The French Dream- Pah-ree!. Review on Paris

Lemme clarify..Paris is pronounced Pah-ree in France. From my school days one of my craziest and biggest dreams was to go to Paris and to marry a French chef. That came from the theory that french men are the most romantic and French food is the best in the world. So you can imagine my joy when I was sent on an all expenses paid six-month internship to a town called Fontainebleau , one hour from Paris. I stepped on to the land of perfumes, romance, wine, men , food and fashion...with stars in my eyes and excitement in my blood. Paris didnt let me down, not for a second.

Firstly, you cannot see the Eiffel tower as your flight descends into the Charles De Gaulle Airport. This place is quite far from the main city itself. The city as such is divided into Nord, L'est, Sud and L'ouest for North, East, South and West with railway stations for each direction. Gare De Nord and Gare de Lyon are the most important stations with TGV starting from them. The metro system is extremely convenient and efficient. Just get hold of a map, find your station, choose any of the coloured lines passing thro it and determine which is the last stop of the route in that direction. It's really simple. You can also use the bus system but i'm really not very thorough with that.

Beware, You will not find english anywhere. Not even on the cans and tins in the supermarket. Dont ever step out without an English French dictionary , unless you know the soft ,romantic, very puzzling language!

The food. Vegetarians wont get anything even at McDonalds. But the creperie will offer some yummy crepes with chocolat fillings which shouldnt be missed for anything.The small cafe's are charming and for the heck of it, it wouldnt hurt to have a meal. Gare du Nord area is predeominantly Indian and you'll feel like you've been transported to Old Madras. The place is full of indian restaurents, video shops , saree shops and even barbers.And of course, the rates are much cheaper than anywhere else.

The main attractions. The river Seine is just beautiful. A ride by it in the nite would make your year! Eiffel is just okay..the view from the top is quite good. But I'd prefer the Arc de Triomphe. Dont miss the roadside artists next to the Eiffel and please, bargain! The note Dame is also quite lovely and the ambience is very nice.

I must say something about the Louvre. Unless you are a serious art fan, I suggest you follow the map to the Mona Lisa and then go straight to Napoleans chambers and walk out. Just this will take you around 3 hrs..walking fast I mean. So you decide on that!

An hour from Paris is Asterix Parc. All Asterix and rollercoaster fans must go here. The rides are really scary and amazing and the whole place is set up like the gaul village. U might just end up taking pictures on Obelix' lap like I did!

The Sacre Cour church is another beautiful place. Situated on a small hill, I liked this better than the Notre Dame. This area is also great for souvenir shopping as you would find it cheaper here. For those who think perfumes are cheapin Paris, they really arent. Though most brands are from here, the prices are quite high unless you want to treat yourself. Mass buying for friends and family is not recommmended for fellow backpackers. I'd rather suggest the one euro eiffel keychains! But maybe you'd like to pick up a good bottle of wine for your Dad and a bottle of 'Miracle' for Mommy dear.

Finally..some French for the non- initiated. Thank you is pronouced as Meh-see. Goodbye as Auhh-Wah. Be polite to the locals,coz all said and done, they really are nice people!