UK and Europe Travelogue Part III (Final)

Final part of my travelogue..  Sorry la lambat update.

We’ve arrived in Paris, France.. finally!!
City of love and romance. Bonjour!

Tenth Day

Alright! First thing first – we need to find our hotel. Hehe.
We stayed at the Le Meridien Montparnasse, Paris.

Le Meridien Montparnasse, Paris

http://www.lemeridien-montparnasse.com/

There’s another Le Meridien in Paris which is the Etoile but Shanky got this one which is much more better. I think? My guess would be because it’s nearer to the metro station? Anyway, I love it.

The hotel won’t allow additional person (that’s me) to check-in to a 2 persons room – so we have to pay extra. WTH? Shanky should’ve bribe the frontdesk guy instead. Or maybe I should sneak in quietly? Hm… Too late for that.

The lobby of Le Meridien Montparnasse

While waiting for our room to be ready, we went for the hotel’s buffet breakfast.
Got 50% discount! Thanks to Shanky. After convert – don’t ask me. Freakin’ expensive still. Hahaha.
Apa nak buat, all 3 of us were really hungry. Plus tired and sleepy. That stupid bus.
The food was so-so.. the usual stuffs. I missed my nasi lemak + telur mata so bad at that time.

Buffet @ Le Meridien

Shanky tak puas hati coz they don't serve teh tarik. Hihi.

We were allowed to check-in only at 11am.
While waiting, I wondered around the hotel’s surroundings – checked the map/signboards, places to go, supermarkets etc.
Shanky and Cat took a short nap at the lobby’s sofa.
Hai.. Mana2 pun boleh tido. Hahaha. No.. I wont post their pictures here. 😛

Just opposite of Le Meridien is SNCF HQ in Paris

This roundabout just north of the hotel is called Place de Catalogne

Once we checked in – unpacked, bathed ~ it’s nap time.
Ah…. the bed and the pillow.. It’s so.. comfortable. Plus it’s raining outside. Ah.. Heaven.
After that horrible night in the bus, this is a very much needed rest.

After that horrible bus ride, this bed feels like heaven. 🙂

When we woke up, it’s already evening.
We planned to visit the magnificent Eiffel Tower. 🙂
I wonder how it looks like at night. Huhu. Kalau couple la yang pergi sini, peh.. memang jiwang karat abis la.

Thank God, the weather is on our side today. The rain stopped right before we start our journey.

Paris view from our room. The buildings are packed right?

Took the metro to Bir Hakiem Station.
One thing I really like about Paris Metro is, most of their stations are located near to the tourist spots and attractions. It is so convenient.

The Eiffel Tower - clear blue sky!

We have to walk a bit from the station to the tower.
I think it’s approximately around 10 – 15 minutes walk which is fine by me.
Similar to Amsterdam, the weather here is cold too despite the bright sunlight. Haha.

Photo proof! - Nanti cakap aku temberang pulak.

The base of Eiffel Tower. Sunset view.

Cat, Shanky and Eiffel.

We paid 13 Euros/person to go all the way up to the tower’s summit (not bad.. considered cheap lor).
The tower got 3 levels or floors. We stopped at the 1st level. The view from there – magnificent.

The view from 1st floor. Kat bawah tu taman. Cantik wo..

Paris view from Eiffel Tower - 1st floor

View of Seine River, Paris.

Then we proceed to the 2nd level (You need to change to a different lift from this floor) – The view there – terrific. Better than 1st level.. obviously.

View from the 2nd floor. The sun almost setting..

Church (I think?) on top of the hill. Wo...

As the sun sets..

I don’t know what’s the name of the building but I think the top is made out of gold? Wow..
Then, from here you need to climb the stairs to get to the top (3rd level) – The view from here..

I can’t even describe it in words. It’s totally out of this world. Speechless!!

Distance - Paris to KL: 10433KM. Malaisie? Heh. WTH?

Sunset view from Eiffel's top floor.

It’s really amazing to be able to stand here with the breathtaking view right in front of you.
It’s a totally different feelings altogether. It feels like you’re on top of the world.
The sunset made the feelings even better. Perfect timing! 🙂

I'm lost for words...

No wonder lah a lot of couples love to visit this tower.
The atmosphere is so romantic and I’m sure a lot of guys proposed to their girlfriend/fiancee here before. 🙂

Hm.. I wonder if anyone jumped from the tower before?  😛

Way... far down. Vertigo?

