The Encore!

Had planned this while I was doing my photo-story of my Frankfurt-Paris trip back in Jan/Feb...but always felt it could wait for a time you just want to look back and have a laugh. =)

I've laid them out below in completely random order. I just seived through all the photos again (including some from my mobile) and picked out mostly a handful of photos that never made it to my photo-story...but they've all got great/silly memories to go with it.

So here we go and I hope you have fun!
Yeah!! La Tour Effiel bathed in blue! It's so pretty and I'll always remember it this way, with it's beautiful sunset views along the Seine river...

Believe it or not, I've been contemplating building the Lego version of it! (which reaches your shoulders)One of the views from my bed in Frankfurt. It's the sharing table between the beds. -- and as you can see, Ge and I are just (organised) messy slobs. -- Which to me was a relief! =P

I took this pic while Ge was showering...Oh, and i never told you that the hotel's bathroom heater runs by a circular dial timer that switches off every 10mins. The dial timer is located OUTSIDE the loo...so it was quite amusing coz everytime I reset the timer for Ge, I felt as though I was setting the oven/ microwave to cook a chicken (in the loo)...hahaha...once you turn the dial to set it, there's a ticking sound as though it's counting down the seconds! LOL!

Good thing there was not 'ding' sound to mark the end of the 10mins!! HAHAHAHA....

Ballooon Dog in Versailles --- Cute...I still love it...

Loved it even more the way it was portrayed in Night in the Museum 2, because it really illustrated how I feel inside whenever I see this Balloon Dog sculpture! (Go watch the show!)

A large wood model of Notre-Dame, in the church itself. Ge took the pic, focussing on the ever intriguing gargoyles.

I always remember she was the one who pointed them out to me outside the church ah...I was like "Gargoyles!?!?! HERE!?! I thought they were only on Dracula's castle!!"

Sacre-Couer: Church of the Sacred Heart -- part of history, heritage and a religious site.Could we possibly be arrested for sacrilegious behavior outside it's walls? Hahaha...Hahaha...They really are some of my favourite photos of the trip...=)

Arc de Triomphe! It was triumphant last stop we chionged to go see after a long day at Montmartre that was topped off in a hunt for a Gucci bag for my mum...=)
The transit at Doha airport on the way back to SG. We had a Root beer float with a 6 pc nuggets and fries. -- an amazing price of S$30 in total! Heh...and that's Ge with her JD Robb book she bought in Galleries Lafayette, Paris...a real import! =P

The Hotel de Suez's clautrophobic lift that can fit 2 humans OR 3 luggages, 2 backpacks and 1 Ge...haha...it's just the width of my shoulders lor. 2pax and you can't turn liao...Hmmm...its a lift where you can't blame that it's 'someone else' if you farted in there huh?...hehehe...

The Seine River - One of the many bridges that links Ile de la Cite to the other parts of Paris. Buildings are like all of the same colour type there..build the same time bah...=)

First night out in Frankfurt! -- And we were looking for the red-light district! I'm serious...we WERE looking for it! hehehe...=P curious lah, supposed to be super near our hotel.

We got around Paris by train all the time! =)

Kopi in Frankfurt by the side of the road.

In the tour around Romerburg (Frankfurt) -- Clear skies and what looks like a rocket?!? Can a plane go straight up like that?

This is a good illustration of 'How to ignore Ge."..hahaha...She was reading the guidebook outside Pantheon, Paris.

Museum in Frankfurt: Stupid ideas cross your mind after a long day. -- Trodden to death by a dinosaur. ( does my insurance cover this?!)

Couldn't keep my hand steady for the shot coz we we're giggling like kids over Ge's facial expression as she went on a Kinder Bueno high!

The 'dash' between Dome and Crypte is deceivingly simple here on the signboard. In reality, a few hundered stairs...*gulp*...we came- we conquered!

Dinnertime in Paris was always a cozy affair. Every cafe had character and warmth.

Hahaha..this picture though deceivingly plain has a hilarious 'pek-chek' story behind it! It's the organ in the Royal Chapel of Versailles. We were walking past and were rewarded with a rare moment the musician was playing a beautiful piece on the historical organ!

After we wormed our way to get a good view in front, Ge hit the video record button, only to have the SD card run out of memory after 3 seconds! GAK!!!...the poor girl scrambled, dug and loaded a new card and restarted the camera. The whole time, we mused "Wouldn't it be just 'great' if he stops playing just when you start recording again?"....yeah..that pretty much happened lor..HAHAHA..he actually played his last note when it started recording and we were hoping, that maybe, just maybe he'd play another one...haha...dashed hopes..=)

It's cold enough to leave your beverages outside our Paris hotel window to chill. =) Lemon Lime Bitters schweppes which I realised can't find in SG! =(

Hahaha...when I dont' cooperate with the photographer!

