Friday, November 28, 2008

5 November, 2007







I did not do much on Saturday and stayed in the hotel room

Sunday morning, I went to Paris in a train. Took the train to Paris and took metro to the Louvre (National Museum in Paris). It was wonderful. I took pictures of the Pyramid and Mona Lisa and last supper and a lot of other paintings and sculptures.
I reached the Louvre at 11 AM and was roaming inside till 4:30 PM. Then I reached the metro station which is quite close (we exit Louvre from under the ground and we are in the metro station). The main entrance to the Louver is of course on the ground and is a wonderful feeling going down below the pyramid.

I took the metro again to one of the train stations in Paris and then starts the adventure (though I am yet clue less).

I took a train to Evry from platform one on RER D line. (RER D is the name of one of the train lines. You have names like RER A, B, C and so on). I reached a station after 45 minutes and realized that just after ‘Juvisy’ (spelling might be wrong. This is a station on the route), there came another station that is not in the route. That is when I realized, that like Satish I had taken the wrong train. I had to come to Evry Courcouronnes while I boarded the train to Evry. Now, I am a brave girl in a foreign country and got down at the next station in my line (of course I had the map) which is two stations ahead of Evry Courcouronnes and boarded a train back with the help of an African girl who was in a hurry and couldn’t accompany me to my destination!!! And did I tell you, the trains in Paris are double Decker and that the sub-urbs of Paris are filled with not so good people loitering on the roads and in stations after dark! Well, the lower compartment was deserted and a very few people were sitting in the upper deck (and they looked like the not-so-good people) and I was getting scared. There was another little girl (may be 10 years old) with me who lives in Evry Courcouronnes and does not speak English. Now this girl is also getting scared and so am I. and the train unusually took twenty minutes to reach my place (normally it takes 3-4 minutes). And we got off the train and the men asked the girl in French if she was getting scared and laughed and she gave a meek smile (of course, they were not bad people but you never know in a foreign country) and I came out with the girl. And of course, how can I not make a second mistake! I came out of the other entrance I had never seen and now I do not know the route to my hotel :O

And I met this couple (whom I suspected but they turned out to be good) who walked me to “All Seasons” (the hotel I stayed in for my first week in Paris). From there I know the route to IBIS, but, it is a Sunday and the roads are deserted and I am scared again. Someone on the road greeted me with their usual Bonjour or Bonsoir (I couldn’t make out) and I started to walk faster and I am still 10 minutes away from IBIS and there is an empty stretch of land on the way!!! Oh God! Am I going to reach the hotel safe with my passport, Euros and bank card, or at least safe and with my passport!! I did :) and I am in office today and writing to you all after lunch.

Bonsoir!

Merci beaucoup de lecture :P

Background picture courtesy: Sudeendra Chitta

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