyphic written on the Obelisk. We had some wonderful barbequed sausage Panini at Concorde from the food truck. We crossed the Siene (pronounced Seen) river to take pictures and came back to the metro station.
Then we took the metro went to see Monmarte. It is on a hillock. You can use mobilis pass to use the furnicular, free cost and go to the top. There is a Basilica at the top of a hillock. The artists do not sit in front of the Basilica. The place where the artist used to come - is to the left of the Basilica. When we went there it was already dark. So we could not see much. But we did see the cafe where Van Gogh, Picasso used to come. Even Theo Van Gogh used to the stay here. I expected lot of artists to be painting. Since it was dark, not many artists were there. Vincent Van Gogh stayed in France from 1886-1890 in 4 different places - one of them being Montmartre.
We had some pizza in our apartment - which was
already there in our room and went to sleep !
04/10/2019
Today we took bus no. 385 and RER C (local
train) combo to go to Versailles. Actually only RER C goes to Versailles. After
getting down, you have to walk for 5 minutes to reach the place. We left home
at 9.45 am. We reached at 1.15 pm .
We already bought the Versailles entry ticket in India. It is not very far from Paris. It is a suburb. Still we had to stand in a huge queue. We entered Versailles after standing in the queue for approx 45-50 minutes or more.
It is the principal royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789, under Louis XVI. There is a huge garden - for which you have to buy a separate ticket. We did not buy ticket for the garden. We took a free audio guide. The complex is huge. The most spectacular is the mirror room. But I must admit that Medici house in Florence, Vatican museum, Hermitage museum in Russia or Belvedere museum in Austria or Museum at St Marco, Venice are equally good. Louis XVI used to stay here, until he was thrown out during the French Revolution and guillotined in 1793. .
There we met an Indian (Goan - works in Mumbai) - who is Chief Knowledge officer, Rudolf D'Souza, from Afcons. He comes to Kolkata for East West Metro Rail work. As luck would have it, my wife joined the Co. in 2020 !
Then we left for Eiffel Tower. For that , first, we have to go to Champ de
Mars Metro station. There is no ticket required to go inside the Eiffel Tower
area. Though there is a security check to go inside. There is a long queue. You
need ticket to go up. We did not go up, since you cannot see Eiffel Tower from
the top of Eiffel Tower !! When the French government was organizing the
International Exposition of 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French
Revolution, a competition was held for designs for a suitable monument. More
than 100 plans were submitted, and the Centennial Committee accepted that of
the noted bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel. It is a 324 metre (1063 foot - about
the same height as an 81-storey building) tower built almost entirely of
open-lattice wrought iron. It took 2 years to construct.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eiffel-Tower-Paris-France.
After spending some time there we went to the other side of the Seine river, from where you can get a grand view of Eiffel Tower. When we are done with the tour , it was already 8 pm. So we left for our home by metro. Then we took bus 385 and reached our home around 11 pm. We went to a Chinese restaurant, but it was just closed. Then we went to a Lebanese cum Greek restaurant nearby run by a Syrian and brought home food. We had Moussaka.
05/10/2019
Today we left our house at 9.05 am.
for Sobuj's house near La Courneuve (which is another extreme end of Metro –
Pink line – line 7) to keep our luggage, since our house is quite far. Here
there is a metro connection too, unlike the one where we are staying. We can go
to St Michel Notre Dam or Musee De Orsey - two very important central metro
stations of Paris, easily from here. We will go to Lyon by taking night bus at
10.30 pm.
We had to change at Gare de L’est to
go to his house. Few black people started pushing me from both the sides. After
10 seconds, I realized that this is not normal. This is because of numerous stories I have heard about the pickpockets in Paris.It is more than what meets the eye. I somehow managed to flee from the scene. Sanjit da was not so lucky. He was pick
pocketed. Luckily the loss was not that much - he lost only 30 Euro and 2500
INR and Income Tax card - PAN Card.
Sobuj (he is from Bangladesh.
Working in a departmental store. I met him in Kolkata) was waiting for us at
the station. With the help of Sobuj we bought Lyka Sim for 10 Euro - unlimited
call and good amount of GB for the remaining period of our stay.
After having coffee at Sobuj's house, we left for metro. There is a little India near his house.
Again we had a close shave with the pickpockets today. But we were able to outsmart them this time. This 2 incidents left a very bad impression on us and we almost had fear psychosis through out the rest of our tour.
This is what wikitravel says about Paris :
Be extra vigilant when using the RER B.
Gangs target travelers with pick-pocketing especially as the train gets
absolutely packed around the center. They also operate forceful snatch-and-run
operations. For comfort and safety, especially with multiple people and/or
multiple luggages, consider taking the bus or a car
First we went to Sainte Chapelle or St Chapel church (Entry fee Euro 10 – we bought
it online in India). The Church is quite unique. Sainte Chapelle is an
exquisite stained glass chapel. The Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel in the
Gothic style, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century. Construction
began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248. The
Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant
period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX (1214-1270
AD) of France. Inspite of the online ticket there was a big queue to enter. By
mistake we stood in a line where you have to buy the ticket. But the volunteers
announced that there is a separate line for booked tickets. So you should ask
whether this is the one for ticket holders – since there is a huge queue and
you cannot see the entrance.
Then we went to Conciergerie – which is beside St Chapel. We were bit reluctant to enter inside after the incident. We did not want to spend 10 Euro again. At the reception there was a Nepali lady (Sunita Singh Tharu) in the counter (married French). We told her our story. She kindly allowed us to enter the place free of cost, hearing our story!!
It was a royal residence, later turned into a notorious prison. The
Conciergerie is the oldest remaining part of the royal Palace - Palais de
la Cité. It is believed to have been founded in the 6th century by
Clovis, the first French king. It was the seat of the French Parliament
between the tenth and fourteenth century.
The Kings of France abandoned the palace at the end of the
14th century to settle in the Louvre . As a dreaded “antechamber to the
guillotine”, it became a symbol of the Reign of Terror during the French
Revolution. Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were taken from
the Conciergerie to be executed by guillotine at a number of locations around
Paris. The last queen before French Revolution , Marie Antoinette's (wife of Louis
XVI )cell was converted into a chapel dedicated to her memory. She was
imprisoned here before she was guillotined. She apparently provoked the popular
unrest that led to the French Revolution. Let them eat cake” is the most famous
quote attributed to Marie-Antoinette. As the story goes, it was the queen's response upon being
told that her starving peasant subjects had no bread. The place looked
like "underground" Basilica Cistern of Istanbul in front of Blue
mosque.
Then we went to see Notre-Dame de Paris meaning "Our Lady of Paris" or simply Notre Dame Cathedral. Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The cathedral's construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the French Revolution; Part of it (back side) was burnt, resulting in the collapse of the roof and the spire. Restoration work was going on. So the entry was not allowed. We bought some pictures, coasters etc from one of the stalls. We heard from the seller (when he heard our story of pickpocket) of coaster, that the pickpockets do not spare 85 years old blind. Japanese and American are often their taret. He has seen it all. I was lucky not to be pick pocketed. The situation is really grim. Even after hearing these 100 times, it was difficult, not to fall into their trap. Almost every travel group had a story to tell. We had crepe in front of Notre Dame. You will see Crepe everywhere in France. It is the most important street food. This impressive Gothic cathedral was the inspiration for Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
After that we went rushing to Musee d Orsay. Actually I found it better than Louvre.
I found Louvre similar to Hermitage museum or similar to Vatican Musuem. Many things were similar. But if you love Impressionist art, then this is the place. We had only 2 hours to see it. It is much smaller than Louvre. I saw Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat Gaugin, Van Gogh. The museum built in 1900 holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914.
A temporary exhibition of Degas was taking place in the ground floor. I saw his famous Ballet series of painting .
