Impressions of Paris

I visited Paris nearly 8 years back - I found these notes while going through some old photographs - these were written by me immediately after the visit.
I have been conscious to not edit the original notes - to me , they provide an insight into 'me' as I was at that time...:-)

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Arrived in Paris at 10:30 hrs local time after a short journey from London by Eurostar.Our first destination in Paris was the magnificent Eiffel tower. How could we visit another monument before paying homage at the feet of the towering engineering marvel? From the moment we laid our eyes on it, it became difficult to look elsewhere. The arching base, the curving body the pointed tip - our eyes roamed from one facet to another. I am still unable to fathom the secret of it's charm - is it the sheer size (1052 feet), the perfect symmetry, the unique shape or the brain behind it all - I do not know. We travelled up the marvel only to appreciate another marvel - none other than the home of Eiffel - PARIS. I have not seen a better bird's eye view - there is not a single discordant note to disturb the uniformity of architecture across the length and the breadth of the city - the glass skyscrapers of one of the world's most modern city manage to blend superbly with beautiful 18Th century architecture of stone walled buildings and tree lined estates. After spending half a day romancing the tower of towers, we finally pulled ourselves away at 17:30 hrs. After all the excitement of the day, what was needed was a tranquil cruise on the serene Seine - drinking in the beauty and history that was written on it's banks over several centuries.
The next day dawned with us visiting the Notredam cathedral - what exquisite sculpting and carving ! The high stained glass windows are a thing of beauty.
After saying a short prayer - we moved on to explore the Louvre. The Roman look of the exteriors of the palace took us by surprise - a step inside the huge towering entrance took us back several centuries - a time of mighty kings and magnificent palaces. The palace - an architectural splendour in itself today houses most of the greatest artistic splendours of the day - the sculptures of Michaelangelo, the paintings of LeonardoDaVinci. I cannot really say anything that has not already been said about Monalisa's mysterious beauty. I must say though that some of her not so well known companions in the gallery are no less stunning. One does not need to be an avid art lover to appreciate their beauty.
From the Louvre we tread the path to the magnificent 'Arc DE Triumph' It's eternal pyre is a commemoration to the warriors of the first world war.
With the clock ticking hastily towards our time of departure from the city, we rushed to 'Sacreceur' - a beautiful temple atop a hill.
The final few hours in Paris were spent shopping - not at all an easy task - when there are so many beauties to choose from. We got on to the Eurostar at 8:00 pm with eyes full of images - captured to remain for a long long time....