Paris stil charms (BusinessWorld)

Published in the November 9-10, 2007 issue of BusinessWorld

Travel Text and Photos by JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Sub-Editor Paris still charms with its museums, churches and romantic views The red flowers on the sills of matching white French windows brightened the otherwise somber facade of sold apartments that rose a few storeys from the smooth, grey sidewalk. At ground level, bar and café owners were hosing down the street while garbage trucks with their universal odor were parked by the cobblestoned road, ready to make their rounds for the day. Sidewalk libraires (bookshops) and boulangeries (bakeshops) were opening for the day. In front of me, a fashionably dressed couple was walking an eager pug while across the street, a girl was riding a scooter while chatting with her dad, who was walking beside her. It was balmy at 9 a.m. on a Saturday in Paris, and on my second of seven mornings in this city, I was beguiled. Paris had always topped my list of places to visit. So when I was informed that I would be going to the French capital for official business, I jumped at the chance and asked for a two-day extension. While the official part of the trip would only take three of the five days I would have in Paris, I knew I needed more time to see the attractions of the city: the monuments, the museums, and the churches. I was fortunate not only to have gotten my bosses’ approval for the extension but also to have gotten my college pal Michelle, who was migrating with her French husband to France after nine years in Los Angeles, to agree to stay with me in the City of Lights for a few days. My first of three hotel rooms in Paris was on the 26th floor of the Concorde La Fayette near La Defense, the business district. From my room, I could see the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte, the highest point in Paris, as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the monument that honors France’s soldiers. That room would later provide me with other views, including a resplendent sunrise and an unforgettable view of the night sky with only a crescent moon and a lone star. Museum tour I had my fill of French art and architecture when I visited two museums and two churches in Paris. The Musée d’Orsay, home of impressionist paintings, was my first stop. Sitting on the left bank of the Seine River, d’Orsay which used to be a train station, was converted into a museum in 1986. It now houses paintings by several artists including Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Gustave Courbet, and Edouard Manet. Inside, there are sculptures, decorative arts and photographs. The building, completed in 1900, still bears traces of its railway beginnings — a giant clock hangs by the entrance and the ceiling is quite high. A central nave occupied by sculptures dominates the ground floor while terraces can be found on the upper floor. The 9-euro entrance fee included access to an exhibit entitled De Cezanne Ü Picasso: chefs-d’oeuvre de la galerie Vollard (From Cezanne to Picasso: masterpieces of the Vollard Gallery). Among the pieces in the exhibit, Picasso’s fierce painting Pierreuse la main sur l’épaule, and his bust called Fou (Fool) were my favorites. Meanwhile, among the permanent works in the museum, I was most drawn to La Nuit Etoilée de la Rhone (Starry Night by the River Rhone). I stood transfixed in front of one of Van Gogh’s most popular paintings for I don’t know how long, and was only jolted back to reality when someone said, "Ang ganda ’no? (Isn’t it beautiful?)" I also liked Ernest Christophe’s sculpture Le Masque (also called La Comedie Humaine). The sculpture inspired Charles Beaudelaire to write his poem, "The Mask." If d’Orsay is the museum for paintings, the much bigger Louvre — home of the Mona Lisa — is the museum of choice for sculptures and its prehistoric collections. The Louvre, which is divided into three sections, cannot be tackled in a single day, much less in the four hours that we had before closing time so we chose the areas we wanted to see. Ancient Greek sculpture Venus de Milo (believed to date back to 130 to 90 B.C.) failed to match my expectations, but the Winged Victory of Samothrace, one of the surviving works from the Hellenistic period (the statue is believed to date back to 220 to 190 B.C.) was the epitome of strength and regality. We also visited Michaelangelo’s "The Dying Slave," sculptures of Cupid and Psyche, and the sections for Islamic Art. Also on display at the Louvre are the Code of Hammurabi from the Mesopotamian antiquities section; a sphinx and an Egyptian tomb from the Egyptian antiquities section; and sarcophagi from the Roman and Greek antiquities section. The Louvre itself is a work of art, with its golden walls and painted ceilings, and if only for this, the 6 euros I paid for the night tour (from 6 to 10 p.m.) was well worth it. The apartments of Napoleon III, made up of several rooms covered in velvet, gold, and glass, were also an interesting display of French excessiveness. Chandeliers hung in every room and the opulent interiors of the grand salon were intimidating, to say the least. Church visits The intricate portals of Notre Dame For my church visit, I went to Montmartre one evening to see the Basilique du Sacre Coeur up close. Arriving at Montmartre at 6 p.m., two hours before sunset, we decided to walk around a little before going up the church. Little shops near the church sell souvenirs, some of which are cheaper than the ones being sold in other tourist spots in Paris. Postcards were sold at almost half the price at the Latin Quarter. Prints of Paris sites, meanwhile were sold three for 10 euros, at around the same amount they were being sold near the Louvre. Thirty minutes before sunset, we set out to tackle the 360 steps leading to the church. When we got to the top, I was breathless partly because of the climb but mostly because of the view. Add to that the way the stained glass windows reflected the setting sun’s rays on the walls. A few days later, I had a somewhat similar experience in the Cathedrale Notre Dame in Paris’ Ile de la Cité. Notre Dame’s frills make it an impressive structure, if not a beautiful one. Images of saints line the walls outside the white church, the most startling being one bearing his head in his hand. The dilapidated side door belied the splendor of the church’s interiors. From the narrow nave that ended in the intricate altar and the stained glass windows that broke the sun’s rays into different colors to the small but striking chapels at the sides of the church, Notre Dame was an awe-inspiring structure. I had wanted to go up the church to see a gargoyle up close as well as to view Paris from what is said to be the best vantage point in the city, but was disheartened by the 3 o’clock sun’s sting, the long queue outside the church which did not appear to move, and the 7-euro entrance fee. Paris by night But one does not always have to shell out cash to appreciate Paris. One of the activities I found most cathartic was walking by the Seine one chilly night. On one side, the old buildings of Paris looked foreboding but on the other, the Place de la Concorde was well lighted, and the Louvre was grand, even in the dark. The river itself was mysterious, and the walk allowed me to appreciate the bridges that run from one bank of the Seine to the other. The grandest was Pont Alexandre III, with its gold sculptures and high arches, but the other bridges, though much simpler, were no less interesting to me. The only problem with walking by the Seine at night is that it might not be safe. The wide road is deserted, and there are beggars who approach strollers to ask for coins. But if one is brave enough to venture out into the night, one can be well rewarded. When we got to the Latin Quarter, we saw Paris alive at night. In front of Notre Dame, people were milling around, admiring the darkened church’s facade. Farther away, young people were having fun in bars. Street performers also provided entertainment all over the place. My favorite was a "headless" accordion player who was stationed near Notre Dame, but the mime who performed to hiphop music was a close second. But like all cities, Paris has its share of ugliness. I had to deal with a couple of rude cabbies and Parisian women who didn’t think twice about cutting Asians in queues. And while the metro was efficient and inexpensive, different odors intermingled to form an offensive subway smell. Paris is also not the cheapest place to visit, especially when one earns in pesos and spends in euros. At an exchange rate of P70 to 1 euro and $1 to 0.70 euros, I had to watch what I bought. The room that I shared with my friend during my extension cost 157 euros a night. It was in a three-star hotel in Montparnasse, and had just enough space for twin beds, a table, and a comfortable chair, though it did have a nice bathroom. It did not help that I was there during the Rugby World Cup. I was told that hotel rooms — and perhaps everything else — doubled in price a few days before the games. But while I might not like everything about Paris, I still adore the city. Despite staying for 10 days, I feel that my Paris experience was still too short. There were still so many places to see, so many things to do. They can, however, be set aside for the next visit. And just maybe, the next time I am in Paris, I will look out from one of those white French windows to see a tourist observing the city as it awakens.

