Across the channel straight into Paris, we were first brought to our accommodation in downtown Paris admist the freakingly freezing cold, no less.
"Of wood, simple et adéquat" best describe these small shacks, where tired souls retire and weary feet rest... Until an unfamiliarly uncouth mouth threatens to destroy everything peaceful, tranquil and serene...
Quote de la RECCOS (1):
"Eh cheebye close the door leh... " ~ Beng
Victim aka cheebye: Timmy.
Crime: Not closing door, when the cold wind blows.....
Those words coming from Beng, according to Timmy, felt like blessings from a pastor! But it was the first of many signs, as RECCOS €uro 8 would soon realise, how there was 1 rule for Teck Beng, and another for everyone else... And perhaps even a 3rd, just for BerD... LoL!!!
But that's not how we remember France and PARIS by! Hell no! We were soon greeted in the dining tent by 2 Contiki staff (cookies I suppose...) introducing to us, a local delicacy... Behold! La Escargots!
Victim aka cheebye: Timmy.
Crime: Not closing door, when the cold wind blows.....
Those words coming from Beng, according to Timmy, felt like blessings from a pastor! But it was the first of many signs, as RECCOS €uro 8 would soon realise, how there was 1 rule for Teck Beng, and another for everyone else... And perhaps even a 3rd, just for BerD... LoL!!!
But that's not how we remember France and PARIS by! Hell no! We were soon greeted in the dining tent by 2 Contiki staff (cookies I suppose...) introducing to us, a local delicacy... Behold! La Escargots!
Quote de la RECCOS (2):
"When I was young, I like to garrm..." ~ Jase
And we all could see how and why... When cold wind blows.....
And we all could see how and why... When cold wind blows.....
Following the dinner at the dining tent with argubly the best ever scrambled egg (Snake can testify to that!), we were taken on a night tour around the city centre of Paris on our beloved coach. Credits to Contiki, and our tour manager, Ryan (pronounced Reee-AH in French) in particular. Cos out on the night tour in Paris, we were shown the beautiful sights around Paris.
From Napoleon-built bridges marked "N" to cobberstone roads dating back to the 18th century, we were treated to a barrage of Parisan history, thick and fast. Typically, if you were to look left and right, up and down, behind and under you all at the same time, you'd realise that apart from Paris being perfectly symetrical about certain landmarks, they've got a long history behind every single building, every single sidewalk, every single street, every single bridge.
I bet everyone here would agree, KUDOS to Ryan for such an elaborate rundown of Paris. And I particularly loved how he deliberately build up in us our awe of Paris, even conjuring up a lie to draw our attention to the left side of the coach; something about Napolean's right hand general's teddy bear that survived the test of time, still hanging by a window of a building belonging to some military institute (equivalent of our OCS), only to bukake right in our faces, Le Tour Eiffel!
It hit me, it hit me hard. That 1st full view of the Eiffel. THE EIFFEL YOU KNOW?! Bronze structure. Outrageously elegant. Simply magnificant. I dare say we had the best first-full-view of the Eiffel amongst the millions of tourists that visit Paris every year. I will be eternally grateful towards Ryan, for burning such a unique and memorable image of the Eiffel Tower in us, fitting for one of the most iconic landmarks of modern civilization...
We drove around to the front of the Eiffel Tower, past the entrance up towards the Arc de Triomphe, down the famous Avenue des Champs Elysees. A short detour allows us for a quick glimpse of the infamous Hotel Ritz. Following which, we went down towards Rue de Rivoli and through the centre courtyard of the grand Musee du Lourve and finally back the campsite to complete the night tour of Paris lasting approximately 2 hours. The shortest yet most enriching 2 hours of my life imho.
My Thoughts on Paris? Well, these French and Parisians... I'm jealous of them. Honest! So jealous of their city being classified as a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO, I dont even blame them for feeling arrogant about their culture, history and most of all, their city. Cuz if I were a Parisian, I'd be so proud, you'd wish you would never have to meet such a bastard me in my city of Paris... First they have that Eiffel, visible from anywhere around the city centre of Paris. Grand and everything glorious. And then they had that Arc of Triumph - gawd I'm running out of words to describe these awesome monuments...
(Taken from http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Arc/. You can also read more about it at the mentioned webby!)
