The very very addictive yet chewy...

Finally, the need to sit down/eat called out louder than the desire to be enthralled by the Paris sights. (Note: breakfast was only some gummi bears and Jamaican Rum Ritter Sport chocs-- which is so good, I wish I'd bought more!)

We just picked one of the cafes right next to Notre Dame cathedral, and that's when I noticed their love for nutella on crepes...*slurps*..and the bottle was so big leh...

Anyway, we settled for your everyday chicken sandwich, (looks like something from delifrance hor...) and ...
Banana and caramel crepes. This cafe had the crepe making station just outside their front door, so they serve the indoor customers as well as anyone that wants a grab-and-go along the street which I think is pretty smart...

Was it good? -- er...can't recall, when you're hungry -- everything tastes fantastic!

I remembered most about this cafe is the couple beside us were seated on a single small table (it's really the size of ...er..just picture one of those starbucks kopi tables), right next to the main walking aisle where the waitress bustled to and fro...

The couple had bags, maps and travel books and when their orders came...I was wondering how they were going to fit it all on that small table!! They ordered wine and water - each person will have two glasses for each beverage + the two bottles! Next came the food...and they arrived in two large plates, that were accompanied by a small basket of sliced baugettes and mini plates to go with it all!!!!!

How to eat like that?!!...I'd opt to eat with my face on the plate with no hands...ahahaha...well, the disaster did happen and I think while the waitress was serving, two of the glasses go knocked over! =S

Now the thing about these baugettes in France are that they look like the ones we see in SG but aren't as fluffy and extremely addictively chewy! -- guaranteed to give you a good jaw exercise! =)

We decided that if I was going to tackle the rest of the sandwich like an old cow chewing cud, we'd do it walking round the back of Notre Dame. And there...I discovered, they named a park after me! hehehehe...

A very simple park, where we encoutered obese pigeons again...hee...

Here's the back of Notre Dame. it looks really different from the front and is also famous for it's "Flying Buttresses" -- no there's nothing crude in that lah!! they really call it that! You see those structures sticking out at an angle on the right side? (like fountains)..yep those are the 'buttresses' =P

Once again it's another architectural first. To me it was quite ugly but it was essential as it distributed the load of the roof to the ground, or else all the big big holes in the walls for the stained glass windows would not be possible, as the sheer weight of the stone roof would strain the walls and shatter the glass.

It was time to head back to rest! On the way, I believe God led us to explore the smaller roads between the St Michel station and our hotel - which was great, coz there was a multitude of various eateries/ takeaways, supermarkets and a souvenir shop (that ge and I later discovered is almost always open!)

We bought water, coke and schwepps lemon lime. =) and the cashier practiced his chinese by saying 'xie xie' after we paid...=)

Now the interesting thing about this hotel is the lift...it is really the smallest lift i have seen...hahaha...It is narrow, but well lit and carpetted! It load sign reads "3 persons"...but really....i felt like scrawling "petite" so that it would read "3 petite persons'!!!!!

Anyway, coz of the luggage that is effectively one person...only ge could fit in...LOL...I closed the door behind her) it was like putting a turkey in the oven...=P HAHAHA...then...Nothing happened!

Hmmm.....how ah....and we started pushing buttons...hahaha...little did we know there was an interior door that closed and ge had to 'jump' on the luggage, and the lift started up immediately.

I climbed four levels up non-stop...I was keeping pace with the lift which was next to the stairwell. -- dont' ask me why I tortured myself like that...but i guess coz I was worried ge may get stuck in there for eternity or something -- so gotta be there mah...MUAHAHHA....coz it's such a small contraption..=S

I felt my eyes rolling at the back of my head when i rounded the stairs up to level 3 ONLY!!!...LOL...finally on the 4th I was catching my breath so hard, i think ge got abit worried for me...hehehe...I was fine. Just needed to breathe!

It didn't help that ge made me laugh, describing to me how she jumped on the luggage and the claustrophobic thoughts that ran through her head in the lift...hahaha...I had to lean against the wall to catch my breath and laugh at the same time can....tears were streaming...LOL!

After the lost sleep with the early morning train and day's strenuous activity, we both zonked big time for a nap till about 7-ish...and we headed out again for a walk back along the river Seine... Paris lights up their monuments and bridges really beautifully and if you look in any direction, it's a pretty sight... (above) is the Lover's bridge...which i didn't know there was such a bridge called that till ge told me...

