The Lovre

Finally, I got the chance to visit one of the most wonderful museums in the world. I had just heard of it till now. It is the Mecca for an art-lover.
I would say it is one of the biggest, best (both in terms of collection and presentation). However it is also 'manageable'. What I mean is that forget the stories like if you spend 5 minutes before each object then it would take you 8 months to see everything etc etc. The stories might be technically true, but if you spend 5 minutes before each object, you will be insane in a month. However great art lover or artist you may be.. So forget the stories.
I did a small computation on how it can be managed. I have 4 categories.
1. A casual visitor : 1 day
2. An artist with interest in realism (like me) : 2 days
3. An art lover with interest in all visual arts : 3 days
4. A hard core art critic : 4 days (I have no authority to comment on this though)

This is because there are 4 major categories you would like to see.
A. French / German / Dutch paintings
B. Sculptures
C. Early Italian Paintings
D. Objects of art.

So the general suggestion is :
1. For casual visitor: See everything of A, B, C & D as fast as possible. See the star attractions first in each category so that you won't miss any. Still reserve almost full day to see.
2. An artist with interest in realism should see A and B thoroughly. So it takes 2 days. 1 for each. Spend a small time in looking at C & D
3, An general visual art-lover will have to spend another day for C. There is a huge collection of painting of da-vinci, Michelangelo and the contemporaries
4. For hardcore critic, I don't have any suggestions. It might take 4 days for more...

The beauty of the museum is the way everything is presented. Some credit goes to the palace on which the museum now stands. The palace is huge. But the arrangements of room is also simple. The palace is not spread throughout its boundaries. It is constructed only on boundaries of 3 rectangular areas. So once you form a closed loop in a rectangular area, you have covered the whole of that of floor & building. And you will be sure you have covered everything. So no time spent in search for what we would have missed.

Some more tips:
1. If you are a good artist, carry a notebook and pencil with you. Drawing inside the museum is allowed. Otherwise you will really feel sorry later. However also note that if you don't draw very well, do not attempt anything, or you will make a fool of yourself. There is some kind of eliteness associated with the place. Preserve it. All the people I saw there really drew very well.
2. Carry the camera. Especially digital camera. Shoot the pictures at maximum resolution, since you never know which one you would like and would like a big print. The camera removes the need to buy the prints later at the store.. There are some tips regarding taking pictures. Put the camera at the same height as centre of the picture and zoom in as much as possible. No take the camera as far as possible till you cover the whole picture and shoot.. Do not use flash. One thing is it is prohibited. The other thing is flash will spoil you picture. Do not use autoprobe that comes with the digital cameras. It will really disturb anybody seeing your red light probing the picture..
The same tips go for taking pictures of sculptures as well.
3. Remember to get the map at the information desk. It is free and it will be really helpful.

The star attractions: There are some star attractions of the museum that are shown in the map. Search and see all of them they are all great*

*The Mona Lisa :-)
Well I have a huge comment on this that is likely to upset many people. But whatever.. I do have a right to say what I feel. The Mona Lisa is a great painting by a great person. But it is no greater than other great paintings of the same person and other persons who have their paintings displayed. So keep this in mind. You will see a huge crowd near the painting. It is mere star- status of the painting and not the painting itself. So if you are wise, you will spend your precious time admiring other paintings (which are great but not popular) instead of looking at monalisa. The original is no different than the billion copies of it. It is the most popular painting and has been copied with high-quality everywhere. So the poster of mona-lisa you will find at any common store is no different from the original here...

Paris Metro

Paris transport network consists of metro, long distance trains called RERs, the trams (which are actually normal trains. Nothing like the trains on roads) and buses. There is common ticket for all depending on the zones which you would visit. The zones are concentric rings around Paris.
The network is quite huge. Comparable or bigger than the New York metro. It is much cleaner than the new york metros, and general gentry is good. For example, I did not see any bums / beggars in or around the trains and also no rowdy teens.
It is a generally safe transport. However I have been reminded quite a few times by people around here that I should be careful about pick-pocketters. Keep the important documents in the inner pockets of jacket and not in the bag. Always keep the bag close to you and in front of you (not on the back). So it seems there are thieves, but no robbers.
Also, It is important for the visitor to carry his passport and 20 euros (to prove that he is not a bum).

