Days 3 and 4 in Paris

And so, Paris marks the end of my life as an exchange student, cos after Paris I leave for Copenhagen then Singapore immediately. Much as I miss home, the familiarity of Singapore, part of me wants to stay in Copenhagen... the place I have called home for 6 months... I miss the weather, the friends, my hall and even Netto or Fotex. :

Photo taken on board the TG flight from Copenhagen to Singapore. Sigh.




Disneyland has 2 major parks one is the Disney Park itself with all the rides and all, and the other is the Walt Disney Studios which gives you an insight of how films are produced and stuff... One day for both parks is simply insufficient time!!

Paris Disneyland was like a fantasy come alive. With games, rides, stuffed characters of lifesize... It is every kid's dream come true to enter Disneyland I;m sure.  

the famous Basilica of Sacre Coeur meaning Basillica of the Sacred Heart... A Roman Catholic church built in 1870 after the Franco Prussia War, and is still in use till today...  

view from the sacre coeur. breathtaking! 

our last dinner in paris. ate at a cafe in the montmatre region (a.k.a village paris) where the sacre coeur was located. just some shots of the entree. mum had salad with eggs. aunt had cold cut meat and i had smoked herring. 

The pigalle metro station, which is the one nearest to our hotel.  

Outside the Musee d Orsay where we had to change form the metro line to the RER C line. What happened as a French guy volunteering to help us take a photo became a 'group' picture for the film they were making starring Brad Pitt (or so they say) 

the little door through which Queen Marie Antoinette escaped the bloodthirsty mob during the french revolution... 

beautifully landscaped!!!!! 

the beautiful versailles garden.  

some random shots of versailles. the queue to get into versailles was ridiculously long/ construction works at the big square just outside the palace/ somemoreshots of the right wing of the palace/ the chapel in versailles palace. 

Day 2 in Paris :)

Began our day 2 in Paris after a hearty breakfast by taking the M2 line from Pigalle to Charles de Gaulle Etoille. Started at the Arc de Triomphe, walked the Champs Elysee, took a quick tour round the Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde, walked through the Tuileries Garden to access the Lourve before heading to the Eiffel Tower. Phew! What an exhausting day of sightseeing.

The famous Arc de Triomphe which stands at over 51 metres. Was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte after his victory at Austerlitz.

Architecture on the inside of the Arc. 

Close up of one of the sides of the Arc. 

Walked along the Champs Elysee stretch, which starts at the Arc de Triomphe and ends at the square, Place de la Concorde. Noted for being an exclusive shopping stretch with brands like Mercedes, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Prada, blah blah blah... 

Visited the Petit Palais which is near the Champs Elysee stretch. It is a museum which houses collections of medieval and Renaissance paintings, with a lovely facade that echoes the architecture of the Grand Palais opposite. The grand palais was under renovation works at the time we were there :( 

Place de la Concorde. Pity the picture was tarnished by ongoing renovation works. This place was famous as the site where King Louis XIV, his wife Queen Marie Antoinette and some 1300 others were put to the guilottine during the French Revolution. Now it is a major square with busy ongoing traffic and is located at the end of Champs Elysee. 

The famous Lourve Museum which houses world renowned pieces of art including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci and the Venus de Milo statue. 

I can't believe I'm actually seeing the Eiffel Tower in person. :D  

On our way to the Eiffel Tower from the the bus stop after taking bus number 69 from the Lourve Museum. 

Another magnificent building I spotted from on top the Eiffel Tower. 

View from atop the Eiffel Tower. Can you see the contrast between the darkness and brightness on the land? 

Day 1 in Paris

After bringing my mum and aunt around in Copenhagen, left for Paris on the 20th of June via Air France - expected the service to be better, but I guess a safe flight was most important!! Reached the Terminal 2D in Charles de Gaulle Airport, and took the RER B Train to Gare Du Nord Station before transfering to the Metro 2 to Pigalle Station, metro station nearest our hotel.

Our hotel in Paris - The Grand Turin Hotel. Interestingly, our hotel was located near the red light district of Pigalle... : But, besides the initial shock of the location of our hotel,great breakfast, nice little quaint buildings, and clean sheets...

