Where is 4th arrondissement situated?

Tall and slender and it turns heads! La Tour Saint-Jacques of the Saint-Jacques Tower is an interesting monment that we came along while we were on foot to see the "Hotel de Ville". Surely, it did catch my attention. Curious as I am, I naturally took photos but it was a thin structure yet tall and it was very tricky to capture it all. I thought it was the "Place du Châtelet" but I later learned that it was actually the "Tour Saint-Jacques" of the "Saint Jacques Tower". What's Interesting? The structure and the way it invites the passers or the interested to view it.


The first image below, I tried my best to capture the whole edifice but with its height and the traffic, I could no perfect it. See a better one below (not mine)...

The best I could do with my photo camera...:)

Saint-Jacques Tower or locally called the “Tour Saint-Jacques” is a monument located in the 4^th arrondissement of Paris, in France. This slender structure measures 52 metres in height (171 ft). According to Wikipedia, it is a “Flamboyant Gothic tower” the not much remains of the former 16th century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie or "Saint James of the butchery" in English which was leveled abruptly after the French Revolution.

Lovely angle, this photo I found from Google images for Tour Saint-Jacques... It also captured
the nearby Parisian "normal" buildings.... those soooo expensive apartments...

The Pinnacle sculpture of the Structure... Lovely design/art/architecture/sculpture, right?

How long do you think you are staying in Paris? One day? 3 days or 5 days? It does not matter! If you want to move freely around Paris with Public transportation, there are no worries. One convenient way to move around Paris is with the Paris Visite Pass. Paris VisitePass is a travel card pass allowing users to access and utilize all the public transport services in the city. Personally, I find Paris Visite Pass one of the best ways to get around Paris and its nearby areas. It depends however on each one's inclination and plan.

If one has to buy the ticket everytime, a single 3-zone ticket, if I remember good, costs around Eur 1,70 while a "carnet" of 10 tickets costs Eur 12. Thus, if you have to only go back and forth once, Paris Visite Pass is not economical. However, if you would like to move anywhere in the area freely, this card is good. The Paris Visite pass consists of a travelcard and its ticket. It provides unlimited rides on the transport system of the Île-de-France region: Metro, RER (express regional trains), bus, tramway, suburban Transilien SNCF trains, funiculaire de Montmartre, Montmartrobus, Noctambus, Optile bus system,within a given fare zone (from 1-3, 1-6). It is good from the first day of use (not from the date of purchase) until the last consecutive day. You may buy Paris Visite in advance and save time avoiding last minute lines and this can be bought in Metro stations (ours we had it from the service booth) but I assume the ticket vending machines have this too (not so sure).

ASIDE FROM METRO STATIONS, WHERE ELSE INTERESTED USERS MAY BUY PARIS VISITE PASS?
Paris Visite Pass are also available and may be purchased in all Paris RER, Transilien SNCF stations, bus terminal ticket counters, RATP Boutiques, RATP sales desks at Orly and CDG airports and Paris tourist offices. One can also buy the pass in certain travel agencies and tour operators abroad.

Rates in euros for the Paris Visite Pass

ADVANTAGES of Paris Visite Pass?

1. Convenient for travelers

2. Prices are in package, the more days, the cheaper per day

3. Dynamic, can be used in many ways, trams, metro, RER, etc.

4. Practical and saves time: no need to buy individual ticket everytime

DISADVANTAGES of Paris Visite Pass?

1. If the user plans to travel once or twice in one of the days i between, it's not refundable

2. In case of loss, you lost the entire amount you spent!

3. It counts the day, not the number of hours (1 day is 24 hours)

4. Mine expiredat 10PM (not midnight) and I was blocked in the Metro for this! Of course you can always complain to the service desk if they are still open.


Below is the specimen Paris Visite Pass from My Recent Trip to Paris
Basically, the card contains the necessary information about the Paris Visite Pass and its usage in five (5) different languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Isn't it very smart to have all these langauges? In fact, you can also write your name in one of the folds of the card of Paris Visite Pass. One part of the fold contains a mini-pocket where the more valuable part of the Paris Visite Pass can be inserted: the magnetic tape pass itself.

Below is the pocket-like fold of the Paris Visite Pass where the user can insert the magnetic tape pass. I found it very useful because the card is thicker, bigger (easier to find inside one's purse or bag) and it also contains the information that's useful in case I forget. It is very good for safe-keeping purposes also.

The reverse side of the pass with the magnetic tape.This is what users use to enable the station doors to open. This is very important, don't lose it!

Vienna...vienna! I was there for 2 days for work/business reasons, not as a tourist. However, if one is in a place, no one can actually close that person' eyes, nor kill that person's tastebuds, nor make that person deaf, right? Thus, despite the fact that my main purpose there was to work, in the morning, from my hotel to the office, I took the public transport and I tried to act and to live like a local! The hotel where I stayed is actually very near to the office, around 1900 meters but I like to seethe city how a normal Wiener (i dunno if this is the right term) sees it. Thus, instead of walking, I actually took 3 trams to arrive to my work! I liked it. It was simple for the tram line 1 and tram line D. The third tram, line 71, it did not announce the stops so I went over with one stop more. No hurt feelings, it was just a short walk back.

Vienna architecture...simply amazing. They look so solid and unique....lovely too...but just looking so magnificently strong!

Some things to note in Vienna:

A sample of vintage/antique
Vienna porcelain work

a. The architecture: see the video above I was able to find at youtube... indeed those are very attractive, solid, old interesting architectures, aren't they?

b. Vienna porcelain: I was told by a colleague that "white gold", the Vienna porcelain are some awe. Since all the shops were closed, all I could see were window displays. Despite this limitation, I was amazed by the artwork for those porcelain wares. Prices, sizes and design vary but there are very decorative and look very attractive.

Mozart Kugeln: layers of happiness

c. Delicacies: I was only able to take home Mozart Kugeln but it was not a disappointment. What can I say? Yummy! I know there are more there but this sweet layered chocolate and other sweet (fattening eh) ingredients just couldn't disappoint you if you are a lover of sweets.

d. Der Fiaker (the Fiaker): This horse n coach is a real attraction and experience in the city. I was really amazed seeing a horse drawing a coach mixed with cars in the street! I was not able to take one or ride one in Vienna (had already lots of experience for this, not in Vienna though) but it looked so cool and looks like a cool experience to do in that lovely city.

e. A lot mooooorrre! Below are very few photos with colleague(s) at lunch and photo from the centrum. I wish to go back to Vienna and really explore it.