A Stroll Through the Streets of Paris - Part 1 / 徒步巴黎之一

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Breakfast at Café Le Bistro

After a very busy Friday at the trade fair MAISON&OBJET, I found myself feeling surprisingly refreshed the next day and so decided to embark on a little tour with my colleagues in the beautiful city of Paris.

To start the day off, we wanted to try out one of the popular local café's in the area, to have some late breakfast / brunch. Paris and it's wide selection of café's, are considered a major highlight for visiting tourists. My definition of pure relaxation is to sit at a table overlooking a busy side road, sipping a petit noir (an espresso) and simply observe the world pass by.

With that in mind, we made our way down the road from our hotel and came upon this charming little establishment called Café Le Bistro just a few steps across the road. A seemingly perfect option for a nice breakfast. There was seating available both inside and out. We chose the former as the weather didn't look all that promising at the time.

The décor within resembled a classical Parisian bistro. Just what we were looking for. The food they served was more contemporary styled, as in not so traditionally "French". However, everything was well prepared using fresh ingredients and turned out thoroughly satisfying. My colleagues ordered a full breakfast which came with side helpings of yogurt, jam, croissant, fresh orange juice and scrambled (or fried) eggs with bacon. So there was no holding on the food back there!

I opted for the Croque Monsieur which is a French bistro classic being a grilled cheese sandwich. Thick layers of ham & cheese, combined with a creamy béchamel sauce drizzled over the top. The taste was out of this world! I also enjoyed a side helping of green salad, accompanied by a sliver of butter and spring mix with light vinaigrette dressing. So good!

Also a special mention about the coffee. It was one of the best I ever had! Rich, frothy and very flavoursome. So people who say “coffee is at the heart of Parisian lifestyle” are by no means wrong, lol. If you want to experience some authentic Parisian café culture like a true local, you need to visit one of these picturesque little eateries.

Centre Pompidou

The weather in Paris was moderate and typically crowded for such a touristy location. There was a brief shower while we were having our breakfast, however the sun did come out shortly after. Feeling quite well-fed and satisfied, we headed over to our first stop destination - Centre Pompidou.

From where we stayed, it was only a few minutes walk from Jacques Bonsergent station (actually not too far from the city centre). Given the sudden but welcoming change in weather, we all decided to get there by foot as it allowed us to enjoy some of the interesting street scenery on display.

(I was quite intrigued to see a building with such a big block of "nothing but wall" and no window.)

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The Centre Pompidou may very well be described as a "marmite" building; You'll either love it or hate it, lol. Though I was quite fascinated by some of the unique and unusual architecture. From afar, it appears as if the building is undergoing some construction work but up close and personal, you can admire it's use of colour palettes and overall wackiness for what is it.

This industrial exterior was designed by a then-unknown duo comprising of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. The architect’s claimed vision was to, in essence, "put the building’s guts on the outside" and colour-code them. Water pipes are green, air ducts are blue, electrics are yellow, and elevators and escalators are red. A serious step away from the norm but exceedingly inventive nonetheless, lol!

The Pompidou is an incredible complex containing multiple levels. It houses not only a modern art museum but also two cinemas, an expansive public library and performance area. The art museum occupies the top two levels; Level 5 being devoted to modern art from 1905 to 1960, including major works by Matisse, Modigliani, Marcel Duchamp, and Picasso; Level 4 dedicated to contemporary art from the 60’s onward; Finally, the mezzanine level is the Children’s Gallery.

The stairwell designs are pretty cool too and the entrance is huge, complete with a massive queue behind it, lol. Having already visited the museum a couple of years ago, I chose to sit outside within the huge confines of the front courtyard, also enjoying a little of the unexpected sun, lol. Last time I was here during the summer months, there were numerous street performers scattered about here and entertaining the onlookers. However not much of that today, perhaps due to the weather being a little colder now.

Notre Dame

After my colleagues and I had our fill, we took a short walk from the Centre Pompidou over to the famous Notre Dame.

The cathedral itself is a work of fine art and looked absolutely stunning in real life. The intricate level of detail on the façade is superb. I find it unbelievable that they started construction on this church in the 1100’s. Some real geniuses were at play in that era!

As an extremely well preserve old cathedral, Notre Dame is a magical structure and a fascinating contemplation into how they managed to build it way back then. I loved it and have always made it a point to return to this grand cathedral every time I was in Paris.

However I'd already had the official tour inside Notre Dame on more than one occasion so skipped that part. From my recollections, the interior had amazing stained glass windows, all skillfully decorated in lavish artistic detail. Taking nearly 500 years to complete, there are so many of these breathtaking artworks strewn throughout. The mosaic-like windows are my personal favourite. Magnificent and mesmerising all at once!