Rolling on the river (BusinessWorld)

Published in the October 12-13, 2007 issue of BusinessWorld

Focus

TEXT and PHOTOS By JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Sub-Editor

Rolling on the river

The sun was setting behind the Eiffel Tower as we entered the boat. A receptionist met us by the door, asked for our boarding passes and brought us to our table near the window. When we were seated, a waiter asked for our drinks while a violinist played classical music on a platform a few feet away from us.

Around us, formally dressed people complete with coats and expensive jewelry, chatted with their companions, ready to have a good time.

We were on board L’Onyx, the first of the glass-covered boats of the Bateaux Parisiens, one of the companies in Paris that offer cruises on the River Seine.

I was with eight other Filipinos and we were taking a two-and-a-half hour dinner cruise that would allow us to see the renowned monuments of Paris in the comfort of a well-ventilated, fiberglass-covered, classy boat.

That day was actually the second time we were there — four days earlier, we were turned away, despite having had a reservation because we were "inappropriately dressed."

The receptionist told us, as we were catching our breath after racing to catch the boat, that "there eez a dress code" and that sportswear, including jeans and sneakers — which were what most of us wore — was not allowed.

When we asked if our outfits could be overlooked, the receptionist sniffed and told us, "no," but added that we could reschedule our trip.

As I looked around now, I understood why I couldn’t have joined the cruise that first time — the ambiance in the ferry was absolutely formal — the table setting, the lighting, the music, even the waiters in their black tuxedos, gave the boat a ceremonious air. Had we been allowed to join the cruise the first time, I would have looked like untended kuhol on a plate of prettily prepared escargots.

The ticket said we had to be there by seven, but the cruise did not start immediately. We whiled away our time by taking pictures of each other, the river, and the buildings that we could see from where we were seated. Waiters, meanwhile, took our orders for the main course and dessert.

But the wait was not long, and soon the canvas that covered the fiberglass windows of the boat were rolled up and the announcement — first in French, then in English — that the tour was about to start came.

The starting point of the tour was the Port Bourdonnais at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and the nearby Les Invalides, the military hospital built during the time of Louis XIV and final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte.