It is quite an old city with a history 2000 years . During the last decades of the first century B.C., a certain number of decisions made by Roman King Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.), gave rise to the rapid growth of Lugdunum (the Roman name of the modern day Lyon). Augustus divided Celtic Gaul into 3 provinces: Lyon, Belgium and Aquitaine. Lugdunum became the capital of the province of Lyon. The site of Lyon is at the strategic confluence of the Rhône and Saône - which placed it on an important axis of the Rhône Valley. All periods of Lyon's 2000-year history have left visible traces in the city's architectural and cultural heritage, from Roman ruins to Renaissance palaces to contemporary skyscrapers. It never went through a major disaster (earthquake, fire, extensive bombing).
Early traces of settlement date back to 12,000 BC but there is no evidence of continuous occupation prior to the Roman era. Lugdunum was officially founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, then Governor of Gaul. The first Roman settlements were on Fourvière hill and the first inhabitants were probably veterans of Caesar's war campaigns. The development of the city was boosted by its strategic location and it was promoted Capital of Gauls in 27 BC by General Agrippa, emperor Augustus's son-in-law and minister. Large carriageways were then built, providing easy access from all parts of Gaul.
Lugdunum became one of the most prominent administrative, economic and financial centres in Gaul, along with Narbonne. The main period of peace and prosperity of the Roman city was between 69 and 192 AD. The population at that time is estimated between 50,000 and 80,000. Lugdunum consisted of four populated areas : the top of Fourvière hill, the slopes of Croix-Rousse (a hill 254 metres (833 ft) high) around the Amphithéâtre , the Canabae (around where Place Bellecour is today) and the right bank of the Saône river, mainly in what is today St Georges neighbourhood.
Lugdunum was the place where the first Christian communities of Gaul appeared. It was also where the first martyrdoms took place, most notably in 177 AD when the young slave Blandine was killed in the Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules, along with 47 other martyrs.
The city lost its status of Capital of Gauls in 297 AD. Then, in the early years of the 4th century, the aqueducts which brought water to the top of Fourvière suddenly stopped functioning. This was due to a lack of funds for their maintenance and security; the lead pipes which carried the water were stolen and could not be replaced. The city was completely deprived of water overnight. This triggered the end of the Roman Lugdunum , which lost a large part of its population and was reorganized around the Saône.
In the Middle Ages, the city developed on both banks of the Saône. The name "Lion" or "Lyon" appeared in the 13th century. The early Middle Ages were very troubled politically. Since the political geography of France kept changing, the city belonged successively to multiple provinces. It then belonged to the Holy Roman Empire from 1018 to 1312, when it was given to France at the Vienna Council. At that time, the city was still of limited size, but had a large religious influence. In 1078, Pope Gregory VII made the Archbishop of Lyon the highest Catholic dignitary in the former Gaul .
In the Renaissance, fiscal advantages and the organization of numerous trade fairs attracted bankers from Florence and merchants from all over Europe. The city became more and more prosperous and experienced a second golden age. The main industries were silk weaving, introduced in 1536 and printing. Lyon became one of Europe's largest cities and its first financial place, helped by the advantages given by King François I who even considered, at one time, making Lyon the capital of France. Around 1530, the population of Lyon reached 50,000.
During the French Revolution, in 1793, Lyon took sides against the central power of the Convention (Parliament), which caused a severe repression from the army. Over 2,000 people were executed.
In the early 19th century, the silk industry was still developing, notably thanks to Jacquard's loom which made the weaving work more efficient. Social crisis, however occurred in 1831, the first revolt was harshly repressed. The workers were protesting against the introduction of new technology, which was likely to cause unemployment.
The traditional silk industry disappeared at the end of the century because of diseases affecting the French silk worms and the opening of the Suez Canal which reduced the price of imported silk from Asia. Various other industries developed at that time; the most famous entrepreneurs of the late 19th century were the Lumière brothers, who invented cinema in Lyon in 1895. It is also the birthplace of cinema.
During World War II, Lyon was close to the border between the "free zone" and the occupied zone and was therefore a key strategic place for the Germans and the French Resistance alike. Jean Moulin, head of the Resistance, was arrested in Caluire (North suburb of Lyon). On 26 May 1944, Lyon was bombed by the Allied aviation. The Liberation of Lyon occurred on 3 September, 1944.
In the 1960s, the construction of the business district of Part-Dieu began; its symbol is the "pencil" tower, the tallest building in Lyon.
In 1974, the first line of the metro was opened. In 1981, Lyon was linked to Paris by the first TGV (high speed train) line. In the 1980s and 1990s, a huge number of buildings in Vieux Lyon and Croix-Rousse were renovated. The landscape of Lyon is still evolving, notably with the new Rhône banks promenade or the construction of new skyscrapers in Part-Dieu.
The southeastern suburbs of Vénissieux and St Priest host large automotive plants, such as Renault's truck and bus factories. But as in most Western metropolises, the service industry is now dominant. Many large banking and insurance companies have important offices in Lyon and the IT services industry is also well developed. From an economic point of view, Lyon is the most attractive and dynamic city in France. This may be explained by the easy access from all over Europe (probably second only to Paris in the country), the availability of qualified workforce and research centres, and cheaper real estate prices compared to the capital.
Lyon is the third largest city in France and centre of the second largest metropolitan area in the country. It is the capital of the Rhone-Alpes region. It is known as a gastronomic city with a vibrant cultural scene. Lyon has many preserved historical areas. It is in a strategic location between Northern and Southern Europe.
The city itself has about 480,000 inhabitants. However, the direct influence of the city extends well over its administrative borders, with the population of Greater Lyon (which includes 57 towns/communes) : at about 2.1 million. Lyon and its metropolitan area are rapidly growing because of their economic attractiveness.
Oreintation
Lyon is shaped by its two rivers, the Rhône River (to the East) and the Saône (to the West), which both run North-South. The main areas of interest are:
Fourvière hill - Also known as "the hill that prays" due to the numerous churches and religious institutions it hosts. The hill was also the place where the Romans settled.
Croix-Rousse - The area, especially the traboules, may be worth taking a guided tour. Croix-Rousse is known as the "working hill" but for centuries, it had been as much of a "praying hill" as Fourvière. The name "Croix-Rousse" comes from a limestone cross which was erected at the top of the hill in the beginning of the 16th century. It was then destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) - The Renaissance area, along the right bank of the Saône. It is divided into 3 parts which are named after their respective churches:
• St Paul, north of place du Change, was the commercial area
during the Renaissance;
• St Jean, between place du Change and St Jean cathedral, was
home to most wealthy families: aristocrats, public officers, etc;
• St Georges, south of St Jean, was a craftsmen's district.
Presqu'île - between the two rivers, the real heart of the city. For the people of Lyon, Presqu'île is the place to go for shopping, dining or clubbing. It also represents a large part of the city's economic activity.
Place Bellecour - The largest clear square in Europe. In the center stands the equestrian statue of Louis XIV (usual meeting point for locals).
Fourvière, Vieux Lyon, Croix-Rousse (a hill 254 metres /833 ft high )and a large part of Presqu'île are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Lyon has 9 administrative subdivisions called arron-dissements (similar to Paris), which are designated by numbers.
On foot - The city centre is not so big and most attractions can be reached from each other on foot. The walk from Place des Terreaux to Place Bellecour, for example, is about 20 min. The rule of thumb is that metro stations are generally about 10 min walk apart.
Metros and trams run approximately from 5AM to midnight. Some bus lines do not run after 9PM. The prices are: €1.90 for a single journey (valid for 1 hour after the first use on buses, trams, metro and funiculars, unlimited number of transfers), €5.80 for a daily pass.
A boat trip can be a good way to see Lyon from a different point of view. Night trips available on Fridays and Saturdays - €9, child €6.
Eat
The traditional restaurants in Lyon are called bouchons; the origin of the word is unclear (it literally means "cork"). They appeared at the end of the 19th century and flourished in the 1930s, when the economic crisis forced wealthy families to fire their cooks, who opened their own restaurants for a working-class clientele. These women are referred to as mères (mothers); the most famous of them, Eugénie Brazier, became one of the first chefs to be awarded three stars (the highest ranking) by the famous Michelin gastronomic guide. She also had a young apprentice called Paul Bocuse. Eating in a good bouchon is certainly a must-do.