Ge's nice artistic shot of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, using one of Jeff Koon's exhibits. =)

Frankfurt - we tried desperately to fit ourselves into a photo with the big Euro dollar! the joys of digital cameras!

The Oriental Teller at Haufbanhof station...this is me sending my first sms home in the middle of dinner!

Am blessed I can travel... hee..=)

Au revoir Paris!!!

Halfway walking through the maze of tunnels in the metro, we realised maybe it wasn't such a good idea to head anywhere we were not too sure about getting to while lugging two big gucci paper bags...ahhaha...it attracted attention lah...notch good...we got looks which clearly spelt tourist with goods..haha...

I wanted to go see the Arc de Triomphe and take photos there at least...=) Honestly, we were tired oredi lah, and should head back soon, so with God's pretoectioand and direction, we found our way there.

The triumphal arc honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I. It was built from 1806 to 1836.
A handful of torurists where there taking photos too, but we didn't have to wait long to get front and center opportunities with the Arc!

We managed to take a nice pic with our first try! Yiiipppeee!!! hee...
With the constant traffic that circles the arc, there's an underground tunnel that brings you to there. But i told ge it was okie, that we need not go lah...I wouldn't be missing anything, being so dark you can hardly see anything..=) But on the side, I just didn't have a good feeling about it. Hahaha...I trust that is God's prompting lah...=)

The metro entrance at Saint Michel! So spooky hor...hahaha..cheesy kinda spooky!

It's the last night in Paris! Sobz...ge made the best of it, taking shots here and there just to remind you of the streets of this city...

We got back to the hotel, dropped our bags and headed back to ..ya..you guessed it the same old street...LOL...as usual, ge, with the gift of picking a good makan venue chose this spot! =) it looked really cozy and crowded with locals. =)

The entrees and the mains!

We had a table next to the bar...yeah, cramped corner, but the bistro was comfortable and the decor was interesting too!

Once again, we stayed there till super late! The table beside us changed diners twice!

While walking back, I was just thinking it'd be nice if tomorrow never came and we had to go home..hahaha...don't we all feel that way when a holiday is ending eh?

The entrance to Hotel de Suez was where we stayed these 4 nights. =)

Next morning, we just took to street strolling..hahaha...it was super chilly that morning and most of the shops weren't open yet. we headed to the Pantheon which was pretty near our hotel.

Unfortunately, the place wasn't open...so we took some photos outside...

Seems there was an art exhibition around there...=)

This area is near the Univeristy grounds, so there were many bookshops and stores catered to the students. Even the cafe's had a different focus and prices were a wee bit cheaper.

We opted to settle brunch at one of them, which had extremely friendly staff, who made the extra effort to welcome us by introducing us to what was nice and being patient while we decided..even though we kept changing our mind..=)

the Kopi queen with two cups of the brew...MAHAHAHA...

You see all the FFFoooooooodddddDD behind me?! *slurp* My pasta was colourful but too dry...see lah -- Jean, stop experimenting!!!...hahaha...but I guai, I finished it all--- by stealing the sauce from ge's plate...hehehe..

After that we just continued our stroll and did a quick roundabout to NotreDame and back up Saint Michel, picking up my Arc de Triomphe painting poster along the way (which I've put up on my cupboard!)

That's it folks! OK OK....of course we took the plane back...but that experince was terrible, coz we paid for the airport shuttle and the guy dropped us off at the wrong terminal. We had little time to spare and had to move fast to find the right one, which was a complicated procedure of terminal trains (like our sky train) and lifts to different levels. The bad thing about it was that your trolley ain't allowed on the trains!!!!

Ya lor...not only that, they put up barriers at a distance so that the last 50m was covered dragging your luggage. to make matters worse, ge's bag was spoilt remember? =S

The airport is quite messy too with unclear signs, slow Qs...and once again--Thank God for Changi Airport...i begin to understand how we won the accolade for so many years..hahaha..

I also had a horrible experience with the VAT refund...bo chap and inefficient attitudes man...thank god at the end for the kind security guy who was going off duty (he looked chinese)..he willingly helped me post the envelope.=) ---there was supposed to a box to drop it off one lor...but we never saw it! =S

Ah well, we got through it...=)

At the departure lounge, we were waiting with a large number of muslims, not sure whether they were arabs?..they were laying out mats and praying....hmm..but anyway, no harm intended k...this is not a racist joke...but ge (the less blur of the two humans) pointed out to me that they were praying and bowing down directly in the direction of the toilet entrance...ahhahaha...it was quite farnee lah...yes..I know, it was not the toilet lah...it was the direction of Mecca rite?..=)

That lightened up the mood for the rest of the trip home, coz we were quite riled up by the entire airport episode...sheesh...

Oh, and I expanded my vocab on the plane you know?! Coz the person next to me was calling me a 'Stup'!!! (pronounced 'Stoop') !?!?!?...grrr...she was forgiven ...screw bit loose with the airplane pressure you know..hahaha...=P

So if I ever call you 'Stup' dun be upset with me hor...i'm simply practicing..HAHAHA... =D

Au revoir!!

