My Holiday

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Enchanting Paris

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years, and in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect Jean Chalgrin died in 1811, and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. During the Restoration, construction was halted and would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1833–36 when the architects on site were Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. Napoleon's body passed under it on 15 December 1840 on its way to its second and final resting place at Les Invalides.

Although Napoleon did not have the chance to march through the Arc de Triomphe with his great Army alive, many years down the road, on 2nd Dec 2008, the next great warriour, Bigboy de' William had led some 30 people and pass through it with victory on Napoleon's behalf.

at the entrance of Palace

some fine paintings along both walls within the Palace...

pic of warrious at the side of Palace...

What is Michael Jackson doing in the Palace???

Palace de la concorde

Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration of the French Revolution in 1789.The construction was only meant to last for the duration of the Exposition, but it still stands today, despite all protests from contemporary artists who feared the construction would be the advent of structures without 'individuality' and despite the many people who feared that this huge 'object' would not fit into the architecture of Paris.Today, there is no such aversion anymore among the Parisians, and one could not imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower, in fact it has become the symbol of the City of Light.

At 8 hectares (20 acres), the octagonal Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is situated between theTuileries and the Champs-Elysees. Viewing Eiffel Tower from a distance can be quite beautiful from here.

at level 2 of Eiffel Tower...

full view of the bridges at level 2 of the Eiffel Tower...

Upon its inauguration in 1875 the opera house was officially named the Academie Nationale de Musique.

The Louvre palace in Paris dates back to 1190. It hosts the Louvre museum since the 1789 French revolution. It went through a restructuring between 1981/ 1997. The famous Pei glass pyramids mark the new entrance to the Louvre museum.

at the entrance of Louvre Museum.

u ought to be shot if you dun know this...

Here is the famous Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci .

golden horse monument...

behind every successful man, there is a woman...

some says behind every unsuccessful man, there are 2

Looking into the eyes of my lover ;D

at Jardin des Tuileries.

oh god! I m so ashamed...

free and easy - roaming the street of Paris immediately after dropping the stuff at Pullman Hotel...

got this great pic directly behind the opera house, beautiful?

hey! What are you holding in your hand?

The Jardin des Tuileries is Paris's most central garden. It connects the Louvre with the Place de la Concorde and forms a part of the large central axis between the Louvre and La Défense.

... white horse monument

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is the smallest of the three arches on the Triumphal Way, the central axis between the Lourve and La Défense. On top of the arch were four gilded bronze horses taken by Napoleon from St. Mark's Square in Venice. The statues were returned to Venice after Napoleon's downfall at Waterloo. 1828 a replica of the horses as well as a chariot were installed as a replacement. Originally a statue of Napoleon was supposed to be put in the chariot but he rejected the idea so the chariot stayed empty until the restoration of 1828 when an allegoric figure took the place of the emperor. It is flanked by statues symbolizing Victory and Peace.

a romantic evening out at the world renowned cabaret - Moulin Rouge

/{*__*}\

My Switzerland Trip

At the Jungfraujoch railway in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland...

The Jungfrau (German: "maiden/virgin") is the highest peak of a mountain massif of the same name, located in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, overlooking Wengen...

Strictly, the Jungfraujoch is the lowest point on the mountain ridge between Mönch and Jungfrau, at 3471 m. It is just above this location that the mountain station of Jungfraubahn is located, Jungfraujoch railway station, which at an elevation of 3,454 metres is the highest railway station in Europe. The Jungfraujoch is often called the "Top of Europe" in tourist literature...

Fighting with the strong wind up at the first level of Jungfrajoch...

no joke, it is rather cold up there and the air was thin too. Out of thirty over people in our group, only 7 of us make it to the top of Jungfraujoch....

thank god! it was not too windy up here at the top level of Jungfraujoch...

Unlike in level one, the weather was extremely kind at the top level of Jungfraujoch...

The Ice Palace - Eispalast Palaris de glace ...

one last pic at the Ice Palace before heading down...

The Kapellbrücke ("Chapel Bridge" in German) is a 204 m (670 ft) long bridge crossing the Reuss River in the city of Lucerne in Switzerland. It the oldest road bridge in Europe which was built in the fourteenth-century...

In the early hours of August 18, 1993, a small boat moored alongside the bridge caught fire and, in one of the most dramatic spectacles in the city’s recent history, the flames rapidly spread to engulf the whole structure. By dawn, virtually the entire bridge had been destroyed, with only the bridgeheads on both banks surviving. The authorities rapidly set about reconstruction, and an identical replacement was completed nine months later – though today it’s still easy to see where the old wood meets the new...

The Lion Monument in Lucerne is a giant dying lion carved out of a wall of sandstone rock above a pond at the east end of the medieval town. It was designed as a memorial for the mercenary soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives while serving the French king Louis XVI during the French Revolution.

posing with a Lucerene sweetie...

lucerene nite view...

interlaken the gate-way to Jungfrau...

Jungfra as seen from the open field of interlaken...

strolling down the street of interlaken...

The famous 12th century clock tower in the city of Bern, Switzerland..

a far view of the clock tower..

at the street directly behind the clock tower..

Kornhausbrucke bridge, Bern, Switzerland..

Nydegg bridge, bern...

an old city of bern...

Albert Einstein's apartment.

This is the apartment where Einstein once lived. No: 49, Kramgasse is nestled in a row of modest low rise residential buildings in Bern. The rooms are now a museum.

The Federal Assembly building was built in Renaissance style in 1902. It has "Curia Confoederationis Helveticae" inscribed on it. The building sits on a cliff edge above the river Aare. The Bundeshaus or House of Parliament, is the seat of Swiss Government. The oldest part of the building, the west wing, dates back to 1856. The central connecting portion of the structure that connects the East and the West wing was completed in 1902.