Eurotrip 2010: Paris

Bonjour à nouveau mes amis!! hehehee.. another update about my Eurotrip.. This time it's Paris!! the City of Love...

29th January 2010

- We arrived at Paris Euroline Terminal in Gallieni Metro Station at 6:00 a.m..
- So, we head towards the ticket counter and we each bought a 4 day unlimited ticket (its better than to buy tickets every time you're using the metro.. since the metro is our main transportation)
- Paris metro is so confusing! The intersection is a bit 'serabut'. I feel like the Metro System is pretty much like KL LRT System, except that it's 4 or 5 times larger than KL. Lucky enough the letters are in Latin.. Otherwise, we'll be doing the things we do while in Beijing.. LOL! And the smell... (0.0) I feel like I'm in a public toilet.. Shell punye toilet pon lg wangi! And every time the wind blows by, bB said he felt like he's being splashed with pee.. Do they pee in the metro?? Yuck! Oh well, what to do? Can’t do anything even with complaining.. THIS IS PARIS... what a first impression ey?
- So off we go on the metro train, and no need to feel embarrassed if you're dragging your luggage, because practically everyone in Paris is dragging their luggage.. A lot of tourist here.. We're heading to Jules Joffrin Station because that's where our hostel is located..
- The sun wasn't up yet when we arrived at Jules Joffrin.. Its pure darkness and drizzling with rain.. There’s a nice cathedral outside the station.. So, we have a look at the map right outside the station, looking for the hostel street name.. Looking at the Google map bB printed before we left.. And voila! We found our hostel - Le Montclair.. It wasn't far at all from the metro station, around 5 minutes walk..
- When we got in, the receptionist said, we couldn't check in until 3 p.m. We were like.. "What??" but nothing could be done.. *sigh* we were all wet and tired and couldn't get into our room.. *sigh* but she said, we could use the shared bathroom and toilet if we wish to bathe and clean ourselves up but no breakfast.. But I think we look pretty messed up and tired and wet.. And since it was like 6:45 a.m.. She took pity on us and said we could have the free breakfast.. heheee.. ;)
- So I made my way to the bathroom, freshen myself up and brush my teeth.. By then the rain already started to pour quite heavily.. And off to the cafe in the basement to have our breakfast.. - I must say, the croissant is absolutely delicious!!! With butter and jam.. yum! Oh! I miss French croissant! While we were having breakfast, we met some Malaysians.. They’re studying in Russia as well, but they're from Nizhny Novgorod.. They’re heading to Disneyland today.. And they asked us where the Euroline terminal is because they're heading to Amsterdam the next day.. ;)
- We didn't go anywhere that morning.. It was raining really heavily.. :( We just hang around the kitchen, and used the internet.. I tried to sleep but couldn't really sleep; I end up reading The School for Husbands.. Basically, everyone was doing their own stuff..
- Around 11 a.m., the rain stopped.. So we decided to go and find a grocery store.. I googled for the nearest Carrefour and off we go. Before we leave, I went to the toilet first, when I came out, bB said "b, cuba teka siape kita jumpe?” I was like "siape?". OH! My seniors from RSMU! Final year students.. Ramai betol budak Malaysia duduk kat hostel ni.. So we said our hellos and our byes and head out to find Carrefour..
- The Carrefour isn't that big.. We bought water, bread, tunas and chips, which costs around €10.. I know it's expensive but it's still cheap if you compare with anywhere else.. huhu~ then we head back to our hostel around 1 p.m. we thought perhaps we could check in by then.. By the receptionist still said 3 p.m. *sigh*
- So we eat lunch, and continue with whatever we do.. The boys did some planning.. And I fell asleep on the kitchen table until 2:40 p.m when bB said we can go to our room now..
- The room is pretty much like the one in Amsterdam with 2 double-decker beds and a private bathroom as requested. Except that, when you bathe, you need to pump the pipe.. So basically, the shower won't be flowing more than 1 minute.. *sigh* [mmg ta puas time mandi]
- The first day in Paris is quite wasted. Everyone is tired. So we practically slept the whole first day in Paris.. huhuhu~

Like I said, pure darkness

Our lunch :)

