Day 22 From a distance.

We thought we knew of all the great sights of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Musee du Louvre with its glass pyramid, Sacre Coeur on Montmartre and of course Notre Dame. However when we were on the giant Ferris wheel the other day we noticed something else. Perched in the air we gazed up the grand boulevard of the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe marveling at the straight lines with all their grandeur. Then we noticed that the boulevard seemed to continue beyond the Arc de Triomphe to what appeared to be a fairly modern CBD. Tall buildings that we had never noticed before, shimmered on the horizon. After some further research we realized that this must be La Defense, a name that is familiar to us because it is one of the stops on the Metro line that we frequent. Like many others we had wrongly thought that La Defense was an army base, but it is actually the home of a large number of steel and glass skyscrapers, which make up the main business district of Paris.

We decided to check out this unknown part of Paris and caught the Metro No 1 to the end of the line, until we eventually arrived at La Defense, and a station called La Grande Arche. We foolishly wondered whether we would be able to find this arch when we came out of the Metro. What greeted us was an amazing, modern, marvel of French design and architecture. La Grande Arche is two huge 35 storey narrow skyscrapers joined together at the top to form an arch similar in shape to the other, older and more famous arch in old Paris. It was breath taking!! It is actually a huge hollow cube, which has sides that measure 110 metres. The total structure weighs over 300,000 tons and is covered by acres of Carrara marble and glass. Proudly the literature boasts that the Grande Arche is large enough to allow Notre Dame to fit within the cavity but strong enough to stand the fiercest earthquake. A ride to the top gave us an opportunity to experience a huge exhibition area, café, a gallery of freaky 3D art and of course a gift shop. The French never miss an opportunity for a museum and at the top of this grand arch was a small museum tracing the history of computers. It was all a bit too familiar for a couple of 50 year olds. The Mac exhibit was for Richard a record of the last 20 years of his life. Finally we found the outside viewing area for another bird’s eye view of Paris, this time from a different angle. Sadly a persistent fog meant that our view back towards the Arc de Triomphe was a bit limited.

The rest of the La Defense is CBD Parisian style. No cars! A wide central thoroughfare, with gardens and a number of outdoor sculptures linked the business park together making it look more like a university campus than a CBD. Shiny glass and steel buildings circa 1960, 1980, and 1995 and soon to be 2010 almost completed this fascinating picture. We say ‘almost’ because the final wonderment was a huge shopping centre in the shape of a giant concrete aeroplane hanger. Inside was a Hilton Hotel. We noticed guests looking down from their balconies onto some very classy shops. One other detail bought a smile to our faces, on the outside of this building was a huge advertisement for Emerits Airlines showing a giant picture of the Sydney Opera House.

The French continue to do many things differently and somehow with a style like no one else!