Velvet Toilet Bowls...

Still on the guided tour, we were brought around to several rooms... Possibly one of the first most accurate clocks! I think it was King Louis the XV or XVI that was facinated with science. It was deliberately build transparent behind and place in front of the mirror so you can see the mechanics. The King would sit in front of it for hours decribing how it works to his guests.

The top globe thingy is the revolving planets! One of the few that represented that the earth revolved around the sun...remember in the past they think it's the other way around?

The Rollo-top desk used by the King to do work. With the turn of ONE lock, all the drawers of the table will be secured! One of the first and only unique one to be designed with those carvings..and heaven help me, I can't remember the name of the creator..but he was 'The Man' for rollotop desks, like Bill gates is to computers!....

It also reminds me of the National Treasure II movie of the table with secret compartments!

Yesh..you guess it -- TOILET!....i could sit here all day reading my book...haha...

Royal family dining table. Surprisingly simple... though i think not original

Gambling/poker room!! A great way to get back the $$ you gave out as salaries eh?

During the french revolution, much furniture was taken and sold. To this day, they are still seeking to find the and try to buy them back. I asked how would they know exactly which piece of furniture was place in which room?! Seems the palace kept good decriptions/ records of what furniture was in what room and detailed them to the design and material.

Some of what you see here are replicas, till the real thing was found...

The curtains for all the rooms are remade and not original, as they were burned in the revolution. But they were specially remade by the same producer who provided the originals. Yep, the company is still running to this day!

(Above) the blonde lady in red was our guide, and she was a fierce one..haha...but she's good lah...just need a slight bit of tact...hehehe...

Paintings were taken and stored ironically to be protected at the Lourve during the revolution..but is now forever the property of the museum.

Okies...we had to go explore the rest of the palace on our own -- so it was back to getting audio headsets. (that looked like it was available in 10 languages?!..wah....)

We walked past the Royal Chapel again, where the royal family would sit to attend mass. =) There was someone playing on the organ!!! So rare!!!

Poor ge tried to record it on video but only got 5 seconds worth coz her SD card ran out of memory...argh!!!....and guess what...by the time she swtiched to a new card and turned on her camera again -- the guy stopped playing!!!!! --- ARGHHHHHH!!!!!

Ge muttered in despair that this always harpoons to her...hahaha... I blinked in both unbelief and amusement....hahaha...then i said in encouragement..."You know...maybe he'll play another piece eh?"...he never did...OH WELL...get to hear some organ better than none eh? =)

First room we stepped in had another HUGE Jeff Koonz sculpture splat right in the middel of the room --- Balloon DOG! hahahaha....

Hahaha...I had a stunned feeling on the inside. It was just so glaringly out of place.

Amongst the elaborate artistry, furniture and crafted/ painted ceilings...

But it jsut grew on me in a few minutes because it's such a pretty colour and CUTE...heee...and it looked like a giant toy again...

How big?? -- It was one and a half times of my Height?

Well, the balloon dog was detailed too...right down to it's balloonish nose...heee...I couldn't help but wanna take a pic with it!

Next room had a Silver Rabbit!

There was a point my eyes gave up on really trying to look at every nook and corner at the designs...

That was an inflatable lobster hanging like a chandelier on the background. =)

A Jeff Koonz piece of work of the King Louis XIV. =)

Soon we'd be going to the Hall of Mirrors...to give you an idea....it has...at least two...mirrors!!! HAHAHA...ok ok...lame joke..haiz...

Meeting the Sun King....

It gets harder with each post...harder to decide what photos to add in ...(my cgl say add all...*ahem*...there are hundreds lor...) ...Paris is just pretty! and there are so many stories I'd just like to add in for memories sake..=) I try my best lah ...

Paris Day Two and we decided to take a day trip out to Versailles (Ver-sa-igh). To go see King Louis XIV's impressive palace he spent his lifetime building, and you could say it was only quite complete by the reign of King Louis XVI.

Guidebook recommended we be there around 10am and experience a shorter queue. Oh...we stuck to the time of 10am of course...we WOKE UP at 10am!!! HAHAHA...aiyah...holiday lah...impt rule to remember in order to enjoy your travels.

Ge's never been here before so it was pretty exciting. LOL...highly recommended by my friend Duck and I couldn't agree more just barely an hour into stepping into it's grounds.

We had to take the RER train out of the city (about 30mins)..RER trains have double decks (see below) unlike the Metros, but both serve the Paris area. Ge's two best friends who happened to be meeting up back in SG decided to call and bug her...hahaha...so sweet of them...anyway, while she focusses on their antics, I was charged with the photo taking...hee..=)

Act cool lah...talk on phone also must have one hand in jacket..haha =P

Now Versailles just seems like one of those places alot of people go to just to visit the palace. (aka, Chateau de Versailles)...so they include the name on the train stop name. No brainer when it came to knowing where to get off..hehehe...and just follow the signs!

Somehow we were still just too sleepy and needed a kopi pick me up. But the queue in the starbucks just opposite the station was loooong...=(

Halfway in the Q, ge suggested we take care of our tummys too!...great! and we quit coffee and trundled off to the Macs just next door for brunch...

Even the 'M' is so so classy in Paris lor..macham like everythg needs to be so arty..hehe...I decided to try something you can't find in SG...but really, doesn't taste that diff from your SG burger..haha... only the bun is unique.

