"Where is that place?" Chen Xing asked, pointing to a tall building.
"The Montparnasse Tower," said Abel,
"The only skyscraper in our old city of Paris, it is the most ugly building among all Parisians."
"Why? I think it's pretty good."
"The reason for this building is similar to that of the Iron Tower. The construction of this building is too abrupt in the ancient city. Moreover, it is not a pure landmark building like the Iron Tower. It is a building that can accommodate people to live and work. It does not damage the city appearance without damaging the city. Design sense, so he is really ugly." Parisians must be too concerned about the appearance of the city.
Abel continued: "If Boston City Hall hadn't saved his life, it would have been the ugliest building in the world."
"But it's probably the best place to see Paris."
"It's true that we have a celebrity who hates this building deeply, but people always see him drinking in the bar on the top floor of the Montparnasse Tower and ask him why. He said, because only here, Montparnasse can't be seen outside the window. Nass Building.”
"Let's go take a look." Chen Xing doesn't think this building is ugly, although it does seem a bit incompatible with the surrounding environment, but so what?
Which country lacks such buildings? As an observation deck, the height of this building is definitely qualified.
Since it was far away, the two took the subway there. If you want to visit as many attractions and museums as possible in Paris, you must buy a monthly pass for the Paris Metro. The price of 79 euros seems a lot, but as long as you ride it regularly, it will be enough. You will find that it is really affordable.
If you are traveling for a short time, there are also weekly passes and ten-trip packages. It was two o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the Montparnasse Tower. The two had just had a meal in the restaurant at the subway exit.
Made by aa, the average cost is only 11 euros. This price made Chen Xing discover that food and beverage consumption in Paris is actually not expensive, only accommodation costs are expensive.
The adult ticket for the Montparnasse Tower is 17 euros. After going to the observation deck floor, I saw that there were glass windows all around. Outside the window was the panoramic view of Paris today. It was a cloudy day without fog. Although the view was not as wide as a sunny day, the view was still It’s also a different kind of atmosphere.
There are many tourists on the observation deck from all over the world, but it is definitely not an exaggeration to say that one-third are Chinese.
There is a tour group with about 20 people. Most of the tourists are aunts and uncles, and a few are young people around 30 years old. As for the younger tourists, they prefer to come to Europe alone, even if they don’t understand French. Don't understand English.
Nowadays, mobile phones have translation software, and the speed of real-time translation is very fast. Although it is a bit troublesome, at least you can communicate with foreigners.
This saves several years of learning a foreign language, which is pretty good. Chen Xing stood behind the group of tourists and listened for a while. The tour guide, a Frenchman who spoke Chinese, was introducing the building.
"This building has two observation decks. The first one is here, which is an indoor observation deck. Here you can see a lot of digital equipment. These equipments are all interactive and have Chinese versions... Hey, You are not my guest, please don't listen behind me." For a moment, the uncles and aunties all turned back to look at Chen Xing.
This... you are too cautious! Abel didn't understand Chinese and didn't know what the tour guide was saying, but he knew from the tone that it wasn't a welcome sentence. He walked up to Chen Xing and said, "Is this how you treat tourists who come to our country? How do you treat my customers?" What did you say?"
"Is this your guest?" He was stunned for a moment. He thought Chen Xing was the kind of person who traveled to Paris alone, and he said that to prevent him from listening to his explanation.
You said you have a guide, so why are you running to me?
"Of course." Abel nodded.
"Then I'm sorry, I thought... Anyway, I'm sorry, sir." He said to Chen Xing in French. His tour group is all Chinese tourists. They just drove him away in Chinese a minute ago. It would be too shameful to apologize to him now. He will be leading this group for the next two days. If his prestige is ruined, Then there will be many more disobedient tourists in the queue.
So he apologized in French. As for whether Chen Xing could understand it, he didn't care. Anyway, this woman could definitely understand it.
Chen Xing nodded to the man and said to Abel, "Let's go to the observation deck above." This was a misunderstanding. He didn't have time to talk to others here, so he went there quickly while the light was good. Watching Paris from the outdoor viewing platform on the 59th floor of the building is the real deal.
It's just that his impression of Paris was slightly lowered. When tourists come to a strange city, everything they encounter in the city will affect their evaluation of the city. For example, when Chen Xing met Abel, Abel’s rich knowledge and views on China, and even his good appearance , all gave Chen Xing a good impression of Paris.
The words of the male tour guide also gave Chen Xing a relatively stingy impression of Parisians. As for how he will view this city later, he needs to meet more people and things to decide.
Continuing to go up a few floors, the two came to the second observation deck of the building. There is an open-air balcony where you can use your camera to take clearer, unobstructed pictures.