On the opposite bank was the Grand Palais, beside it the Place de la Concorde, where a gigantic ferris wheel and the obelisk made famous by The Da Vinci Code stand.

One after another, we passed the the old, famous buildings of Paris — the Musee D’Orsay, known for its impressionist paintings, and across it the Louvre; l’Institut de France, the home of the guardians of the French language; La Conciergerie, the grand prison where France’s most infamous queen, Marie Antoinette, was incarcerated during the French Revolution; the Bibliotheque Nationale or the National Library, composed of buildings that are shaped like open books; and the replica of the Statue of Liberty, given to France by the American community in Paris to thank the French for having given the famous New York Harbour landmark to the US.

The boat also passed under the old bridges of Paris, the most lavish of which is Pont Alexandre III, with its sculptures of cherubs and nymphs, statues, and gold trimmings. And when the ferry passed under Pont Marie — said to be the bridge of lovers — we were told to close our eyes and make a wish.

At the river’s junction, marked by the Cathedrale Notre Dame, a soprano aboard the ferry started singing "Ave Maria," and it made the church, already awe-inspiring in itself, more resplendent as we passed.
While the cruise offers passengers a glimpse of the beautiful facades of Paris, this was not the best
part of my boat ride. The buildings were often partly obscured by trees or by the concrete structures erected at the banks of the river. It was also next to impossible to take good photos of the structures as the fiberglass that covered L’Onyx reflected the lights from inside the boat. I believe the Paris buildings would be better appreciated when they are seen on land and when one can enter them, because their interiors are as magnificent — if not more so — as their exteriors.

The river and the food

The river cruise, however, made me appreciate the Seine.
While looking down at it earlier from the road, I didn’t see anything special about the bluish-black water or its gentle ripples. But from the boat, the river glistened in the darkness reminding me, for many reasons, of Les Miserables.

There was also one part of the cruise that we passed what looked like a ferry station, and the trees on top of it had flickering lights. We wondered whether the lights came from technology or from thousands of fireflies.

The cruise also offered good food, and choices were extensive. For hors d’oeuvres, there was a choice of foie gras with rhubarb in orange syrup and toasted gingerbread; Caucasian-style smoked salmon with lemon and carrot cream; pastry of pan-fried snails with basil and garlic, creamy pumpkin soup served with Comte cheese and roast smoked duck strips, or garden vegetable and truffle filo bonbons.

For the main dish, we chose from the griddled Arctic char with saffron butter, risotto and nori leaves; pan-fried scallops in walnut breadcrumbs, vanilla sauce and braised fennel; chicken and mushroom supreme, truffle-scented potato puree; knuckle of roast lamb, artichoke and prune flan; pan-fried fillet of beef in red wine sauce; veal steak in herb sauce; and medley of vegetables in parmesan tuile. I don’t know how the others tasted, but my scallops were good.

Dessert was a choice of the following: warm half-baked chocolate and Get 27 sorbet; ice cream Cannele with brown sugar wafer pencil; creamy praline and hazelnut dessert; soft almond biscuit with violet cream and apricot; warm baked apple, served with chocolate ice cream lightly spiced with espelette pepper.

For wine, our table had three bottles of Chardonnay (one bottle for every three people). We were also allowed to order non-alcoholic drinks during the early part of the trip and coffee shortly before the end of it.

It was a nice surprise to find out that after everything we ordered, we didn’t have to pay for anything as these were apparently all covered by the entrance fee.

Bateaux Parisiens’ Web site shows the following rates for the dinner cruise: €95 per person for tables that are not particularly close to the window, €120 per person for those seated near the window, and €150 for those seated in front of the boat with a hostess available throughout the cruise.

During dinner, a photographer took photos of the passengers. Before the tour ended, a lady went to our table to sell us our photos. Most of us ended up not buying. I wonder what they did with them.
As we neared the end of the tour, the music became livelier, and a song about Champs-Elysee, the most famous street in Paris, was sung. It was getting so lively in the boat that I almost missed the Statue of Liberty, which, unlike the other monuments, was not well-lit.

When we alighted from the ferry, most of Paris was already in bed. But the City of Lights continued to sparkle.

While it is considered a tourist trap, I think taking a river cruise on the Seine is something that all first timers in Paris ought to do. Not only does the cruise allow one to see Paris from the river, it also gives tourists a taste of French culture — in the décor of the ferry, in the food that is served, in the live entertainment.

Just a word of caution, though. Beware the wine. It might look and taste innocuous, but it’s the work of the devil. While on the boat, it does not have much influence. But set foot on land and it feels like you’ve been hit on the head by a ton of bricks. Bateaux Parisiens’ menu issues this warning: "consume with moderation. The abuse of alcohol is dangerous for health." It would do well to heed it.

Aside from dinner cruise, Bateaux Parisiens also offers a sightseeing cruise, a school cruise, a lunch cruise and private charters. More information on the company website,  http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/. Other companies, such as the Bateau-mouches, also offer river cruises.