30th January 2010

- Woke up, get ready and had breakfast.
- It's a sunny day in Paris today! Yeay! so we decided to cancel our trip to Disneyland because me and bB have been to Disneyland before in Hong Kong and we know how our money will be flying if we do go to Disneyland because all of us are almost broke at this point because we overspend in Amsterdam. All of us are waiting with much anticipation for the 1st of February (because that's the date when our MARA allowance will be bank-in.. hehee)
- We decided to take the Free Tour instead. ;) So, we left around 10 a.m and took the Metro from Jules Joffrin Station to Saint-Michel Notre Dame Station because the tour starts at the St. Michel fountain.
- We arrived there at 10:40 a.m and the crowd was still quite few. The tour starts at 11 a.m. We decided to go around a few blocks before the tour starts. Paris is really pretty. I love how the city is build. :)
- By 11 a.m, there's a whole crowd standing in front of St. Michel Fountain.. And the tour guides were giving us numbers and registering us.. You can choose to go for the Spanish or the English tour. Then the English tour is divided into 2 groups.. Each group consists of (more or less) 40 people. We got Jen. I like her very much. She's very friendly.. She's Australian, who studied law but wants to be a teacher instead and she loves travelling.. She's been living in Paris for 16 months. (0.0)
- So we kick off the tour with Jen explaining about St. Michel Fountain and the Latin District.. Then we headed to the Notre Dam. I really wanted to and meet the gargoyles. I asked bB if we are going into the Notre Dame Cathedral (perhaps) later, but he said we're not. Most probably because we have to pay to go inside (we're on a budget here), or maybe because we don't have much time in our hands.*sigh*. The tour continues to other landmarks with Jen explaining about the history, the arts, etc...
- The City of Paris is like a Museum. It's like you're living inside a Museum. They're so artistic, with sculptures at every corner you turned. It's quite warm in Paris and the weather feels like spring! ♥
- The tour ended around 3:30 p.m at Petit Palais.
- After the tour ended, we went inside the Petit Palais to warm ourselves up and use the toilet. hehee. ;D
- Later, we head out to Arc de Triomphe. We walk there from Petit Palais all the way up Champs Elysees to get to Arc de Triomphe. Champs Elysees is maybe like Oxford Streets in London, except that, only the expensive and vogue shops are allowed to open at Champs Elysees. Even H&M didn't get permission from the French Government to open a branch there.
- We took some pics at the Arc de Triomphe but didn't go up. Because you have to pay to go up. hehee..
- Then we decided to go to the Louvre Museum to see the Famous Mona Lisa. We arrived there at 5:00 p.m. and the museum closes at 5:30 p.m.. Seeing that it would be a complete waste to spend only half an hour in the Museum, we cancel our plan. We had lunch instead at the food court. They have a halal stall in there but they didn't look delicious enough, so we opt for McD's instead. :P
- After lunch, we head out to Trocadero Station to take pictures with the Eiffel Tower. Pretty, pretty Eiffel Tower with blinking lights! ♥ after a whole photography session and our fingers are practically freezing numb.. We left Trocadero and head out somewhere. I can't remember where, Azam wanted to buy something that his sister requested. We got there at 7:30 p.m and all the shops are closed!! bB started to fell sick, so we bought flu medicine in the pharmacy and head home..
- Arrived at Le Montclair around 9:30 p.m. Azam and Naqqib went around the block to find a grocery store but there was an Indian grocery store right next to our hostel which we didn't notice before. So me and bB bought water and lemon. ;)
- I made lemonade for bB and later, we slept.

With Jen

Saint Michel Fountain

Notre Dame de Paris

By the river

Palais Royal Musee du Louvre

Sculptures at every corner. This is my favourite! ;)

