Paris is not merely a capital city. Paris is an attitude… I am sure Parisians and frequent visitors to Paris would be happy to agree. That certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ is an intangible part of this iconic city's DNA .
I visited for four nights very recently because the ‘City of Light’ seems so much closer now with the direct flight from Chennai. This was my fifth trip to Paris but I was going there after a gap of 15 years. My London-based friend Fiona Goldman joined me. We had holidayed together during my last Paris trip. She arrived by the Eurostar, full of ‘joie de vivre’.
I was prepared for the unseasonable drop in the mercury. Hail to those trusted weather forecasters! The temperature was a chilly - 1 degree C when I landed fresh as a daisy and settled into a cab. The view from my cab window was a landscape of fleece-like snow with snowflakes settled snugly on the trees. An icy welcome to Paris? Hardly! It was picture-postcard perfect.
My trip was a happy balance of revisiting old haunts and discovering new attractions. Of course, paying homage to the iconic Eiffel Tower when it takes on a glorious golden hue at night is a pre-given. I did just that after the Bateaux Parisiens dinner cruise. Since the waters of the Seine were surging high, our boat could not go under the ‘ponts’ or bridges. Instead, we navigated the waters on the outskirts of Paris and we had an unexpected change of scenario.
We passed the impressive Microsoft office building, all the floors lit up. The tech-wizards were evidently hard at work keeping to US time. I could imagine Bill Gates smiling broadly. It’s always fun to do touristy things like posing for a jaunty picture. The boat’s photographer was prancing around trying to capture great angles. As a dinner cruise it was a most relaxing couple of hours. On stepping off the boat, an Indian flower seller gifted me a bouquet of roses. In a generous moment, I tipped him 10 Euros and he got us a taxi to drop us to our hotel. More than the tip, he seemed delighted at conversing in Hindi with a fellow Indian.
When in Paris, a visit to the legendary Lido situated on the famed Champs-Élysées is a must. If I say their show ‘Paris Merveilles’ is spectacular I am being a master of the art of understatement! The Bluebell girls, the feathers, the plumes, the music, the superb dinner… every dramatic note that elevates an evening at the Lido with Gallic flair lives on. Yet there is an infusion of a new dynamism.
We opted for the 3-course gourmet dinner accompanied by champagne before the show. My favourite starter —foie gras —melted in my mouth. After dinner the houselights dimmed.The one and a half hour performance was visually and rivetingly arresting. I even forgot to sip the remaining bubbly. Like us, the entire audience was transfixed. As a show it was extravagant, sensual, modern and daring. On an evening like this even the superlative dinner and champagne came second. ‘Paris Merveilles’ reigned supreme and tantalisingly seduced our senses. On the way out after donning my coat and scarf I could not resist taking a photo with the tres chic mannequins near the entrance.
We returned to our hotel with our spirits flying high. The morning beckoned to a brand new day full of promise …. In Gay Paree
(To be continued)