They serve the typical local dishes:
• salade lyonnaise (Lyon salad): green salad with bacon cubes, croutons and a poached egg - duck pâté or roast pork;
• quenelle de brochet: dumpling made of flour and egg with pike fish and a crayfish sauce (Nantua sauce);
• saucisson chaud : a hot, boiled sausage; can be cooked with red wine (saucisson beaujolais) or in a bun (saucisson brioché);
• andouillette: sausage made with chopped tripes, usually served
with a mustard sauce;
• gratin dauphinois: the traditional side dish, oven-cooked
sliced potatoes with cream;
• cervelle de canut (cervelle' = ' brain): fresh cheese with
garlic and herbs.
• rognons de veau à la moutarde : veal kidneys in a mustard
sauce.
A local association awarded the "Authentique bouchon lyonnais" label to 22 restaurants all over town (but mostly on Presqu'île), considering the quality of their food and wine, their decor and the owner's strong personality. But like Saktigarh’s Lyangcha in West Bengal, most of the Restaurant’s claim to be Bouchons !
We saw the term Bouchon everywhere in Lyon – which serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine. Compared to other forms of French cooking, such as nouvelle cuisine, the dishes are quite fatty and heavily oriented around meat. Typically, the emphasis in a bouchon is not on haute cuisine but, rather, a friendly atmosphere and a personal relationship with the owner.
The region of Beaujolais, north of Lyon, is famed worldwide for the "Beaujolais nouveau wine”. Lyon is certainly a great starting point to explore the French vineyards: Beaujolais, Burgundy, Rhône Valley and the less known Jura, Savoie and Bugey are all within two hours drive. It is therefore unsurprising to see an increasing number of wine bars in Lyon.
First we went to Vieux Lyon or Old Lyon. We did not use Public transport. It is just beside the confluence of Rhône and Saône. We were staying in the Eastern side of Rhone River. First we crossed Rhone river and then Saône river - which are only 300-400 Metres of each other.
On the way, we saw a Sunday market for books.
Then after crossing the river, we saw a marathon race going on - for which roads were cordoned off and ultimately they finished and assembled in a very big square.
Then we saw a weekend farmers Market beside the river. They were selling Salami, Sausage, Oyester, Pickles, Crepe and Fruits. We had some mixed (Orange+ Banana etc) smoothie (a big one for 7 Euro - but it was divided into 2 for us - it was really great; the smallest one was selling for 3 Euro), Pork Wellington (they weigh it before selling), sausage from the market. It was around 12.30 pm then and they were closing.
Finally we reached Old Lyon. First we saw Lyon Cathedral or Saint-Jean Cathédral. Since it was raining outside, I took a quick short nap inside this wonderful Cathedral, before we left for Fourvière hill in front of it.
Built between 1180 and 1480, Saint-Jean Cathédral is mostly of Gothic style with Romanesque elements. Officially, the cathedral is dedicated to both St John the Baptist (St Jean-Baptiste) and St Stephen (St Etienne) and has the title of primatiale because the Bishop of Lyon has the honorary title of Primat des Gaules.
One can take the funicular to go up the hill, from Vieux Lyon metro station, or you can walk . This is a 150 m (500 ft) vertical ascent approximately. We however walked to reach the hill.
It is not at all difficult. Fourvière was the original location of the Roman Lugdunum. In the 19th century, it became the religious centre of the city, with the Basilica and the Archbishop's offices.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière was built in 1872 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, saint patron of Lyon. This massive church made of white marble has been compared to an elephant . It is a typical example of the 19th century "eclectic" style- antique, classical and Gothic style. The Byzantine-style interior decoration is extremely exuberant, too much so for some people.
Next to the basilica, is the panoramic viewpoint, with the best view over the city. If the weather is clear, Mont Blanc can be seen.
After we are done with the Basilica we went down to Presqu'îl - Centre of the city via Vieux Lyon. It is is the place to go for shopping, dining or clubbing.
When we reached Place des Terreaux at Presqu'îl it is already dark; it is a large square - completely redesigned in the 1990s by the artist Daniel Buren. On the East side stands the City Hall. On the North side, you will find the fountain sculpted by Bartholdi, the 'father' of the Statue of Liberty of USA.
The Old Lyon is just like any old town of Europe, say Austria - with Cobble Stone road.Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France. We had famous bun of Lyon - Pink praline brioche (Praluline) - which is really good.
We then went to the nearby St Paul Church. At that time it was raining.
We later met an Indian (Telegu), who has come here to study hotel Management. He told us there are 60 Indian restaurants here in Lyon. He was dressed like a Maharaja in front of the restaurant (Lal Quila - owned by a Pakistani). There is an Indian restaurant (Namaste), owned by a Bengali, Raju. It was closed, since he went to Bengal ! There is another Pakistani and also India restaurant nearby.The food over there is not very expensive - Tandoori Chicken is 5 Euro.
We bought some Lebanese food (Kebab with wrap) for 5 Euro and took it home for dinner.
We bought some Bordeaux wine too from a departmental store near our apartment and had it in our apartment.
The French Wine region of
Burgundy may be small in size, but its
influence is huge in the world of vino or wine. It is home to some of the most
expensive wines in the known universe, but there are also tasty and affordable
wines. The other famous region wine Bordeaux is in the Western part of
France.
The easiest way to wrap your brain around Burgundy is to understand that there are only 2 important grape varieties to remember: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. There are others too, like Aligoté, Pinot Gris, Gamay, and Sauvignon Blanc but the primary focus of Burgundy’s production is Pinot Noir for Bourgogne Rouge ie Red wine and Chardonnay for Bourgogne Blanc ie white wine.
To the Burgundy winemaker, the region is not only the original home of these grapes, but the terroir (“tear-wah”) that best expresses their
character – elegant, aromatic, and complex.
Burgundy has 5 primary wine
growing areas (not including Beaujolais and Châtillonnais):
Chablis
Côte de Nuits – the
night slope -
Côte de Beaune – the
slope of Beaune
Côte Chalonnaise – the
Chalon slope
Since ticket counter closes at 7 pm, we decided to buy the return train ticket at 8 pm. It is a very small charming town. It is possible to cover the whole city by foot. Almost the whole city (at least the part the tourists normally goes) has cobbled stone road. Each and every house is very charming.
While walking towards the city centre, we had some nice Croissant (0.95 Euro), Lemon Tart (2.25 Euro), Palmier which is nothing but famous butterfly /Projapati Biscuit found in Tea Shop / Chai dokan in every street corner in Kolkata (1.40 Euro), Quiche Lorraine (which includes lardons/ bacon and cheese for 2.15 Euro) from a Patiserrie shop - Aux 3 Epis
(https://www.facebook.com/pg/Aux3Epis/photos/?ref=page_internal - the food here is cheap and really good). Since it was time for Siesta most of the shops were closed. I loved Palmier the most.
Many wine tours take place here. There are many house where there is wine cave (or wine cellar) at the underground. We were told (at around 5.10 pm) the last tour has already left, but we can opt for a wine tasting tour, at the nearby wine cellar for 11.50 Euro at Marché aux Vins . You can sample either 5 or 10 wines. We opted for tasting 5 wines for 11.50 Euro. It closes at 5.40 pm.
After walking around the place, we reached Marché aux Vins at 5.30 pm.
They said it is closed. When we insisted that at the counter, they said 5.40 pm, they then let us in. We were given a wine glass (free) and went to the cave/cellar. The history of wine in this region, wine regions in a map, the process of making wine - is shown in a big Monitor. The wines are freely available for tasting. You have to pour it from a wine bottle. You can refill it as many times you want and see the documentary on the monitor. The wine cellars are quite dark. There are 3 white wines and 2 red wines to be tasted. The white wines are initially greenish colour , but with age it turns yellowish colour. The cheapest one we had is 19.5 Euro and the most expensive one is 85 Euro. The most expensive one (85 Euro) is distinctively better (yellowish colour) and has nice aroma.