We took more pics on the way to and around the Louvre but I can't possibly put it all here lah...=P

The square of the Lourve is open to the public at night...and many people were just walking and taking pictures. There was a busker playing a saxaphone tunes that just made the atmosphere so relaxed!...and he was really good...ge gave him a token...hee...

I.M. Pei's glass pyramids made more famous by the 'Da vinci code' by Dan Brown....

Don't ya think ge's pictures look really nice???! *big smile*

In addtion, you gotta take it with a real steady hand coz the flash is useless..and those of you with digital cameras know what i mean when u have to turn off the flash!

Dinner Time! And the two of us found ourselves in one of the most expensive areas in Paris!! The first arrodisement...Which at first sight..didn't look like there was much food...hmm...but we got side-tracked to buy pricey chocolates from a shop for family back home..=)

The paper bags were nice hor...=) the black bag is ge's reliable day travel bag..=)

God was good again, since we're in the most exp area, we stumbled upon a decent priced place...and were led our hungry way into an eatery that is Illy's...think we have one in Singapore..

Ok..I can't remember exactly what beef dish that is on the foreground...(latest update: ge says it's Beef Bourgignion --- I'm still shocked how she remembers such things!!?!?!...*faints*)...but the one behind is lagsane...but everything was dee-lish! we emptied our plates...and talked till they almost closed..hee...=D

The guy running the place was so nice...he could see we were tourists...and wore an extremely hungry look on our faces..hahaha...on top of that...our poor 'student' looks (and the fact we didnt' buy drinks)...probably led him to to take pity on us and give us a pitcher of plain water with ice! =D That was so nice...I just had to remember it...=)

This is really rare...coz you have to buy everything there...water included one lor...=)

We took the metro at Tuileries back to St Michel. They do take the effort to deco the stations according to the theme of the area...if you are the Louvre stop...you see these relic replicas displayed in cases with captions and information -- as though you were in the museum itself!

Seeing gargoyles...

We arrived about 10am in one of the regional stations called Paris Est and needed to find our way to the Metro Line to take the train into central paris. So here we are, (you guessed it, at the other FAR END of the platform...man....

Here, we've decided to give our luggage the limelight -- see the standee we brought along? (that horizontal thingy on ge's bag)...interesting story about the standees is that when we left SG and checked them in, they slapped on half a dozen "FRAGILE" stickers all over it, and the airport baggage belt in Frankfurt spat them out with dents and bumps!!!! Imagine if there wasn't any sticker at all!!! hahaha...

Anyway, Thank God for a good friend on the Frankfurt trip that was willing to help us bring back the other two since they were heading back SG direct. Really saved us our arms (literally!)
So continuing the story...finding the metro was no issue, but there were very very long queues to buy tickets so we picked one...=) now...as we approached the machine, two things were happening (1) internally hoping that there's a choice in English, (2) constant peering over shoulders to see how they operated the machines, what button they pressed etc. should the previous option fail..hahaha...

This is what you do when you travel man...figuring things out!! hahaha...but thank god we pulled through...Frankly we may have been paying wrongly, but i think we're right. And really, all we needed was two tickets that would let us through the barrier and get us there!

Next Stop: St-Michel -- it has multiple exits, snaking routes and just as many staircases up and down (just imagine tanjong pagar mrt station-- without the escalators)..we're very thankful to the two people who helped us with our luggage.

You see, because i really wanted to help ge with her luggage (some stairs were really long) we had to do it in phases. Thus at times, having to leave behind one luggage/ having ge 'jagar' while i grab the other one...The Parisians saw our predicament and just automatically grabbed the luggage and helped us carry it up or down the stairs..One gentlemen did it with his other hand on the phone, and one lady with the help of her other female friend...=) and these were the so-called immigrants lor...=)

Once out, the trek to the hotel felt like forever! Hahaha...really it was just two blocks but it was UPHILL, and the challenges of road crossing AND some Cobblestone sections. The only thing ringing in my mind was "Keep walking, keep walking...and God i hope the hotel is on this side of the street!"...I could only imagine what ge was going through which I found out later was accomplished by (quote): "Sheer WILL POWER!"

Nonetheless, location of the hotel was good! coz you can almost walk anywhere from there and it's very central! *pats back for self* (for those who heard me 'wailing' on msn during my hotel search...it was hard to find one man!)

You can see my illustration above to have a better idea..hahaha...=) This pic was taken after we dropped off our bags at the hotel, as we could only 'check-in' our room at 1.30pm and it was only 11am. So we decided to explore Notre Dame Cathedral (we crossed the bridge on the right side to get there.)