Nothing special about the metro, except that it is well planned. For example, the connecting trains at the connecting station stop on the same platform (ie other side of platform) and you don't have to go and search in a maze for platforms for connecting trains. The seats fold up automatically after you leave the seat (something like the movie theatre seats) etc.
Also, here there is no concept of tokens. There are proper card tickets (with magnetic strip) and they are validated at entry. One thing you need to remember is unlike tokens, you need to preserve the ticket till your exit from the station. This is true for some long distance trains, where you will need the same ticket to be validated at exit (just like entry). Also this could lead to a big bunch of used and unused tickets. So keep then separate to avoid confusion. Also tear-off the ticket as soon as you have exited the station (and maybe dispose it off in nearest trash bin) to avoid mixing it with unused tickets.

For a visitor there are several options on tickets. There is a bunch of tickets available at lower rate. There is a weekly pass and a monthly pass. However monthly pass works from 1st of month and weekly pass works from Monday. So be careful when you are buying the passes to avoid wasting it.

Where is the immigration ??

The air-travel was just as usual. The same boring 8 hrs. The same anxiety to catch the connecting flight on time (and so couldn't get a good look at the airport), and the same confusing telephone booths. I made a fast call to my home that I have reached Frankfurt and am just going to board the next flight. The flight from Frankfurt to Paris was a new experience, since it was the first domestic (will almost domestic) flight in a European country. It was simple and comfortable. No in-flight entertainment and no full-coarse meals. The breakfast was short and sweet, with packets of food delivered instead of a tray. The seats were comfortable and spacious and the journey was only 50mins. (shorter than Bombay - Delhi travel).

I reached Paris and started looking for the usual immigration directions. I could see only baggage-claim and exit. I went to baggage claim, got my bag and went towards the exit direction. After crossing several different escalator I found myself out the airport almost at the arrival area. So where is the immigration ???. Well, later I found out that there was a short check done at the Frankfurt airport and a security person saw my passport. He also stamped on it before I could realize and that was immigration !!!

This is a real shock for people who had traveled to US. Immigration means, a long queue and a moment of anxiety. Here it will be finally decided, whether you can enter the country or not (Remember the tom hanks movie 'The Terminal').

Wow.. only 9 hours in air

The best part of trip to europe (after having several trips to US) is the short and sweet trip duration. The trip is so short that you can manage to do a round trip over the weekend. It is just like going to some place like goa (from mumbai) for a long weekend and coming back.

The jet lag is also managable. I did a small comparison about how it would feel to work after the trip with the jet lag:
A) Going from India to Europe: Even with Jet lag, going to work will be like going late to office and coming home late: Like you may be going late at around 1:00 pm and returning at 9 pm. Nothing new..
B) Going from Europe to India: Its is exact opposite. You would feel like you start very early and finish of very early. Something like starting for work at 7 in the morning and finishing by 2 pm.
C) Going from India to USA & vice-versa: It is like a night shift. Starting late in the night for work (something like 10:00 pm) and you cannot manage anything beyond 2-3 am. The jet lag is severe both ways.

It is always the same.

Experiences while boarding the flight in India are always the same. You book a Qualis / Sumo for the airport, your family comes to see you off, and during those final moments of saying bye, you are on 2 sides of fence. So you don't really get a good time to chat and say bye. Also it is about 1:00 am in the night, so its really hard for both. And just like every other time, it was really difficult to say bye and turn the back, and walk on...

And the packing starts....

The first shock you will get when going to europe is about the baggage weight. Especially if you have been to US of A.
I had almost taken for granted that air journery means two big bags of 32 Kgs each. You would bring in your whole world with you, ship the big bulky items sent by your friends' parents to their respective destination and get back home with lot of stuff in those 2 big bags. But wait.. this was about USA. The rest of the world likes to travel light. No super size anymore. The restriction is on weight and not the size of bag. You can carry anything any-shape, but the total check-in weight is 20kgs !!. I couldn't get anything in except for clothes...

Some Intro

I am posting my experience in my first trip to Paris, and also the first trip to any european country. The trip is a buisiness trip, and so most of the trip is usual office work. But I have 4 free weekends to tour around. Most of the posts will be related that.
I would also post any unusual experiences (culture shocks) both good and bad. .
The culture shocks are with respect to indian culture and some american culture.
Having spent considerable time in america and knowing the big divide between the culture of west and india, I would tend to compare france more with US than with India.