PARIS

July 3rd, 2014

Paris

by Seer Oon Hor

Congratulations to my brother for graduating with a Masters Degree. The family is very proud of you. So, my parents are around for his graduation. Before his graduation, we took them to Paris! Our journey involved car to train station. Then train to London St Pancras to catch a Eurostar train to Paris Gare du Nord. One tip: Never buy Metro tickets in Eurostar train. We were charged £15 for 10 when it only costs €10.70 from the ticketing machine. Although you bypasses miles of queue in Gare du Nord, I felt we should have been at least informed that they're more expensive but I would save time.

It was very hot when we arrived (did I say it was VERY hot?). As we got to our apartment we quickly dropped our luggages and go sight-seeing. The apartment was great. It was convenient, very clean and has a fully-working kitchen. Certainly one of the best electrical appliances was the coffee machine. I'm not a coffee lover but most of my family members loved it. Elsa, the host, is just amazing. Very accommodative and very flexible unlike some who may not go the extra mile even though they could. Consider this apartment if it suits you.

Day 1

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower. Dinner at Les Cocottes.

Our first stop was Avenue des Champs-Élysées and places along the avenue such as the exterior of Le Petit Palais and Grand Palais. We also visited Arc de Triomphe and walked to the iconic Eiffel Tower. By then there were hungry tummies. So the amazing Shu Li found Les Cocottes which serves decent French food. We were on our feet doing sight-seeing and visiting. I was amazed at how much my parents can walk! Utterly impressed. We ended the day with a sunset view of the Eiffel Tower.

Day 2

Musée du Louvre, Église Saint-Augustin de Paris. Lunch at fabulous simple yet delicious Naniwa-Ya, a Japanese restaurant near Lourve.

Musée du Louvre was our first destination for Day Two. As expected, the queue was long. It was visible from far there are about 1000 people there. I just love the glass structure of the Lourve. Just the interior of the museum was spectacular enough. The size of it was just mind boggling. It is impossible to see everything in one day. So we visited the main sites such as Grande Galerie, Galerie D'Apollon and the Mona Lisa. We also visited Italian Paintings, Egyptian antiques and many more which I couldn't remember. We went out for lunch as food in the Lourve was just so expensive. Cut-throat prices! We were walking around hunting for food. We came across Japanese Town by accident. It was about 3pm when most restaurants were closed. We then stumbled upon Naniwa-Ya, a quant little Japanese restaurant which seems to be run by 2 men; one chef and one waiter. The food was simple and fabulous. I went for rice with raw salmon. We also had Japanese curry Udon, Udon with pork belly and another two dishes which I couldn't remember now. It was DELICIOUS without breaking the bank. We then visited Église Saint-Augustin de Paris before continuing our roam in the museum. The architecture in Église Saint-Augustin de Paris was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. You can see the gothic element in the design. After the Lourve, we headed back for a home-cooked meal in our apartment.

Day 3

Hôtel de Ville, Pont Alexandre III, Pont Neuf, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, Galeries Lafayette, Ladurée, Boulevard Haussmann, Eiffel Tower.

On our third day, we stopped at Hôtel de Ville, which we didn't know it is a town hall. Unfortunately it was a Saturday and it was closed. It is supposed to have beautiful interior. We walked to Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris so that we could do a bit of sight-seeing at the same time. We walked along and past a few of many bridges in Paris. Pont Neuf and the grand Pont Alexandre III, just to name a couple. As with most European cathedrals, the interior is gorgeously designed and most importantly preserved! Due to the crowd, there was a long queue again and we were supposed to walk along the designated path. We then came out and headed to try the (I think over-rated) Berthillon ice-cream. The flavours were nice but not sure if they're worth €3.50 a scoop. We then walked along Boulevard Haussmann towards Galeries Lafayette and enjoyed the sight of nice shops selling nice things. We intended to visit the Perfume Museum. Although it was free to enter, we needed to be guided and there was only one guide. No one could tell us how long it would be. So we waited a couple of minutes and we left. We went into Galeries Lafayette to experience how lavish people are, especially Chinese tourists. They were shopping as it they've gone berserk. They were rude with lots of pushing. Just uncivilised. We headed up to the top for the panorama view of the city. They have artificial grass area with seatings available. Bar was open for drinks for those who wanted some. The view was okay but not enough to make my jaw drop. We then went into Bucherer, a luxury watch shop, where we were treated like god as we walked in as they thought we were rich Chinese from China looking to buy luxury watches. Apparently 4 out of 10 luxury watches were bought by China Chinese. You can tell the watches were aimed at people who likes to display their wealth. There was a Piaget covered with so much diamond you could hardly tell the time. There were a few beautiful watches indeed. We  then took about an hour walk to Eiffel Tower with the hope of going up. We passed by Ladurée to sample their world-famous macaroons. I have to take my hat off to them as they live up to expectation. They were light, crunch but not crumbly and flavourful. Not many famous shops/companies can live up to the hype nowadays. By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower, there were a few grumbling tummies amongst us. We had dinner at Bistro Saint Dominique nearby. I have to say my rib steak was done very well. Sadly the chicken in Poulet Fermier Sauce Foie Gras was undercooked. What made the matter worse was the waiter completely ignored the comment. When I called him back again he said and I quote word by word "You've eaten it. No?". I'm unsure if there was a language barrier since I'm in their land or it was just 'French' thing. I tried to explain that I was not looking for refund, I merely wanted the chef to be aware it's not safe to eat undercooked poultry. He finally acknowledge my comment. I was not a happy diner and don't think I can recommend this restaurant. Unfortunately, we were rather late after dinner. That means going up Eiffel Tower was not a realistic aim anymore. Alright for me as I went up 7 years ago but I could tell my brother was disappointed. Nonetheless we walked around the area with more photos!

Day 4

La Basilique du Sacré Cœur, Gare du Nord.

Since we live not too far from La Basilique du Sacré Cœur, we left this to our last day in Paris. The weather had been kind for the last 3 days but there was intermittent drizzle on our last day. We climbed up the hill towards the basilica. No photography was allowed in the basilica though. However you can enjoy a spectacular panorama view of the city of Paris at the top of The Dome. You can appreciate the density of the city and of course a great angle to see the Eiffel Tower. A much better view than from Galeries Lafayette. We took about 40 minutes to walk back to our apartment. There were a few bakeries nearby. So we popped into a couple of them get our lunches and snack for the train back to London St Pancras. They know how to make breads. Yummmmm. Sadly but surely, we departed Gare du Nord with a picture of the station.

This holiday was a memorable one. To make it more special I had my family with me.