At the same time, there is also a cafe called the360cafe. The name of this cafe can be directly translated into Chinese, called 360 full-angle cafe.
Many tourists with cameras were taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower on this floor. Chen Xing ordered two French drinks, then left the table and went to the outdoor observation deck.
As soon as he walked out of the glass door, Chen Xing felt that there was a strong wind on the platform. Some people brought tripods, but the weight of the camera itself was too small to withstand the wind. blown away by the wind.
But there was one person whose tripod stood firmly on the platform, motionless. Because his lens is too big, more than 30 centimeters, it looks as long as an adult’s forearm.
This kind of lens can be used not only for photographing landscapes, but also for photographing the moon. Chen Xing looked at the camera for a while before walking to the guardrail and looking at the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
Looking at Paris from here is a bit like looking at the ground from an airplane. The environment is very high and the surrounding buildings are very short. It is easy to understand the artistic conception of the ancient poem of seeing many small mountains. The only tall building is the Eiffel Tower. .
Abel said before that it was very disharmonious to have such a tall building in Paris, but looking out from this building, the Eiffel Tower seemed to be integrated among countless ancient houses.
Paris needs a tall building, a landmark. Judging from Chen Xing's location, the Eiffel Tower is a perfect landmark.
Parisians hated the Eiffel Tower at the beginning and then liked it the most. It was probably because the Montparnasse Tower was built and they had a perspective of seeing Paris from a high place.
That’s why Parisians will start to like the Eiffel Tower and be proud of it. But from another angle, what about viewing the Montparnasse Tower from the Eiffel Tower?
Then maybe what you get is not pride, but real abruptness. It is difficult to build a high-rise building beautifully, and it should not be too modern at the same time. The more modern a high-rise building is, the more it will not blend with the overall style of Paris. Therefore, Abel’s statement about being abrupt makes sense. In addition to this building It has no use except for viewing the Eiffel Tower.
Chen Xing held the camera steadily to take pictures of the iron tower in the distance. Cloudy days also have advantages. When the time comes to adjust colors at home, you can get a very stylized work.
On the way, Chen Xing also looked at the camera with the big lens. Of course, this kind of lens is not for shooting panoramic views of Paris. From the viewfinder, you can see that the place where this old man took the photo is the Arc de Triomphe. The angle is very good.
Chen Xing looked at it for a while and asked, "Are you shooting time-lapse?" The owner of this camera is an old man in his seventies, with gray hair and a thin figure.
Hearing Chen Xing's question, he nodded and said: "Yes, I want to record the scenery of the Arc de Triomphe during the day. Where are you from? You speak French very well." Chen Xing could tell that he was not French, at least not from Paris. .
"Hua Xia, what about you?"
"China, oh, that's a good place. I'm from the United States. You can call me John." Chen Xing changed to English and said: "Xing, nice to meet you." John stood up straight and said with some surprise: "Hey, your You also speak English very well, with a New York accent. Have you ever lived in the United States?"
"No, I practiced it myself."
"Then you are really a genius. I used to live in New York and came to France to settle down after I retired." The two of them first chatted about photography for a while, and then about John's experiences in Paris.
Abel came out and said: "Xing, have you finished taking the photos? The coffee is getting cold..." Chen Xing invited: "John, come and have a drink together." John agreed without thinking at all, leaving the camera behind Looking outside the glass window, Chen Xing's heartbeat quickened... He had wanted a lens like this for a long time, so that he could stand far away and take pictures of the scenery on the top of the snow-capped mountains. It was absolutely perfect for someone like him who loved the outdoors. It's an artifact.
Even if the practicality is low. Who would take such a big guy with him when climbing a snow-capped mountain?
"Didn't you take the camera in?"
"Don't worry, no one will touch him. There are cameras everywhere." He wanted to take a picture of the Arc de Triomphe during the day, but how could he take the camera back just after noon?
And it's boring to stay here all the time. Just meeting someone like Chen Xing who can speak American English reminded him of his hometown.
Returning to the table, John ordered an Americano. Americano is what China often calls black coffee. It is very bitter, even if you add more sugar and milk.
The French coffee that Chen Xing and Abel ordered before was exactly the opposite of the American coffee. It was a small cup of espresso that was very fragrant and had a good texture.
After John sat down, he continued the previous topic with Chen Xing and asked, "So, you are a professional photographer?"
"Yes, the best geographical magazine in our country will soon publish a set of my works, so I should be able to call myself a professional photographer, right?" John smiled and said, "Haha, as long as I can If you make money, then you are a professional photographer, but I think you seem to be very young, younger than the international students from China in my school. Are you on a graduation trip? Have you considered going to the United States in the future? "
"I have no idea of going to the United States for the time being, and it's not a graduation trip. I'm not in college."
