Paris

16 November 2009

Early in the morning, we have to make a move to the Victoria Coach Station to catch our bus to Paris. It was a chaotic morning for us to find this place. But, Alhamdulillah..we managed to find it.

We started our journey to Paris with Eurolines - a long distance bus operating within europe (another online booking ticket that i made). I choose this type of transportation and not the eurostar because at that point of time, my concern was only to travel with a small budget concept which would cost us less. In the end, it only cost us 46 pound per person for our London-Paris bus journey (return trip)..four and a half hours different than if you travel by eurostar which would cost you 180 pound (return trip) with 2 and a half hours journey (..nak kena budget ni coz bawak 8 org..).

Along the way, it was a new experience to me..when the bus entered into a shuttle wagon named Eurotunnel Le Shuttle and proceeded itself into the Channel Tunnel a.k.a Chunnel, a 50.5-kilometre undersea rail tunnel linking England and France. It took only 30 minutes to travel from Kent in England to Calais in northern France (wahhh...masuk tunnel tengah laut giteww..mm..seram gak memula bunyi nyer..but pastu ok je).

Then, at almost 3.30pm..we reached Paris (uihhh..teruja nyer masa ni).

First question..'mana nak beli ticket metro ni..'. Another info, French people doesn't like to hear English language..i guess (konon nyer macam bahasa dia org tu lagi standard la dr english..hadoiii). So, when we tried to find a way to buy a carnett (metro ticket) and we spoke in English..it was really a pointless and useless effort. But, we did find the counter and we bought the ticket.

It was dark already (mm..bosan tul but nak buat camne..winter time so malam pun cepat la w/pun baru kul 5pm plus). Then..we saw this..warghhh...'teruja teruja..'

I was really excited..'mcm tak caye jer..eiffel tower dah depan mata'. But, we have to settle down first at the hotel (another challenge..nak mencari hotel katne). We booked the hotel via online through booking.com (recommended website..sgt membantu).

It took us only 10-15 minutes to walk from Bir-Hakeim Station to the Adagio City Hotel. Then, we have to rush ourselves to the tower because i booked through online for our tower's time of visit at 8pm. We were fortunate that it was really a near walking distance from the hotel to the tower (20 minutes only).

Once we reached there..we're really mesmerised by its wondrous beauty. I looked and looked and looked..at this gigantic tower..'perghh..memang eiffel dh betul betul depan mata..'. It was a moment that would be difficult for me to express of how amazed i was with what i saw in front of my own eyes.

We didn't face any queuing problem because we could just proceed to enter by showing our online ticket..it was so smooth and we caught a lift to bring us up to the 2nd floor first.

It was really packed inside the lift but what a nice view to the top.

However, after we reached the 2nd floor..a problem occurred. I thought that i bought an online ticket to the top of the tower because there was only one figure appeared while i made my online booking. But, it was only a ticket up to the 2nd floor. So, we have to pay for another additional fee to go to the top..which we're willingly to pay (mesti la kan..sape taknak naik puncak eiffel tower).

Anyway, we're still blessed because we skipped the long queue at the early entrance. And, we continued to wait for the next lift to the top.

It was such a worth-it effort to be up here. Paris was a beautiful city. Please do experience your eiffel moment during the night (sangat..sangat..sangat..cantik). You'll be speechless with the surrounding that you might get.

Another lucky fact..it was eiffel's 120 years anniversary celebration..so, there was a rhythmic, color blending light show.

Next, makan time. Hubby saw a halal Albanian kebab shop nearby and made a decision to buy a kebab here.

Then, we continued our short walk to the hotel.

17 November 2009

Paris..in Autumn..was really a different kind of story ...soothing..calm..beautiful..

After a hectic tour schedule, my mom told us that she wanted to take a rest and just stayed at the hotel because she had a fever (..blame it on me for the packed schedule..coz i thought that i wanted to cover most of the famous tourist spot).

As usual, we took a metro to our next destination (..masa ni dh makin terror dh tgk the connecting metro line..takyah hubby jer yg dok men'decide' route to follow).

I booked a Paris L'Open Tour via online from Cityrama which cost 32 euro per person for a 2-days hop on hop off pass. So now, i thought that we have to go to the Cityrama office to start the tour. Next, we searched for the starting point for almost an hour (Kesian sgt kt semua org n hubby especially coz mencari dgn bersungguh-sungguh).

We did find the starting point and we started with the Paris Grand Tour route.

The truth was ..you didn't have to go to the office but you can start the tour at any cityrama stops and just show your e-ticket to the driver (hadoiiii...pak pandir betul la effiza azwani ni..tu la..by book sangat).

I noticed one thing..my abah didn't really enjoy his tour..maybe thinking of his other half who wasn't well (kesian sangat tengok abah masa ni..muka tak happy jer nak jenjalan).

The initial plan..we would hop off to The Louvre but it was tuesday and it was closed to the public (ala...need to change plan lak..but sgt sgt lupa yg dia tutp arini).

So, we just took a few pictures of this place. One thing for sure..this was such an artistically beautiful place.

Then, we caught the bus again and proceeded to the next stop.

..to the Notre Dame de Paris.

This was a beautiful sight and we spent quite some time at this area because we found a place to shop for souvenirs.