The famous South Rose Window of the Notre Dame.  

One of Paris famous landmark the Notre Dame. Beautiful gothic chapel with intricate stained glass and architectural designs. Althought a major tourist attraction, it is still used as a Roman Catholic church...  

Palais de la Justice which is the Paris Hall of Justice, located in between the La Conciergerie and Sainte Chapelle. 

La Conciegerie - A palace then a prison during the french revolution.  

Lunch - Crepes with beef and cheese.  

Our ferry for the Seine River Cruise!!  

Our guide for the Seine River Cruise, she's only a student in tourism but seems like she's already an expert. :) 

Exact replica of the flame of The statue of Liberty. A gift from America as a symbol of friendship. 

How the Eiffel Tower looks like from the Seine River. *More pictures on the eiffel tower to come... :) 

view on board the seine river cruise... one of the 36 bridges in Paris, special because of the 'N' which symbolizes 'Napoleon' 

Take a look at the march by the Tivoli Guards and the roller coaster ride

The Royal Copenhagen and Georg Jensen Factory Outlet... 

top left: Be a part of the characters in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, by going through this 8 minute ride!
top right: tram ride around Tivoli Gardens
bottom left: at the Tivoli Entrance
bottom right: smile!

Left: caramel and coconut coated apple. what a cute snack! right: chocolate chip and chocolate powder coated ice cream.. 

left: Friday Rock Concert at Tivoli! Every Friday there will be a concert at Tivoli, you just have to pay for the entrance fee ~ 75 DKK. This week, Beth Hart is performing. Right: 2 girls eating their ice cream in a real adorable manner, and also gamely agreed for a photo!! 

Mum and aunt in Copenhagen!!!! Here until the 20th of June before we leave for Paris and meet Catherine there... Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee, Lourve here we come! :D 

Lunch at the famous Cafe Norden! Great food, large portions and even better ambience...  

great weather! top left, right and bottom left: At Nyhavn, where all the DFDS canal tours start... the streets were packed with europeans having al-fresco dining, even more of them suntanning half naked and 'chilling' out... bottom right: this walking pavement turns into an outdoor skating ring during winter times! (refer to jan/feb posts on ice-skating)  

Hall kitchen and our lockers to keep our food. I can't believe I am saying this, but I will actually miss the messy kitchen AND cooking... haha  

Oh!! I am sure to miss my hall, my hallmates, even the corridors (even the times of cleaning the whole hall with cleaning group mates), my super-ly comfortable bed...cheers to staying in copenhagen for 6 months and cheers to staying in valbygardsvej!!!! :D 

Shanghai Restaurant

Gathering with Andes, Bo Lei and Shi Suo at the Shanghai Restaurant before we leave in a few days! See you all in Shanghai, and JB!

Dinner at Sheila's!

Sheila and Martin kindly extended an invitation for dinner and movie at their place on the 3rd of June! So, it was a time to eat authentic Singaporean food and catch up on latest movies once again! Thanks Sheila and Martin for letting us experience Danish hospitality and the meaning of 'hygge'!!! :D

Main course... A spread of authentic Singaporean food, cooked by chef-in-making Sheila. From left: sweet and sour pork, 'xiao bai cai', chicken in soy sauce :D yummy!

Makan times are happy times.. haha. Well, after a scrumptious dinner we had pancakes courtesy of Martin. Apparently the recipe was from all a Donald Duck cookbook which he has kept since young :) Well, needless to say, it was great, eating the pancakes with vanilla ice-cream, chocolate, strawberry and caramel sauce... Ah, bliss! At Martin's recommendation, we tried 'Dooley's' a kind of chocolate caramel with vodka... It tasted a little like Bailey's irish cream, although the alcohol taste was slightly stronger.. Definitely an acquired taste for non-drinkers like me! 

Movie time!! Watching a the movie 'The Banditas' starring Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz... Really quite a captivating show, with beautiful leads, and a refreshing storyline... :) By the way, we were watching the movie at around 10 and yet the sky is still bright!!!!! Such are the wonders of summertime in Denmark (or in temperatre countries for that matter) :)