Joan de Arc statue at the Notre Dame
My wife and I had a very pleasant holiday in Europe last December. The first stop was Barcelona, Spain for 5 days followed by Paris for 3, London for 4 and Paris for another 2 before flying off back to Singapore. This was our first trip in 7 years to Western Europe's major capitals since 2009 and I had prepared my basic French for the stay. It was well worth the investment, as the French are very proud of their language and even if your pronunciation is half baked, there is the acknowledgement from the locals that you are trying your best in their country.
The Eiffel Tower all lit up at night with sparkling lights
Since the terror attacks in France in 2015 (Charlie Hebdo, bakery, Nice, Paris nightclub to name a few) in 2014 and 2015, the police and military presence in France, Paris in particular is very high. The city of lights is full of immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, the old Communist block countries like Romania, Albania, Croatia and Bulgaria. It is a melting pot of ethnicities, and the city looks gritty. We stayed in a 4 star hotel off Rue Rivoli, on the right bank just next to the Louvre. The main road, which is like the main thoroughfare for shops (Rue Champs Elysee of course, Georges V, Rue St Honore, arrondissements 16 - 17 are all very classy) , honestly looks filthy after a long day. There are hobos, drunks, beggars on the street, pickpockets from Romania (I almost got ripped off twice in the Metro , but we were warned by a very thoughtful local and then were on our guard all the time). The place is teeming with tourists, from all over the world so the Metro is full of noisy babble of several languages, all not French.
Notre Dame on a Winter's Day
Paris has always been a place of grand architecture, and the city's mayors and officials have wisely kept the avenues, and Places free from the glass and steel buildings which are an eyesore of many newly emerging countries. Singapore is no exception, and while the new buildings reflect the sense of development, they are in effect, soulless. The old architecture of the gothic and late Renaissance era has been kept wisely for all the future generations to see.
During the second world war, the German General in charge of the city, General Dietrich von Cholitz,the military governor of Paris in 1944 refused direct orders (a court martial outcome from the Nazis) from Hitler himself to burn the city, and hence its beautiful structures and buildings to the ground when the Nazis were in full retreat in 1944. This major decision and the subsequent saving of the beautiful buildings and Eiffel Tower were the focus of the movie "Is Paris Burning ?" released in 1966 and 1968 (USA).
2017 is going to be a difficult year for many people, including me. So I am grateful for my wife, family and good friends near and far for their support. The trip to Europe was just a way to ease the pain of the struggles of 2016 and give myself impetus and motivation for the challenging 2017 year.
2017 - Bring it On !
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