23 Sept 2009
Paris is a city with heavy traffic, just like what we face in KL. It is not surprising that you would need to spend one to two hours to reach the city of Paris from your home/hotel. 
The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'étoile. Officially, it is the Arc de Triomphe de l'étoile, as a smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel exists nearby. It is located at the western end of the Champs-élysées.
The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.
If you still remembered, I told you in my last post that I would have another chance of visiting Eiffel Tower. Here it was!!! 
The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is an 1889 iron latice tower that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structure in the world. It is named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel.
The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by lift. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.
I have heard about the safety issues in France/Paris. We were always warned to keep an eye on our belongings even when we were dining. You will also be seeing a lot of Africans running their "small" business there (mainly selling key chains) with their 200% "warmth". In order to survive, they really do not mind to go after you until your bus just to persuade you to buy something from them.
Concord Square, its 86,400 square metres make it the largest square in the French capital. Cleopatra needle monument, The Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation, The Invalides, and monuments are situated around here.
Cleoptra's needle monument, is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The London and New York ones are a pair, while the Paris one comes from a different original site where its twin remains.
Although the needles are genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, they are somewhat misnamed as they have no particular connection with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and were already over a thousand years old in her lifetime. The Paris "needle" was the first to be moved and re-erected, and the first to acquire the nickname.
Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation are two monumental fountains located in the Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris. The south fountain commemorates the maritime commerce and industry of France, and the north fountain commemorates navigation and commerce on the rivers of France.
The Invalides, is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museumns and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.
It was about autumn time when I was there. Fortunately I was able to experience Fall Colors here, a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, one or many colors that range from red to yellow.
We headed to Louvre Museum next. It is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century.
Venus de Milo, is an acient Freek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Its arms and original plinth have been lost. Although the Venus de Milo is widely renowned for the mystery of her missing arms enough evidence remains to prove that the right arm of the goddess was lowered across the torso with the right hand resting on the raised left knee so the sliding drapery wrapped around the hips and legs could be held in place.
There is a filled hole below the right breast that originally contained a metal tenon that would have supported the separately carved right arm.The left arm was held at just below the eye level of the statue above a herm while holding an apple. The right side of the statue is more carefully worked and finished than the left side or back, indicating that the statue was intended to be seen mainly as a profile from its right.
The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'étoile. Officially, it is the Arc de Triomphe de l'étoile, as a smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel exists nearby. It is located at the western end of the Champs-élysées.The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.If you still remembered, I told you in my last post that I would have another chance of visiting Eiffel Tower. Here it was!!! The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is an 1889 iron latice tower that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structure in the world. It is named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is accessible only by lift. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.
I have heard about the safety issues in France/Paris. We were always warned to keep an eye on our belongings even when we were dining. You will also be seeing a lot of Africans running their "small" business there (mainly selling key chains) with their 200% "warmth". In order to survive, they really do not mind to go after you until your bus just to persuade you to buy something from them.
Concord Square, its 86,400 square metres make it the largest square in the French capital. Cleopatra needle monument, The Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation, The Invalides, and monuments are situated around here.
Cleoptra's needle monument, is the popular name for each of three Ancient Egyptian obelisks re-erected in London, Paris, and New York City during the nineteenth century. The London and New York ones are a pair, while the Paris one comes from a different original site where its twin remains.Although the needles are genuine Ancient Egyptian obelisks, they are somewhat misnamed as they have no particular connection with Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, and were already over a thousand years old in her lifetime. The Paris "needle" was the first to be moved and re-erected, and the first to acquire the nickname.
Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation are two monumental fountains located in the Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris. The south fountain commemorates the maritime commerce and industry of France, and the north fountain commemorates navigation and commerce on the rivers of France.The Invalides, is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museumns and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. It was about autumn time when I was there. Fortunately I was able to experience Fall Colors here, a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, one or many colors that range from red to yellow. We headed to Louvre Museum next. It is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century. Venus de Milo, is an acient Freek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Its arms and original plinth have been lost. Although the Venus de Milo is widely renowned for the mystery of her missing arms enough evidence remains to prove that the right arm of the goddess was lowered across the torso with the right hand resting on the raised left knee so the sliding drapery wrapped around the hips and legs could be held in place. There is a filled hole below the right breast that originally contained a metal tenon that would have supported the separately carved right arm.The left arm was held at just below the eye level of the statue above a herm while holding an apple. The right side of the statue is more carefully worked and finished than the left side or back, indicating that the statue was intended to be seen mainly as a profile from its right. Below are some of the collections displayed in the museum.
The Mona Lisa, is a half-length portrait and depicts a woman whose facial expression is frequently described as enigmatic. Others believe that the slight smile is an indication that the subject is hiding a secret. In 1911, it was stolen and copied; the copies were sold as the genuine painting. It was recovered in 1913.It is displayed in a purpose-built, climate-controlled enclosure behind bullet-proof glass. It is so much smaller than I expected and yet we were only allowed to see it from quite a distance.
pic: The pyramid
pic: The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid which was completed in 1989
pic: underneath the pyramid
Our next mission was to have the French meal. While we could not afford to have it at the restaurant recommended by the tour, we went for another one located at somewhere near the Opera House Paris in stead. The most outstanding feature of this opera house is its golden sculptures on its roof.
We had difficulties in choosing the best restaurant for the French meal. We wished to taste the best with the same amount of money spent. Yea, we guys always opt for value for money. Since we had no idea which restaurant was the best, we just made our bet on this Sofa Cade Studio since it had the most customers in it. You are right, this was the total we have spent for six persons. 2 appertizer, 6 main course and 3 desserts. Fair enough if you are not taking currency exchange into consideration.
Let me proudly introduce the first starter, Potted goose terrine and cured "Serrano" ham served with a 5/6-inch crispy bread and some pickles, 8 euros. I am not sure if the terrine was made of foie gras (liver), probably just goose meat. I hope it was but personally I do not think so because if it was, I would not have consumed it so easily I guess. Indeed, the texture and the taste told me the answer.
I really like the 2nd starter, 6 Burgundy snails/escargot in their shell, garlic butter, 11 euros. It was a fun to have my first experience to get the meat out using a little special tong with attached fork.
The next one would be my main course, duck tournedos with poached peaches and vegetable delight, 13.90 euros. From appearance aspect, it looked attractive with little colourful vegetables surround the meat. But they were tasteless. The meat was nice but the layer of the fat was too thick,
Finally, it was time for the desserts. French is always well known for their desserts. We definitely would not want to miss this opportunity. We ordered three, the first was this creme brulee, 7.20 euros. It is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel. It was really nice especially its slight crispy layer of caramel.
The next one was strawberry tart, 7.20 euros. The strawberries themselves already looked so tempted that we could not wait any more to make our first bite. Unlike the Portuguese tart or chinese tart that we used to eat, the western-style tart is relatively hard. However, it was also nice, probably because it was fresh to us.
Last but not least, passion fruitee which costed us 7.20 euros too. It looked colorful but wasnt really special.
Reference from wikipedia
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