A French Holiday

I spent the last week in France. I had to go for a conference to Lyon. It has been a lifelong dream to visit Paris, so of course I jumped at the first opportunity. It was exciting since it was the first time I was travelling to a country whose language I did not understand, without any data/ mobile network. Here is an account of my adventure.

I did not get to tour a lot of Lyon, since I spent most of my time in the conference. The journey was arduous. I left London at 7am in the morning. I had to take a train to Kings Cross, then a train to Luton Parkway, and finally a bus to Luton airport. From Lyon airport, it took me another hour and a half to reach the University Lyon 1. The entire journey cost about 70 GBP. It might have been a better idea to take the direct train to Lyon, which would have cost an additional 20 GBP but 2 hours less. It was lovely to be able to see the sun after a very long time. However, it did get really hot and I missed the cool warmth of the Indian summer.

What I really enjoyed in Lyon was the tram. It glides seamlessly like a serpent in a maze. I also really liked the people of Lyon. They were very helpful and understanding. I stayed in two separate Airbnbs. The first hostess left a lovely note for me wishing me a good day, and the second came along with me to buy dinner so she could translate my order. The first time I had to buy a tram ticket, the machine at the station wasn’t accepting my British debit card. I had no cash on me. A person kindly bought a ticket for me and left, without even waiting for my thanks. These people and the excellent range of Eduroam made my trip smooth.

The only time I could enjoy Lyon was 2 hours before my train to Paris. I went to Central Park. There is a free zoo there. I saw giraffes, a zebra, flamingoes and crocodiles, among others. There was also a rose garden inside. There were several water taps as well (hard to find in London), which rejuvenated me. I had no time for dinner, and ended up eating from EXKi at the station. The meal was not cheap, but it was filling. I took the super fast Trenitalia to Gare De Lyon station. The sunset view enroute complimented my meal excellently.

One of the best aspects of Paris is the free WiFi available across the city, especially in train stations. Another great feature of travel here is that unlike London, a ticket works for all forms of transport up to an hour. While this ticket compares to London prices, the Day Pass €7.50 and Week Pass (€22.80 up to Sunday night 11:59 pm) are much more economical. The metro does not stop at all stations between the beginning and end points of the journey, one must check the boards before getting on.

On Thursday night, we walked from Notre Dame to Eiffel Tower. I think this is one of the most spectacular walks in the city, and must be done at night. One gets to see Notre Dame, Pantheon, Louvre, Pompidou Centre, Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe etc. During the day, people sit by the river Seine, enjoying snacks and (alcoholic) beverages. Night life is booming as well, with several party cruises available for rental. Our walk concluded at the Eiffel Tower at about 10:15 pm. There are 3 floors in the Eiffel Tower. The top one can only be reached via lift, while one can take the stairs to the other two. Sunset occurs at 9:30 pm in summer, and the view from top is best seen at night. Unfortunately, the gates close at 10, so we had to come back another day. However, the hourly glitter show is unmissable. It is definitely worth a watch.

It is reasonably hard to find good vegetarian food options in Paris. The only reasonable ones are mostly bread and cheese baguettes or margarita pizzas. Surprisingly, McDonalds has a vegetarian burger that tastes a bit like Aloo Tikki burger, and a reasonable goat cheese wrap. We settled for a half baked 14€ four cheese pizza. My curiosity regarding how goat cheese tastes on pizza is now satisfied, I shall not have it again. We returned exhausted and half full.

The next day, we set out to fly on a hot air balloon. On reaching there, we found that there was a long queue for a balloon that was not even going higher than the buildings surrounding it, while standing in the same horizontal axis. None of us were keen to try it out, so instead we went to Chatelet to buy me chappals. I could not bear the sweltering heat anymore. Unfortunately I could not find a cheap pair, and was disappointed to see that most of the stores were the big brands one finds in London. We went up to the basilica Sacré-Cœur. It is at an elevation, and one has a rather good view of Paris from there. The cathedral was pretty, and the village Montmartre surrounding it was even prettier. It is an artists town, with a lot of handicrafts and souvenir shops. We sat in a cosy European style restaurant and enjoyed a 19€ buffet along with some live Edith Piaf instrumental covers. We had apricot and apple juice, a traditional onion and cheese soup, with Neapolitans pasta and sugary jam filled crepes. The soup was heart warming, and a great ending to the day.

