Paris

Aaaaah Paris.....*sigh* To anyone who dislikes Paris (hai Smee), they must re-visit during summer. I was hyping up Paris because I was super excited, but I had to calm myself down so I wouldn't be disappointed.

Disappointed? Not me! Paris is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Why do people say the French are rude? I didn't get that at all, but maybe I had a 'stupid little tourist' charm about me. There was always a "pardon" or "merci" floating in the air.

I will admit, it helps to know a bit of French as most of the people you need to talk to, namely Metro ticket sellers, know very little English. Shopkeepers on the other hand seem to have a good grasp. It's kinda nice when they break out in English after your crappy attempts at French. I left all the speaking up to Mooey.

Mally on the Eurostar.

We stayed near St. Paul and Bastille stations, quite a convenient area close to bars and the main tourist traps. First we ate a crepe (erm in a kebab shop), shuffled down to the Champs Elysees to take some night shots of the Arc de Triomphe. We were also lucky to have a super duper view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. Oh and then because we didn't manage to meet up with our (distant) cousin, we shuffled back to Bastille for some drinkies.

Day Two:

I re-ignited my adoration for pate and cheese. Mmmmm mmmm mmmmmmmmmmm The baguettes are so fresh and smell yummo. I also managed to channel the 'Child Catcher' (scariest villian EVER!) vibe by tempting a little French toddler some fruit.

The greedy guts took the berry in the end.

Mmmmm Cheesieeeee..... mmmmmmm pate. I have to remember the name - Mousse de Canard. I think it means plain duck pate. Nothing special to the French.

Next, we trotted down to Notre Dame and while we did stand in the queue to climb the tower, Mooey and I decided that the line was moving too slowly for our tastes.

Outside and inside the cathedral.

While taking photographs out the front, I was lucky enough to run into some asian superstars. I nearly peed my pants.

Musee D'Orsay was next. The long queue moved surprisingly quickly.

A few of the artworks I've only ever seen in textbooks otherwise. Except for the rude-looking one I sneaked in.

One of the most (unsurprisingly) disappointing things about London is the quality of Viet food. I was dying for a bowl of good pho. Lyddie, Moo and myself lined up outside Pho 14 in great anticipation. Ok, so it was much better than London's (anything is) but the pho at home is still better! What is WRONG with this world!?!?! I must be asking for too much.

- Oh hello Mr. Raw Beef.
- Muhahaha, who's raw now?

Meet your master, the Pho Monster.

Day Three:

The Lourve Museum had to be ticked off the list. While it is recommended that you spend an entire day there, we allocated three hours because we were meeting our cousin Alix. This involved getting to the Lourve at 9am to beat the crowds (oops we overslept and got there at 9.30) and then a lot of shuffling to see the major highlights:

• Madonna on the Rocks
• Sculpture of Nike
• Venus de Milo
• The Crowning of Napoleon
• and that other painting, you know, that woman with the smiling face - Moaning Lisa?
  

Here's Mooey's sneaky video of me photographing the Mona Lisa.

Day Four:

Today was climb-the-Eiffel-Tower Day. Except that we took the elevator.

We got there around 10am, dodged the dodgy souvenir sellers and tacked ourselves onto the end of the queue. The view inside the lift wasn't flash but the view outside compensated.

Somewhere behind us is the Champs Elysees

A view from underneath.


Umm some donuts to snack on after our descent.

What's that horn growing out of my head? (Queen of the Lame, I know)

Next we went back to the Champs Elysees so I could actually stand underneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Spot the Pooey.

One last crepe for the road.

I insisted on buying pate and cheese to cart back onto the Eurostar with me. It was asking for bowel troubles but the food survived! And tasty mighty good too. Anyone wanna go to Paris with me?