“A little piece of everywhere I go becomes a big part of everything I do.”
No matter when you go, Spring is always the best time to travel. When the city is suddenly awash with colours: cherry and apple blossoms, daffodils, or everyday flowers.
Weather is mild, not that hot and also not that cold, but it is not the time to shed away sweaters and jackets and roam around in t-shirts and shorts. The expected temperature is about 6 - 18 degrees, we each packed a jacket, 2 light sweaters, 4 short sleeves tops, 2 pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers and an umbrella. I hope these are sufficient to start the adventure. Paris is a city where going by foot is often the best option so a pair of good walking shoe is very important.
For this Spring 2019, I am so blessed that I will be going Paris with him who is again on a long business trip scattering over the weekend of Easter. Wow, we will be experiencing Easter in the west... Paris, one of the most beautiful city in the world, another level of my horizon unlocked!
It's not hard to believe that France is the one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. From the beaches of Normandy to the peaks of the French Alps, from the Belgium border to the Mediterranean Sea, France has something interesting for everyone.
The capital city is Paris. It is home to thousands of historic buildings, lovely parks and of course, the picturesque Seine River as Eiffel tower. Paris is located in the north of France on the river Seine. Her middle names are "city of romance", "capital of fashion", metropolis of arts and museums" as well as the "heritage to the history".
We took Air France departing at 2235hrs and landed at the next morning of 0605hrs, it was a 13hrs flight.✈️✈️
Though we are on economy class but the seats are very comfortable with great leg space. I like the headphone very much. It's cushion support, not like those usual ear piece. They are so thoughtful and prepared eye mask for our beauty sleep.
Though we are on economy class but the seats are very comfortable with great leg space. I like the headphone very much. It's cushion support, not like those usual ear piece. They are so thoughtful and prepared eye mask for our beauty sleep.
This is my first time of Air France and I am very impressed with them, the food they served onboard was one of the best in-flight meals I ever had.
Whenever I got up in-between my sleep, I will surely check on my flight path on my current location. From Singapore, we will be flying over the Indian ocean, Iraq, Turkey, Romania, Austria and Germany before finally reaching France. :D
Cant wait to land soon.
Breakfast is serve 2 hours before landing, I forgotten to snap the main dish. It is waffles with berries.
Felt so happy at this moment because we are mere 2hrs to our destination, 11hrs had passed!
Sun rise in the air space of Germany. So pinkish. This is my first time seeing a pink sun rise.
Oh, this is how Paris looks like from the air! It is the final approach!
I started to draft on the blog upon my arrival at Charles De Gaulle airport. Why ? Because I am queuing to cross the immigration.
There are 20 arrondissements (districts) of Paris and I got completely lost in them. In 1860, Emperor Napoleon III re-divided Paris into 20 arrondissements (municipal districts), with the 1st arrondissement located in the historic centre, near the left bank of the Seine, and the 19 remaining districts spiralling out clockwise. Each Paris arrondissement, often comprising several neighbourhoods, has its own distinct flavour and cultural attractions.
This map is my good friend that gave me a better understanding of the 20 arrondissements.
Paris is a city where going by foot is often the best option so a pair of good walking shoe is very important. ✌
We visited a few of these arrondissements, scroll down further to see where we have been, what we have seen.
DAY 1
Hello luggages🛄, so good to see you again after 13hrs! My trip is officially start!
Upon landing at Charles De Gaulle airport, we received texts from friends and family to inform us that Notre Dame church is on fire.. I was like .. oh no .. I am planning a visit on this 850 years old icon and we are staying in the vicinity! The fire happened on the evening before and fire is already put out, a lot roads are closed in the area and traffic jams is expected. Usual taxi journey from the airport is 30 minutes but now it became 1hr 30 minutes. 😵
As we are in town, we saw these .... what a sneak preview to us that Louvre is right in front of us.