Jardin Des Tuileries

The missing Obelisk in Luxor Temple


Louis Vuitton at Champs-Elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

31st January 2010

- We left the hostel at 10:30 a.m. First our plan is to go to Montmartre. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and that is why we are heading there.
- It is only 2 stations away from Jules Joffrin. Situated at the Abbesses (I kept pronouncing it as Abscess) Station.
- As you know, Montmartre is a hill. So basically we were climbing the hill to get to the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, going upwards and hiking flights of stairs. If I could put it better, the place is probably like San Francisco.
- One thing you need to be careful when you get here is the Africans. I'm not labeling people here, but there are con men who ask you to pull out your arms, and they tied up strings around your wrist saying something like it's an African culture, "hakuna matata", etc.. Then when you want to leave, they won't let you go until you pay at least €5. You can't do anything else but pay up because you're tied up with the string and you can't run either. Thank you Sam (bB's friend) for the head's up. So when we were walking up to the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, we kept our hands in our pockets the whole time. So we're saved! hehee.. ;D
- The view from the top of the hill is magnificent!! So we took pictures and went around the hills. I'm sure summer looks more gorgeous here.. I wish to go to Paris again in summer. If only I could.
- Then we head our way to the Louvre. By this time it's around 12:30 p.m.
- We got to the Louvre, bought tickets and start our tour inside the Palais Royal Musee du Louvre. The palace is friggin' HUGE!!! It has 4 floors. We only covered 3 quarter of the 1st floor till we get to see Mona Lisa and decided to head back because it is so tiring! That 3 quarter of a floor took us around 2 hours!! Can you imagine if we want to explore the whole palace, how long would that take us?? But I must tell you, the interior is absolutely gorgeous. If you're studying architecture or interior designing or any sort of art for that matter, you should definitely visit the Louvre. Well, even if you're not you should still definitely visit the Louvre! The entrance fee is €8.50 and unfortunately there's no student price except for those who are studying in the Europe continent. ;(
- We left the Louvre at almost 3 p.m, had McD for lunch again. After lunch we head out to Invalides Station to take picture at the Pont Alexandre III. If you ever watch the Sopranos, there a scene of Carmella Soprano on that bridge while she was in Paris.
- Then we head to Ecole Militaire Station. We walk all the way through Parc Du Champs De Mars to take picture with the Eiffel Tower in the day. ;) All the way from Ecole Militaire Station, up till Jardins Du Trocadero. Took some romantic pictures with bB ♥ and bought some souvenirs inside the Trocadero Metro Station which I think has a pretty decent price for souvenirs. If you want to buy those cheap Eiffel Tower key chains, you can bargain with the black men selling them. They're everywhere, you can't miss them really. The cheapest they'll give is 5 key chains for €1, which I think is cheap enough. So I bought 10.
- Then, we decided to head out to Les Halles to do more shopping! There's an underground shopping mall there. We arrived there at 6:15 p.m and how disappointed were we that the mall already closed!!! Must the shops and malls close at 6 p.m??? Such a sad view. Even here in Russia, the malls closes at 11 p.m.
- So, nothing else we could do, we make way to Blanche Station to visit the Moulin Rouge. ;D There's a Starbucks in opposite the Moulin Rouge. We had our dinner there. Just some plain sandwiches and coffee. ;) After our tummy is happy, we took pictures in front of the Moulin Rouge. There are so many people there and there was a long queue to get into the Moulin Rouge.
- When our fingers started to freeze, we head back to our hostel.

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur

Inside Louvre Museum. [I kinda wish I had 2 pair of eyes, so I can look where I'm going and another pair to keep looking at the ceiling.. It's so gorgeous!! ;D]

Mona Lisa

Napoleon [all paintings inside the Museum feels like they are alive.. creepy!]

Pont Alexandre III

Parc du Champs de Mars

I really really really want this mug!!! but as you can see how much it costs and I already spent €70 for souvenirs.. ermm.. ;P

The Famous Moulin Rouge

1st February 2010

- I fell sick today..
- We left our hostel before 7 a.m. because we need to catch our flight which departs at 9:20 a.m.
- We had to buy new tickets because we're taking the outskirt railway to the airport.
- We are heading to Paris-Orly Airport which located at the Antony (Paris RER) train station.
- We arrived there around 8 a.m. Checked in and had breakfast.
- Board the plane at 9 a.m. and off we go to Berlin. ;)
- So that's our 3 days 3 nights in Paris.. ;) and I am happy I get to go to Paris with bB.. I love you, b.. ♥

au revoir Paris

Next stop: Berlin, the City of World War History, Nazi and Hitler.