When we went there to return the glass, they told us to keep the glass as souvenir !
It was a very nice experience.
We left the apartment
at 4.40 am for catching the bus to Avignon . We were bit late. Somehow we
reached at 4.51am, in time (partly running). However bus left at 5.15 am. It is
going to Marseille and on the way it will drop us at Avignon. It takes around 3
hours to reach Avignon. We reached there after 8 am.
Its early history is much older than the popes. Avignon occupies a strategic location for several reasons - it is at the confluence of two once-mighty rivers: the Rhône, still one of the biggest rivers in France, and the now largely-dammed Durance. Rhone river is there in Lyon also.
Both were important routes of trade and communication even in prehistoric times.
It is estimated that about 200,000 people lived in Avignon, out of which 16,000 within the ramparts built in the 14th century. The city is now sprinkled with buildings and monuments ranging from the new to the old.
Avignon has been continuously inhabited since the Stone Age, when people built caves in the Rocher des Dames, a massive outcropping of rock rising over the banks of the Rhône.
The Romans had a presence in Avignon, though the walls they built lie buried somewhere under the modern streets. Then, in medieval times, the town grew to an important centre of communication and trade.
It was undoubtedly for its strategic location and ease of travel that it was chosen by the papacy as home, within the then kingdom of Provence. The presence of the papacy made Avignon into a city of great political and economic activity. The old city wall, now visible at the very center of the town was much too small and a larger wall, still visible today, was necessary to protect its bulging population. The city teemed with activity and building as architects, builders, artists flocked to the town. At that time, within the city walls there were over 100 churches and chapels - many of which have been transformed since then into everything from shops to a movie theater! The wealth and activity generated by the presence of the papacy spilled out into the region, so that even small villages nearby boast a rich architectural past.
Get in
By train : Avignon lies on the TGV or high speed train line from Paris to Marseille, about two hours from Paris, Gare de Lyon. It is also served by numerous local and regional services. But Bus is far cheaper. After getting down, we took bus no. 2 from the bus station, as suggested by our host, to go to our Airbnb apartment (2 Km from the bus station) and then walked for 7-8 minutes. This airbnb is amazing. The location is also very good.
Orientation
Avignon North is the best place for the Palais des Papes, the famous half-bridge, the old part of Avignon or the more modern huge shopping area. Avignon South (Sud) is more convenient for the TGV (high speed train) or Avignon airport.
First we went to the Papal Palace (Palais des Papes) in 15 minutes walk from our Airbnb apartment. On the way falls a departmental store.
I walked from the square in front of the Palace to go to the top of the Hill to go to Rocher des Doms . It has 270 degrees views, including the famous Pont d'Avignon, the Rhone River and acres of agricultural lands.
Pont d'Avignon is a ruined bridge - not far from the Palais des Papes. The bridge was built in the Middle Ages - before the arrival of the Papacy - perhaps partly to allow the local bishop to cross the river to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, where the church authorities had installed themselves because of Avignon's then-infamous lawlessness.
The legend of the bridge's building is that a local shepherd, Benezet (a dialect form of Benedict) was inspired by angels to build a bridge. When his appeals to the town authorities proved fruitless, he picked up a vast block of stone and hurled it into the river, to be the bridge's foundation stone. Convinced by this demonstration of divine will, the bridge was swiftly built. The poor shepherd boy was canonised, and his chapel remains on the surviving portion of the bridge. Originally, the bridge had 22 arches. Only 4 of the 22 arches now remain.
https://wikitravel.org/en/Avignon
It is possible to do wine tours, Olive tours and ‘Van Gogh tour’ and other tours from Avignon. When we reached the tourism office, it has already left.
https://www.viator.com/en-IN/Avignon/d483-ttd
https://www.getyourguide.com/discovery/avignon-l14/wine-tasting-winery-tours-tc104/?utm_force=0
Before Arles, falls the charming Saint-Rémy-de-Provence - typical Provencal village (This is the place where the artist Vincent van Gogh painted his famous masterpiece “The Starry Night”, and is home to the ruins of the ancient Roman/Gaul city of Glanum) , which has inspired many artists, including Van Gogh. There is no train station in St Rémy. It is possible reach St Rémy by bus from Avignon. There are two train stations in Avignon, namely the TGV train station and also the main, central train station. The buses to St Rémy leave from the bus depot that is near the Avignon central train station, i.e. not the TGV station. The No. 57 bus line goes to St Rémy. - https://www.ourworldforyou.com/our-little-secret-saint-remy-de-provence-france/) and within 10 Km from St Remy is Les Baux-de-Provence ( it has been named one of the most beautiful villages in France). So ideally one should keep one day for going to these two places from Avignon. We did not go to any of these places for want of time. Do not make this mistake.
After that we went to the Avignon train
station walking, to go to Arles. We paid 8 Euro(one way) to go to Arles for a 18
minutes journey. It is a small town which can be covered walking.
Then we saw the nearby Roman Theatre.
The famous Le Cafe Van Gogh is not very far from the Colosseum.
https://goo.gl/maps/5jST5fqc2izsuiGGA
Arles (1888-1889)
Arles is also the first city, which Van Gogh discovered when he settled in South France. His artistic career was extremely short, lasting only the 10 years from 1880 to 1890. During the first four years of this period, while acquiring technical proficiency, he confined himself almost entirely to drawings and watercolours. His first major work Potato workers was drawn in 1885. He briefly stayed in Brussels and Antwerp and finally went to Paris in 1886 to join. There he met Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and others. After 2 years he was tired of city life, physically exhausted, and longing “to look at nature under a brighter sky and left Paris in February 1888 for Arles. Last 2 years : 1888-1890 was his most productive years.
On Christmas Eve, 1888 argued with Gauguin and,
reportedly, chased him with a razor and cut off the lower half of his own left
ear. The 21st-century art historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans, however,
examined contemporary police records and the artists’ correspondence and
concluded it was actually Gauguin who mutilated van Gogh’s ear and that he did
so with a sword. Van Gogh took responsibility and was hospitalized; Gauguin
left for Paris. We went to the Hospital where Van Gogh stayed.
I was not too sure that is it indeed the Hospital where Gogh stayed. I asked a
student (around 15 years) whether it is indeed that place. He conveniently
misguided me. Little later he came running, after he checked the facts, that he
was wrong and I am correct !!
Saint-Rémy (May 1889 – May 1890)
He later went to the mental asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in May 1889 in order to be under medical supervision on public demand. Van Gogh stayed there for 12 months, haunted by recurrent attacks, alternating between moods of calm and despair and working intermittently. Here he drew his famous paintings The Starry Night, Garden of the Asylum, Cypresses, Olive Trees. Finally he arrived in Paris in May 1890.
Auvers-sur-Oise (May–July 1890)
Four days later he went to stay with a homeopathic doctor-artist, Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, a friend of Pissarro and Paul Cézanne, at Auvers-sur-Oise. This phase was short, and ended in quarrels with Gachet and feelings of guilt at his financial dependence on Theo and his inability to succeed. Van Gogh shot himself in July 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise.
Then we went near the Rhone River from where Van Gogh drew Starry night (different from the more famous The Starry night at St Remy).
We then took the 7.58 pm train to come back to Avignon. We met our host and on their recommendation, went to a restaurant for the dinner by using Google map. We had an interesting carrot soup (divided into 2). Along with that we had breads, 2 pcs cheese, 6 pcs salamis and another salami type of item. We also had tea. The total bill came to only 13.8 Euro for 1 plate - which we shared between two of us. It is a theme based restaurant.
A map of the city, lists of hotels in all price ranges, restaurants, ideas for nightlife, and daytrips to the surrounding countryside can be found at the Office de Tourisme, at 41 cours Jean Jaures (on the main street).