PS: Cab to the hotel. It's certainly not the cheapest option, but is taking a taxi to or from airport ultimately the easiest and least stressful mode of transport. Never accept a ride in a taxi that does not have a meter, a clearly visible sign on the roof reading "taxi" or otherwise strikes you as less than professional in appearance. This can lead to getting ripped off, and there have also been isolated incidents of kidnappings in the past by individuals posing as taxi drivers.
My accommodation - Holiday Inn Notre Dame
Location : 5th Arrondissement
Stay right in the heart of Paris at the chic Holiday Inn Paris-Notre Dame hotel, just 300 metres from the iconic Notre Dame cathedral. Holiday Inn Paris-Notre Dame is a former ministry which has been converted to a stylish eco-hotel. Most lights in the public area are turned on by human sensors.
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| Oh, there is a roof top! |
Metro and RER stations are within few minutes walk away. Grocery and convenience stores, souvenir shops, and all types of restaurants are nearby as well. The rooftop of the hotel is a nice perk and provides 360° views of Paris.
By the way, you can get Starbucks here in the hotel. 😄
Due to the fire on Notre Dame cathedral the day before, the area was flocked with many people who went there to mourn and the area is armed with heavy securities. Police cars with sounding horns are hear in every 5 minutes. 👮♀️👮♂️🚨🚔
Boss is here to work for 9 days and due to Easter, there are many people coming over for short break so we cannot get the room throughout the full 9 days, no choice ... we have to change room in between.
Boss is here to work for 9 days and due to Easter, there are many people coming over for short break so we cannot get the room throughout the full 9 days, no choice ... we have to change room in between.
Executive Room
We booked a standard room at first but due to some boo-boo from the staff, we got a upgrade to Executive room.
These are the views from my balcony.
After we settled with the room, it is the time to fill our tummies. This is our first meal here.
Le Danton.
After filling up our tummies, we are ready to explore 7th & 8th arrondissements.
Taking a metro here is easy.
All signs are clear even though you want to change your metro line. No matter where you go, as long within Paris city. In regardless of the number of metro stops, per ticket at Eur1.90.
Here come the train and it moves by wheels.
Eiffel Tower
We took the metro to Trocadero Metro station then will walk through Jardins du Trocadero and walk pass the Pont de Iena bridge to reach the base of Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower is by far Paris' most-recognized icon. Called La Grande Dame en Fer, or the Grand Iron Lady, this beautiful icon that defines the Paris skyline. Along the way, we captured a lot of good photos with the tower.
Below photo taken at the Trocadero station where clear directions are given to us.
Once we exited from the metro, follow the crowd, walk for about 10 steps and there she is standing there smiling at you.
There are wordings on the tower - these are actually the locations of names in the city.
There are wordings on the tower - these are actually the locations of names in the city.
Arc de Triomphe
This arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, but not completed during his lifetime. (It was Louis-Philippe who competed it in 1836.) Based on another classic architectural piece, the Arch of Titus in Rome, it was another memorial to Napoleon's military victories. Napoleon passed under it during the celebration of his marriage to his second wife, Marie-Louise in 1810. (A wooden mock-up temporarily completed the arch.) In an additional bit of symmetry, Napoleon's body passed beneath the arch when he was moved from Saint Helena to his tomb at Les Invalides.
PS: You can climb the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to take in one of the best view in Paris.
Champs Elysees
No visit to Paris is complete without a long walk down the wide, tree-lined, elegant boulevard, the Ave des Champs Elysees.
It is a street full of temptation! Shopping between streets after streets.. it just never end with these monstrous flagship shops. The crowds is too packed maybe contributed by visitors to Arc de Triomphe which was at the end of this street.
I admit this is a very good place to shop as all brands and everything found here.
Place de la Concorde
It is the largest square in the French capital(7.6 hectares) which was the site of many notable public executions during the French Revolution. The location is superb as it is connected to Jardin des Tuileries to the east with Champs Elysées to the west.
