6th-12th June 2006: Paris

Paris Day 1

After checking-in at Copenhagen Airport, I chanced upon 2 other Singaporeans inside the departure lounge. I recognized Jiaqing (aka Don) who was my secondary school classmate, and together with his other friend, Grace (Yan), they were both studying in Lund, Sweden, and had just started their “grand” Europe tour, just like me. Neither one of us had planned to meet, yet we were all heading towards Paris as our first destination.

Immediately after touchdown, we went our separate ways, with Grace, YH, and SY getting off at Anvers where their 25 € per person per night 2 ** Hotel Luxia was located, while I headed towards Ledru Rollin where my 15 € per person per night youth hostel (www.aijparis.com) was located, thanks to Clifton who recommended me the place. With 6 days to spare in Paris, the plan was to spend 3 nights in the hostel, and the next 2 nights putting up with Colin and his girlfriend Kelly at her place in Porte des Lilas. On the last night, I would “camp” out at the airport because Colin would have returned back to his university on Sunday night and I could sense that they were uncomfortable if I continued staying with Kelly without Colin’s presence.

I arrived at AIJ around 9 pm and found out that my 4-bed male dorm had a shared toilet inside, pretty good for 15 €. I thought. LC and I headed out to grab some dinner, and found a kebab place nearby. After we ordered a 4.5 € kebab complete with fries, we sat down and the owner started talking to us in French, asking if we were from China and stuff. After clarifying we were Singaporeans (and him not knowing where it is), this other guy from the table behind us spoke to the owner in French to clear his doubts. Then he turned and spoke to us in English and began an extremely warm conversation with us. He told us that we was moving to Hong Kong at the end of the month and was therefore learning mandarin (which he only started 2 weeks ago). I asked him where he came from and he explained that his origins are Argentinean, but has since moved to Paris for the past 4 years. And now, he was going to move to HK under his company’s support. Prior to us leaving the restaurant, he willingly gave us his contact details (phone and email) and told us that we could approach him if we needed any help in Paris. Amazing! My first impression was thus forged with the help of this young man named Alan.

Based on Alan’s recommendation of what to do in 3 hours by night before the metro stopped running, LC and I headed to see the Louvre by night. We saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and immediately decided to trek there. It was a near regret, because it just didn’t seem to get any closer! Finally, after 40 minutes of walking, we were finally rewarded with the grandeur and shimmering lights of the Eiffel Tower. We took several pictures from below and rushed to catch the last metro back to our hostel.

Paris Day 2

Okay, if there’s anything bad about the hostel, it’s breakfast. The short baguettes provided were horrendously tough to chew, and the jam and butter was placed at a common plate for all to share. LC was still sleeping by the time I finished breakfast (served between 7-9.30am) so I left for the Louvre museum first. If there was one thing (and it was to me probably the only) thing worth visiting the HUGE museum for, it’s for the Mona Lisa, housed in one special room amongst the other gargantuan walls of painting, sculptures and artifacts. We paid 8.50 € and spent the whole day inside, taking just on lunch break outside, at noon, and leaving by 4 after the fatigue of walking just (in and) around the museum. The Mona Lisa was, as others agreed, a tad disappointing, since it was approximately A3 in size, but it deserved all recognition because it was placed against a plain wall with glass encapsulation and a barrier which prevented people from getting too close. Photography was strictly disallowed but many people tried snapping away, stopped immediately by the 3 surrounding guards.

Our next stop - the Eiffel Tower. But before that, we headed opposite to Palais de Challiot for some good camera angles of the Eiffel. We thought we had some time since we decided to climb the Eiffel Tower to witness sunset (around 10pm), so we headed towards the Arc de Triomphe. But along the walk, we got thirsty and started hunting for a supermarket. LC and SY lacked perseverance and succumbed to a nearby café, where he ordered a beer for a couple euros and SY, well, ordered a glass of coke for a remarkably ridiculous price of 3.60 €. Fortunately for me, I found a stall some distance away and went to buy one 1.5L bottle of coke for 2 €, shared between Grace, YH and myself.

Over at the Arc, another interesting incident occurred. I was taking pictures and walking about when I heard two voices shouting “NUS NUS!!” (because I wore the UCC FOH polo shirt that day) so I turned around and met 2 Singaporeans, of whom I introduced myself to. One was called Ian, a 2nd year Engin student living in Sheares, while the other girl whose name I forgot. Both of them (and their other friends we didn’t meet) had been in Germany for a 3-week immersion programme, and were currently touring Paris as well. So you see, NUS really is a global university, recognized all over the world (by Singaporeans themselves that is. Heh.)