We first took local transport to go to the station. However bus left little late. We reached Marseilles at 9.30 am.
Marseille or Marseilles
in English is the second
most populated city of France, the biggest Mediterranean port and the economic
hub of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (one
of the 18th administrative region in France) region. Marseille has a
complex history. It was founded by the Ionian Greeks ( Greeks from Turkey )
from the Greek city of Phocaea, now Foça, Izmir in modern Turkey, in 600 BC and
is the oldest city in France and one of
the oldest cities in Europe. With around one million inhabitants, Marseille
is the second largest city in France in terms of population and the largest in
terms of area. Its population is a real melting pot of different cultures. It
is also said that there are more Comorian people in Marseille than in Comoros Island(between
Madagascar and Mozambique). Indeed, the people of Marseille have varying ethnic
backgrounds, with many Italians and Spanish having immigrated to the area after
the world war II.
From colourful markets (like Noailles market) that will make you feel like you are in Africa, to the Panier area (the oldest place of the town), to the Vieux-Port (old harbour) and the Corniche (a road along the sea) .
The town is a far cry from the Cézanne paintings. Famous painter Cézanne made this town his base. We could not go to his house for want of time. The soap or "savon de Marseille" (Marseille soap) is very famous here.
From Marseille there are direct connections to Barcelona, Prague and Tangier. The bus station is next to the main train station, the St. Charles Station at Rue Honnorat. There is tram, bus , tram and metro in Marseille.
From the tourism office (at a strategic location) we went to the nearby Le Vieux Port (old harbour) walking. Here watching fishermen selling their stock by auction is a must.
The famous Canebière avenue goes straight down the harbour. I read the Canebière is not that interesting despite its reputation. Le Panier, old city is right next to the Vieux-Port.
At the Vieux Port we bought a boat ticket (for 16 Euro) to go to both The Château d'If and Frioul islands - quite a big Island), which would leave at 1.15 pm. Then we killed some time by walking around Corniche before the boat ride. The place was soon filled with some acrobats.
We had also taken quick lunch; Sanjitda had Caesar salad (there was bacon and chicken in the salad). I had some snacks from Steak and shake restaurant.
Tourist boats leave from the Vieux Port for a 15 minutes ride to the Island. The boats do get full, so if you want to leave at a specific time, you have to arrive an hour before the trip to buy the tickets (they are issued for a specific time).
Château d'If is a small island, off the city, used initially as a defensive structure and was later used a prison. It is most famous for its place in the novel, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo or Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Both the islands are small and everything there could be seen and photographed in 30 minutes. But due to the boat schedules you will spend at least an hour there until the boat picks you up, so don't rush.
The entrance to the Castle costs 6 Euro. The whole exhibition is focused around the Count of Monte-Cristo novel. It is based on a true story. It was serially published for 2 years in a newspaper. It became very popular. The whole background behind the story was given in the exhibition at Château d'If. Three Musketeers is his other masterpiece. I learnt, he had a bad reputation of employing Ghost writers, sometimes. He was infamous for serial writing. The boat ride was quite memorable, with the city looking quite charming from the sea.
From Château d'If we went to Frioul islands. The veiw from Frioul islands is exceptional.
Then we came back to the Vieux Port after waiting for some time for the next boat.
Then we went to see Notre Dame de la Garde -the big church which overlooks the city. Old fishermen used to have their boats blessed in this church. From there it has one of the nicest views of the city.
From the Vieux Port to reach the church - it is about 15-20 minutes steep uphill walk.
Since the Church was closed (before time), I climbed the Church wall, to go inside, taking some risk. Some other people were also doing it. Sanjitda did not do it.
It is like Eiffel tower of Marseille. It is visible from most part of the city.
You can see both the Islands from the church. There are several narrow roads from the church/ hill , which falls into the Corniche.
It is a very cosmopolitan city and better than what I thought. It is also the city of Zidane !
From there we went to Noailles Market. The area is one of the city's most interesting part. Lined with Arabic and Indo-Chinese shops, some of the streets could be part of a bazaar in Algeria. But we reached little late. The shops were closing down. Most of them were closed. It is really dirty - more so, since they are left overs from the market. The cleaning was not yet done. The roads in the old city are quite narrow - slightly hilly. We did not see any Indian tourist either in Avignon or Marseille. We had various snacks along the way. There are some Tunisian (modern day Carthage) shop selling Jalebi or Amritti ! It came fromMiddle East to India.
We had dinner from an Algerian shop - beef kebab was really good; Sanjitda had and chicken kebab - the price was also good.
Then we reached our airbnb apartment little late - it is owned by a Senegalese guy. The location is terrific.
Unsurprisingly, Marseille's cuisine is focused on fish and seafood. Its two specialties being the famous fish broth "bouillabaisse" and "aïoli", a garlic sauce served with vegetables and dried cod.
La bouillabaisse is an excellent fish-based soup served with la rouille (a garlic-saffron sauce) and bread similar to crostini. La bouillabaisse cannot be enjoyed at any budgetary level. If you are invited to the home of someone making bouillabaisse, then you are in the safe hand. Never eat cheap bouillabaisse at a restaurant; only eat, it out if you have to reserve in advance. Bouillabaisse is a meal : first the soup, then the fish.
It is not very far from Nice. We reached Nice at 10.00 am, instead of scheduled time of 9.30 am.
From the bus stop, the host's house is only 30 pleasant minutes walk. We had some breakfast with nice juice on the way to our apartment.
The check in time is 3 pm. But since we requested, the caretaker came little early to open the door for us(Actually we reached the house at 11.30 am and caretaker after waiting for time, left. When we called the owner, he asked the caretaker to go once again to open the door for us. He is an African guy). So after one and half hours (actual distance is 30 minutes without halt) of pleasant walk, we reached our Airbnb apartment. On the way falls famous Garibaldi Square.
After keeping the luggage, we left to explore the city. We had famous Trouchia (3.5 Euro) near our apartment.
Our house is in the old city or Vieux (pronounced as View - x is silent) Nice. It is just like any beautiful old city of Europe with pebbled stones and small tables by the side of the road. On the top of that, there is sea, mountain all around.
Understand Nice
Nice (pronounced like the English word "niece") is a large city in France on the French Riviera. Cote de Azur and French Reviera means same. Azur comes from the colour of the sea. It is well known for the beautiful view on the Promenade des Anglais, its famous waterfront.
Some people were
sunbathing and some were swimming too. The beaches of Nice consist
entirely of large flat stones . Showers are provided ( free) on all public
beaches and there is a beach volleyball area.
Much nicer beaches
exist in other towns close by, such as Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes and
Cannes, which are far more sandy. Villefranche is a preferred beach.
Nice's main shopping
street Av Jean Medecin is home to two giant music/entertainment stores, Virgin
Megastore and the French FNAC. Jean Medecin is well worth an explore! It is a very important landmark of Nice.
Then we went to the Colline du Chateau - it offers a spectacular vantage point overlooking the city. Climbing up the stairs to reach the platforms 90 metres above Nice, is well worth the view.
Then we walked along the promenade and reach the harbour area of the city - where lot of luxury yachts has been stationed. The bus stop to go to Menton, Monaco is nearby.
Nice is a large, sprawling city of 300,000 population, but most of the tourist and historical attractions, outside of Cimiez, are within the centre - a radius of a twenty minute walk at the most. Nice is also known for several museums.
Musee Chagall - famous French Russian painter : It includes stained glass windows by the artist. It has one of best collections of Chagall.
Musee Matisse : Charming
collection of paintings, drawings and sculptures. What Marseille is to Cezanne
, Nice is to Matisse. Many of his famous paintings were done here.
Since we have some time, we went to the tram stop to see, from where our tram will leave to go to the airport. We tried in vain to buy some pet toys for Sanjit-da. They were closed.
