Paris, a cidade da luz por si só,
já tem um
je ne sais quoi. Ganhando, no
entanto, um brilho encantador no Natal! Desde a iluminada avenida dos
Champs Elysées e seu Mercado de Natal,
às montras dos grandes armazéns no Boulevard Haussmann, como o
Printemps e
Galerie Lafayette. São mil e um os motivos pelos quais a capital
francesa atrai milhares de turistas nesta época.
Paris, the city of light by itself has already a
je ne sais quoi. Reaching however, a
lovely glow at Christmas! From the lighted avenue of Champs Elysées and its Christmas Market, to the shop windows of big
department stores at Boulevard Haussmann, like Printemps and Galerie
Lafayette. There are one thousand and one reasons why the French capital
attracts thousands of tourists at this time of the year.
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| View of the roofs of Paris from the terrace of Galerie Lafayette (photo by Littlelle) |
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| The Eiffel Tower by Christmas time (photo by Littlelle) |
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| Department Store Printemps (photo by Littlelle) |
A árvore de Natal que as
Galerie Lafayette exibem no interior,
enquadrada na cúpula em vidro estilo
arte
nouveau, arrebata qualquer um! Todos os anos a árvore apresenta uma
decoração diferente, patrocinada por alguma marca exposta nessas galerias. As
suas montras juntamente com as do
Printemps, grande armazém da concorrência que
fica mesmo ali ao lado, são um ponto a não perder. Encontram-se ambas decoradas
a rigor para a quadra natalícia com bonecos animados e artigos de luxo.
The Christmas tree that the Galerie Lafayette exhibit inside, framed
in the art nouveau glass dome, impresses anyone! Every year the Christmas tree features a
different decor, sponsored by some brand exposed in these galleries. Its shop
windows along with those of Printemps,
a large department store of the competition that is right next door, are a site
not to be missed. They are both decorated for the holiday season with animated
dolls and luxury items.
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| Galerie Lafayette Christmas tree in 2009 (photo by Littlelle) |
Attracted by all of this glamour, I have
decided some years ago to pass the New Year’s Eve, in French mode, in front of the Eiffel Tower with a bottle of champagne! Since most of the restaurants
on that night were already filled, we dined at a relatives' house. Then we went
by public transportation, that night is usually for free, to the Trocadero! It sounded that everything would
be just unforgettable, and it was, but in the worst way!
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| Subway of Paris (photo by Littlelle) |
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| Subway in an art nouveau style in Paris (photo by Littlelle) |
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| Inside parisian subway (photo by Littlelle) |
Apesar de termos saído
relativamente cedo de casa, às 22h, o metro na zona da Torre Eiffel já estava
entupido de gente. Para sair da estação tivemos de nos meter no meio da
confusão, parecia um rio de gente, não podias remar contra a maré, mas andar ao
ritmo das outras pessoas e ir para onde te levavam. Nunca me senti tão
apertada! O metro de Paris nunca me pareceu tão profundo e claustrofóbico!
Havia grupos de pessoas alcoolizadas a gritar, pareciam gritos de guerra, o que
tornava o cenário ainda mais assustador. Quando finalmente chegámos à
superfície e pude respirar ar fresco, percebi que estava a chover. Ora a majestosa
Torre Eiffel ficou escondida por detrás da imensidão de chapéus de chuva que
abrigava a restante multidão. À meia noite a Torre deu um ar da sua graça com
uma contagem decrescente e imensas luzes a reluzir. No entanto, fogo de artifício,
nem vê-lo! Para não falar que, durante esse tempo, a minha mente já estava a
antecipar que teria de voltar a entrar no metro para regressar a casa e voltar
a experimentar toda aquela confusão e apertos. Depois da meia-noite e de
bebermos a garrafa de
champagne, ainda aguardámos um bom bocado para deixar
passar a multidão. No tempo de espera houve desacatos e a polícia teve de
intervir, comecei a tossir incessantemente do nada. Depois lá percebi que
deveria ser do gás com pimenta que a polícia devia ter usado. Apesar de termos
esperado algum tempo, parece que não foi o suficiente e apanhámos novamente
apertões dentro e fora do metro. Quando tudo parecia estar a terminar, uma vez
que tínhamos chegado à
Gare du Nord
para apanhar o comboio para casa, percebemos que a linha de RER estava
encerrada por uma pessoa se ter atirado para a linha!
Mon Dieu!
Ne c’est pas possible!
