Oohh !

Captured during one walk down the Champs Elysees towards the Concorde. It was a display at one of the shops.

The street is quite alive even late night.

Location: Walking down the Av des Champs Elysees

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The Sacre Coeur

After my rainy day, I got a very bright Sunday to visit back Sacre Coeur. It was a mini fair atmosphere with the steps to the church occupied by people - basking in the sun, with live performances going on. I nearly spent about 1.5hrs just relaxing and taking in the vibrancy of the place. After this I went inside and spend 1 hr more in the peaceful silence of the church.

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The Thumb

The sculpture is by French sculptor César Baldaccini is quite striking at La Defence and just as you get out of the metro station. I found it quite amusing as it could be interpreted as "thumbs-up" to encourage or all is well, while in some cultures it's a "thenga" as in mocking gesture for not getting something.

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Palace of Versailles

Latona fountain of Versailles: It turned out to be a clear but windy day when I visited Versailles palace with my friend. After browsing the palace we went to the gardens behind the palace. The approach from the palace is quite beautifully laid with number of fountains.

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Notre Dame Cathedral

The facade of the Notre Dame Cathedral - When I saw this from Sacre Coeur the cathedral seemed to be broken and incomplete. However it is not, its a fine example of Gothic architectures. It was a bright day and there was a huge crowd at the entrance. I spent about 20-30mins inside the cathedral in peaceful ambiance.

The below picture is the approach to the cathedral from the bridge:

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The Mona Lisa

Finally I got the chance to view the most famous painting in the world. I picked the first Sunday of the month when Louvre and most museums in Paris have no entry charge, the only drawback being the crowd during this day. I had planned to reach reach at 9am to Louvre, but my friend turned in very late and I watched the line at the entrance growing such that it circled the Louvre Pyramid. After the long wait, as soon as I entered I just rushed to the section where Mona Lisa is placed. The place was all crowded and the painting seemed very small as compared to other paintings and what I expected it to be. Its difficult to appreciate the painting and even give a thought as to why it is so famous. Perhaps it requires a different ambiance and timing and not a crowded day.

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Les Invalides

It was a weekend walking self tour of Paris. The sun was playing hide and seek and so was the rain. I walked towards the Louvre and it started raining. I was near Les Invalides and just went in. I thought it was a paid entry, but it was not. The entry into the building just took me to world war era. The numerous canons seemed to be waiting to fire and the center court awaiting a troop marching in. Les Invalides is also the burial of Napoleon. The golden dome is of chapel Saint-Louis-des-Invalides

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The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower - Finally seeing is believing. Its a huge structure and looks very grand especially during night when the spot light from top of the tower sweeps the city. I got a cloudy day when I could leisurely take a snap of this monument from Palais de Chaillot.

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Grande Arch

Grande Arch: This is a view towards my left from same place as the previous picture.

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Towers of La Defence

I happened to visit La Defence just because I wanted to visit a friend in Paris. I did not have any interest to visit this side of the city given my short trip. However landing at La Defence metro station, I was awed with these high and modern structures which were in contrast to the historic feel of Paris. Apart from these, the place is also famous for Grande Arche. So that is what a business district means !

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Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde: One of the major squares in Paris. The Louvre is behind the giant wheel after the Tuileries Gardens. The full stretch walk of Champs-Élysées is not to be missed for a visitor in Paris.

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La Résistance de 1814

Architecture on Arc de Triomphe: It was a short 3 week trip to Paris and I did not want to waste my weekends. So I convinced my friend to accompany me on a rainy day for walk around famous places in Paris. It was tough to relate to the architectures and the depictions on Arc de Triomphe and all the text around the place is in French. I just picked some shots of the monument and thought of posting this close-up. It was much later from comfort of my home I could get some context around these sculptures. This close up depicts the Resistance of 1814.

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A Rainy Day

It was first weekend in Paris and in-spite of weather warnings I persuaded my friend to get into the city for site-seeing. Sacre Coeur was the first place we visited. One cannot mistake the familiarity of the structure - I could picture the Bollywood leads sitting or running along the stairs with the church in the background in some song sequence.

We got shelter from the drizzle at the entrance and this view was captured. On a normal day a panoramic view of Paris can be appreciated. I hope to be here again on a clear day ...

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Night Walk in Paris

How I badly missed my tripod for this walk. Finally I got a chance to get out into Paris during my hectic schedule of work and bad weather in Paris. Sense prevailed when I picked my camera for this walk. Earlier day was disaster as it was drizzling the whole time.

We started from Avenue Des Champs-Elysees to Concorde and crossed the Seine. This was picked on the bridge across the river. All during the walk in this region we could catch a glimpse of Eiffel Tower with it eye sweeping across the city.

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