Front of Notre Dame! see the pigeons? -- something i noticed about the pigeons -- in Frankfurt and Paris, they are an obese bunch man..hahaha...but they look the same as the one's in SG. heehee...in Frankfurt, to keep the pigeons from roosting and pooping on the buidlings/ signboards, you'll find many needles sticking out of every ledge and signage! hahaha...it was so funny to see!! (Imagine MacDonalds the big yellow 'M' with needles!!)

The cathedral has well preserved intricate carvings at all over. The carvings are very detailed and each is unique. The middle archway in the front of the cathedral was so nice ge and me just had to try to squeeze oursleves in for the pic..ahhaha..=)

You see the rounded arches, I noticed they are ANGELS! and each one had a different expression or body pose! The angels are on seats and on many tiers (like a council)! I presume God's in the middle and the angels surrounded and looked on...truly a multitude of angels and saints..=)

I'm sure all the carvings have their meanings, of which some are weird, e.g. a man stepping on another/ on an animal of sorts... but the detail is amazing..

Entrance is free, but it's teeming with tourists, so it's a long Q in, but enough room inside to still be able to roam freely. Just do not expect the extreme silence you'd expect in most cathedrals.

Going in the cathedral, this is what you see...This was another engineering feat in it's day as to build such sheer height, with no central support and or collapsing in the early 12th century was ...*whistles*

And it's so grand...that you have to...

Look up 1/2 the time to appreciate....this...

and this....
(these coloured windows are called rose windows...I'm sorry you need to tilt your head coz blogger just won't let me load it horizontally lor!...grrr....)

The cross in the center really looked like gold....and it possibly was eh?...

Bit of history: It took 200 years to complete and generations of masons! It is the size of one american football field. It is located on 'Ile de la Cite' which is like a mini island in the middle of the River Seine (whihc runs through paris). Ile de la Cite was the original start point where the first settlers 'lived', before the city grew outwards...=)

As you walk through, there is much to take in...and you can take the time to see the beauty of the windows...

...and even design has been put in the drainage grills, as ge aptly highlights in her photo below...=) ...shoes included..hehehe...=P

The candles were really nice and tempting to bring back..(best to contribute then take..haha..) ...But being just practical me..(space and weight)...I bought a 2Euro tourist Notre Dame coin here with the year stamped on it..hee...can add to my collection (got one in NZ toos!)

Heading out, we walked along the side and saw more GARGOYLES...now i really don't undestand why churches build gargoyles on their exterior...=S so scary lor...supposed to act like a scarecrow ah?

Anyway, just checked online and here's what i got!

The word "Gargoyle" shares a common root with the word "Gargle"; which comes from "gargouille", an French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. The word “gargoyle” is also a derivative from the Latin word, “gurgulio”, which had a double meaning, “throat”, and the “gurgling” sound water makes as it passes through a gargoyle. A carved creature that does not serve the purpose of a drain pipe is frequently referred to as a "Grotesque".

Legend has it, that a fierce dragon named La Gargouille described as having a long, reptilian neck, a slender snout and membranous wings lived in a cave near the river Seine, Paris. The dragon caused much fear and destruction with its fiery breath, spouting water and the devouring of ships and men. Each year, the residents of Rouen would placate Gargouille with an offering of a victim, usually a criminal, though it was said the dragon preferred maidens. Around AD600, the village was saved by St. Romanis, who promised to deal with the dragon if the townspeople agreed to be baptized and to build a church. Romanus subdued the dragon by making the sign of the cross and then led the now docile beast back to town on a leash made from his priest's robe. La Gargouille was then burned at the stake, it is said that his head and neck were so well tempered by the heat of his fiery breath, that they would not burn. These remnants were then mounted on the town wall and became the model for gargoyles for centuries to come.

Frankfurter Wrap up!

OK, official work pics (they had to appear somewhere!)...covering thursday and friday. Thought I'd share with you my organisation's first overseas SG Pavilion. Even though the exhibition was not a success in many ways, I'm still proud we made it! =)

See how empty the aisles were? I msned the team back home and told them it's so empty we can play golf on the carpet!! and the ball would sail right through!

This is one side of the pavilion where my org is...we did open concepts so that we can share space and 'cover' each other at times...

