Visited the Arc de Triomphe in 2002 and took my picture and left for other sites. This time, I told myself I will do other stuff instead of my picture immediately from the metro station exit.
But, plan changed after helping a Chinese woman to buy Louis Vuitton handbags in this Mega Store few blocks down the road. Helping… yes, no bonus nor trading fund! What an idiot? Well, I supposed the little satisfaction of going into the leading LV mega store to shop and spent other people’s money and having a moment pretending self as real branded consumer was achieved.
Special comment : it is worth seeing how this store attract its consumer that willing to spend so much Euro and willing to queue shine or rain still have much limitations before you can purchase.
One of the must do thing in Paris is walking along the Avenue Des Champ-Elysees. There are lots of café, shopping, designer stores and boutique shops along this beautiful world famous avenue. There may be too many tourist and you can’t feel the real Parisian style, but one thing you could do to see how Paris drivers perform their Renault skills is standing near the roundabout of the Arc de Triomphe and watch how the traffics transformed with the car speed of average 70km/h. From 12 different roads channeling to one round point, crossing each other’s path but still manage to read each others mind without causing much crazy contacts. (At least for the 15 minutes of my car watching, there were no accident occurred). But, it was really amazing how crazy the Parisians drive and how good they were not giving way to others in order to get their way through.
I walked to the Hotel Invalides for metro but did not enter to see the Napoleon’s tomb. Then went to the Center Georges Pompidou where the Paris cross cultural art center located. This is my favourite place!!
The architectural building itself is world class famous and the concept of “turning the building inside out” was superb. Unlike conventional building, this building has its pipes painted in bright colours and became part of the building instead only serving its utility function. You can see the building’s external escalator like a snake climbing up to top level. There is a big compound in front of the building where the street performers attract tourist and local especially on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The Stravinsky Fountain is located just right next to the Art gallery building and its colourful fountains were inspired by the composer Stravinsky’s ballet, designed by Niki de Saint-Phalle and Jean Tinguely. This small hideaway corner with bar and cafes beside the fountains, made a perfect tea time afternoon stopover.
The bookshop in this complex is pretty good and extensive. Although I did not go into the Modern Art Museum, I know this is a place that you can easily spend a day, with cinema, library and performing art theatre. One could easily become very cultural in this Pompidou center!