If i'm not wrong, ge had fish fillet burger. =)

In Paris, just like in Frankfurt, you can opt to choose wedges, or coleslaw other than your regular french fries. No prizes for guessing what we like...=P

It was drizzly and quite dark that day, so the pics aren't as bright and using the flash was pointless. Hahaha...I'm suddenly reminded why I thank God I dont' wear specs...coz when it drizzles, i'm not affected..like ge, who was making a face about leaving the cap behind in the hotel..LOL...=P

About a 400m stroll away was the chateau. I was just imagining horse drawn carriages took the same huge cobblestone pathway we were tripping over, as we walked up to the front gate, 300 years ago...So here's the front of the Palace. Really, this is the main building, but this possibly constitutes only 10% of the entire palace area. You can see at the back there's restoration works going on...On the right of the pic above, this part of the palace houses the Royal Chapel, which later you'll see how elaborate the interior is...
Even in the gloomy weather, the gates still stand out in a strong gold colour..

Now this huge golden thing was splat right in the middle of the front square!...hahaha...doens't it look familiar?...it's a BALLOON FLOWER!....a giant one!

Initially i just thought it was so weird. But after passing it several times, it kinda just grows on you coz it's so tongue-in-cheek. It's as though a giant came by and left behind a huge toy.

We later found out there was a sculpture art exhibtion by Jeff Koonz, which meant that his works was peppered throughout the palace. ie. the balloon flower being the first you will encounter. =)

I think ge's pic nicely captured the contrasts of historical architecture, the industrial modern day scaffolding and 'what-were-they-thinking' work of art...haha...

Meet the boy, crowned King just before his 5th Birthday - King Louis XIV who called himself the Sun King, because of the idea that, just as the planets revolve around the Sun, so too should France and the court revolve around him. As a result, he was commonly associated with Apollo, the Greek god of the Sun.

And truly in most of his reign, France was a leading power in Europe.

We bought tickets for a guided tour (on top of the standard entry ticket), and we had to report back to the ticketing area in 45mins at 1.30pm. So we killed time by visiting the nearest 'can-see' area - the Apartments of the Dauphin.

Now ge and I wondered, why these french royalties called themselves literally Dolphins lor..with some research i learned that Dauphin is the royal title given to the apparent heir to the throne...ORRHHH...*nods head*...=)

Don't you think the bed is very short?! They are all like that leh...i wonder how they sleep! haha...If I'm not worng, the Dauphin was born here and the chairs on both sides were for the courtesans on 'standby mode' to serve any need.

The entrance ticket includes the audio guide (ie. earphones and a mobile phone looking device) that tells you about each room you are in...

I'm sure it was informative...in fact, abit too informative...they introduced so many royal names and titles, after a while, you get kinda lost, --- " Who stayed what room...the picture on your right was painted in #### and was done during so-and-so's ____(add significant event) to commemrate....and in this other room so-and-so met with so-and-so regulary and they spent their free time doing yee-dee-ya-dah with this OTHER so-and-so...." ...hahahaha...

It all sounded the same after awhile..haha...so..hmm..I gave up at some point, and just left the commentary running in the background, and enjoyed the artifacts ..=)

... Which probably led to this pic..(reminds me of ge's blog)...hahaha...that's me waving to the mirror on the right side...

Sorry the photos are so dark...they don't turn on much lights there (I guess to preserve the things) at the same time, the natural light was not helpful on the drizzly day...

Each room is unique and decored with theme and purpose according to the occupants fancy and interests...

See....the bed is so short!!! haahha...can't get over it..hahaha...ge said...maybe last time they are short?!?...hmmm...she has a point..=S the girl has brains! =P

I was time for us to head back and gather with the group for the guided tour. We passed a corridor in the Apartments (see above)...and again...nice photo --> points for ge's photography!

Because the Royal Opera was under restoration (and I heard is one of the nice places to see), they substituted it with an upclose tour of the Royal Chapel. -- usually all you can see it is from the door at the far end.

It was completed not as originally planned, with cheaper plainer marble floors and less 'gold' intricacies than desired. This of course upset the King...and I'm sure the guys kenna-ed...but $$ was running out due to his huge expenses on the palace...

While you look at photos, i can share some history with you...=)

Versailles was originally not the place for the palace of the King. But King Louis XIII, the Sun King's dad had a small chateau there, where he hunted in the Versailles forest.

The Sun King, whom you probably by now guesssed is one who likes control and power, in a strategic move, in 1682, decided to relocate his residence out to Versailles (from central paris to the outer suburbs) and built a New Chateau arouind his dad's former one. - and of course, expanded the grounds extensively.

By his relocation, his monarchs had no choice but to move their families into the palace and live in the palace itself...(Versailles area back then not very developed.) Thus, being able to keep an eye on them....and make sure that they dun try anything farnee lor...

Thus explaining why the palace was not located in the heart of the country, as would usually be the case...

Top view in the Chapel...it is very nice when you see it for yourself!

The monarchs and the Royal family will come to mass here every morning DAILY as their duty. Imagine the King never missed a day of mass from the time he was crowned king, as back then, it was believed that Kings were appointed by God and had the responsibility to act as such. (the Divine Right of Kings)...thus crucial for the King to be at mass daily.

But this mass is only about 10mins long...*whew*...

The King was one who liked music....and imagine going to mass daily you'd want new music and songs almost every other day!!! Thus, the life as a court musician was a stressful one!!

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!