Paris

We reached Paris around 8 pm, it was quite cold and we went shivering to an Indian restaurant nearby. A few of us didn't want Indian food so we went to a pizzeria

 Had some wine (Chianti) and

pizza. This is the four seasons pizza that I ate. It was nice sitting here with the group and discussing stuff, I remember the song 'Take me to church' by Hozier started playing and then we started discussing that. Didn't expect to make friends on this trip, even now we stay in touch, so glad I met them. Another fun and tiring day came to an end, got back to our hotel and drifted off to dreamland.

The next day, had some really good breakfast of croissants and peaches with nutella,  and then set out to explore Paris, which has enamored writers for ages.

This was where we stayed, Hotel Ibis Paris Porte d'Orleans, pretty neat place.

 A bridge on the way

Visited the Miraculous Medal church first where mass was celebrated and then proceeded to Notre Dame Cathedral, which I blogged about during my last trip here. 

 Candles burning away inside the cathedral

 The pretty lighting inside

Visited the Sacred Heart church which sits atop a hill. After visiting the churches it was time for the Seine cruise. Paris is hopeful, young and exciting to observe, there are many couples of all ages on the banks of the Seine, just lazing around and talking or caught in each others embrace oblivious to the world passing by. There are groups of friends laughing, groups of hippy teenagers with their boom box dancing away, then there are the fit exercise types with all their toned bodies. Everybody seems relaxed and at ease munching away on a baguette sandwich, it really gives off this liberating feel, watching them... wondering if we had had the chance to be as mentally liberating as them, how our lives would be. 

 Caught sight of the Eiffel and everybody started clicking away to glory 

 This has got to be one of the most photographed structures in the world

 Then our bus deposited us right near the Eiffel, to take pictures. Evening had come and it was time to go back to the hotel. But a bunch of us were restless, how can you stay indoors in Paris of all places! One of our travel companions, her daughter lives in Paris, and she volunteered to take us out at night. So after gulping down some really good Indian food, a few of us set off to explore Paris by night.

Of course, a trip to Paris is never complete without hopping on and off their highly efficient and impressive metro system. 

The quaint cafes that line the sidewalks. we bought ice creams here and ate them as we strolled around this charming city.

A glimpse of the Eiffel at night

The Eiffel looks even more beautiful at night when it is all lit up, and when it sparkles every hour you know why it is the most visited structure on the planet. The people gathered below the tower turned out to be even more entertaining, they would hoot and howl and do all sorts of crazy things when the tower starts sparkling every hour. There was this group of teenagers having a great time on the lawns, when the clock struck 11pm, one of them got up and started striping.. and the others were laughing their heads off. It was crazy fun watching them...