At this point, I turned my head and I saw this.✌
Seine River
Holiday Inn Notre Dame is located after the river therefore to walk back to hotel, this is a passing route. For the rest of the days, you will still see me snapping photos in regards to the river. This famous river flows from east to west through the heart of the city and divides Paris's Left Bank and Right Bank.
Along the way in search for our dinner, I caught a glimpse of Notre Dame Cathedral. The road surrounded are closed for vehices but pedestrian paths are open. People are swarming toward the direction despite of heavy armed securities. Well, I will follow up more on it in my days here.
Spicy Indian dinner for the night - Au Pt'it Snack.
We went back to sleep after this as we are tired from the long flight and the long day out.
DAY 2
630am - view from my balcony. The sun rise is pretty early here.
Here is my yummy breakfast to kick start our "separate" long day.
Today is ME day as Boss went work and I am ready to explore 1st & 7th(again) arrondissement.
Barely 8 am in the morning, tourist have not flock in yet. Small amount of locals are rushing through the peak hours, I strolled along the Seine river. The feeling is very good.
10 minutes from the hotel, I reached the most beautiful bridge of Paris :
Ponts de Arts
I spent 30 minutes here admiring the views and taking photos. 🤩
I spent 30 minutes here admiring the views and taking photos. 🤩
Pont de Art is a pedestrian bridge that connect the River Seine and The Louvre.
In 2008, as a romantic gesture, tourists starting attaching padlocks (love locks) with their names written on them to the railings of the bridge and then throwing the key into the river. Fearing the accumulated weight from these 700,000 locks will caused permanent damages to the bridge, the locks were removed in 2015 and glass panels were attached to the railings that now prevent locks from being attached. There is still lots of love in the air, but tourists are now encouraged to take “love selfies” on the bridge. Great place to enjoy breath-taking views at anytime of the day and night.
The end of this bridge brought me to a traffic light, after crossing over, the back court of The Louvre is here.
This is a jaw-dropping moment for me when I see Louvre Pyramid right infront of me. 🤩
This is not only museum, it housed several restaurant and the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall. Beside being famed as the world largest art museum, it is also a historical monument in Paris. The queues start hours before the museum's official opening hours, when I got there at 830am, the queue of 1000 is already formed. Eventually, I skipped the museum. ☹
This video was taken when I first enter the compound.
This is the second video I took when I was nearer to the pyramid.
This is the third one after I crossed half of the compound.
Lastly the final video when I reached the end of the compound.
The most famous lady - Mona Lisa is residing here.
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| Grabbed this from goggle. |
Here I am taking metro Musee Louvre is here to bring me to visit Napoleon at Invalides.
Les Invalides is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, containing several museums and a retirement home for war veterans which is the original purpose of the building. Within the complex, Dome des Invalides is also located here. This is a large church, with the tombs of some of France's war heroes, most notably - Napoleon.
EUR12 admission fee covers the entry of all the museums here. Pablo Picasso's collection is on exhibit here today as well.
This is the courtyard of the place, these cannons are real, most were used by Napoleon before.
Every single cannon here are on different designs, all these works were done after the war by the veteran soldiers who retired at this place after the war.
Since admission fee covers, I should take a look at his work since I am already here.
The title of the display is "Picasso and War". And below are his collections that are well preserved today.
And finally, here is the core of my visit : The tomb of Napoleon.
Napoleon fell from power in 1814 and was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba. But an island couldn't hold back this Corsican dynamo. He escaped back to Paris, raised an army, was defeated again, and exiled once more, this time to the bleak Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.
The interior design of this dome, I am speechless 🤩, my photos will speaks for themselves:
A couple of decades later, under Louis-Philippe, Napoleon's body was returned to Paris and placed in a tomb made of red quartz resting on a green granite base inside the domed church at Les Invalides, where you can view it today.
Some members of Napoleon's family, several military officers who served under him, and other French military heroes are also buried at Les Invalides:
Joseph Napoleon , the elder brother
Jerome Napoleon, the youngest brother
Napoleon II, the son of - His full name is Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte. He is the son of Napoleon. His heart and intestines remained in Vienna.