By 8pm, we arrived back at the Eiffel Tower, ready to climb. However, we were too late, as the stairways up to the 1st and 2nd tier was closed after 6pm. So we decided not to waste any time, and pay 11 € for the lift all the way to the summit, and “camp” there until duck and sunset. The view? Come on, it’s perfect!

Paris Day 3 - Roland Garros!

As early as January before coming to Denmark, I already balloted for French Open tickets, and thankfully, in late April, after the balloting phase closed, I received word that my ballot for 2 rickets to the ladies semi-finals was successful. Prior to the last balloting phase in March, I told Grace and YH about me spending one day at Roland Garros (RG) out of the 6 days we planned for Paris, with or without a successful ballot. They too, decided to capitalize on my offer and try to ballot for tickets. Fortunately, they also got theirs on the same day - the ladies semi-finals! Despite balloting for the most expensive seats (67.50 €), I was given the cheapest ones of 45.50 €, right at the top of the Philip Chatrier court in RG.

As expected, when we arrived outside RG, many touts were loitering, ready to sell or buy black market tickets, averaging about 300 € per pair! But there was no way I was going to sell “my precious”. Despite hot favorites like Sharapova, Hingis and Hantchukova having lost their singles matches, I was still looking forward to see the pretty 16-year-old Vaidisova (Czech) play against the experienced Kuznetsova (Russian) in the 1st Semis, and Henin-Hardene battle fellow Belgian Clijsters in the other semis. For 5 straight hours, I sat through both ladies semis and the mixed doubles finals before leaving RG around 8pm.

Although I was seating pretty far up in the Philip Chatrier court, the view was pretty good. The steep inclination and close packing (read: little legroom) made it possible to feel the players’ presence in pseudo close proximity. It wasn’t that difficult to see the exchange of rallies, but it was difficult to judge when the shots came close to or on the lines. Moreover, the atmosphere in the stadium was better than that I usually see on TV. I could feel each “ooh” and “ahh” the spectators echoed each time an unforced error was committed, and each cheer that accompanied a clever passing shot or ace resonated through the stadium, applause and all. The next time I get such a chance again, I want to see Nadal play against Federer in a 5-set final (which he won this year).

Paris Day 4

Montmarc and the Church Sacre Coeur. It was that fateful visit early in the day that spoilt the rest of the mood for LC and SY, as they got “conned” by some black assh*les. It’s kind of a long story so I’ll elaborate next time, if I get a chance. From then onwards, their impression of Paris changed forever.

Paris Day 5

I accompanied LC to Louis Vuitton where he needed to help do his friend a favor in buying a denim bag at 460 €, which would otherwise cost SGD$1120 in Singapore. Ridiculous I know! I would never spend that kind of money to buy something like that! But it was the first time we both ever felt like royalty, with the guy asking us if we wanted any drinks after making the purchase. Spent the rest of the afternoon touring other sights in Paris by myself, and photo-whoring obviously.

Paris Day 6

Visit to Versailles and the famous Hall of Mirrors in the afternoon. Saw Moulin Rouge, from the outside only. 100 € was simply too expensive for the show, plus I hadn’t the right date/company to watch it with. I went back to Kelly’s place around 11pm to grab my backpack and stuff, ready to hit Orly Airport to sleep overnight. However, I reached this station called “Antony” at only 1am where the connecting train to the Orly Airport only operates between 6am and 11pm. The moment I saw that sign I was cursing to myself. Worst still, the station staff came to chase me out as they wanted to lock up the station after the last train. I pleaded if I could stay inside and they could continue to lock me in, but they wouldn’t. I asked them for alternatives and they proposed for me to take a cab, which costs around 35 €. So for the first time, I actually camped outside the station, since there was no way I was going to fork out 35 € for a cab after buying a 9 € ticket for the train to Orly Sud. Instead of the streets, I found a nice nook at the bottom beside one escalator and started writing postcards and this blog on paper, trying to stay awake since I had my laptop with me. 5 hours of boredom passed incredibly slowly, as I didn’t want to waste my laptop battery life. Finally at 5.30am, I went inside and awaited the first connecting train to Orly Sud.