Hong Kong to Paris

Its our last day in Paris, after 2 nights in Hong Kong and 3 here in Paris. Today might be a more lazy day I think, after very full days usually involving long hours walking and sightseeing. It's almost impossible to not go out and try to take best advantage of where you are but the body has its limits! Central HK is something else with its soaring high rise glass towers and street level bustle, ranging from glamour department stores to cluttered stalls and markets. Highlights were seeing the city at night when it lights up like a galaxy, negotiating the crowded streets by foot, tram and subway, and our awesome level 23 hotel room overlooking it all. The whole city is teeming with activity which seems to centre around shopping and barter, including endless hawkers of fake watches, handbags and tailoring services. As visitors, carrying a camera and looking around, we got sick of being constantly approached but noticed it lessened with time maybe as we looked less obvious. We ate in a number of establishments with mixed results. One one occassion we tried Peking Duck, quite a sight as the chef slices and wraps the parcels of small thin rice flour crepes around slices of duck, cucumber and hoisin sauce. Our least successful attempt was at lunch in a more out of the way place with no English speaking staff. They basically gave up trying to get our order and ignored us from that point. Shanti got into one of her mighty mouse rages and eventually we got something, but we generaly expended more calories than received. I have to say what we got was good and that the great array of chinese cuisine on offer is incredible, not to mention the ships with so many inexplicable food and medicine items in them. The other very obvious aspect of HK is its wealth, which far exceeds anything we are used to seeing. The cars are a good example, with ferraris and such exotics in evidence, private chauffeurs and a very visible wealthy Chinese component, at least in the central districts. A tedious flight to Paris, then surprise at the airport where customs took about 10 seconds to stamp our passport and there was no customers procedure we just walked out! Maybe they already have every disease and scumbag there already so why bother to stop more? But it seemed strange. The 50 km or so drive to the city is flat and just another concrete jungle, cloaked in greyness, but that all changes as you enter the main city. It's a white city of limestone buildings, distinctive mid rise rather than high rise architecture and many cobbled streets. It's an old and grand city, and then there are the countless magnificent edifices and of course the great landmarks. We saw Sacre Couer as we drove in, then circled the Arc de Triumph, with the Eiffel Tower nearby. Through it all wound the Seine river. We arrived later evening but headed down the road from the hotel to sit at a crowded sidewalk cafe and have a glass of something and bite to eat. Then back to the pretty little hotel in the continuous line of handsome unseparated buildings that seem to line both sides of most streets in the area. Next morning, but fuzzy in the head so took the easy option and headed to the Eiffel Tower, only a few blocks away. We climbed it on foot (legs still hurt!)for the views of the city. Mon dieu it was crowded with massive queues at every portal. It was teeming. The structure itself seems like a something dreamed up by a kid with a mechano set, but it's much better than that. Perhaps rather industrial and souless, it is impressive in scale and then when you are within it it's quite beautiful with its orderly tangle of steel and the way it soars upwards. From there we taxied to Notre Dame, and then we knew where we were. The church is a powerhouse of history, sublime architecture and a magnet to huge crowds, again. But they flowed easily through the church, and It was a strong experience to walk through it then to circle around the exterior and admire something that would be surely impossible to build today. We wouldn't have the sheer audacity and craftsmanship to put it together. Getting home was interesting, as general weariness or was it meltdown set in. We had decided to wander away from the church and follow our noses through streets and alleys, admiring everything we saw, until someone flicked our off switches and we didn't know exactly where we were. But Shanti fell back on her old trick of asking for directions and remarkably we made it back almost to our door, by bus. Next day was Le Louvre, which we got to via metro and more walking. What a buzz walking into the massive open square that the Louvre surrounds on three sides, and to see the glass pyramids that the square is famed for. The building itself is just another colossal, formidable, palace like building which you see in many directions. This coincided with a bit of a physical low point so for a few minutes, much to my incredulousness, Shanti thought she didn't want to go in. Maybe the queues didn't help, about the time you felt less interest in standing in them. But we went and they moved freely. We headed into Shantis special areas of interest, the renaissance, and we're quite overwhelmed by what was there. The place is a bottomless well of original items throughout antiquity. Kncluding works of art and other artifacts we all know but which have so much more impact in person. We visited the Mona Lisa, where the sight of the throng standing in front of it was almost as exceptional as the painting. But the biggest thrill for both of us was to see Bottecelli, paintings we both adore (and which I associate with Granny Rose), and also the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus de Milo). Tremendous emotional impact on seeing these up close, the Venus quite awesome in its size and beauty. We didn't stay more than an hour or two you just cannot take it all in without becoming a sleep walker, so we headed out meanwhile passing artifacts from the Parthenon, MichealAngelo sculptures, and other suchlike. Arriving outside called for a beer, followed by the bright ideas to now visit the Musee D'Orsay. It was a dreamworld of impressionists such as Monet, Cezanne, Manet, Pissaro and others. It was a hot day and our legs were gone, getting back was not great with more walking and Metro, so we hot bathed and crashed for several hours before emerging about 8 pm to wander the district for a restaurant. Today, our last, we conquered the Metro, finally, and hit the Champs Élysées to see the Sunday crowds and magnificent shops that open on that stretch, whereas most other shops were shut, being Sunday. then on to MontmTre and Sacre Coeur, another superb church particularly with its hilltop location. Impressions of Paris and its people - quite different, cultured and urbane. Smart dressers, but from a casual base, eg a man might have jeans, but then good shoes, a crisp shirt and jacket. Low penetration of Americana, such as sports clothing, pierced youth, garbage take always etc. Girls love the high heels, even when cycling (without helmets). Loads of smoking. Plenty of everyone kissing everyone. Very sociable, gathering in crowds at curbside cafes, by late afternoon. The city itself is exceptional it rings with art and culture on an unimaginable scale. Posters in the subway for Opera, ballet, orchestras, antiquities exhibitions etc etc etc. Not technology mad - we literally have not seen a laptop and it would seem to be the height of bad manners to use cellphone or be distracted from your companions at hand. A great contrast from HK where we saw and commented on even couples dining together without even interacting because they are fully occupied with their electronic devices! Paris has a nice mood, it feels good, and life a pleasure. Many live in apartments in the endless buildings with large doors, lining the streets. Lots of youngsters studying, or at least carrying around drawing boards, a textbook or some indication of an interest. Expensive..... Tonight we are meeting our 19 travel companions for the circuit of France, and we are heading out on what will be our first real Paris restaurant experience. Shanti is lolling in the bath reading some formless book she bought in an airport, which she says is the best way to rest! I'm in bed where I will stay for another hour then it's get dressed up and head out into the night. Tomorrow - departing for Champagne. Sxx