Henri Gatien Bertrand, an army general during the First French Empire who accompanied Napoleon to Elba and then St Helena. He brought Napoleon's body back to France in 1840.
Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Napoleon's military engineer, Fondly known as "Vauban".
Vauban died in Paris on 30 March 1707 and was buried near his home, but the grave was badly destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered his heart to be reburied in the church of Les Invalides, resting place for many of France's most famous soldiers, including Napoléon himself.
Geraud Duroc, a great general who fought alongside with Napoleon.
Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France, Allied Supreme Commander in the First World War.
Marshal Lyautey, Marshal of France and colonial administrator.
Lastly, here are the videos I took at Napoleon's tomb as the summary of my visit:
From here, I took a metro from Invalides station back to hotel area which is St Michel located in between of 4th & 5th arrondissement, here is my simple lunch.
From here, I took a metro from Invalides station back to hotel area which is St Michel located in between of 4th & 5th arrondissement, here is my simple lunch.
This is how Notre Dame cathedral look like today.The tight securities here did not stop the crowds from coming. 👮♀️👮♂️🚨🚔
As I continue my stroll, I see this legendary shop : Shakespeare and Company.
Some of the shots I took from goggle as there is no way I can go in.
Here is what my area in Latin Quartier looks like:
Chanced upon this interesting meat shop.
Boss is back after work, which means my day 2 is coming to an end.
He say he wish for some hot soup stuff for this cool weather, we came upon this Chinese eatery - Chez Wang.
DAY 3
It is another ME day again and this beautiful sun rise is sure to make my day but I am down with some dryness on my rights eyes that I have slight blur vision. 😵
This is my breakfast before going to explore Saint Germain area. This croissant is great and it is going to be part of my breakfast for next few days.
I am ready to go out... it is slightly cooler today than yesterday.
The first thing to purchase when I am out - Bausch & Loms Eye lotion cost me EUR7.
Beside croissant is common here, so does baguette too. These are the most common kind of baguette.
The infamous Hermes here, people flocked in to queue before the shop open. I went in and this place is so huge that it covers 3 stories and it look like a museum.
Here are the beautiful buildings along this street. Every building is Paris is a piece of art. Though these buildings are more than a century old at least but they are very well maintained and usable till today. French done well on the conservation.
These E-scooter here works like our OFO bikes. As long as you register yourself on your handphone app with your credit card details, scan as you see one and wheel down the road. It is so common that E-scooters are scooting along the roads with cars.
My first splurge on the trip : Ferragamo leather bag. Single layer of leather. 😏
Too much walking makes me tired, part of it is the cooling weather making me so lazy ... But I like St Germaine area very much. The crowd and retail shops are lesser than Champs Elysee but I still prefer the atmosphere here. Since this place is so near to my hotel, for sure I will still come back shopping again.
This is my packed taco lunch, though cost near EUR10 but the share is huge!
After lunch, I went up to the roof top bar of Holiday Inn. The view is awesome. Though it is pretty sunny but there are cool air around so still consider "not too hot".
I am out for a stroll in the neighbourhood again - Rue de la Huchette which is just 2 minutes walk away. This place is always busy with people walking through to the other streets, restaurants, souvenir shops.
It's time to chill again at the side-walk café. Ordered a ice chocolate and I just laze here to see people walk by.
Well, Boss is back from work and I need to feed him real fast.. We settled for French food : Le Jardin Du Roy.
The escargot is great...
The mussels is awesome...
The raclette cheese is wonderful...
The main are yummy...
The chocolate mousse is terrific...
854pm, sun set - full moon rise beside the Notre Dame cathedral. During spring, the day is longer in Paris. Sunrise at 630am, sunset at 840pm.
DAY 4
Today is a great day because it is WE DAY and it is also the Good Friday !💏
We will going around the town, hunting for good bargains.