It’s really really cold up there.
Did I mentioned the wind? Yeah.. I hid behind one of the steel pillar just to avoid the wind.
As if it works lah.. Hehehe. Especially when it’s already dark.
Night time – my God it’s freezing to the bone!!

Glamourous Eiffel Tower at night. Vertical view.

Paris view at night

Unfortunately for me – all of sudden my camera’s battery ran out.
Yup! I forgot to recharge it. Damn it! Arghh!! Out of all the time in this world kan?
I was really looking forward to capture the sunset view from the tower.
Tapi.. apa nak buat.. I was forced to use my phone’s camera instead. So sad!!
The quality is not there at all. Well at least.. better than nothing.

The base of Eiffel Tower @ night. Notice the moon crescent?

After that, we lepak around the Eiffel Tower area for a bit.
More info: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/ 

Me with Sir Eiffel. Thank you sir!

Then we bought some souvenirs before went back to the hotel.
Try bargaining with those local people selling the keychains and stuffs at the base of the tower.
It’s very much cheaper from the gift shop.

Once in a lifetime...

Hm.. What I had for dinner?

All these for 32.47 euros.. *sigh

Eleventh Day

Got up quite early today.
The plan for today is – full day of Paris main attractions.
I doubt we can cover all of it. 😦

Which way to go?

First stop: Louvre Museum
I recommend everyone to visit this museum.
Entrance fee is only 9 Euros. Quite cheap I would say (I anticipated higher). 🙂

The Louvre Museum @ Musée du Louvre houses 35,000 works of art drawn from 8 departments, displayed in over 60,000 square meters of exhibition space dedicated to the permanent collections.

Outside of Louvre. It's just next to the metro station.

This place is massive!! Hm.. To really enjoy every paintings, sculptures, artifacts and arts here – you actually need a full day or maybe 2.
We completed all of  it in 2 hours. Hahahaha!! Nampak sangat ke-tidak-artistiknya kitaorang ni.
Ehem! Sebenarnya time is very tight. That’s why we have to rush things a bit.

Posing tak hengat.. Hehehe.

Here are some pictures taken there.

Pyramid du Louvre

Taken partially from Wikipedia:
It was designed by a Chinese born American architect, I. M. Pei (Ieoh Ming Pei) who is responsible for the design of the Miho Museum in Japan among others.

The structure, which was constructed entirely with glass segments, reaches a height of 20.6 meters. It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.

Cupid and Psyche

One of my favorite marble sculptures.
It’s about a legendary love tale similar to modern day Beauty and the Beast. Hehe..
Go ahead and google it.

Potrait of Monalisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance.

Another nice painting shown there is David versus Goliath.
1 theme, 2 paintings, 2 different views.
Well done! I’m surprised with the details.

David versus Goliath - view from front.

David versus Goliath - view from the back.

All of the sculptures there are huge!!!
I think the myth that those people back then are gigantic might be true la. Macam tapak kaki Hang Tuah? 😛

Thehehe.. Thanks Cat for the pic.

Orang KL kalau pergi muzium memang macam ni. Hehehe.

Another main attraction here is this sculpture.
Venus de Milo.
It’s believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus) – the Greek Goddes of Love and Beauty.
Its arms and original plinth have been lost.

Rasanya brand air Milo tu dapat idea dari sculpture ni? Takde kena mengena langsung!

Venus de Milo

 Next: Notre Dame

Notre Dame de Paris @ Notre Dame Cathedral

A cathedral church built as a dedication to the Virgin Mary.
We got lost a few times while trying to figure out the way here. Hehe.
I didn’t go in the church. Only Cat and Shanky went in.

Me @ Notre Dame, Paris

I just sat in front (or is it the back?) of it ~ admiring the fine architecture and gargoyles.
You can actually go all the way up to the roof of the church if you want to.

The gargoyle, sitting on edge of the building's roof. Blur la..

The church reminds me of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Hm.. Betul ke ada si bongkok tu?

Final: Champs de Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

Me in front of Lido - Champs Elysees, Paris

Hahaha!! – I don’t even know how to pronounce it correctly.
It’s actually known as the world most beautiful avenue and it’s really beautiful at night.
With all the lights and rows of luxury boutiques, cafes, cinemas etc.