Quase que podia pensar em francês nessa altura! Tivemos de voltar a apanhar o
metro e ir para a
Gare de l’Est para
apanhar outro comboio! A estação estava vazia e o próximo comboio só partia
dentro de uma hora!
Although we had left home relatively early, at
10 pm, the metro in the Eiffel Tower area was already clogged with people. To
get out of the metro station we had to get ourselves into the middle of the
confusion, it seemed like a river of people, you could not row against the
tide, but to walk to the rhythm of other people and go where they took you. I
had never felt so tight! The Paris metro never seemed so deep and
claustrophobic! There were groups of drunk people screaming, they seemed like cries
of war, which made the scenario even more frightening. When we finally reached
the surface and could breathe fresh air, I realized it was raining. Well the
majestic Eiffel Tower was hidden behind the immensity of umbrellas that housed
the rest of the crowd. At midnight the Tower decided to show up to the party with
a countdown and many lights glowing. However, no fireworks! Not to mention that
during that time my mind was already anticipating that I would have to get back
on the subway in order to return home and experience all that confusion and
clutter again. After midnight and drinking the bottle of champagne, we still waited a good bit to let the crowd come through.
While waiting there were some problems and the police had to intervene, I began
to cough incessantly out of nowhere. Then I realized it must have been the
pepper spray that the police probably used. Although we have wainted for some
time, it seems that it was not enough and we got again squeezes in and out of
the subway. When everything seemed that it was going to end, once we had
arrived to Gare du Nord to catch the
train to go home, we realized that the RER line was closed due to someone that
had jumped to the line. Mon Dieu! Ne c’est pas possible! I could almost
think in French at that time! We had to go back to the subway and go to Gare de l’Est so we could take another
train! The station was empty and the next train would only leave in an hour!
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| Eiffel Tower by night (photo by Littlelle) |
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| Eiffel Tower on the New Year's Eve (photo by Littlelle) |
Passados todos estes contratempos
lá chegámos a casa.
Et Voilá! Tudo
está bem, quando acaba bem!
After all these setbacks we finally got home. Et Voilá! All is well when it ends well!
Claro que esta foi a minha
experiência, acredito que a passagem de ano em Paris seja mágica para muita
gente. Mas as nossas experiências determinam as nossas escolhas futuras por
isso quando chega a hora de olhar para o calendário para marcar as férias, eu
tento sempre riscar as épocas festivas, nomeadamente o Natal e a Passagem de Ano.
Of course that it was my experience, I believe
that the New Year's Eve in Paris might be magic to many people. But our
experiences determine our future choices, so when it comes time to look at the
calendar to schedule the holidays, I always try to scratch the festive seasons,
namely Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Para além disso, de todas as
viagens que tenho feito, pude constatar que:
- Nessa altura do ano os preços dos
voos e alojamento disparam! Como a procura é muita, uma vez que cada vez mais
as pessoas se encontram a trabalhar longe de casa, os voos para além de cheios
ficam com preços mais elevados.
- Sendo uma época alta, as filas
para os monumentos aumentam exponencialmente…
- As lojas estão cheias de
pessoas que andam a fazer as suas compras de Natal…
- E se tal como eu, gostas de ver
as cidades com a magia do Natal, podes sempre viajar por um preço mais
acessível em novembro ou início de dezembro! Encontras já o espírito natalício
e muito menos confusão.
Besides that, from every trip
that I have done, I can realise that:
- At
this time of the year flight and accommodation prices skyrocket! As the demand
is too much, as more and more people are working away from home, besides the
flights being fully booked, the prices are way higher.
- Being a high season, the queues for monuments
increase exponentially...
- The shops are full of people who are making Christmas
shopping...
- And if you like to see the cities with the
magic of Christmas, just like me, you can always travel for a much cheaper
price in November or in the beginning of December! By then you can already find
the Christmas spirit and a little less confusion.
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| Ice rink on Christmas time in Paris (photo by Littlelle) |
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| Carousel in front of Hôtel de Ville of Paris (photo by Littlelle) |
Isto é uma reflexão minha, claro
que como tudo na vida, depende dos gostos de cada viajante e do que se procura
numa viagem. De qualquer forma viajar é sempre
uma boa ideia!
Desejo a todos um Feliz Ano Novo,
cheio de viagens, novas culturas, partilha de emoções e conhecimento!
This is my reflection, of course, like
everything in life, depends on the tastes of each traveler and what is sought
on a trip. Anyway, to travel is always a good idea!
I wish everyone a happy new year, full of
travels, new cultures, share of emotions and knowledge!