Here are the damages we had for the day. I declare, I am done with these.🙈🙈
After dropping our loots back to our room, we come to Ponts de Art again in the evening. The view is totally different than that morning. This round it is WE playing on the bridge for 30 minutes.
Walking towards the direction to Louvre, the views at the right hand side at around 810pm:
whereas the views at the left side is the sunset view which was about 820pm.
Together with Boss, we are here at Louvre to catch the sun set.
At this side, though the time is about 830pm but the skies is still clear and bright.
Whereas at the other side, the direction where the sun is setting, the skies is orange and slightly darker.
Finally it is 840pm, sun had gone down, the place is turning dark.
To walk back to the hotel, we still need to pass by Ponts de Arts again, this round we got the night view with beautiful full moon. I finally understand the meaning of "the grass is greener at the other side".
If you are walking from the Louvre, the end of Bridge will bring you to another dome building -
Institut de France
The beautiful domed building was originally constructed as a school under the reign of Louis XIV.
The Institut de France defines itself the ‘Protector of Arts, Literature and Science’. It is housed within one of the French capital’s most beautiful buildings: a former school, the Collège des Quatre-Nations, built by Cardinal Mazarin between 1662 and 1688. Since 1795 it has been the seat of five learned societies: the Académie française, the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres, the Académie des Sciences, the Académie des Beaux-arts and the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. It is also home to the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the oldest public library in France, open to scholars as well as casual visitors. The Institut de France also manages prestigious foundations and museums such as the Château de Chantilly, the Musée Jacquemart-André and the Abbaye Royale de Chaalis.
Before we end the night, we went to the roof top of the hotel to catch the night view of Eiffel tower.
There are 20,000 light bulbs use on Eiffel tower where 25 seasoned mountain climbers are engaged for 5 months of installation work and the project cost 4.55 million Euros.
Eiffel Tower will sparkle for 5 minutes at every hourly. How I wish I can see the colours of France Flag on it. But it only appear during special occasion.
DAY 5
Another WE DAY - we had planned for a day tour to Colmar but we overslept on the metro, by the time we got to the train station, our supposed train(7am) had left and the next train takes near 4 hrs to reach when our supposed train took less than 3hrs. Anyway we did not reserve any sears beforehand, it was fully booked anyway... We wanted to book tickets for next day, it is also full. Well, no Colmar for this trip.
We made our way back to hotel to have breakfast before we go out again.
Apparently there is a big protest by "Yellow Vest" which is held in the town, hotel staff advised us to avoid between 1st to 3rd & 7th to 10th arrondissement so we have to skip these areas. The protesters are angry at high taxes and economic injustice. Many protesters were deeply saddened by the recent fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, but at the same time they are angry at the $1 billion in Notre Dame donations that poured in from tycoons while their own demands remain largely unmet and they struggle to make ends meet. A car, motorbikes and multiple barricades were ablaze in eastern Paris Saturday as a yellow vest protest degenerated into scattered violence. The smell of tear gas mixed with black smoke choked the air. Paris firefighters battled multiple small but impressive fires around the Place de la Republique. Reporters saw a car and motorbikes on fire and multiple volleys of tear gas and dispersion grenades, as riot police worked to control the crowd. Several protesters also set flares. Saturday's yellow vest actions overall, however, have been considered peaceful.
Back to WE DAY, we decided to visit the Catacombs of Paris
which is located at 14th arrondissement.
The Catacombs of Paris is actually a final resting place located in the underground in Paris which hold the remains of more than six million people. This ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries. This is a very popular tourist spot here, we reached at about 930am and the queue is 1000!
We skipped this place and went for a cup of coffee located opposite of this place.
Due to the protest in town, there is really a big limitation to place we should go. Eventually we went to walk around in Saint Germaine which is located in 6th arrondissement and walking distance back to our hotel.
Beautiful buildings here
Beautiful buildings here
Here is our lunch at Le Bon Marche. Considered high end restaurant as the mall is a high end home products mall. Boss was too hungry so we decided on this place.