Above is out 'frontage'...i had so much time on hand, I did some decor on our recep table...hehehe...then you can see 2 of the 3 standees we lugged to Frankfurt. We did this up for the show in less than two weeks!

ge probably clipped her fingers several times *ouch* ...while we did a trial set up for all 3 in our little hotel room earlier that week..heee...it's the kinda thing that you brace yourself for a recoil/ backlash as you strain to open parts with your barehands...i mused to myself that it takes two girls to set up one standee...(ie. the riddle: how many does it take to set up a standee?...LOL...)

and chor-lor me possibly spoiled one of them in the first exhibition day! =S after all the efforts!

One of the companies actually brought a plasma TV neh!!!

The only pic with all 3 of us in! Boss, ge and me!...heee...one for the annual report!..oooo...the the 3rd standee is there tooz!

13th Nov (thursday) was one of the participants beeday! He brought his family along for the trip. So you see his two sons here -- haha...the elder one looks like his dad hor...=)

we all went for a japanese/chinese buffet dinner near the hotel again, where *ahem*..my boss actually found a very dead cockroach...but kept quiet and just informed the manager, who was grateful...

I never saw it, but i knew from my boss's actions something was up!!!...i'm not the squimish sort for roaches...but i knew ge was!..hiak hiak...but i told boss to spare her please..dun give the details! I want her to sleep well, no?...HAHAHA...=P

Talking about squimish, i confess i was, at the natural history museum in my earlier posts...there were other exhibits of stuffed snakes, spiders and what-nots, that ge and I clung on to each other and marched through..hahaha...thank god we're not irked by the same things...so it's either on of us leading the way..HAHAHA...

*shudder*...i hate snakes!

Friday was a tour to the Lufthansa Technik Site! The last pic before i had to say goodbye to my boss (who was off to join his family in london) and ge who was sentenced to an afternoon of absolute boredom at the exhibition hall...haiz...like i said many tiems before, she would've so appreciated the tour unlike others...but what to do....grrr....=S

My personal visitor pass to the Lufthansa Aviation Centre! This place is truly amazing and I think they won some recognition for it's environmental friendly design..see the reception below!

Heard from my Frankfurt tour that offices had a rule whereby a person cannot be located less than 6m away from a window!! WAH!...which also explains the office layout that you see below! Each office space is big and have nice uniform furniture! Like Ikea style lor...=) the canteen is open and airy and had lots of food choices! (i took the pic below from the canteen)

I joked with the Lufthansa staff that you can see who's working and who's slacking eh?...esp the bosses? LOL...but i found out, the bosses have their private canteen somewhere else...=S

Which i felt sorry for them...imagine eating with the same 11 to 15 people daily! hahaha...

Luthansa Aviation Centre has about 1000+ staff in there lor!!!...it's like an army! and with the rest of the locations, the total staff gave them reason to have their own kitchen to feed them ALL...

Then we walked over to the traning facility in the hangar area, and learned about the trainee-ship and saw the various learning stations the students had to go through.

Engine Engines!!! I'm always still so amazed when i see one...=) they always look so impressive!

The above pic was chosen coz i remember it took a whole 10mins just to coordinate the group to take the photo!!..they just didn't know how to split themseleves 1/2- 1/2 lor!...*growl*...*speechless*...

Lab work for the first year students. It was a friday, and all classes and offices hours end at 4pm in germany!! So good man...so you see the students here cleaning up after thier work..and were extremely efficeint and professional about it...no unnecesary chatter and even so, they moved in quick time!

Naturally, the group to get this opportunity to train here, would be a cream de la creme group.

Below is an engine specially designed to show how one works! with the rotating parts and sparks included! Everything moves! From the fan all the way down to the compressor blades!...They even colour coded it, so that you can understand each part better and see the significance of each one!

its so cool...we need one of these in SG lah...It's a very good teaching tool...

Perfect example of a Radome eh?...hahaha...and with that remark, think i lost 3/4 of my blog readership ...HAHAHA....sorry guys, but i try my best not to bore you lah...so i layman term as much as possible k?...heee...

That sums up the Frankfurt leg of my trip!!! FINALLY! after like...hmmm....5 posts!?..hahaha...the lufthansa tour on friday was also the last day of the exhibition!

So ge and I were scheduled to catch the saturday 6am train to Paris! Yay!

we checked out at 5.30am and you know hah...our wagon/coach was THE VERY LAST ONE at the end of the platform lor!!! sadist leh!! *faints*...yes, we had trolley bags...but i tell you, dragging them after THAT distance, both of us wouldn't even know if our arms were still attached to our bodies!! coz they were so numb at one point, I just used my body weight to pull it..hahaha...