4 + 1 books...

It was almost like a scene out of those vampire castles..if it weren't for the modern flourescent lights and the knowledge that it was day light outside, it would've been even spookier. Hahaha...hardly anyone was there...Sacré-Cœur = Sacred Heart. The crypt is suppsoed to contain a relic that some believe to be Christ's Sacred Heart ...hmm...didn't see that leh... probably coz everything was in french.

Historical artefacts lined a corner of the crypt.

A grisly thought swept though my mind, when I wondered how many injured/ dead/ dying people sought refuge in this underground enclove during times like World War II....=S

I know..I sacre myself..Mahaha...this place has the strangest statues...the scariest to me was the one below...near the exit..

It is really very life-like!!! I actually 'glared' at it so that I won't be afraid..hahaha..you know face up to your fears...the features on the face was so real, I wouldn't be surprised if the eyes just suddenly opened and looked back at me.

So strange to have a statue of someone holding their head lor!!!

Now I've found out, he's Saint Dennis. He was a martyr having been beheaded by the sword on the highest hill in Paris (now Montmartre).

He was the bishop of Pariisi and (allow me to be blunt) in essence pissed off the pagan priests by having too many conversions. So they took him to the top of the hill and did the deed.

According to legend, after his head was chopped off, Denis picked it up and walked two miles, preaching a sermon the entire way. The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was made into a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France.

So they have since then illustrated him, holding his head...yikes..

Dunno who trying to act cute...=P

....Probably thankful she still has her head....

Ge points out to you where we actually were earlier, at the top of Sacré-Cœur....OOOoooooo

After that, we spent the rest of the afternoon just strolling the streets and poking our heads at display windows. =) Me bought a new passport cover for myself! Still a patriotic red with a rebel streak..coz got a pirate on it! hehe...

We popped into a simple eatery that just served kebabs and we had coke..*slurp* to go with it. it was tea time, but effectively, our lunch! =)

At the last few shops we bought quite a bit of stuff, especially me...hehehe...my Paris jacket, tees for my sisters/ nephew and carabina chain souvenirs. Last shop was for boots! Ge got one pair toos...or was it two...hmmmmm....=P

Anvers was the metro stop! And we were going to head to find my cgl's gucci bag...hmmm..where did we go again ah?..no no...not Champs Élysées I think it's rue Royale that we needed to go to, which was pretty near our first night makan venue.

Whatever it was, we were new to the underground pathways in the metro...and we finally found an exit as near as possible to rue Royale, that 'spat' us out to a beautiful sight!

Look familiar??? Yep! we were here before -- Place de la Concorde!! This is a really nice photo..=)

Shopping haul from Paris! Yeah...the affordable end of the shopping scale..I was just telling ge as we were headed to the pricier branded shopping part of town how we'd look carrying our pasar malam type of shopping goods..hahaha...

Anyway, cut the long story short, i had to go to Galeries Lafayette to get the bag, coz they didnt have stock at the main outlet!!...It was within walking distance but we had to move fast..coz they would be closed in about an hour?

The trek finding our way there was proabably the fastest pace of walking we'd done in our time in paris..hahaha...no time to browse the shops.

And yes, Galeries Lafayette was hard to miss...this is just one of the two buildings ...and they were beeeg...so...err...where would the gucci be huh?...

To be dead honest, it was a horrible place to be inside and we couldn't wait to get out. It was packed and warm with horrid ventilation. The lights were blindingly bright and ...did I say warm?

Cutting through the maze of cosmetics...i decided to look up...WAH!!!!...I quickly poked ge to see...(who was efficiently occupied finding where in the world was that gucci. It's like finding your way around takashimaya for the first time with NO MAP/ DIRECTORY lor..horleeble...)..

So nice!...heee...the pics came out nicely!

We found the place, which was horribly understaffed, given the customer type they had that day..i.e. not like us, ask, check and go. And we had to wait abit...thank god for patience and tolerance...hahaha..it was getting warmer, and we had our bags to take care of lor...

Anyway, I got my cgl's bag and picked one for my mum. Haiz...then still need to queue for the duty free stamp...and figure out the forms. Staff weren't that helpful lah...gimme a break man..it's my first time. They gave me this increduled look when i asked them to explain the process to me...grrr...

Good thing ge wasn't there, I'd probably allow her to bite off their heads! hahahaha...she was book browsing...I was so happy she went to buy another book to read for her trip home...I know it just brightened her up... Ya...this girl is a bookworm, she inhaled the 4 books she brought for the trip liao and wondered if she could survive the trip back without one. HAHAHA...

She had been hesitant the past few days to spend the $$ on the book...understandable lah...hehehe...but thank god she did orh...else...who knows..she'd chew me alive on the plane or something...=P hehehehe...