France - part 2

So second time round, my affair with Europe lasted a year. I was a student at Fontainebleau in France and apart from studying, I managed to have some memorable escapes.
France itself has so much to offer - museums, opera theatres, jardins (gardens), cafes.

Paris:
My favourite haunt in Paris was Montmatre - the hill leading upto Sacre Coeur. A most artistic alley adorns this ascent and is also home to Picasso's (among others') atelier (workshop). Most weekends at the top of the hill, one could find painters doing their thing around an open air make-shift restaurant and a side of street music.

Montmatre

Quite close by is also an artistic place of a more colorful nature - Moulin Rouge, and oh midway is the famous cafe that 'Amelie' worked at ;)

Another happy place for me was undoubtedly the 'Latin Quartier' (Latin Quarter). Endless restaurants, cuisines, book shops - big ones like Shakespeare's and tiny green book stands with some of the naughtiest ccollections, Notredame, riverwalks, watching cruises of tourists, the Louvre.. whoa. Mouthful.
The Eiffel tower, Arc De Triomphe and Champs Elysses had changed little since my first visit - although Champs Elysses during Christmas is a treat. Look out for the Cartier store wrapped up in red lights and white bow like a huge present. A new place I paid a visit to was Catacombes - a place where a lot of skeletons are tucked away (wouldn't recommend it unless you had a thing for them).

Versailles:
Versailles was a surprise - one can feel the echoes of history walking into the palace. The gallery of lights looked better online than in person, atleast to my eyes. The gardens - huge and peaceful were a whole day's walk. At one remote end was a small 'village' that represented old servants' quarters which I liked most - it being closer to how we folks live today, minus the windmill and turbines and ducks in the lake. A small but busy theatre outside the Versailles walls played 'En Attendent Godot' (Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot') and I remembered my dear partner in theatre (Sid) when I walked past it.

Palace of Versailles

Servants' quarters

Gallery of lights

Normandy:
How can I not mention Mont St. Michel up in Normandy - one of the most beautiful structures on a hill with the city built at the foot of it. Quaint stores line up all the way till the top and it reminded me of diagon alley (Harry Potter). Pilgrims from afar came to this sacred place and it is still one of the top places to visit in all of Europe.

Mont St Michel

Up the Mont

While in Normandy, I also stopped at Omaha Beach facing the English Channel, where US troops fought the Germans in World War II.

Omaha Beach

Giverny, they say, caught Claude Monet's eyes as he travelled on a train. And he loved what he saw so much that he got off and decided to build a house and park himself here for ever after. You will see why when you visit here. Like an earthy retreat, his gardens spread out in front of his pretty pink house (he was an artist c'mon) with green shutters. Walking through the gardens you go over arched wooden bridges standing on a pond with yes - his famous water lillies. There are hundreds of other striking flowers and plants and it is where the word idyllic was born - if you ask me ;)

The house of Claude Monet - Giverny

Champagne was a long, boring ride away and a tiny village at the end of it. I went in a season that is not good to be in vineyards, but it was good to see where the good stuff was made. Some day I would like to go back and rent a cottage for a night or two on that green terrain. On my way to Champagne, I stopped at Reims, another great town, quite developed with many restaurants, urban cafes and bars.
Last but not the least I would touch upon my journey southwards - through Lyon, to Nice, Monaco, Cannes, St Tropez (Cote D'Azur) and back through Annecy and Geneva.
This trip south was a dream. Monaco features in my most favourite places on Earth. I cant place a finger on why - it could've been the sunshine, the sail boats, the bougainvilleas, curved coastline and the most colorful houses tiered up on the mountains.

Monaco

Monte Carlo Casino

Nice, for me was contrast - urban coast line with an old town behind it. One street that deserves a mention in Nice is Rue De La Buffa. Somehow on all three nights we found street parking for free on this fortunate lane :) Parking is a pain all over Nice)
Cannes was a quick stop for photos and the drive to St. Tropez was long and winding and we couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. We sampled some good, new desserts here though.

Nice

Cannes

Annecy is memorable to me because of the shady street on which my stay was. And then a huge wooden door opened into a lane which led to a staircase on the top of which was my attic home for the night. Some experience that.

Annecy

Geneva was a very short visit (half a day) and I saw the downtown, the great watch makers and Jet D'Eau (jet of water). The drive from here back to France was through the breathtaking snow-clad Alpes and Dijon. That was some round trip !

Alpes