So trust me when I say this, but I have no idea where and
how to start. So after an eventful day 1, I knew I was going to be struck by
several amazing moments in the coming days. When I woke up on 16th morning
excitement levels were sky high.
We walked from the hotel to Place d’Italie bus station and
caught the bus to Champs Elysees. Fun fact- people in Paris don’t know their roads.
Technology plays a major part. Maps and GPS do all the magic. We got down at
Champs Elysees and boss took out the map. We were in a pickle about where to go
first. AARGHH! What a feeling it was.
Nevertheless we went up to the second floor and the view of the city from up
there was an experience in itself. Simply spectacular. Well, I wouldn’t say it
was worth the queue though. Kidding.
On one side was the famous Louvre Museum and on the other side Arc de
Triomphe. Since the Eifel tower was just walkable distance from Arc de Triomphe,
we chose the latter. Walking along the sidepaths of Champs Elysees was
definitely a treat to the eye. Souvenir and brand shops consumed the road in
between. The Louis Vuitton head office was another “wow!! Look at that” moment.
We reached Arc de Triomphe after a good 20 minutes’ walk. Well, Europe can get pretty
hot at this time of the year and Paris was hot that day. We took the map and
paved our way forward to Trocadero so that we could connect at Eiffel. Oh
mother of god that was one hell of a walk. Tiring. But when you are do as the
Parisians do. And that’s what we did.
Though we were exhausted by the time we reached the Eiffel tower we got our
self a nice crush to rejuvenate ourselves because the queue to go to the top
was not very promising. The queue was pretty lengthy and it went round and
round and round around the tower. We waited for 3 hours in the mercy of the
shade of the tower. And then when we reached the ticket counter the sign on top
read, “TOP FLOOR TEMPORARILY CLOSED BECAUSE OF OVER CROWDING” 
Hunger had struck me pretty hard by then. All I wanted was
food. And of course, some nice beer. Kronenbourg Biere Blanche came to my rescue along with
lunch by the river with lamb and rice. Yumm
!!Wise men say that when you are hungry, it really shows the way you eat your
food. I gobbled the food down and I was ready to hit the sack for the day. But
the day had just begun. We headed to the Trocadero metro station and got the
train back to the hotel. I must tell you that I was restless that I was not in
touch with anyone back home and the only green side was that the Wi-Fi was
active at the Hotel.
When you have a girlfriend back home you end up doing crazy
things. So I changed into my tracks and headed out looking for an SFR store as
suggested by a dear friend at the bar who I met the previous day. I got to the
store and there was no one there who could speak English. I managed with sign
language and broken English to make them understand that all I wanted was a Sim
card with internet connectivity. Though I paid a bomb (how much, I don’t want
to disclose here), I finally got myself a French number. To my horror the
internet was not active and I cursed myself. Technology has indeed grown. We
chat, whatsapp etc to bring your loved ones closer. But god darn, it all works
on internet.
I rushed back to the hotel and got suited up for an
experience of a life time -Le Lido C’est Paris. We had to contact Marie who was
the International tourism Sales Manager for Lido, thanks to Cashin a regular at
my bar who introduced us to her through mail. Further thanks to my new SFR
connection we contacted her and she was ready outside waiting for us. We
reached an hour early before dinner and the show. Marie was kind enough to show
us around the place. Even the back of the house and also the PDR’s. She popped
a Champagne bottle with us and accompanied us to the privileged seats. VIP
Seats for LIDO for half the price was something unexpected.
We sat down and the dinner commenced with a bottle of
champagne. I went for the kill with the menu ordering the foie gras with oven
roasted peaches which was divine. Followed by Loin of Veal with Courgette, grilled
mushrooms, olives and gravy which was a huge success with amazingly cooked veal and to top it off Pompon
Macaron Bonheur. The show commenced and there were colors everywhere. Artists
gliding and mesmerizing the crowd with moves. Hot chicks flashing their *****
on your face was an interesting start but considering the walk from Champs Elysees to Eiffel tower and the hunt for the sim card,
the lion here could not growl with excitement anymore and went to bed in the cozy
petit privileges seat of ours when the show was just half done. I remember been
woken up by my boss with the words “watch it, I paid through my nose even after
the discount.“ So yes, I did manage to catch the last 15 minutes. Trust me the
show was fantastic but there is a limit to the entertainment a human body can
take. We left Lido and did not want to make the mistake of taking a cab again.
So we didn’t. Instead we enjoyed the street dancers on the way to the Roosevelt
station and got into a metro and headed back to the hotel. I was darn hungry by
the time I reached the hotel, god knows why. I went to a nearby café and
ordered for a burger and fries and coke and that was it. Eternal glory. Mayonnaise
and meat with mustard. May it be in France or may it be in India. Fattening but
oh so good.
Ok , so the adjacent store was a booze store FYI and Indian
mentality is quite strange. When we get beer in return as balance change, we
just take it even if you did not want it in the first place. So yes I picked up
Bavaria premium beer from Holland to wrap up my day.
I got back to the hotel and changed into something comfy. Though
I was tired didn’t want to crash yet so I managed to sip
the perfect brew and went online uploading some pictures on Facebook to make a
lot of people jealous and slept away dreaming about tomorrow which was even
more loaded.
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