Got out of the station and got into a Paris cab that took me straight to the hotel, or shall I say, my petite little abode for the next three nights. Relais du Pre was a non descript hotel on Rue Pierre Semard, a small Paris bylane within close proximity from Gare du Nord (where I was to catch my Eurostar heading back to London in three days). The red door at the entrance and the very friendly receptionist (who seemed like he was of Indian origin!) gave me a good vibe about the place to begin with. I was escorted into my room, a small but very clean double bed with more than adequate lighting, a bathroom with a tub and a french door for a window - quite a different experience. I rested up for a wee bit before heaving myself out of bed and freshning up to set out on a solitary Paris-on-foot expedition. 
It was the quintessential "evening in Paris" experience, and while it was quite a dirty, smelly city in certain pockets, there was certainly something magical about it. Or maybe I felt that way because I have always associated romance and flambuoyance with Paris, among other things. I felt rather light headed and thrilled for no reason in particular while I walked out on to Rue La Fayette, where I walked and walked and walked a little more. After quite a while of walking aimlessly, I got to my first tourist attraction: Église de la Sainte-Trinité, a Catholic Church located in the 9th Arrondisement. The twilight sky made it look near-sinister, but it was a splendid piece of architecture, nevertheless.
I then walked towards the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, the largest departmental store in Paris, which I have to make a special mention of (and pat myself on the back for) resisting stepping in (for obvious reasons!). I continued walking until I found a Metro station. The Paris Metro, I had heard, was a lot easier to navigate through than the London Tube. I found the Tube pretty ok, so I was curious to see how the Metro would turn out. I bought a 3 day pass on the recommendation of a friend, which was the wisest investment I have made yet (yup, seriously). This pass (available at all Metro stations in Paris) can be used to hop on and hop off at will, using any mode of transportation (i.e. the bus, the Metro, etc.) for three days from purchase. Of course, you have to choose the zones you want the pass for, but I wasn't intending to venture outside of Paris city so Zone I was more than adequate for my purposes. Rightfully enough, I found the Metro quite easy to navigate, and had picked up some basic French vocabulary in the last three days too (at the very least to the extent of making sure I could order vegetarian food!). I also had a map of Paris from the French Consulate in Mumbai that highlighted the main attractions in the city. So I randomly decided that I wanted to head towards Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Instead of waiting till I got to Champs Élysées Clemenceau, which is one of the Metro stations right in the middle of the Avenue, I made haste and hopped off at Concorde. By now the Sun had set and it was quite dark outside the Metro station. I wondered where I had landed up - since I had imagined Champs Élysées to be this magnificent and lustrous street lined with shops on either side. Apparently I was looking in the wrong direction. So when I turned around, I was quite dumbfounded at seeing the splendour and grandeur of the Arc De Triomphe staring back at me at the far end of the Avenue, abuzz with people, lights and colour.
Was ravenous by now, so walked in search of a restaurant. Settled for Piza Pino which was right in the middle of the Avenue (what a fantastic location, I say!) and got myself a table overlooking the street on the mezzanine. It was overflowing with people but the waiters did shower a lot of individual attention and made sure that I wasn't feeling left out, being the only one in the whole restaurant who was dining alone that night (eek, because now that I'm back to being around familiar civilisation as I write this, I can't believe how I managed - for the record, I had never eaten alone at restaurants before this trip!). I loved the set meal concept, because it gave one a chance to sample three to four different dishes on the menu as well as some nice wine and dessert. But I skipped the wine for the evening and settled for Evian instead. I also let the waiter take his own order for a change - and wasn't let down at all. He brought me some super fresh salad with vinaigrette dressing for first course, followed by the most heavenly pasta primavera I have ever eaten in my life (with artichokes, bell peppers, aubergines, olives, cherry tomatoes, basil and broccoli). Exceptional. There was, of course, the usual assortment of breads on the house.By now I had reached page number 5 of a book I had brought along to read on the trip (for day 11, it was quite a feat I had gotten that far!!! ;-)) when the waiter came across to me all of a sudden and asked where I was from. When I said 'India' he held my cheek between the knuckles of his fingers, and exclaimed, "YOU ARE SO BEAUTIE!!!" loud enough for patrons on the entire floor to hear (and stare. Aargh!). My face instantly went beetroot with embarrassment - you could say I wasn't quite expecting this. I laughed out loud and believe me, that's not such a good idea when you're so tickled you can't stop! The chocolate mousse served for dessert with chocolate icecream garnished with a rolled chocolate hazelnut wafer was to die for. And no, I am not going to apologise to my body for indulging this time - after all I was in Paris, the city of indulgence (ok I made that up, but what the heck?!).
The dessert must've been called 'Death by Chocolate' or something on those lines, 'coz, boy, was I ready to go to heaven or what...?!
I trotted on the Avenue my heart opened to the unknowns
I wanted to say hello to no matter whom
No matter whom, it could be you, I said anything to you
It was enough to speak to you, just to calm down
Yesterday evening two unknowns and this morning on the Avenue
Two in love all dazed by the long night
And to the Star of Concord, form an orchestra with thousand cords
All the birds at day-break singing for the love
Aux Champs-Elysées, aux Champs-Elysées
Au soleil, sous la pluie, à midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Elysées...
~Joe Dassin, "Les Champs-Elysées"
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