If you haven’t been, I would highly recommend you to go inside, walk around the perimeter and take a moment to admire the architectural mastery encompassing this wonderfully majestic building. A true sight to behold, this awe-inspiring masterpiece is not to be missed.

It came as no surprise to me to see those massive throngs of people waiting outside to get in or just simply staring at the colossal structure from outside. At times, I did struggle to get a decent photo without crowds being included in them, lol.

The clouds began getting darker and darker again. Less than 5 minutes later, it was pouring with rain from the skies once more. We had to run and find a temporary cover, waiting for it to stop. Luckily, it was only a quick 5 minutes shower. I wonder if it's always like this or us guys just got lucky on this day, lol!

The Pont Neuf & Pont des Arts

Apart from the host of cafés to choose from, bridges are the second most common attraction I have seen in Paris. No less than thirty seven bridges span the Seine River which separates both banks of Paris. The fact that the river banks have been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1991, is great.

The Pont Neuf is one of my favourite though. The direct translation of which means “new bridge”. Though rather ironically, it is the oldest one crossing the Seine River. I really appreciate the exquisite build architecture spanning from the late 1500 to the early 1600. Details such as the beautiful stone figureheads running along the sides of the bridge and the equestrian statue of Henry IV at it's centre. With twelve arches in total, is certainly looks the part. Managing to show off some incredible design work and beauty. Something I'm quite getting used to about Paris, lol!

Another reason I loved this bridge as that it was featured in one of my favourite action movies, The Bourne Supremacy. Shame Matt Damon was not on the bridge when I was there! But I really did enjoy a relaxing walk on this scenic bridge. Sometimes, it's just nice place to hang around and watch people, boats and traffic. There were plenty of tour cruises on the Seine passing beneath. Make sure you give a wave as they pass you by below!

In comparison, a more “recent” bridge is Pont des Arts, which links up two of Paris’ iconic landmarks, the Louvre and the Acadamie Francaise. The bridge is actually than the other and provides for some splendid views of the city. The perfect place for a romantic stroll and picture-taking. Some may say that these are only mere bridges used to cross from one side of the city to the other, but I try to see them for more than just their "utility" value. They are both magnificent in their own right and deserve some justified praise.

Pont des Arts (the Art Bridge) may be one of the most romantic crossings over the Seine River. There used to be a certain section where couples had attached a lock on the bridge in a declaration of their unified love for one another! Unfortunately, in 2015 part of the art bridge collapsed due to the immense "weight" of their combined "love". In order to repair the damage and prevent it from happening again, the local authorities had to remove the love locks which totalled at around 45 tons! I can only hope that their bond with each other was as strong as those locks were, lol!

(The famous "Pont des Arts" bridge, also known as the "Art Bridge".)

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Along each side, there are lots of miniature stalls selling various art products like painting, posters and books. Fits the Parisian theme perfectly. The guy above is having a wail of a time!

(To be Continued ...)

咖啡馆吃早餐

周五看完了家具家饰展MAISON＆OBJET， 第二天一觉醒来倍感清新，于是决定和同事们一起在巴黎闲逛，呵呵。

第一次来巴黎的时候我就巴黎的咖啡馆有了挺深刻的体会，了解到巴黎咖啡馆的文化。这里喝咖啡是很讲究的，重点不在味道，而是环境和情调。我们入乡随俗，来到了离酒店不远的一家有特色的咖啡馆“Café Le Bistro ”吃早餐。

这家咖啡馆里面的装修有点儿法式传统的味道，然而他们的餐牌上的食物却富有现代气息。我的几个同事点了个套餐，包括酸奶，果酱，牛油包，新鲜橙汁和培根肉炒蛋配煎饼，看来他们真的很饿，哈哈！

我选择了法国经典的Croque Monsieur，也就是烤奶酪三明治。厚厚的火腿肉和奶酪配上香喷喷的白汁，简直太美味了！他们的沙拉也做得很出色，新鲜的蔬菜再淋上简易的香醋酱汁，简单又可口。

这里还值得一提的就是咖啡，醇正香浓，是我喝过最好的咖啡。难怪喝咖啡是巴黎人最根深蒂固的习惯！如果你想体验一下巴黎当地正宗的咖啡文化，一定不要错过路边的这些小咖啡馆哦。