Yes and that Arc of Triumph. What a monument to commemorate their military achievements under Bonaparte Napoleon. Standing some 50m tall at the Western end of Avenue des Champs Elysees, the arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. Looking back at the map in front of my keyboard now (also with the help of Wikipedia of cos...) I juz realised how the Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe Historique) — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris.
I cannot imagine that celebratory atmosphere surrounding the entire Paris, in particular the area around that very Arc and all along Avenue des Champs Elysees, when the French National team of 1998 paraded the coveted WORLD CUP down that stretch. I wonder how it would have felt as a French and as a Parisian there and then. I also wonder... With those wild celebrations, how many babies were made on that very night... LOLLLLL!
Back at campsite, 4 determined souls - Jase, Tim, mokie and BerD - spurred on by hunger, overcame all odds in the freezing cold to cook 4 packets of Singaporean Maggi curry noodles under the starry starry Parisian skies... What a fitting end to such a brilliant start (official start) of the Contiki European experience 2007. And if I may add... Somehow... Curry Maggi mee at night at 15~20 deg Celsius under those lovely stars >>> pwns your tower, your arc and your Lourve! GOOD NIGHT PARIS! Singapore 1 - Paris 0!
From Napoleon-built bridges marked "N" to cobberstone roads dating back to the 18th century, we were treated to a barrage of Parisan history, thick and fast. Typically, if you were to look left and right, up and down, behind and under you all at the same time, you'd realise that apart from Paris being perfectly symetrical about certain landmarks, they've got a long history behind every single building, every single sidewalk, every single street, every single bridge.
I bet everyone here would agree, KUDOS to Ryan for such an elaborate rundown of Paris. And I particularly loved how he deliberately build up in us our awe of Paris, even conjuring up a lie to draw our attention to the left side of the coach; something about Napolean's right hand general's teddy bear that survived the test of time, still hanging by a window of a building belonging to some military institute (equivalent of our OCS), only to bukake right in our faces, Le Tour Eiffel!
It hit me, it hit me hard. That 1st full view of the Eiffel. THE EIFFEL YOU KNOW?! Bronze structure. Outrageously elegant. Simply magnificant. I dare say we had the best first-full-view of the Eiffel amongst the millions of tourists that visit Paris every year. I will be eternally grateful towards Ryan, for burning such a unique and memorable image of the Eiffel Tower in us, fitting for one of the most iconic landmarks of modern civilization...
We drove around to the front of the Eiffel Tower, past the entrance up towards the Arc de Triomphe, down the famous Avenue des Champs Elysees. A short detour allows us for a quick glimpse of the infamous Hotel Ritz. Following which, we went down towards Rue de Rivoli and through the centre courtyard of the grand Musee du Lourve and finally back the campsite to complete the night tour of Paris lasting approximately 2 hours. The shortest yet most enriching 2 hours of my life imho.
My Thoughts on Paris? Well, these French and Parisians... I'm jealous of them. Honest! So jealous of their city being classified as a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO, I dont even blame them for feeling arrogant about their culture, history and most of all, their city. Cuz if I were a Parisian, I'd be so proud, you'd wish you would never have to meet such a bastard me in my city of Paris... First they have that Eiffel, visible from anywhere around the city centre of Paris. Grand and everything glorious. And then they had that Arc of Triumph - gawd I'm running out of words to describe these awesome monuments...
Yes and that Arc of Triumph. What a monument to commemorate their military achievements under Bonaparte Napoleon. Standing some 50m tall at the Western end of Avenue des Champs Elysees, the arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. Looking back at the map in front of my keyboard now (also with the help of Wikipedia of cos...) I juz realised how the Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe Historique) — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris.
I cannot imagine that celebratory atmosphere surrounding the entire Paris, in particular the area around that very Arc and all along Avenue des Champs Elysees, when the French National team of 1998 paraded the coveted WORLD CUP down that stretch. I wonder how it would have felt as a French and as a Parisian there and then. I also wonder... With those wild celebrations, how many babies were made on that very night... LOLLLLL!
Back at campsite, 4 determined souls - Jase, Tim, mokie and BerD - spurred on by hunger, overcame all odds in the freezing cold to cook 4 packets of Singaporean Maggi curry noodles under the starry starry Parisian skies... What a fitting end to such a brilliant start (official start) of the Contiki European experience 2007. And if I may add... Somehow... Curry Maggi mee at night at 15~20 deg Celsius under those lovely stars >>> pwns your tower, your arc and your Lourve! GOOD NIGHT PARIS! Singapore 1 - Paris 0!
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