The day before we left for Bordeaux,
Clem and i took a walk through Jardin des Tuilieries –
a former royal garden that’s almost 500 years old
and open to the public since 1667.
That night we went to Bouillon Chartier
(7 rue du Faubourg Montmarte 75009)
a restaurant Flore goes to regularly for its great and affordable food.
It was packed and we had to queue for 15 minutes, which was better than an hour.
I had museau for my entree, chopped nose of some erm animal.
Tried some of Flore’s escargots which was nicer, but i couldn’t resist ordering something new and exotic.
Wanted to order boudin for my main, but they were out,
so had lamb ribs instead.
Trying to be a good blogger and keep up with pictures on my trip here is taxing!
Am too tired to edit and post everything tonight so here are most of the pictures first.
Took a tiring 7-hour drive from Paris-Bordeaux
and have just had escargots + steak + mussels + wine + fromage so you can just guess how full and sleepy i am now!
Laterz
+ + + updated + + +
Went to Chloe’s apartment for coffee and brekkie one morning.
She lives in a nice area,
and we took a walk around afterward.
There’s nothing like visiting a regular food market in France!
The sight of all the fresh produce and meat made me want to cook!
Fromage!
I asked Clem, “What animal is that..?!” “Rabbit,” he said. “Poor Thumper!” said i
Escargots ready to take home and grill
Clem’s mum, Dom, said i had to see the Hermes store that was once a swimming pool:
It was gorgeously done indeed…
even the stair railing was engloved in customized leather.
Had mussels in garlic sauce + steak tartare for lunch
I love steak tartare! It’s raw mince meat with egg and pickles… but i adore it.
Just have to try not to think about raw cow as i munch it.
Here’s another picture of it taken with a diff art filter in an effort to make it look less gross… i hope.
Creme brulee for dessert MMM
There was a store which would stud your sneakeres or what-have-you for 50-100 euros
Sonia Rykiel store front
Weirdly enough, this is the Pierre Cardin store window.
Then we went to another Hermes store,
with REALLY ELABORATE window displays!
Lapin!
Champignon!
We also took a walk down Champs-Elysees and i popped into H&M to have a look at their Lanvin collab.
I was quite disappointed in it…
there was a blue dress i thought i’d buy, but the stitching on the sides were very crooked,
and i really didn’t think it was worth 150 euros.
Even with the Lanvin name on it.
But i did find some other things i liked!
My half-hearted self-imposed shopping ban tak jadi.
ย Below is one of my favourite pictures i’ve snapped on this trip so far!
We were walking along the River Seine towards the area where we could take the bateaux mouche, and see the Eiffel tower up close.
Flore was so sweet to get Clem and i tix for theย ย bateaux mouche as my introduction to Paris.
What i needn’t say but will anyway,
is how we almost lost the tickets in the apartmentย and hunted for them like crazy.
Finally found them in the trash -_-
Theย ย bateau mouche ย is a boat tourists can take along the River Seine and view most of Paris’ most outstanding landmarks – the Grand Palais, Notre Dame, various bridges, etc.
Just so happened a gaggle of school children were on the same boat with us…
Clem’s face because there’ll be so many yappity kids on the boat with us.
There were really noisy!
I had some trouble hearing theย English commentation cos from quiet mices,
their chatter rose to noisy ducks.
Their only endearing moment was when a popular French song came on and they all chirped along.
The boat ride was better than i expected!
It really showed us an upfront view of some great buildings in under an hour.
My favourite piece of information from that ride’s education is how the Notre Dame’s largest bell rings in F sharp minor.
I know it’ll be an outstanding fact i’ll remember for the rest of my life.
This is due to my fantastic knack of storing facts that will, in most probability, never benefit me in my life save the pleasure inย my knowing i remember it.
After the bateau-mouche ride, we walked across the road to the Eiffel tower.
I didn’t go up it though.
Clem gave me a choice,
i looked at the queue,
and said, “It’s okay. I love myself too much to line up in the cold for an hour.”
Or very possibly more* than an hour.
We left the area and took the Metro to Saint-Germain-des-Prรฉs,
a really niceย district with shops and cafes where i got fed.
I cannot function without food.
Clem knows that very well.
If i don’t talk, or it’s early in the morning,
first thing to do is FEED JOYCE.
I had ravioli ricotta + basilica
I’m wearing the denim shirt and jacket i had onย for the Uniqlo launch.
That night we had an intimate dinner with just Clem’s direct family + a cousin.
Had raclette + various French and Italian hams + steamed potatoes + pickles.
They even have a special racletteย grill to melt the cheese.
And i learnt how to delicately portion my food so every bite would have a taste of everything.