Then it was time for dinner. We planned to try some Niçoise Cuisine. We had it from Le Petit Resto. Some of the famous foods are - "Socca", a charcoal grilled chickpea and olive oil generously sprinkled with black pepper (type of Crepe), Salade Niçoise (lots of raw veggies including tomatoes, peppers, radishes, artichokes, baby broad beans and tuna, anchovies and/or hard boiled egg), the "Pan Bagnat" sandwich, which is basically a Salade Niçoise stuffed in an olive oil soaked round crusty bread. Other specialties include Soupe de Poisson (Fish Soup, made with chili aioli, croutons and grated cheese).
As may be expected, seafood features prominently in Niçoise cuisine and several restaurants specialize in sea-urchin and oysters.
https://rivierabarcrawltours.com/what-is-nicoise-cuisine/
11/10/2019
Long distance buses
connect Nice with other major European cities, Marseille, Toulon and
Aix-en-Provence (A former capital of Provence – 30 Km from Marseille). Each main town on the French
Riviera has its own local bus network: for Nice it is Lignes d'Azur (Cannes has
Palm Bus). However inter-urban network, the TAM, connects all the Eastern
Riviera towns between Cannes and Menton. Bus fares are only € 1.50. The
journey from Nice to say Cannes by the bus no. 200 at € 1.50 is considerably
cheaper than the train, which is currently over €5. We paid € 1.50 for 1.15
hours journey. It is really cheap compared to Belgium or Netherlands (3 Euro
even for 1 stop).
In the late Nineteenth Century Northern
Europeans with TB, came to Menton either regain their health or to die. As a
result its cemetery is filled with the graves of notable Englishmen, Germans,
Russians. Previously it was under Monaco.
The road from Nice to Menton is somewhat like Amalfi Coast. We were
waiting in front of coiffure (salon in
French) for Isabella to pick us up. I
initially thought it was a coffee shop !! My friend Isabella, who stays in Menton, came
to pick us by her car and took us to a place beside the sea, from where there
is a wonderful view of the Town, Monaco. Then she took us to a place near the
hills, where she does the morning walk twice a week. It is a coastal path
along the cliffs. Then we went to the border of Italy and France by her car.
French part has still border control (probably because of illegal immigrant).
But Italian part has done away with the control. From there we went to the
Vieux or old Menton. It has similar features like any old town. The old
town is largely pedestrianised . But number of shops are much less compared to
Nice. So it is less touristy. But it is equally stunning. We saw a nice Church.
During Monte Carlo car rally many people stay here, since it is much cheaper
than Monaco. It takes around 30 minutes to reach Monaco by bus no. 100.
After that we went
to their house. She has been to my house in Kolkata number of times. But this
is my first visit. We met her mother. She is quite lively. Since she stayed in
England when she was young, she speaks unusually good English and reads English
novel too. We had a nice lunch. She made Pasta Neapolitano (similar to Pasta
Pomodoro, with Anchovis, Olive etc). We had some homemade bread and homemade
Tiramisu with lot of cream. We also had cheese, salami and ham. It was a very
sumptuous lunch with wine.
Then we left for
the bus stop and took bus no. 100 to go to Monaco. We got down near the famous
Cafe de Paris. We saw a Rolex shop near Cafe de Paris. It is locked, like jewellery
shops in India. Sanjit da said he will buy a Rollex, even if it is 100 Euro. We
were told, the watch which Sanjitda liked is 10,000 Euro !!
Then we saw the
famous Casino. At the Grand Casino, gambles world's richest
and famous. You'll need your passport to enter and the fees for entry
range enormously depending on what room you are going to - often from
€30 right up into the hundreds. You can also visit the casino, without
gambling, but also for a nominal fee. The dress code inside is
extremely strict. We did not go inside with our vagabond like dress! This
is the place where Monte Carlo rally takes place. It takes place around April
or May. During that time some roads are blocked. Monte Carlo is
not the capital of Monaco, but a government district. We
went to the back of the Grand Casino, where there is Opera house - from where
there is a wonderful view of the sea. This is the place where super rich
stays.
We walked along the sea to have a look of the town. We saw the house of King at
the top of the hill. We did not go inside, since it is quite late. The
Palace also offers a breathtaking panoramic view, overlooking the Port and
Monte-Carlo.
It is a separate
country with its own flag. This is the second smallest independent state
in the world (after the Vatican) and is almost entirely urban. There is
a famous Oceanographic Museum in Monaco.
After spending some time, we left for Nice by bus no. 100. Today we went to a
Turkish Restaurant. We had Yeprek Sarma (they say Sarma only) - which is
basically a spring roll rolled by grape leaves. We also had Greek
Moussaka.
One can go to some other places from
Nice. One can go to Eze. It is a small village on the way to Monaco. The
village is situated on a small mountain and there is a beautiful cactus garden
with a spectacular view .There is also Fragonard perfume factory which you can
visit for free. To reach Eze by bus, take the 112 to go to Eze Village (not the
100 which stops at Eze Gare, a 90 minute steep walk away from Eze Village).
There is a path that goes down the mountain from Eze Village to Eze Gare. This
is the Path of Nietzsche (named
after the famous German philosopher Friedrich W. Nietzsche), with some
fantastic views and a waterfall. Walking downhill through this path takes about
40 minutes. The best views of the coastline are found in the lower third of the
path.
Buses run from Menton through Eze
Gare to Nice every 15 minutes or so and vice versa, making treking back up the
hill to Eze unnecessary.
Some other important places just to
the west of Nice include Antibes, Cannes and Saint-Tropez; in the foothills,
you'll find Grasse, with an extensive history of producing essences of French
perfumes; it can be reached by bus. Grasse is considered as purfume capital of
the world.
East of Nice is Monaco and Menton in France, and then Ventimiglia and San Remo
in Italy .
12/10/2019
Today we left for Nice Airport at 8.30 am. It is one of the busiest in France and has frequent daily flights to Paris and direct to most major cities in Europe and a number of destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. It is cheaper to go Tunisia from Nice / Marseille.
A new tram route Tram Line 2 between
the airport and Magnan station (close to Nice Centre) opened on 15th
December 2018. Alternatively there is airport express bus . We went to the
tram stop walking. The tram stop is in the basement. It can well be considered a
subway too. After some time it started moving on the surface with sea on the
left. We reached in time and took only 20-25 minutes. We took 1.30 am Easy Jet flight (nothing to do with our
Jet Airlines) to reach Naples.
Naples Airport is not served by any
rail system. From the airport you can take a bus for €5 (called Alibus)
which has 2 stops only: Stazione Centrale (Central station), where there is a
subway station and Piazza Municipio, near the main ferry port (molo
Beverello).
We were received by our friend Angelo at the airport. He came with his car. His
steering has a lock so that the car is not stolen !!
Our Airbnb host cancelled our booking at the last moment. Without OTP, I cannot book it (since the Kolkata SIM will not work). So the host blocked the dates of our stay. Rossella (wife of Angelo) had already talked to the host to tell him, that we are a genuine guest. Angelo took us straight to the Airbnb, where we made the payment and kept our luggage. Later it turned up to be a Bangladeshi neighbourhood. There is a Mosque- written in Bengali ! There are at least 3 Bengali restaurants serving Bengali food ! One of them is Bhai-bhai restaurant. We saw one Sri Lankan shop too. Then we left for the house of Rossella and Angelo. They were ready with lunch. We had a wonderful Pasta with Cherry Tomato with Parmesan Cheese, Ham, Sausage, 3 types of Cheese, Anchovies. They have made their terrace into a kitchen. They have a very nice little girl (around 3-4 years).
Naples' (In
Italian: Napoli), is the capital of the Campania region. The city is the third
most populated municipality of Italy. It was founded between the 7th and 6th
centuries BC by the Greeks and was named Neapolis, which means new city. The
Greeks first established the city and inhabited the region long before Roman
times.
