When Teetimetales went to Paris, La Ville Lumiere

As long as it looks now, the Eiffel Tower remains the most important image of Paris, the city of light. Photo Basudha Banerji

By Rahul Banerji

You will have seen it in the cinema, in countless photos and illustrations, read about it in a hundred stories, but nothing will prepare you for a first sight of the Eiffel Tower.

From the Trocadero metro station, I was temporarily distracted by the massive statue of the French war hero Marshal Ferdinand Foch, which is opposite the monumental creation of Gustav Eiffel that rises 1,083 feet in Parisian air.

It was when I turned around that the sight of the tower struck like a slap in the gut.

It is all you had presented over the years, and more. At that time, if I was asked to pack and go home, it would not be the least. My trip to Paris was already complete.

Of course there was so much more.

Jim Morrison’s final resting place in the Cimetiere Pere-Lachaise for one.

The charismatic frontsman and driving force of the doors sleep in the largest and most beautiful cemetery in Paris. Photo Rahul Banerji.

The doors (Morrison, Ray Manzeaek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) and their free-spirited poet-songwriter wore us through three drink and marijuana-driven years at the university with Athems Like Roadhouse Blues, Light My Fire, Riders on the Storm And so much more.

Morrison’s songs would remain a fundamental pillar and no visit to Paris would ever be complete without trying to the Lizard King.

The iconic Concorde Supersonic Passenger Jet (registration F-BVFF) who last flew after the tragic accident on Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2000. This Air France version now stands as a tourist attraction on a plinth next to one of CDG’s landing courts. Photo Rahul Banerji.

Thanks to an Air India canceled flight, we arrived in France one day before schedule.

The better half had extinguished her way through Paris a few years ago and wanted some quality time in the Airport Hotel, the Moxy, she had stayed the last time.

The bonus of this option was the proximity of the picturesque village of Roissy and France, a short bus ride removed.

Great location

The CDG Airport Complex is well designed with its three terminals, large parking spaces, a well -used airport hotel complex all tied together by an automated tram service.

Roissy-en-Pole is the central stop on the tram line and has a bus station, more hotels and large stories for relay that everything is in stock, from travel supplies to food and drinks.

Our first meal on the French ground was this fairly excellent burrata nestled on slices of glowing tomatoes and generously topped in olive oil. With thick cut baguette and a few glasses of wine as guidance, it was a good start. Photo Basudha Banerji.

An afternoon bus ride to Roissy, a lazy walk through deserted streets and an inviting Bylane.

We were suddenly with a busy little bistro that served dazzling colorful tomato slices with two thick blocks of burrata cheese. Not French, granted, but the house wine is more than made up for.

The rural part done, it was out and in The city lightThe city of Light, Paris, next and a small flat in the beautiful central 11th district. Our Air BNB -Gastheer Florence was a font of useful information and help, and it was time to sink teeth in Paris.

Paris is full of beautiful bronze, which represents the Republic in a roundabout at the end of Boulevard Voltaire, location in the central 11th district. Photo Rahul Banerji.

Top of the list was literally the spectacular Bouillon-Chartier in Montmartre, one of the oldest such institutions in Paris that provided traditional French cuisine at very affordable rates for an never-ending line of enthusiastic customers.

Bouillons started life as cheap soup kitchens that focus on the working class that have switched to eating halls that serve authentic French food at prizes far under restaurants in Michelin star.

At the Bouillon Chartier in Montmartre Dining with the Oncuchis, on their honeymoon from Japan .. Photo with thanks to Mitsuhiro Onuchi.

So, sitting next to a charming Japanese pair on their honeymoon, we dived into escargots in steaming hot garlic butter and other tandling goodies, leaving my wallet a sigh of relief.

Montmartre, in addition to his fame as the artists’ quarter, is also the home of the basilica of Sacre Couer, who looms over Paris from the highest point.

Recent fame

A relatively recent addition to the French capital and only built in 1914, acquired the real fame in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci -codeAnd is today the second most popular destination in Paris.

However, be prepared for a lung -busting climb.

The basilica of Sacré Cœur de Montmartre, to give the church the formal name. Photo Basudha Banerji.

Well before Sacre Coeur came by, Montmartre was the center of Bohemian Paris and pulled artists from all over Europe and the rest of the world to his winding paved streets, including Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso.

Their spirits are lurking in his picturesque lanes and small squares, not to mention the countless bistros and cafés.

La Maison Rose in Montmartre, who was visited by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. Photo Basudha Banerji.

And to see art at a single location, you can’t do better than Musee d’Orsay, a non -used train station converted into one of the coolest museums that Paris has to offer.

A bird’s eye view of the Musee d’OreDay from the highest point. Photo Rahul Banerji.

Finally, there was my chosen way of transporting along the Seine River that would stop at every destination on the banks who were worth a visit, the Batobus.

With a day -long tickets you can jump on and out of this bare service, but through Golly it gives you access to almost wherever a visitor would like to go to Paris. Loved the fat ducks !!