Au Revoir, France!

And the day has come when we say goodbye to France!

We came to Europe to enjoy and these two weeks had been absolutely amazing. These two weeks will forever etched in minds as a trip of a lifetime.

We had heard that French weren't too friendly from a visitor's perspective and that Paris as a city isn't too safe. And we had heard great things about Switzerland.

But our experiences were exactly opposite. France was very friendly. Right from the hotel at Gare de Lyon, where we were, in a sense, welcomed with open arms, to the common man on the street in Paris or in Fontainebleau who helped with directions or translations. It was absolutely astounding. We felt at home here. We feel in love, allover again with each other and with Paris. And we learnt the essential phrase - Je t'aime Paris!

Switzerland on the hand made us feel a bit uncomfortable. Some people were a bit unfriendly and some did show a touch of racism. But then there were good people there as well.

These thoughts were racing in our minds as we headed to the airport....

Once at the airport, we encountered a very friendly staff from Turkish Airlines who checked us in. The Turkish Airlines counters were full - there are 11 daily flights between Paris CDG and the two airports in Istanbul of which 6 are of Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines, off-late, has emerged as a formidable carrier much like the trio of the Gulf - Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. And the growth of Turkish Airlines has helped Istanbul's Atatürk Airport develop as an intercontinental hub for those traveling between Europe and Asia and Africa. We had quite a few passengers with us who were traveling onward to Cameroon, Uganda, Israel and countries of the CIS.

My inflight entertainment - I chose a Turkish newspaper as well to get a feel of the mahoul of Turkey...

We boarded the Turkish Airlines Airbus A330...

The IFE comes on...

We are on our way now to Istanbul...

And I got some time to ogle at some pretty birds...

A view of CDG...

And there we are, Up In The Air...

The view of the lovely French countryside, as we fly over Melun, and head towards Fontainebleau, a place that will have a special place in my heart, our hearts, always...

We carry back home a little bit of France with us - all those lovely experiences, anecdotes and sights that form a part of the rich mosaic called life... And we definitely aren't complaining about the empty pockets, because these experiences have enriched us immensely...

Au Revoir, France! Et Prochain Arrêt Istanbul...!

An Afternoon At Pigalle...

It was sad to say goodbye to Fontainebleau this morning. But we had to continue to the next part of our visit - Paris, the city of beauty, the city of love.  

With our goodbyes to Fontainebleau done, we drove down Route A6 headed to Paris...

Over the last few days, I developed an unspeakable fondness for Fonty - for its medieval charms, its beauty and calmness...

Indeed the journey to Fonty was a kind of self-discovery, a journey into myself...  

But today's journey brought us back to Paris...

And we check into our hotel at Rue de Turin, in central Paris...

After a quick snack at the neighbourhood patisserie, we were good to go...

There's some sweetness about Paris that you can find the patisserie...

Our next stop was the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre hill. So we headed to Saint-Lazare metro station from where we headed to the Abbesses metro station...

We reached the Pigalle district in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris...

That's where we saw La Pain Quotidien - The Daily Bread, right on the Rue Lepic... Neeti and I have fond memories of LPQ in Mumbai...

From Rue Lepic, we walked down to Boulevard de Clichy from where we were to board the Petit Train de Montmartre to take us right up to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur,..

Pigalle is a tourist district, with Moulin Rouge as a major attraction. Pigalle was also home to a number of artists - Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Maurice Neumont and Andre Breton, Pigalle is also home to  Espace Dalí, a permanent exhibition devoted to Salvador Dalí's paintings, sculptures and engravings.

The district also has a seedy reputation - Place Pigalle is home to many sex shops, theatres and adult shows. During the Second World War, Allied soldiers called the area "Pig Alley" because of its raunchy reputation. The Musée de l'érotisme (Museum of Eroticism) is also located here.

Anyone for oysters with lime?

Display of a poissonnerie along the Rue des Abbesses...

Razor clams, oyster, lobsters, octopus, shrimp, cod, salmon, cod, tuna - they had it all...

Indeed a seafood lover's paradise...

Street graffiti around the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...

The residential area in Pigalle was nice and serene...

Live shows, lap dance, table dance, you name it, you get it here at Pigalle...

Pickles, terrines... all the lovely edible stuff...

French poultry at a Pigalle boucherie... Can I see a bresse?

Display of a fromagerie - cheese shop...

And some lovely pies...

Église Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre right next to the Abbesses metro station...

Back at Abbesses to head to Montparnasse...

Le Magnifique Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...

After returning back from Fontainebleau, it was time for Neeti and me to tour the magnificent city of Paris. Our first halt in Paris was the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, located on the summit of the butte (hill) called Montmartre, which happens to be the highest point in the city...

Our journey to the Basilica began right in front of the Moulin Rouge theatre on the Boulevard de Clichy in the Pigalle district of the 18th Arrondissement. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for tourists. Perhaps, we'll come here on our next Paris visit...

Street art...

Need I say more?

The Tricolore...

On board the Petit Train de Montmartre...

An autorickshaw or a tuk-tuk...

The first glimpse of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...

And the city of Paris lies to the south...

Equestrian Statue of King Saint Louis and Joan of Arc flank the cathedral...

Montmartre is a site of religious significance for local Christians. The hill is associated with Denis, who was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by the Romans alongwith his companions - he was beheaded by a sword. Montmartre was believed to have been a druidic holy place. After his head was cut off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked 10 kilometres to St. Denis, from the summit of the hill, preaching a sermon the entire way...

The martyrdom of Denis and his companions is popularly believed to have given the site its current name, derived from the Latin Mons Martyrum - "The Martyrs' Mountain". Others believe that the name is derived from Mons Mercurii et Mons Martis, Hill of Mercury and Mars... 

The city of Paris, as viewed from the Basilica...

Wikipedia tells me of the history of the Basilica:

"The inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design and architecture originated on September 4, 1870, the day of the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier attributing the defeat of French troops during the Franco-Prussian War to a divine punishment after "a century of moral decline" since the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following that revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side, and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism in the French social order became particularly pronounced after the 1870 withdrawal of the French military garrison protecting the Vatican in Rome to the front of the Franco-Prussian War by Napoleon III, the secular uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-1871, and the subsequent 1871 defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.

Though today the Basilica is asserted to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée Nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune". Montmartre had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here where the martyrs are, it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come"."

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919...

A view of the Eiffel Tower from the hill...

The way back...

One last look, and we hope to be back soon, to see the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur from inside...