According to Wikipedia – rents as high as USD1.5 million per 1,000 square feet (92.9 square metres) of space, it remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe.
Don’t know whether it’s true or not.

However, here you can see the biggest Louis Vuitton boutique ever. It’s huge!
The avenue started from the Concorde until Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe @ Arch of Triumph

To get this monument’s picture during the day without any vehicles passing by is almost impossible!

Oh! I forgot to mentioned. All 3 of us, walked all the way from Notre Dame to Champs de Elysees.
That’s one hell of a walk. Around 4 km and it took us 1 hour plus to get there. Phew!
The weather was cloudy and it drizzles once in a while.

Place de la Concorde

We passed by Place de la Concorde – one of the major public squares in Paris and the largest square in the French capital.
The monument – called Luxor Obelisk marks the beginning of the avenue.

That guy Alain Robert aka ‘French Spiderman’ climbed the monument with his bare hands, climbing shoes and no safety device in 2000 – that is really crazy.

Night falls – time to go back. Exhausted!!

Took the metro straight to Gaite station – you pronounced it as Gete. Hehe. Mace orghe Kelate pulok.

Stop by a supermarket nearby our hotel and we bought some food for dinner.
Watched Barcelona kicked Man U’s a** and won the Champions League Title.
It’s been a good day. 🙂

Twelveth Day aka Final Day

Today is our last day in Paris and also UK.
We’re taking the Eurostar from Paris to London.

Eurostar @ Paris Gare du Nord station. Our ride back to London.

Cat made the booking online and the tickets were then sent to Nurul’s address in Amsterdam.
That’s the only way since Eurostar website don’t allow online confirmation and tickets can only be sent to certain countries. Malaysia is no where to be found in the list. Bummer!

You can also walk in to their counter and buy the tix on the spot but the price will be very very expensive.

We got ours at a very cheap price for the 2 hours journey. RM311 per person I think?
That’s a one way journey and under promo okay… mahal gak tu. Guess how much will be the price if it’s normal? Around a few hundreds pounds.

From Gare du Nord International, Paris to St Pancras International, London.

How can I describe the journey?
Fast, exciting and seemless. I was asleep. 😛

Cat caught me sleeping. It's dark outside coz we're the Channel Tunnel.

The train run at up to 300 km/h and cross under the English Channel via the Channel Tunnel.
If you ask me, how was it traveling underneath the sea via the tunnel?
It’s the same like how you travel through highway’s tunnel.

It was dark with some lights along the way and.. actually you can’t see anything.. till you get to the other side.
Silly me, thought that the tunnel will look like something in KL Aquaria. Hahaha.
Dunno where I got the idea. 😦

St Pancras International, London. Yay!

We arrived safely in London and it’s on time as per schedule.
Took the tube and since we’re there early – I decided to go for a last minute shopping.
I went to Carnaby Street and entered this shop called Size?.
http://size.co.uk
I got myself a pair of Adidas Court Star for around RM 100 which was quite a bargain. Check out the shoes here:
http://size.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10701_11551__155592_-1_footwear
You can’t get that price anywhere in KL. Lucky me! 🙂

We then returned to Sheraton to pick up our bags which we left before we went to Amsterdam.
Went to see Shanky’s friend for a last time, hang out in her convertible VW Beetle and then headed straight to Heathrow to catch our bus to Stansted Airport.

Our luggage.. this is ridiculous! Hahaha.

The return flight was okay.. I slept most of the time. 😛
Overall.. I would say this trip is one of the best trip that I’ve ever had and I will remember it for the rest of my life. Surely.

Special thanks to Shanky and Cat for all the planning, reservations, organizing all the stuffs and being my travel buddy. We’re so muhibbah. Hehe. We shall do this again. Maybe?
Thanks to Nurul for Amsterdam’s accomodation and food yang you belanja. Mintak halal dunia akhirat. 🙂
Thanks to Jason who sent us to the airport. You’re late.. as usual. Hehe.
Thanks to my boss, David who are flexible for my annual leaves arrangement.
Last but not least.. thanks to all who made this possible. God bless you all.

Will I go again? Maybe. Hopefully. Insyallah.
Which city will I vote as my favorite? Definitely London. 🙂

Buhbye!

Till then.
Sayonara ~

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~ by Aidilz on November 25, 2009.