Here are the sunset photos of Eiffel tower taken at the hotel's roof top. These are taken between 730pm-845pm.
Here is Notre Dame today, restoration start.
Here come our happiest moment : FOOD!!
This is the best crème brulee I ever had. I had tried a few time back in the French restaurants of Singapore and it turn out either too much vanilla or too sweet. But this, is just nice .. It taste perfect.
DAY 6
It is Easter Sunday today! Church bells starts to ring from early morning and children will be hunting for decorated egg. Easter in Paris is a time to marvel at intricate chocolate bunnies, eggs, and other seasonal creations filling the shelves of every pastry shops to cafes.
Whether Easter is a religious occasion in the family sharing delicious meals and chocolate eggs or another free day to rest from hectic work schedule, to me, I am lucky to witness this festive weekend in Europe. To those who are not sure, this day is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by to Romans.
Do keep in mind that most shops and many restaurants are closed on Easter Sunday, and on the following Monday as well, which most people have off from work.
We check out of our current Executive after breakfast at around 10am to change to another room.
The check in time for our new room is 3pm so we took a 20 minutes walk from our hotel to another legendary church - The Pantheon.
Located in the Latin Quarter in Paris, This beautiful Pantheon was originally built as a church dedicated to St Genevieve and to house her relics but, after many changes, The Pantheon is now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.
Located in the Latin Quarter in Paris, This beautiful Pantheon was originally built as a church dedicated to St Genevieve and to house her relics but, after many changes, The Pantheon is now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.
Standing at the main door, as per my above photo, these are the views in front of me.
We walk around the compound for more photos.
Here is the back view of The Pantheon.
Meanwhile there is another beautiful church by the side of the road.
While walking back to hotel, we passed by Marks & Spencer where they are selling ready made packet lunch. Boss insisted on having this at EUR7.50 for a drink, main and dessert.
Here is Paris, please bring along your own shopping bag for supermarket shopping.
Time to check in to Eiffel Tower view room.
Late noon, we visited Hotel Le Ville at 4th arrondissement. This place is located near to Notre Dame so it is walking distance to us. To reach this place, we must pass through a bridge - Pont de Change.
A further 10 minute walk will reach Hotel Le Ville - Though the name has the word hotel but it is not a hotel. It is actually a City Hall. It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local administration, the Mayor of Paris and also serves as a venue for large receptions. A jaw dropping place with rich renaissance feel. 🤩
Back to Notre Dame area, we visited the cathedral finally. The place is so packed with many people. The signature icons are bell towers, menacing gargoyles and many more... this structure reached back to medieval and Gothic times. She is 850 years old, took 200 years to construct.
Here I can see the "injuries" of her.😢
The cathedral was in the midst of a $6.8 million renovation project. Arson was ruled out as well as possible terror-related motives, officials say it probably began as an accident during restoration work. It took nine hours and more than 400 firefighters to bring the blaze under control and eventually put it out altogether in the early hours of Tuesday. People in France and around the world were in mourning over the damage, including the loss of the building's spire and part of the roof. I saw people saying prayers and sobbing tears.
Here are the photos I took from google:
Her original self.
Here when she was on fire.
Before and after look.
And these photos are what I took on site.
Glaces Berthillon ice cream - this is a must visit place if you are here.
This is a French manufacturer and retailer of luxury ice-cream and sorbet.
There are quite a number of outlet scattered around this area.
The queues are long in every outlet we came by. We waited 20 minutes before we can get our hands on it.
As we kept on our stroll, I came across this elderly couple that I cannot prevent myself from taking a snap. The husband got weak legs and was walking is a slow speed with a walking stick. The sweet wife is holding on him tightly while maintaining his speed. I felt so touched. 💏
Tonight's dinner made boss the happiest! 😁
We got Chinese food - Mirama restaurant offers authentic cantonese food from Hong Kong.
