Paris tour 巴黎旅游

The apparition (left) and Miraculous Medal (R)
圣母显现（左），显灵圣牌（右）


16-7-2912

The Eurostar took almost 3 hours from London to Paris, about an hour's delay. The ride was quite ok but the seat was not very comfortable. It was a new experience for all of us going to Paris by train.

Paris NORD train station is old and congested.

Language is a major concern with Metro and underground train services (no Paris map is available at the station). However, Mei is well prepared in advance regarding train tickets and route to use in going about Paris.

Dragging bags and luggage has tired us down considerably....the cosy and beautiful furnished home-stay apartment cheered us up.

Soon after checking in, we went to visit Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the famous political, culture and religious landmark of Paris.

The grand and beautiful Basilica is situated on top of Montmartre (Mount Martyrs) , the highest summit of Paris. It is an attraction for tourists and local residents because it offers a panoramic view of the whole city of Paris. Crowd usually gathers from late afternoon.

The next morning, all of us eagerly stepped into the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal.

It is an inconspicuous chapel in the heart of Paris. As stated in its official website, "Be careful, though! Some people look for it for a long time, passing back and forth without noticing this hidden place, “a grotto in the heart of Paris” as it is called."

We followed the address, but missed the entrance ... it is a small one, no crowd, no big signboard. It is a lesser know site of apparition of Blessed Mary.

Despite today was the eve of anniversary of apparition, there was no crowd. The Chapel is just 15 minutes walk from the famous Notre Dame De Paris.

It is God's Providence that we were able to visit this chapel and saw the in-corrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure, the young nun who was chosen by God to receive message from the Blessed Virgin Mary. (see Chapel of Miraculous Medal for full story of apparition)

Her body is laid on the right of the altar, where the body of the co-founder of the mission, St. Louise de Marillac is laid on the left of the altar.

I have a deeper understanding of the message of the miraculous medal. As a legionary, we are asked to spread the message and the medals to people especially those who are in need of help.

"O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you".

We attended a Mass (in French) and left to continue our sightseeing of Paris.

As Pauline and Mei has been to Paris before, so me and Mrs Lee decided to join Paris Free Walk Tour ( no charges but tips to be given to the guide according to his/her performance)

It was a 3.5 hours walk to see Paris on foot. We viewed places like : St. Michael Fountain, Latin Quarter, walking along River Seine and historical bridges, Ile-de-la-Cité, The Louvre, Palace de la Concorde, Pont Alexandre III ... on our own, we also covered the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe....

We walked and walked and walked ... almost non-stop covering about 10 kms .

That is the way to see Paris !!

Paris is not that romantic as I have imagined ... and the Parisians (not other places) are not that friendly too. But still it is a beautiful city with many grand historical buildings and structures.

Finding toilets is a big hassle. One needed to pay 50 to 70 cents Euro to use the public toilets (about RM2 to RM 2.80) in train and metro stations.....!

After Paris, our next destination is Grenoble (already posted)

1. Ah Ngao in Paris pictures Facebook

2. Ah Ngao in Paris pictures Facebook






16-7-2012

欧盟之星火车(Eurostar)花了整三个小时，才从伦敦抵达法国的巴黎，比原定时间迟了将近一个小时。旅途还算可以，但火车的坐椅并不是很舒服（我们坐一等舱）。这是我们大家都第一次乘搭火车到巴黎。

巴黎北车站是一座旧而且拥挤的车站。

语言是要乘搭地铁及火车的一个大问题，而找张地图是一件非常具挑战性的事情。幸亏女儿早有准备，时先了解了巴黎地铁路线及车票的购买。

背着，拖着我们的行李，把我们都弄得疲倦了。幸好我们住宿的民宿公寓非常的优美及舒适，很快的就把疲惫忘记了。

马不停蹄，放下行李，就乘搭地铁到巴黎观光了。

我们很快的到了巴黎最出名的一个地标，建在巴黎最高小山上的巴黎圣心大圣殿。这里是法国政治，文化及宗教的著名地标。

圣殿建在巴黎最高的『殉道者山』上，从这里可以鳥览到巴黎的整个市容，是游客及本地人喜欢到底地方。人潮通常在傍晚时分开始集聚，他们在这里与朋友相约，有点在圣殿前端梯级唱歌，谈天，欣赏市容，到晚上还可以欣赏到巴黎的夜景，所以常常都是人挤人。

隔天早上，我们来到了『圣母显灵圣牌』小教堂』 （英文）。

1830年7月18日，圣母玛利亚第一次在这间小教堂显现了给圣女加大利纳，告诉她天主拣选了她，成为显灵圣牌及其讯息的传达工具。

圣女死后，她的不朽遗体目前供奉在圣堂的右边；而在教堂的左边，则供奉着该修会的创始人，圣路易丝玛莉肋的遗体。

我与太太跪在修女的遗体前，把从家里带来的圣母显灵圣牌摆放在地上，向圣女祈求。首先我感谢天主恩赐，能够到此朝圣，并且近距离的瞻仰圣女的遗体。身为一名圣母军，我愿意奉献自己，成为传递显灵圣牌的工具，也把圣母的讯息传达出去。我也祈求圣母，藉着圣女的同祷，祝福这些圣牌，祝福领受这些圣牌的人 。。。

见到了圣女的遗体，就是一个天主的奇迹，圣母的临在 。。。这是圣母给我个人的显现！

我们很受到祝福的能够参加一台法语弥撒，领受了主基督的圣体。。。感恩，感谢。

“吁玛利亚，无原罪始胎者，我们向你求助，请为我们转求”
离开了教堂后，我们继续巴黎游。太太与女儿都到过巴黎观光，所以我跟李太太就参加了『免费巴黎步行观光游』。这是不收费的步行观光，结束后，只需依照个人的喜欢，斟酌给导游小费就行。（当然必须合理的奖赏）

我们步行了将近四个小时，步行了大约十公里，参观了一些巴黎著名的景点，如凡尔赛宫博物馆，巴黎铁塔，凯旋门，爱丽舍大道，协和广场，亚历山大三世大桥等。

巴黎并没有如我想象中的那般浪漫，这里的人也不是很友善，不过确实是个美丽的城市，有着许多宏伟，深具历史性的古建筑物。

在巴黎，厕所难找，在火车站，地铁站，厕所都是收费的，从0.50 至0.70 欧元不等（马币2元至2.8元）。

巴黎之后，我们的下一站是Grenoble 格若坡。(已经上载）

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