蓬皮杜中心

巴黎的天气像小孩儿的脸，说变就变。我们吃早餐时候下了一场雨，现在太阳又出来了！我们吃饱喝足，启程去我们的第一站：蓬皮杜中心。

我们住的酒店里市中心不远，鉴于天气突然放晴，大家都赞成步行，也可以更好地观赏巴黎迷人的街景。

从很远的地方， 我们就可以看到一座庞大的覆盖着许多彩色铁管的长方形建筑，这就是蓬皮杜艺术中心。一般来说建筑物的暖气管，水管和电缆线都会被隐藏在内部，然而蓬皮杜艺术中心却完全相反，所有的管道都露在外面而且还被染上了鲜艳的色彩。水管是绿色的，风管是蓝色的，电器是黄色的，电梯和自动扶梯都是红色。蓬皮杜艺术中心就是因为它新颖独特的建筑而闻名。

这得归功于Renzo Piano 和 Richard Rogers两位设计师。他们声称这样的用意是将建筑物的内在物体放在外面并对其进行颜色代码。真是不得不称赞这两位设计师超凡的反传统创造力！

蓬皮杜艺术中心有很多层，它不仅是一个现代艺术博物馆，还有两个电影院，一个广泛的公共图书馆和表演区。现代美术馆占据了最高的两层，第五层主要是从1905年至1960年的现代艺术，包括马蒂斯，莫迪里亚尼，马塞尔和毕加索的主要作品; 第四层是从六十年代以后的当代艺术作品；而 夹层则是儿童画廊。

据说这是巴黎排名第三的参观人数最多的建筑，你可以想象排队进门的人龙一直延伸到门外的广场。由于我几年前来过，这次我就没有进博物馆了，而坐在艺术中心南面的广场上晒太阳，悠闲自在，呵呵。夏天天气好的时候，这儿还会有很多街头表演。

巴黎圣母院

离蓬皮杜艺术中心步行不远就来到了著名的巴黎圣母院。

巴黎圣母院是位于法国巴黎市中心，西提岛上的一座教堂。大家也许是从“巴黎圣母院”电影了解到这个地方的吧， 呵呵。大教堂本身有着令人惊叹的巍峨和壮丽的造型。它沉静，端庄，就像雨果小说中说的一样，“庞然大物，见者无不震悚 ”。外墙的细节非常精致，整个结构也相当匀称和谐，真令人不敢相信教堂是在1100年代开始建造的！

我怀着无比崇敬的心情慢慢地走近并欣赏这座历时180多年建成的大教堂。虽然我不信教，但每次来巴黎，我总会来这儿静静地观赏，而且每次都会有意外的收获。

排队进教堂和上钟楼的游客还真不少，我以前去过几次，这次就没有进去了。在我的记忆中，教堂里面有精致的弯顶，让我印象最深的是色彩斑斓的玫瑰窗和精凿雕刻的神像，处处都充满了艺术细节！爬上钟楼，肃穆的教堂，静静流淌的塞纳河水，这儿绝对是眺望巴黎的好地方。

我很努力地想拍几张漂亮的照片，可惜人太多，想拍没有人群背景真不容易，呵呵。这时候乌云密集，不到5分钟的时间天又下起雨来。我们很狼狈地逃到地铁站里躲雨，庆幸的是不到5分钟，雨就停 了。难道这是巴黎入秋的气候，还是我们的运气太好了，哈哈!

新桥和艺术桥

除了咖啡馆，林林总总的巴黎桥可算是我在这儿见到的第二大特色。由东向西的巴黎塞纳河上横跨着不少于37座桥。巴黎新桥（Pont Neuf）是我最爱之一。虽名为新桥，但确实巴黎最古老的桥。它由西岱岛分别连接两岸的2座独立拱桥组成的， 也是塞纳河上年代最久远且最有名的桥梁。

我很欣赏巴黎新桥从1500年代末到1600年初的精湛建筑风格，桥梁两侧有精致的石头雕像以及亨利四世骑马的雕像，一共有十二座拱门，在塞纳河上形成了一道绚丽的风景线。

我喜欢这座桥的另一个原因是它是我喜欢的电影“Bourne Identity”的摄影地之一。看过的朋友应该记得吧，呵呵。在桥上散步是很轻松惬意的事，还可以闲看过往游船，让人产生许多遐思与感叹，难怪许多艺术家在这里找到了创作灵感！

相比之下，艺术桥（Pont des Arts）更新一些。它连接了巴黎两个标志性的建筑卢浮宫和法兰西学术院。

艺术桥是巴黎塞纳河上最惬意的桥，同时也充满诗情画意。以前许多情侣会在桥上挂个锁来见证他们的爱情，非常浪漫！可惜2015年的时候艺术桥曾因不堪爱情锁重负而部分垮塌，所以当地政府为保护这座桥拆除了桥上总重约45吨的爱情锁。

沿着塞纳河畔散步，途中会经过巴黎人的二手书摊和舞动画笔的画家们，这已成为巴黎最有特色的文化风景线之一！

（未完待续 ...）