Something sweet after a great meal.. before we end our day .. Chatime, there is one very near to our hotel. Tonight is a wonderful night for us, we have a good Cantonese dinner and now we are having bubble tea, feel so at home.
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| Finally he got the rice!! |
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| Finally we got the chilli!!! |
Something sweet after a great meal.. before we end our day .. Chatime, there is one very near to our hotel. Tonight is a wonderful night for us, we have a good Cantonese dinner and now we are having bubble tea, feel so at home.
DAY 7
It's 3 of us today. Welcome Troels join us today. He and another colleague, Aaron are joining Boss today for work in the next 2 days.
Recap - Troels is seeing Pig now , he is considered my family member.
They are talking about work now .... 😏
As Troels just landed a few hours ago, he will get his beauty sleep for next 2 days battles, he is not joining us out today. Very responsible guy huh.
Boss and me visit Rue De Montorgueil at 2nd arrondissement.
The Rue Montorgueil neighborhood is a small section of the Châtelet-Les Halles district, located at the city center. For those who want to experience a permanent market street in Paris, Rue Montorgueil is a great place to go. Smack in the city center, the pedestrian thoroughfare features shops selling fish, cheese, produce, flowers, wine, meat, gelato and the list goes on. Cafes and restaurants abound with plenty of opportunities to sit outside and watch the world go by.
The world famous Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann located at 9th arrondissment. The main reason for me to visit this place is for the architecture - the store’s 43-meter high Neo Byzantine dome. Upon entering was just like any other department store, then turned a corner and wow!
Unlike any other departmental mall we have seen before. There is a glass bottom viewing platform at level 3, perfect for photographs, there is a trampoline in between of the floors too. Whole place is all on high end products. If you high budgets, this is the right place to get all the things you want.
Right next to Galeries Lafayette, we have Primtemps another high end departmental mall. 9th floor is dining with open terraces where you get superb view.
Lunch at Triadou Haussmann
Opera Garnier
The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was called the Salle des Capucines, because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. The theatre is also often referred to as the Opéra Garnier and historically was known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra. The opera house included elements from the Baroque, the classicism of Palladio, and Renaissance architecture blended together.
We decided to walk back to the hotel from here. As per google map, this walking tour will takes is 42 minutes.
Passing by Avenue de L Opera, this is what we see :
The next significant building we passed by : The Conciergerie
5 minutes walk away from Notre Dame Catheral and stretching along the Seine in the heart of Paris, it was built in the 6th century and
was the headquarters of French kings from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Although built in the medieval period, all that remains of the original royal palace is a large rooms in the lower level, known as the Hall of the Guards. The Hall of the Guards was the dining room for the 2,000-member staff of the royal palace. the size of this room gives you an idea of how big was the Great Hall that formerly stood directly above it. Four large fireplaces heated the hall and vaulted columns were added to support the later 18th-century reconstruction on top, after a fire destroyed most of the original building.
By the 14th century the kings had moved across the river to the Louvre, and the old royal palace was transformed into a prison. The Conciergerie was an unhappy address during the French Revolution — those awaiting trial and execution were held here.
My dinner with 3 men - Flagrant Delice
Located very near to our hotel, 3 course meal at EUR17. Boss ordered Ratatouille - This is the dish we been wanting to try after watching the movie which the rat cooks. The title of the movie is "Ratatouille".
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| This is Ratatouille which is vegetarian. |
DAY 8
630am morning view from my balcony, there is a pigeon in between the monuments.
The men are ready for work, my ME DAY start again! I am going for window shopping.
My first destination : Ladurée Bonaparte which is 15 minutes walk away.😂
This brand is very popular in Paris. In this outlet, level 1 is the retail shop and the café is a level 2.
A set of 4 macrons at EUR10, I ordered rose, vanilla, chocolate and caramel and true enough they are very tasty not sweet at all. The other brands are all very sweet, I am glad I visited this place. ✌
I happened to see Longchamp here so I just pop in to take a peek and I ended up coming out of the shop with this: 😁
This is a "designed and made" in Paris only so how can I bear not to bring her back with me.