Pizza comes from Naples. Look for pizza margherita, the original one, with nothing more than fresh tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and a little olive oil. Eating a pizza in Florence or in Rome is not the same as eating it in Naples! Here the dough is thicker (than in Rome, for example) and is a little chewy.
In Naples every pizzeria makes a decent pizza. Some places display the label “Vera Pizza Napoletana” [“True Neapolitan Pizza”] with a Pulcinella mask baking a pizza in a stylized Vesuvio, which indicates that the pizzerria follows the standards of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana [True Neapolitan Pizza Association]
If you want to try “the” authentic Neapolitan pizza, go to Pizzeria Brandi, where the pizza margherita was born (a stone is exposed outside the restaurant explaining the history of the first pizza).
Some other places that are very popular among the Neapolitans are almost all the pizzerias in Via dei Tribunali, in particular Di Matteo, Il Presidente [Dec 2013: closed?], Sorbillo, and his sister, a few doors away (informally known as “la vecchia” [the old lady], from the owner of the pizzeria, a very small place with only 4 or 5 tables, that looks like a pizzeria of 50 years ago — very hard to find, but it’s worth it!)
Sweets
The city and region are also famous for their pasticceria (pastries), including:
• Babà — found in virtually every cafe, bar and pasticceria in town
• Sfogliatella — often filled with ricotta cheese (riccia) or cream with citrus flavor. The best sfogliatella is served at Pintauro in Via Toledo 275. As you enter the bakery, notice a sign stating "Qui nel 1785 nacque la sfogliatella" ("Here in 1785 the sfogliatella was born")
We tried Baba, but could not get time to Sfogliatella . However Angelo highly recommended it.
Then we went to see the city with them, walking. Their house is not very far from the city centre. We saw Duomo on the way to the pedestrian street. Duomo or cathedral has two luxurious chapels - one is dedicated to the city's patron St. Gennaro. His blood liquefies on September 19, the so called Miracle of San Gennaro, which is a big celebration in Naples. If the blood does not liquefy it is believed to bring very bad luck to the city. We walked along a long pedestrian road that went upto the hill. There are souvenir shops on both sides of the street (Spaccanapoli). It is a very narrow road. We had coffee in one of the shops. It costs only 1 Euro for 1 Expresso. There are many figurine and pictures of Maradona in the shop. The owner of the shop has a picture with Maradona. We were told there is a Maradona temple also. Here Maradona is considered as God. Since their children was not feeling well they decided to leave us and go to the Doctor's chamber for consultation. We tried the famous sweet of Naples - Baba ! Today we bought the tickets for Pompeii+Vesuvius (25 Euro) from a travel agent for an organized tour. We met a Bangladeshi hawker on the street; he told us that since it is dark now do not take this narrow street to go back. Please take the main road. Else you might be mugged. He showed us an Italian walking past us, who is apparently a mugger. So we took the main road. The poverty in Naples is much more apparent from other places. We were told that the place where we are staying (near Garibaldi Station) is not very safe at night. While walking along the main road we met a Bengali (Muslim) from Kolkata, for a change. He lives near Park Street. He has export and imprt business. He will go to Kolkata next year.He was telling us that many aristrocat Italians stay in Napoli. But we did not go to that side. I saw some Africans too.
Pompeii was a settlement since the Bronze Age. Romans took control of Pompeii around 200 BC and it grew to become a large town. On October 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius erupted, burying the nearby town of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash and pumice, killing around 3,000 people, the rest of the population of 20,000 people having already fled, and preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. This site is considered to be one of the few sites where an ancient city has been preserved in detail - everything from jars and tables, to paintings and people were frozen in time. Neighbouring Herculaneum town suffered the same fate; this has resulted in an unprecedented opportunity to see how the people lived two thousand years ago.
There are some bodies which look my a mummy. The famous life like poses of many victims at Pompeii— seated with face in hands, crawling, kneeling on a mother's lap—are helping to lead scientists toward a new interpretation of how these ancient Romans died . Some of them were taking a nap or bath. Until now it's been widely assumed that most of the victims were asphyxiated by volcanic ash and gas. But a recent study says most died instantly of extreme heat, with many casualties shocked into a sort of instant rigor mortis.
On the Circumvesuviana Napoli-Sorrento line, train takes 30 to 40 minutes to get to Pompeii from either Naples or Sorrento. One can also avail SITA bus for similar fare.
This is a walking site only. You have to walk on uneven cobblestone ground. First we entered a museum and moved on the city. First comes the forum.
Forum : This was the center of public life. It was surrounded by many of the important government, religious and business buildings.
Temple of Apollo. This is on the western side of the Forum.
Theatre. Theatre built in the hollow of a hill for acoustic advantage; it seated 5,000
Via dei Sepolcri (street of tombs) A long street with worn ruts from carts.
Lupanar an ancient brothel with pornographic frescoes over the entrance to each room, presumably indicating the services on offer. Even allowing for the smaller size of ancient Romans the beds seem rather small. There is a huge crowd which gathered infront of this.
The Basilica This is to the west of the Forum. It was the most important public building of the city where both justice was administered and trade was carried on.
Forum Granary Artifacts like storage jars and plaster casts of people who did not escape the eruption are stored in this building, which was designed to be the public market but may not have been finished before the eruption.
Baths. The Forum Baths are just north of the forum . They are well-preserved and roofed. Close to these are the Stabian baths which have some interesting decorations and give a good idea of how baths used to function in Roman times. The water used to come from Vesuvius. The concept of Thermal bath was present during those time.There was separate bathing area for male and female.
House of the Tragic Poet. This small atrium house is best known for the mosaic at the entrance depicting a chained dog, with the words Cave Canem or "Beware of the Dog". The Italian marble is clearly visible.
We saw number of fontana or fountain. The water used to come from Vesuvius.
We saw number of Taverns. You will walk past where the bakeries once existed. The bakeries’ ovens look similar to the oven seen in a pizzeria. The guide somewhat suggested that this is the place where Pizza used to done done. The House of the Baker has a garden area with millstones of lava used for grinding the wheat.
There are 2 amphitheatres (Grande and Piccolo). It comes at the end of city. The bigger one was completed in 80BC, and could hold about 20,000 people. It is the earliest surviving permanent amphitheatre in Italy and one of the best preserved anywhere. It was used for gladiator battles, other sports and spectacles involving wild animals.
Gymnasium occupies a large area opposite the Amphitheatre. The central area was used for sporting activities and there was a pool in the middle. On three sides are lengthy internal porticos or colonnades.
House of the Vettii. This is believed to have been the home of two brothers who were freed slaves and became very affluent. It contains many frescoes. In the vestibule there is a striking fresco of a well-endowed Priapus, God of Fertility and among the frescos in other parts of the building are illustrations of couples making love, of cupids and of mythological characters.
We saw many frescoes in the city houses. So it would be wrong to say it a ruins. Some of the things are nicely preserved.
House of the Faun. This is named after a statue of a dancing faun found on the site. It is considered to be an excellent example of the fusion of Italian and Greek architectural styles, and occupies an entire block.
Our last bus to Vesuvius will leave at 2.30 pm. So we rushed to the exit and got the bus just in time. Vesuvius is nearby - few Kms only.
Mount Vesuvius is perhaps best known for its eruption in Roman times , described by Pliny the younger, when Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed. The eruption left a large crater which has grown and shrunk with subsequent eruptions and this can still be visited today. It is a currently dormant volcano that occasionally emits streams of lava (the last eruption was in 1944).
There is a entry ticket (10 Euro) to go to the top. If you trek to the end of the top it will be around 1.5 Km. I went up the end. There is a wonderful cafeteria cum souvenir shop , where you can get a cup of coffee for only 1.7 Eruo. But since we have to catch the bus, I skipped it. Sanjit da did not go to the top. It is not a very easy trek. At the top of the volcano, is a crater rim that affords a view into the crater that still fumes slightly. You can see the yellow colour stone (sulphur), red stone (Iron) inside the crater.
