And now we've come to the most awaited blog post of all (haha)... Paris! I still dream about Paris up to this day. The time we spent in Paris was just not enough and I will definitely want need to go back.
I made sure to make this trip happen and meticulously planned it before our Germany trip. Thank heavens really for the internet I managed to learn everything online and book our trains from Heidelberg to Frankfurt to Paris (it's not realy that difficult :-). As my Mom and Bob have already been to Paris previously, it was just me and Johann on this day trip.
I remember not sleeping the previous night as I was worried I wouldn't wake up on time for our extremely early train departure (which I think was around 5:30am). Luckily, our apartment was 5 mins away from the train station and I managed to find an english-speaking taxi booking company to take us there (as the tram was still closed).
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| This was in Frankfurt waiting for our train to Paris |
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| WE'VE ARRIVED!!! :) |
Luckily (but expected), there was a tours office right outside the train station. We took the hop-on hop-off bus "Les Cars Rouges" for 33 euros per adult.
You can also get your tickets to the Louvre Museum at the same tours office for 10 euros per person.
My Singapore friends must recognize this pastry/bakery. We have the same 'classy and expensive' version in Takashimaya but this one was just at the MRT station.
At first, I wondered what that barrier with the green paint was for. Until I later learned that it was to prevent people from jumping over the control station to get a 'free' ride. Surprisingly, I saw a few people who still found a way to cheat this - they asked their friend to tap from outside to unlock the barrier, they swing it away then jump over. No way this could happen in Singapore haha.
Yahoooo!!! Our first glimpse of Paris coming out from the train station. Please pardon me, I already forgot what train stations we alighted from but not to worry as the tours office can help you on this hehe.
First stop was at the Arc de Triomphe. It's right at the end of the shopping street Champs Elysees.
As with other major european cities, Paris has the same problem of thieves and thefts. Be wary of over-friendly people who offer to take your photos or sell you what-nots. They target tourists at these touristy areas so be very mindful of your belongings.
It was really a pity we didn't get to explore Champs Elysees. We were so pressed for time we could only see it from the bus. Sigh.
This restaurant is quite famous with it's red roof - Fouquet's restaurant. I remember seeing it in the movie "Taken".
Our first glimpse of the iconice structure known the world over - Eiffel Tower! What a sight to behold!
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| Bromance hehe |
We hung out a bit at the Eiffel Tower to take in the magnificent view. There are a few food stalls at the viewpoint so of course we had to eat hehe. Look at the interesting 'sandwich' my brother Johann is holding - the hotdog was stuffed inside the baguette hehe.
The birds looked hungry so we shared our food. We are not greedy hehehe. I wonder if they enjoyed the wasabi chips :P.
The louvre museum is right below the pyramid structure. I'm sure you guys remember this from the movie "Da Vinci Code".
Massive is an understatement to describe the Louvre Museum. It was so huge I believe a day is not enough to cover all the paintings, statues, etc.
As we had limited time, we ignored all other statues and went straight to Mona Lisa haha. It was really deep inside the museum so watch out for the signs.
I was expecting the painting to be bigger actually haha. This room was the most crowded, not suprisingly.
This was another Leonardo da Vinci painting right outside the Mona Lisa room but she was ignored haha.
Next time, I will make sure to pick up a painting from the streets. I got to see these from the bus.
All that sightseeing made us hungry - again. Haha. Of course we had to sample french pastries. Yum!
The friendly lady from the photo above taught us where we could buy Longchamp bags (for my Mom). BHV department store was a few blocks away luckily.
Women will definitely go crazy shopping for designer bags. I didn't get to check the price for other bags but Longchamp alone was really cheap compared to prices here in Singapore. Another great thing is that for tourists, you get a huge rebate for tax at the airport.
Awwww. That was Paris for us. Thai food is so famous there you could see one in almost every corner. I love how you could eat it in a paper box - just like chinese food in the US.
It was basically a rushed day trip for us. We actually spent more time on the train than in Paris. We were back in Germany before midnight. Extremely tiring but well worth it. One day, I will go back to Paris and explore this amazing city in depth. For me, Paris has got to be one of the most beautiful European cities I have ever seen, architecturally.
Till we meet again Paris! Au Revoir!
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