Bet Dhanya would be pro at this, the only word to describe the way she consumes and savours her banana leaf rice is – meticulous.
Okay would like to end this post in a witty manner but everyone’s drinking so i HAVE TO GO.
Due to the dates i was obstinate to fly on,
i experienced the longest transit i ever had (without venturing out into transit city).
12 hours transit in Doha (as we flew Qatar Airways).
Things to occupy self on transit:
Vogue UK Dec 10, hot choc + whipped cream + choc flakes
Monopoly Deal
We played Deal till it got a bit repetitive.
I suggested making the game interesting by betting that theย loser has to hop to a wall on one leg and back in the airport.
Yes,ย we wereย that bored.
No, he didn’t agree.
The crappy thing about Doha airport is not only does it *not* have a bar,
but all the chairs have armhold dividers that prevent anyone from lying down to sleep.
Which i thought… is kind of evil for an airport.
Exhausted and jetlagged travelers are dying for a few hours kip,
and desperate ones learnt how to push some chairs to face each other so they could lie right in the middle.
Not-so-clever ones who follow suit (us) did the same and passed out till i automatically woke up right before we were to board.
I was inย a bit of a blur and shrieked, “What time is it?!” to Clem, waking him up as well.
He awoke with a jump and a confused expressionย that blaredย WHAT TIME? DID WE MISS THE PLANE OH GOD
Maybe that’s why they put dividers on the chairs.
So people don’t pass out and miss their planes -_-
After roughly 8 hours from Doha-Paris,
we finally landed at 6:30am and took three trains to Flore’s apartment (Clem’s sis).
His parents and sis were there to greet and have brekkie with us,
we chilled till afternoon,
then Clem and i took a walk to Montmarte.
Look how stunted the Christmas trees are!
Apparently it’s really normal for people with small apartments.
There was a Christmas market on the way,
and i got a cup of vin chaud (hot wine).
Cards drawn by children hung off a tree,
which Clem thought were rather funny-awful.
I thought they were fascinating… i always like looking at kids’ art.
It’s been about 1ยฐC-4ยฐC since we got here
and DAMN it’s pretty cold!
We tried reverse psychology by chanting, “J’aime le froid, j’aime le froid (i love the cold),” while shivering down the street.
It helped for maybe half a second.
On the stairs up to where the artists’ square is,
are some buskers and random art.
The man in the wall looked SO real i thought he was!
At least… i think he’s fake… 0_o
A big circle surrounded a bunch of b-boys dancing, really well, i might add!
Another busker had a mini concert going on with the crowd seated on the steps in front of him.
He was singing some popular rock songs, so everyone was singing along,
which is the kind of thing i miss about Europeย
Watching the sunset from Montmarte with the skyline of Paris just under it was quite the perfect introduction to Paris for me.
Was really tired from the long journey so i really could just about make my way up the steps, let alone do something moreย energetic :p
That was Sunday.
Since we arrived we’ve been doing some sightseeing and eatingย
My French is improving drastically in a situation where i have no choice but to try my best to understand what everyone is saying,
and apply what little i’ve learnt in KL!
I read signs in the train stations like a kid.
And to improve my vocabulary,
Clem and i go through the descriptions inย menus while we wait for our food,
or we stand in front of store windows.
At least my first words to add to my French vocab is to do with food and fashion!
Oh, and i bought myself some children’s books in French too!
Finally! A FULLY JUSTIFIED REASON for me to buy children’s books!
It hasn’t snowed since we arrived, but i’m not complaining.
I know it’s going to come sooner or later…
and we’ve been SO lucky it’s been extraordinarily sunny since we arrived.
Flore and Chloe said it’s been raining every day for a month!
The sun helps, but it’s still really really cold.
It’s so cold that:
– my make up has changed consistency and applying moisturizer is torture cos it’s almost freezing.
– we can’t feel our fingers even though we’re wearing gloves.
– i’m not so bothered about what i wear because nobody is going to see it all day under my big winter coat. i will not freeze for fashion.
– waking up in the morning reminds me of waking up for school in the winter, and half-wishing someone would STAB me in bed so i could die and not have to wake up in the horrible cold.
– standing next to the open window got my heart rate up -_-
– walking out into the street forย first time in the day is like a BIG COLD SLAP in the face KAPOW
– Clem has started snoring (sigh)
Still, the cold is part of this whole holiday,
so i’m trying to EMBRACE LE FROID.ย
Embrace the cold, embrace the cold…
*reverse psychology*
I thought i was so over raves… but last Sat night just proved that the party ain’t over yet!
With the right arena and the Lovelies and my man,
we had the BEST TIME EVA.
