Paris – Day 3

August 17, 2013

It’s our last full day in Paris. We’ve seen most of the main tourist attractions by now. Wanted to go to the catacombs but we knew the line is going to be crazy. Instead of waking up early in the morning just so that we can make it for the catacombs, we opted to sleep in a little later, go to the local market and look for decent local breakfast. Much to our dismay, the market wasn’t open that day I’ve realised that August isn’t a really good time to visit Europe. Every shop seems to be closed. Everyone seems to be on holiday. And this is pretty consistent in Italy too. So, if you’re planning to visit Europe, avoid August. We found some bakeries and bought a few croissants for breakfast. I was actually quite disappointed with it. It wasn’t buttery, it wasn’t as flaky as I’ve hoped and it wasn’t as fragrant. I’m sure I just went to the wrong shop. I just thought things like croissants are staple French food and should be good anywhere. I was wrong. Anyway, the day was spent slightly away from the main area of Paris. We visited the Père Lachaise Cemetery, home of many famous poets and writers. Oscar Wilde was laid to rest here. As we are travelling with YS’s parents who are use to asian food, we looked for some chinese food for lunch. Chinese food in Melbourne is a lot better, that’s all I can say. After that, we went to the Pantheon. According to Wikipedia, it was “originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve but has now function as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens”. Didn’t know that before going. No wonder Victor Hugo and the Curies tombs are here! We then shopped a little at Lafayette too. For dinner, we went to a Japanese ramen shop that seem to do really decent ramen broth. There is a big pot of soup boiling in front of the shop filled with all sorts of ingredients, including apples, and it looked amazing. This shop is very near our rented apartment and seems to be packed every time we pass by. We decided to give it a go on our last night in Paris, and, it was a good find!

Wanted to go to the local market but only a few shops were open.

One thing I love about Europe? Their crazy cheese selection! MmmMMMMmmm… cheeeseeeeee….

I love how they have traffic lights for cyclists.

I’ve no idea where I took this. But I like this shot.

Black n white suits this photo very much. The water mist made it look a little mysterious, don’t you think?

In one of the metro stations, on our way to the cemetery

This is the smaller entrance of the cemetery at the side.

Père Lachaise Cemetary

Père Lachaise Cemetary

Père Lachaise Cemetery. We were quite fascinated with this tomb. I can’t remember who he was, I only remember he died pretty young. We are quite fascinated with the fact that they actually made the tomb based on him. At the time of his death, to do something like this with that material seems pretty impressive.

Oscar Wilde’s tomb. There were lots of fans there. If anything, it feels as though most of the visitors were there just to see his tomb. I wonder why was his tomb made this way? A fan of his kissed the lips of the statue hence, he had red lips. Loads of flowers for him on the ground.

Main entrance to Père Lachaise Cemetary

Our chinese spread. It wasn’t bad…but it didn’t hit the spot.

The Pantheon, Paris

Inside the Pantheon

The crypt area in the pantheon.

cool stairs in the crypt

Victor Hugo. Wasn’t expecting to see him here.

Victor Hugo’s tomb

Another part of the crypt

Wasn’t expecting the Curies to be here too! I have goosebumps on my hands when I saw this. Excuse my nerd moment.

The Curies’ tombs

Inside Pantheon

Finally, a picture of us! Honestly, the Pantheon has such a “roman” feel. I was surprised to see it in France.

Shopping time at LaFayette! Didn’t get anything for myself. Helped a friend to get his Prada wallet.

Love this part of Lafayette!

Gorgeous dome in Lafayette.

That big pot of ramen broth brewing to perfection. Honestly, I don’t know what it is. May be it’s just there to capture passersby’s attention lol.

My bowl of ramen. YS reckons its the best bowl of ramen he had so far.

And that pretty much sums up Paris! Next stop…… ROME!