Here is how the bus stop look like here in Paris.
I went back to Miramar restaurant for lunch. This round I ordered dumpling noodles soup. Taste great!
Something for my sweet tooth after a hearty meal : Ice-cream again at Amorino which is barely 5 minutes away from Miramar.
Amorino offers Italian gelato, served with a spatula without limits in the choice of flavours. I ordered the petite size as I just finished lunch, I love the flower design and it really taste great at EUR3.90.
After long hours of window shopping and strolling through the streets, it is time to back rest while waiting boss and his team to return.
Here is our last dinner here in Paris - we had seafood. The men are all in great mood after work, the meeting was very smooth for them.
Le Bar à Huîtres
The name of crème brulee is "Burning man" sound interesting and I decided to ordered it, this is how it serves.
Taste too sweet, I did not finish it at all.
DAY 9
Today is our last day in Paris 😢, the men went for work. I check out of the Eiffel Tower view room at 12pm and laze around in the lobby till they came back and we took a cab to airport.
This is my hand carry bag, all my trophies are inside 😏. I must do VAT refund at the airport. Staff at shops suggested to me to hand carry them as VAT officer might want to see the purchase.
Charles De Gaulle Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, also known as Roissy Airport, is the largest international airport in France and the second largest in Europe.
First thing at arrival is to check in at our airline counter to drop our baggages.
Bye Bye luggages, see you guy 13hrs later.
Bye Bye luggages, see you guy 13hrs later.
Air France is so auto systematic, the procedure is quick, sharp and short.
Next to VAT refund which I like to highlight further... As a non-EU resident, if you purchase duty-free items in France to take back to your home country, you are eligible for reimbursement of the VAT with minimum purchase of EUR175 in the same shop.
There are 2 type of refund :
1) Refund by cash - 10% and you get cash in the airport
2) By card - 12% but the procedure takes 4-6 weeks
For me, I choose cash as I was thinking I can use the cash for meals in the airport, I worried that my cash will used up before day 9.
Upon purchase at shop, staff usually will ask you if you need VAT refund, if yes they will prepare "a duty-free form at the time of purchase" for you.
If you purchase from 10 shops, you will get 10 forms.
When you reach airport, there are 2 steps to do before you get the refund. The first place to go is "Detaxe", scan all the duty free form at the kiosk, make sure every form is "green tick" while you are scanning.
The next and final place to go is "Cash Paris" office where the staff will check through and give you cash.
Upon here, I realised that there is EUR8 admin fee for cash refund. If I know about this earlier, I will choose card. Never mind, I will surely keep this in mind for my next Europe trip.
Ok all done, we head for immigration check and soak up our final moments in Paris at the airport.
Our break here.
While approaching to our gate, there are free games for you to pass time.... boys are always boys.
Our break here.
While approaching to our gate, there are free games for you to pass time.... boys are always boys.
At our gate now
Here are our time on AF256✈️
13 hours later, we landed at Changi international airport and we both got into jetlag, had really hard time to sleep. Our bodies are trying hard to switch back, it took us 2 days to be fully recovered and ready for unpacking.
My views on Parisian... I think that they are very gentle and reserve. Personal etiquette is well display among the locals. So please do not mistake their quiet nature as bad manners. At the service counters, the staff are very professional and polite and really to share information on the product with you, in regardless you are buying a luxury item or a top from low range shop or groceries from supermarket. The whole Paris is a big eye-opener to me because every street has her story, every building has her history(they are all minimum 100 years old)
If I have the chance to visit Paris again, I will go!
Well, we have come to the end of my Paris adventure here, meanwhile you may want to read up my the other blog on Netherlands and Denmark:
https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2018/01/holland-denmark-amsterdam-nijmegen.html
https://followblueginger.blogspot.com/2018/01/holland-denmark-amsterdam-nijmegen.html
Lastly, many thanks for your precious time to visit this blog, I sincerely wish you good luck. 😄