It was harder for ge yah...the look on her face when she realised she had to haul it onto the train after that was --- hehehe..=P

Hey, considering her size...she's independent and strong ok *clap claps*...dont' play play ah...hahahaha....but seriously, the weight of the luggage was no joke...but she did it!! Though she confessed her knees almsot gave way under her! =)

I'm so proud of her you know...even though half the time I was nagging at her to let me do the hauling! But she would have none of it lor...=S...*piaks*...

With a 3h 50min ride to Paris, ge whipped out her camera again..to showcase: Her 3rd book she was on the way to finish...(she read 3 books in these few days k!!!..*faints*...she is worm...book worm...)...her new ipod nano which was an early beeday gift from her fren...and breakfast was -- yes..Haribo gummi bears!

Monday through Wednesday...

Early monday morning, we had to go to the airport to pick up the main SG contingent that arrived that day. Some of you have heard my many stories about my experiences in this trip but i'm going to leave it all out in my blog...hahaha...coz really the good stuff is the one worth remembering and really archiving into my blog...

If you wanna hear the stories, I'm always open for a mocha/ ice cream treat...hahaha...
Group pic after they settled their stuff in the exhibition hall. This was close to 12 plus 1pm...Had some problems with the pavilion as usual, but nothing major that was a problem except that they ran out of RUBBISH BINS?!...and couldnt' give us even though we are entitled to it. and they charged us 3.50euro PER SQM for waste removal...duh!?!?

We brought them to Romer where they can jalan and go get thier own lunches.

Ge and i were happy to just get away and hit the shopping street..hahaha...Since we missed it all on Sunday with everything closed mah! but first stop-- German food! Past few days dinner was chinese and boss's extravagant treat for western...so it was time to find a good local meal. (took a pic of the outside so that can remember the place..hahaha)

Quite a mouthful to pronounce eh?...hehehe...the lemon lime drink was sho good!! It had a kick to it once you swallowed! we had two glasses..haha...

I went for the Pork knuckle, and it was served exactly as above..hahaha...ge had her bratwursts...but really it was worth it...don't recall exactly how much but i think it was about 30 odd euros ...=D

The interior was warm, cozy and had all the funny odds and ends..hahaha....credit to ge for finding the place...actually, the rest of the trip God blessed us with good food at good prices! And it was pretty much ge who had the eye for it...hiak hiak...

Surprisingly, the mood to shop wasn't there...i guess lethargy set in...but the only buy was worth it! ge got this 'michellin' man kinda hoodie, that looks real good on her...=) for 19 euro only! =)

We soon headed back and sat outside starbucks while waiting for the tram..hahaha...it was so relaxing and peaceful just things go by (vs in Singapore) I just didn't wanna move when the tram came! hahaha...the checkered bag in her left hand was her shopping spoils...and what drink did we have ah...hmm...yes...caramel macchiatos! Coz it was the first time i was introduced to the 'art' of swiping the caramel on top first! LOL!

This is my boss...he looks super xian coz i kept laughing as i took this pic and he was just so 'game' to let me take it..hehehehe...

We had chinese dinner with the group at Jade Restaurant near the hotel, and thier seats were coloured this yellow and black pattern...ahhhaha...and my boss so happened to wear the exact same coloured shirt lor..hahaha... if he sinks down abit, it looks as though there's just his head lor!Due to the poor exhibition turnout, by 4pm on wednesday afew of us decided to go see the Natural History museum which was a 15min walk from our exhibition hall...dino bones! cools!

Typing this, I'm suddenly reminded of ge 'pushing' me out into the path of an oncoming tram as we wallked there!!!...=S coz she gave me the ''it's ok to cross'' look...hahahaha...*narrows eyes*...what did i do wrong mun!?

Dino: "I'm anorexic 2/3 of the time...but i see no side effects.."

Above pic looks like space ships...but can you believe it, they are single cell organisms?! (fossil of course)

It seemed the group had yet to try their taste for good german food....so...dinner was...you guessed it..hee..but we went to somewhere nearer the hotel and got slightly lost walking there...It's on Baseler Street near the river.. Eck means 'corner'.

Food pics again!top is Pork chop (I think) and mushrooms --- i only remember attacking those mushrooms from ge's plate and mine was a good ol' steak with heavenly onions...*slurp*

Headed back late...but saw an NKOTB poster stating their tour in Jan 09!!!...=(...sniffs...haiz...memories of being a Blockhead came back and we all sang sappy early 90s ballads enroute back to the hotel...*buries face*...I sang tommy page can...goodness!?