On Saturday we set out to go for a cruise. We took the tram. It was more crowded than Lyon, but a comparable experience. Since we were a little late, we roamed around inside the Eiffel Tower region. There is a nice lake there, but it was very sunny and hot. It was also very dusty. This dispirited us and made us hungry. This time, we thought of picking up a meal deal from a grocery store, Franprix. We could not find much, so we ended up with a pack of bread and cheese. We sat by the river in the shade and ate it. It was very enjoyable. From there, we could see how overcrowded the cruises were, and decided not to go for it (a similar cruise in London costs about 3 times lesser). Instead, we went to a patisserie. The pastries and tea were very tasty. I had a chocolate pastry with cream and some berry tea. I am yet to find such a satisfying gooey chocolatey pastry in London. After this, we went to an artisanal chocolate store, Chocolate Alain Ducasse. There were a myriad of flavours to choose from, including raspberry, pepper, orange, vanilla, peanut etc. We were exhausted from walking around, so we went home. We had a dish which comprised of chicken covered in cheese covered in breaded chicken and fried. This chicken sandwich was quite tasty, but I was craving spice. So we cooked some potatoes and aubergine, and I could finally sleep in peace.

The next day, the Paris syndrome hit me. There were a lot of things to do in the city, but somehow I wasn’t seeing much that was out of the box. Maybe I had built it up too much in my head. I was feeling constantly tired, hungry, hot and in need of salt. So my friends took me to a Bangladeshi Biryani place near Gare Du Nord. I ate to my hearts content. We then walked to a nearby park and played a Haunted house game in the shade. After that, we went for my first Escape game. The theme was the French Revolution, and the setup was in Bastille prison. It was quite realistic, in a cold dungeon. We could hear the cries of rebellion in the distance. We were also put in footcuffs, and had to find keys to free ourselves. It was great fun, and we succeeded in the nick of time. We discussed our victory while sitting on the banks of a canal. We decided to go rest, while relishing home cooked Dal Makhni. We ended the day on a high note with some French Mille pastry, that was very creamy and fresh. I think this was one of the days I enjoyed the most.

On the penultimate day of our visit, we decided to do what a tourist should have done long ago : we visited the Louvre. Although it cost 15€, I definitely enjoyed it. There are multiple things of interest in there, including Egyptian tombs, the foundation of a castle with an in built moat, Crown Jewels and a very vast collection of famous paintings like Mona Lisa and Liberty Leading the People. The entire journey took about 3 hours. We were very tired but determined to make the most of the day. We went to Luxembourg Gardens, where we saw 1of 8 Statues of Liberty installed in Paris. We then had to choose between food or climbing the Eiffel Tower. It costs 26.70€ to get to the top, and 10.70€ to the second floor (via stairs). However, we had seen photos on Google, and having seen the view from Sacré-Cœur, decided against it. We went to a South Indian restaurant called Sangeeta which had a very traditional South Indian Thali. I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, their Chole Bhature and Dosa were not up to the mark. We returned with a food coma.

On our last day, we walked from Notre Dame to Bercy Sien station. It is a pleasant walk by the river of the day if not too sunny. There is also a floating swimming pool on a boat in the river, and several cute places to eat along the way. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and could not pick up any food apart from some ice lollies, a cheese sandwich and some soda (which I mistook for water).

I am now returning to London via bus through the Eurotunnel. Although it is a tiring 9 hour journey, but it is quite scenic. The Eurotunnel is the longest underwater tunnel in the world, and is a great experience. Our bus travelled in a compartment of a freight train running through the tunnel at a speed of 150 km/h, about 315 ft under the sea, and I had no clue! I thought the bus was stationary, and only realized something was amiss when my ears popped. What a wonderful experience, thanks to the ingenuity and effort of scientists through the ages.

I am thankful to Arnab and Sarah who let me stay in their house, and gave me their wonderful company, apart from several sightseeing tips. Paris was a bittersweet experience. Indeed, it has a charm of its own, with priority being given to people’s pleasure instead of mere work. In today’s day and age, this is rare. One can remove their daily shackles and feel human there guilt-free. I do think it is a bit overpriced, but there are some unique and lovely things to experience. I might have enjoyed more if I stayed longer or came when it was less hot, but for now, I am happy to say, Au Revoir!