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Le Louvre is a HUGE museum! The square in front of Le Louvre forms a continuous stretch of open space with the adjacent Jardin des Tuileries. The glass pyramid designed by the architect I. M. Peh lies in the centre of the square, surrounded by a few fountains. The pyramid is only the entrance to the Museum; the exhibitions are actually housed in the three buildings around the square. The inside of those 3 buildings is like a maze! What’s there in Le Louvre that draws in so many tourists? First, there’s the famous resident Mona Lisa. Her gentle smile exerts an inexplicable force attracting the trail and attention of visitors who come to admire and lavish praises on her. There is also a voluminous amount of other exhibits that cater for all sorts of interests. My friend spent so much time on paintings, which are unfortunately things I cannot appreciate very fully and nearly bored me after seeing so many of them in such a short time. Luckily Le Louvre was also full of sculptures that inte...

I went to Paris with a friend from 12th to 15th July. Our first point of call was Cathédrale Notre-Dame, purely because we happened to alight at the correct Métro station! Notre-Dame has been standing in Paris, on the Ile de la Cité on River Seine, for over 800 years and took so many years to build (and restore). Its tower also provides a good vantage point to see the entire city because of its central location. I shouldn't waste more words and let the photos do the talking! Tip: Arrive early (preferably before 1000 h) to beat the flood of other tourists and the queue to climb the tower can be long! 我跟一個朋友在7月12至15日到巴黎一遊，全靠我們誤打誤撞，找對了地鐵車站下車，所以首先便參觀了聖母院。聖母院建於塞納河上城中島（Ile de la Cité），已有800多年歷史，建築及後來的復修需時多年，而且位處市中心，登上教堂塔樓便可俯瞰全巴黎景色。我無謂浪費筆墨，不如讓大家欣賞一下相片吧。 貼士／心得：最好早上10點前到達，避開人潮，登塔排隊亦要費時。 The front of Notre-Dame 聖母院正門 The interior 教堂內部 The garden of Notre-Dame 教堂後花園 The decorations on the upper parts of Notre-Dame 聖母院頂部裝飾 Paris viewed from the Tower of Notre-Dame 從聖母院塔樓俯瞰巴黎 Left: The squa...

The best places to experience the World Cup were at the local bars and the Fan Park (area for public viewing). In a normal local bar where I watched Germany v. Italy (5 July), the German fans were all very excited at the start, cheering and chanting all the time. But as the match progressed, the fans became more tense as the local team was not making much inroads. Italy’s 2 goals in the last 2 minutes sank everyone’s hearts as the locals sat stunned in disbelief. Many fans were only in a mood to return home early. The next day I watched France v. Portugal at a Portuguese bar. Although Portugal lost, some of its fans were not too bothered and continued chatting and drinking after the game. What a contrast in the fans’ reactions. I watched the final at the Fan Park. No surprise that the Italian fans were the most jubilant after the win, but the poor Germans were disappointed once again because they mostly supported France and hoped that France would deliver the just revenge. So why did I...