Besides that you will have (only on clear days, but the mountain is notoriously covered in fog or clouds) a stunning panorama overseeing the Bay of Naples, Naples, Capri, the edge of the Amalfi Coast.Outside Vesuvius entrance they were selling various kinds of stone - just like the way they were selling in Morocoo.
In the bus we met a Bangladeshi couple who has come from Ireland in a conference. We took them to the place where we are staying for a Bangladeshi dinner at Bhai Bhai restaurant. But we went for a stroll near Piazza Garibaldi ( or square ) and then dinner beside the square. In the square (which is 5 minutes from our house) we met an educated Bangladeshi Abdul Halim, who has a shop here. But he was having a well paying job (in Marketing deptt) and used to travel to Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore for his job. His wife was an accountant in a Power Co. (used to earn 50,000 Taka per month. It was a mistake (according to him) to come to Italy for an uncertain future. Somebody needs to sponsor you to come to Italy and they give you green card (for the sake of understaning). But now they are more or less settled for more than10 years. You get permanent residency only after staying for 10 years. They have a son and daughter. They are studying here and doing well. His wife is wearing a hijab. Lot of Bangladeshis come in this square for a chitchat. Some of them were already waiting for them.
Then we had sea food Rissoto and bolognese pasta at the Garibalidi square. We also had some Expresso coffee (Expresso + water = Americano coffee - which is less concentrated unlike Expresso) for 1 Euro only . We bought some Funghi (mushroom) Pizza - 12 inches for 5.5 Euro ( for tomorrow's breakfast) from the Piazza Garibaldi. The place from where we had bought Pizza yesterday is closed today. It was really cheap (4 Euro for 12 inches Margherita Pizza) and very good.
Today our plan was to go to Amalfi Coast by Circumvisuviana Train. But on the way to the station we saw the same Company's counter is selling one day tour to Amalfi coast for 40 Euro only. It is more of a hop on hop off bus. So opted for it considering the convenience. Otherwsie we would have to get down at Sorrento (goes through Pompeii and Herculaneum) by Circumvesuviana and then take SITA bus to go further upto Amalfi coast. Sita buses go along the coast from Sorrento to Amalfi and also from Amalfi to Salerno.
The bus was suppose to leave at 9.10 am , but left at 9.30 am. We got down at Amalfi at 11.30 am. We dozed off on the way. But the view along this Amalfi coast is amazing. You will move along with mediterrean sea almost throught out the sea.
The Amalfi Coast is a stunning beauty with its steep sloped lemon tree gardens, coloured terrace houses, stunning views overlooking the azure sea. It is south east of Naples starting from Sorrento stretching upto to Salerno. Along the coastline you will find places like Sorrento , Positano,Amalfi, Ravello and Salerno each of them uniquely beautiful, with much to offer. In the Amalfi Coast prices are high compared to nearby Naples.
We got down at Amalfi first. Amalfi is one of the biggest and famous towns on the Amalfi coast. We saw some tourist buses going to Ravello - but for want of time , it is not possible. For lack of time it is also not possible to go to the famous Capri Island. It is possible to go to Amalfi (and Capri) from Sorrento. Coop Sant'Andrea run the ferry service from Salerno to Amalfi, Amalfi to Salerno, Amalfi to Positano, Positano to Amalfi, Positano to Salerno, Salerno to Positano. In fact Capri is nearest from Sorrento. May be next time. For going to Capri there is a fixed time schedule which has to be maintained.
We walked along the wonderful coast above the cliff, overlooking the azure sea for quite some time. Then we went to see the famous Duomo (the cathedral) of Amalfi. The Cathedral was built in the 10th century. We did not go inside, since they were asking 3 Euro to go inside. While walking along the charming city, we saw an interesting sea food shop - where they are selling different kinds of fried sea food (Octpus, Prawn, squid, Potato). We really liked it. While we were having it, we met an Gujrati Indian from London of East African origin (mother is Kenyan Indian).
Amalfi region is famous for limoncello - an alcoholic drink - becasue of its famous lemon. The lemon is everywhere around the town. It is like a mascot. There souvenirs of lemon. Unfortunately we could not market Gandhoraj lemon of Bengal, like them - although it is unique. I saw a lemon tree which looks exactly like our Gondhoraj. May be it tastes similar. I did not like limoncello - but I am not qualified to comment since I am basically a teetotaller.
Among the most famous beaches of the Amalfi Coast is Spiaggia of Marina Grande in Amalfi. The beach of Marina Grande It is among the most extensive and thanks to its central location is also the busiest in the summer from June to September. From the dock of largest beach in Amalfi, boats depart to many bays accessible only by sea. We went to the beach and then left for Positano by our bus (at 3 pm - actually bus comes in regular interval). Positano falls in between Sorrento and Positano. I have been told Sorrento is not that interesting. So Positano seems to be the better choice for our next stop.
We got down at the main road. From there one road leads to Positano. Positano is the perfect walking city! We walked along the tiny, winding roads of the village, lined with restaurants, shops, and boutique hotels, that leads you to the beach that hugs the mountain.Every turn brings something new and exciting into view. As you meander through this winding road, the charm of this town is intoxicating.The Church of Santa Maria or in Italian “Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta” is a picturesque, catholic church located just a stone’s throw from the beach - falls on the way. When we reached the beach it is 5.30 pm. It is a pity we cannot stay a day here. We had to rush back to the bus stop.
https://wearetravelgirls.com/positano/
The bus instead of going towards North to Naples, went towards South Amalfi to pick up passengers and left for Napoli finally.
Getting there and away
It is possible to go Tunisia , my dream country, from Palermo, Sicily (by taking a train from Naples) to Tunisia in 9 hours for Rs 3500-500, one way.
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Palermo/Tunis
• L.N.G. and has a ferry/hydrofoil service that connects Naples with the island of Capri, along with Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi. Schedules and timings can be found on its website.
15/10/2019
Our train is at 5.10 am from Garibaldi Station. We left at 4.30 am from our hotel. But we were not sure where is exactly Napoli Centrale - Piazza Garibaldi Station that is why left little early. You can go to South towards Sorrento from Garibaldi which is in basement. But for Rome you have to take Napoli Centrale.The train left in right time. The train was absolutely empty - maximum 10 people in the whole train. But when we reached Rome at 8 am it is more or les full. Our plane is at 1.50 pm. We intentionally reached little early so that we can Spanish Steps, Colosseum (Sanjitda has not seen it) in Rome. We got down at Roma Termini and then took metro (at the basement of Roma Termini) to reach Spanish Steps (Line A - Metro station Spagna - only the 3rd stop from Roma Termini). I have not seen Spanish steps last time.
On the advice of Bangladeshi Chesnut seller from Spanish steps, we started walking towards Colosseum , since it is not very far. We walked past a road which I came across last time (near Pantheon) and saw the same Bangladeshi selling Chesnut. He told me he is selling it here for last 22 years. We bought some souvenirs on the way to Colosseum. On the way we saw Piazza Venezia, Roman Forum before reaching Colosseum. From Piazza Venezia one can see Colosseum. So you don't need to ask anybody ! We saw the Roman Forum, free of cost, from the other side. Last time when I went to Roman Forum, I was wondering how to go to this side - since I could see people are looking at Roman Forum whithout paying the entry fee.
After seeing the Colosseum we took metro to reach fiumicino airport. I read from there you have to get down at Trastever and then take Regional train to reach the airport. Since we were late , we took the more expensive route of going to Termini from Colosseum Metro station and then took Leonardo Express (14 Euro) to reach the airport. We reached the airport at 12.07 pm. It took only 32 minutes from Termini to reach airport. We met a Bangladeshi (Manik), he said it takes around 6 months to learn Italian. We got down at Kuwait at 8 pm and after a stopover of 2.30 hours we left for Delhi and reached Delhi at 5.15 am.
16/10/2019
From Delhi I took another flight to reach Kolkata at 12 noon and went straight to office from the airport.
