Travel Tuesdays #6 - The City of Lights

Paris is known by many names, but the most famous two would probably be the City of Lights and the City of Love. This photo in essence actually encapsulates both names rather well, though the latter is less obvious. You can see that the entire city below is illuminated, although the name La Ville-Lumière was originally given because Paris was the hub for ideas during the Age of Enlightenment, it was later reinforced by the city's adoption of street lighting (it was among the first few cities to do so). The City of Love label, however, I think is attributed to good advertising and popular culture. 

Nevertheless, I did succumb to good marketing and I went up the Eiffel Tower with my loved one to take this very picture. There we stood, in an isolated corner of the Eiffel Tower (really hard to find such spots since the queues to get up the Eiffel are always long and snaking!) - I mounted my camera on the tripod and in the biting wind we stood (it was already May, but temperatures would still drop below 10 degrees in the evening, especially with wind and high up on the Eiffel Tower), waiting for the 30-second long exposures, waiting to see if they would give me the result I wanted. It may not be any surprise, but my significant other is not that into photography; but the very fact that he was willing to wait with me even though I knew he was chilled to the bones, speaks volumes. This photo is the product of that.  Ironically, you can't see the very icon that is so distinctively Paris - the Eiffel Tower, because well, I'm standing in it! 

Credits to Jinna

To get the typical postcard shot of Paris,  you can snap a photo (for free) either at Basilica du Sacré-Cœur, but you'll have to utilize a zoom lens since the Eiffel looks like a pea from there or on the terrace of Galeries Lafayette, where you can sip a cup of coffee at the roof-top restaurant and snap some scenic views of Paris at the same time (this is a place which few tourists have found out about in my opinion, because most just visit Lafayette to shop). Alternatively, for the most iconic view of the city - the one that you always see in postcards (see Jinna's photo for an example) you've to head to Tour Montparnasse (which is the second tallest building in Paris for a reason) but you'll have to pay an entrance fee - about 10 euros if I'm not wrong.

♥♥♥

Many might consider me lucky - I have been to the City of Lights, not once, not twice, but thrice. And each time, I spent a considerable amount of time there. There were also a few other times when I had to take the train into Paris for a short transit, but those times don't count. To me, Paris was a dreary place actually, undeserving of its name as the City of Love. Maybe that was because the first two times I went, it was winter, and Paris in winter, is in short, really unromantic. Yes the Eiffel Tower and other monuments look beautiful covered in snow, but traipsing around in snow is no fun feat. Besides, the snow quickly turns into slush thanks to the volumes of tourists, and this makes for really dirty boots and hazardous slippery paths. And Paris is a really cold place. I've experienced below-zero temperatures and teeth-chattering winds in Paris, and those times, I wondered why Paris was so deserving of the City of Love label. Maybe it was because those times too, I was single and with my other girl-friends, and we were all bitter from the fact that we saw couples in throngs smooching everywhere, especially under the Eiffel Tower. I'm jesting here okay - I had lots of fun with my beloved girl-friends too, eating our way through Paris and doing nonsense along the streets of Paris.

But finally, I saw the beauty of Paris, when I visited in Spring, when the weather was lovely and sunny, with the lovely flower-scented breeze, and because it was finally time to meet him, after a year of long skype and msn conversations, and a copious amount of planning for our 'Epic European' trip. I still vividly remember how it felt like, to welcome him at Charles de Gaulle, to finally hug him after thinking about it for so long, and how different it felt to wander around familiar attractions with a special someone. (To those Louvre-lovers, I've been there thrice, and I'm sorry to say that I still don't like it - I much prefer the Orangerie and other smaller museums.) Paris was but the first of our many stops in Europe, but it's definitely one of my top 5 favorite destinations for now. The reason why I chose to recall my Paris trip now, is because I know Paris holds a special spot in both of our hearts. And this picture is especially meaningful to me, because it was the first time I actually had a tripod to use and the first successful long-exposure shot that I took. And because he was there with me. Also, I'm currently in Cambodia doing some volunteer work and have no internet access, so I thought this scheduled post for my dearest, with whom I had an anniversary yesterday, would be a nice surprise since I know he reads the blog. I'm really sorry that we weren't able to 'celebrate' it properly, but it's for a once-in-a-lifetime good cause and I'll be seeing you real soon!

In other news, if my plans work out, I might be able to head to Paris some time again this year, and I'll spend every waking moment I have eating all the cakes my body can consume - just like what Adam has done in Paris Patisseries (this is the site to go to if you want to know where in Paris to go for all the popular pastries and more). But if my plans don't work out, it's okay - I know that sooner or later, the allure of Paris will be too much for me to stand, and I'll be back. Surely. 

♥♥♥

Ps: Just a question, which do you guys think is better? The original photo at the start of the post, or this cropped version?