..and later, we had a coffee break. What a blissful moment...A hot coffee..A nice croissant..here in Notre Dame.

After that, we're rejuvenated enough to continue the tour.

By using cityrama's hop on hop tour bus, you have to be alert on the route that you choose because there were 4 different routes that would bring you to so many different places.

So, here we were..thought that we're going for the Paris Grand Tour route again because i wanted to stop at La Madeline and later, i planned to take the Montmartre - Grands Boulevards route. I got confused with the explanation..in front of the bus (well..i don't know french)..so, it was difficult for me to confirm whether we're in the right route or not. Thus, we just sit and I was thinking that i would see a Sacré-Coeur Basilica..next.

I was wrong..we're in the bus that brought us to the Bastille - Bercy route (hadoiii...ni route tg paling myself nak elak coz to me..route ni..yg paling tak interesting).

Actually, for this route..it wasn't really bad. With this route, i got the opportunity to see the contrast between the Bastille area, where the early days of the French Revolution took place, and the Bercy district, a new trendy spot.

..and it was an interesting moment when i got the chance to see France's Ministry of Finance (..well..dh nama pun orang MOF mesia..mesti la rasa interesting dpt tgk MOF sana).

Then, we went back again to the Notre Dame and made sure that we're taking the right bus with the Paris Grand Tour route this time around.

I was so sure that we're in the right route when i saw Place de la Concorde and La Madeline.

It was really nice to see the busy road of Champs-Élysées with Arc de Triomphe as the background. We didn't make a stop at this place because there would be an itinerary for tomorrow.

I thought that we can still make it for the Montmartre - Grands Boulevards route because i really wanted to see the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. But again..it was winter time..that was the drawback, the tour of any routes ended earlier than during spring or summer time (..arghh..).

At the end of the day, we just stopped in front of the Eiffel Tower..made the decision to go back to the hotel and took a good rest.

I managed to buy some groceries (..something to cook for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast) and it was a nice experience to shop at the mini market..here, in Paris.

18 November 2009

It was check-out time and time to continue our Paris exploration.

Today, my mom was getting better and i was really glad. It wasn't really fun without her.

We started our hop on hop off tour with Cityrama and i opted to sit at the lower deck because the wind was so cold and i couldn't stand it. Along the way, I thought of having a quick stop at Invalides but there were so many places that we wanted to cover..so, we just looked at this beauty from the bus.

Did i mention that i love autumn in paris..YES..love it very much.

Next, we made a stop again at Notre Dame to have some last minute shopping.

After that, we made a quick tour at Musée d'Orsay. There was a Van Gogh exhibition at that time..so, we got a chance to see some of his masterpiece.

Then, there was this one big piece of art which I almost touched. I didn't know that we cannot touch the paintings. So, there was this one lady guard who rushed to my side and asked me..not to do that. Haha..sorry..i didn't know.

I was excited to explore this museum...at first..but..when i finished exploring it, i thought..mm '..tak worth la..my 8 euro..'. Still..i liked the surrounding.

After a while, our parents were really tired.

..and so did i..

Next..to Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe. When we reached at the famous street, i aimed to go inside the first Louis Vuitton store in the world (..well..mestila wajib masuk kalau dh smpi paris ni)..and i succeeded (..siap compare price ngan beg yg myself beli kt venice dulu..it was the same xxx euro).

Later, we made a 5 minutes walk from LV HQ to Arc de Triomphe.

..and after that..we crossed the road and straight ahead to the cityrama stop and wait for the bus to come.

Next..to the trocadero..where you could get a nice view of the Eiffel Tower from afar.

Then..to our last stop..The Louvre Museum. As for today, the museum opening hours was until 9.30pm and after 5pm..the entrance fee is 6 euro (wow..much more cheaper than Musée d'Orsay). So, we thought that would be no harm for us to wait.

Wow..a glimpse of the Louvre during the night..it was marvelous.

Few minutes later..we're so eager to meet the famous Monalisa.

Once we entered the museum..our only aim was to find Monalisa. It wasn't an easy attempt due to the fact that this was a big big big museum. We're lost a few times even though we looked at the map and asked some guidance from the museum guards.

Almost an hour later (..hadoiiii), there she was..

..'..alahai..lukisan kecik ni jer..', that was what i thought. But, for her to gain such an adoration from people all around the world..that was incredible.

After that, we explored some of the Louvre masterpiece. We didn't go to the Richelieu wing because it would cost us more time. I really wanted to go to this wing because there was the Grand Salon of the Napoleon III apartments..but i knew that i wouldn't have the energy and the time to go there.

So, we just concentrated on the Denon wing side which covered the paintings, the sculptures and etc.

..i liked this painting the most..the coronation of the Emperor Napoleon I and crowning of the Empress Josephine.

..and my mom took a picture at the largest painting in the Louvre - The Wedding at Cana..

Later, we just walked around..

..and i took a picture with 'The Winged Victory of Samothrace' as the background..

..and later, with some other sculptures as well.

..and now, time to make a move to the Gallieni Metro Station.

..but before that..a picture with the famous pyramid (from the inside view).

At about 11pm..the bus started its engine and again, we experienced to be inside the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle.

That's all for now..till my next 'Passport to Europe' episode in this coming November..InsyaAllah.