Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Day 6 - Versailles and Paris

PALACE OF VERSAILLES

Wiki: "The Palace of Versailles or simply Versailles, is a royalchâteau in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles.
When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime."

It is also regarded as one of the most beautiful palaces in the world.

Main Entrance

Majestic Golden Gate
(It is coated with Gold Leaf worth US$6m)

Royal Palace


Magnificent!

Beautiful Decor on the roof

Beautiful Decor on the roof


 Inside the Palace


The Famous Hall of Mirrors

Hall of Mirrors

Amazing roof painting
(Those painters gonna have really bad neck-aches)


The bed for the royalties - same size as normal beds.

The Versailles Palace is really huge, opulent and majestic, really fit for the royalties. One of the most impressive palaces I ever visited. However, it is comforting to know that the royal bed is about the same size as any beds - a reminder that the needs of Royalty is the same as commoners. It is comforting to know that no matter what is your social strata, our bed size is pretty much the same. =)


Reflection
(At the rear of the palace)

Reflection
(At the rear of the palace)

Huge Garden!!! - 800 Ha

800Ha is approximately
1) 1500 football fields
2) 57 Vivo City (the biggest shopping mall in Singapore)
3) 80,000 HDB flats (the govt flats in Singapore)

Gardens of Versailles, Wiki:The Gardens of Versailles (FrenchJardins du château de VersaillesFrench pronunciation: ​[ʒaʁdɛ̃ dy ʃato də versaij]) occupy part of what was once the Domaine royal de Versailles, the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French Garden style perfected here by André Le Nôtre. Beyond the surrounding belt of woodland, the gardens are bordered by the urban areas of Versailles to the east and Le Chesnay to the north-east, by the NationalArboretum de Chèvreloup to the north, the Versailles plain (a protected wildlife preserve) to the west, and by the Satory Forest to the south."



HERMES

Wiki: "Hermès International S.A., Hermes of Paris, or simply Hermès (French pronunciation: ​[ɛʁmɛs]Listeni/ɛərˈmɛz/) is a French manufacturer established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, andready-to-wear. Its logo, since the 1950s, is of a Duc carriage with horse.

At 31 December 2010, the Hermès family collectively owned a 62.79% stake in Hermès International S.A. through a number of individual and company holdings; the stake entitled the family to 73.96% of voting rights in the company. The luxury goods company LVMH held 20.21% of shares (amassed in the latter half of 2010)[16]and 13.08% of votes at the same date, with 0.39% of shares held as treasury stock and the remaining 16.61% free float.[1] Speculation that LVMH will launch a takeover bid for Hermès has been repeatedly denied[17][18] by its chairman Bernard Arnault. "

As an equity research analyst, I am more interested in the second part - Shareholding structure. 

After knowing that these brands (Celine, Christian Dior, DKNY, Fendi, Givenchy, Hublot, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer etc..) are owned by the same owner (ie. LVMH), I realized that LVMH is like a factory churning out luxury brands to create artificial scarcity and elevated image. Luxury goods is like selling an illusion/dream, making the consumer felt good about themselves, but in reality, the consumer is buying the same mass produced products like any other mass market brands. 

A friend bought a few Prada toiletry bags which cost US$300/each.

I asked my friends who bought luxury goods, 
would you still pay the same price if I remove a label? 

I kept telling myself not to fall in the marketing traps created by these brand houses, and I glad that I only bought once, and it is in a Prada Factory outlet. =)


Hermes Flagship Store in Paris


Hermes Flagship Store in Paris

My first time purchasing in Hermes (helping someone to buy), and the service is really good. No complain. As usual, I saw quite a number of Middle-eastern and Chinese people shopping. 

185,000 Euro and 288,000 Euro for a bangle. Anyone?
That's insane!!



After shopping in Hermes, I went to a mass market department stores to buy children clothes (for my nieces & my friends' kids). And I really enjoyed it!


Random Street View of Paris

Luxor Obelizk

Wiki: "The Luxor Obelisk (French: Obélisque de Louxor) is a 23 metre (75 ft) high Egyptian obelisk standing at the center of the Place de la Concorde in ParisFrance. It was originally located at the entrance to Luxor Temple, inEgypt.

The Luxor Obelisk is over 3,000 years old and was originally situated outside of Luxor Temple, where its twin remains to this day. It first arrived in Paris on December 21, 1833, having been shipped from Luxor via Alexandria and Cherbourg,[1] and three years later, on October 25, 1836, was moved to the center of Place de la Concorde by King Louis-Phillipe. It was gifted to France by Muhammed Ali, Khedive of Egypt."

In other sources, the Obelisk is given to France at the request of Jean—Francois Champollion.


Obelisk and Eiffel Tower


Breast Campaign Poster


Random Street View - So Nice!



Nice Building


Nice Department Store


Strolling along the Street of Paris during sunset is really enjoyable. It's beautiful and charming. 

I kinda understand why people fall in love with Paris. 

Simple joy of life. "


Having Haagen Daz while walking on the street. Shiok Ah!


ARC DE TRIOMPHE

Wiki: "The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (French pronunciation: ​[aʀk də tʀiɔ̃f də letwal], Arch of Triumph of the Star) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.[3] It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
The Arc de Triomphe is the linchpin of the Axe historique (historic axis) – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which runs from the courtyard of the Louvre to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806 and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages.
The monument stands 50 metres (164 ft) in height, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep. The large vault is 29.19 m (95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The small vault is 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is built on such a large scale that, three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuportbiplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.[4][5][6]
It was the tallest triumphal arch in existence until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, which is 67 metres (220 ft) high. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982, is modelled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m (197 ft)."

Along Ave des Champs-Elysees

Sunset


Night view of Paris from the Arch

Moon & Eiffel Tower. =)

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