Journal no. 3

i was fortunate to get to go to Paris with my aunt, uncle and little cousin for a holiday from 9 - 17 June 2012. it was always my dream to visit the City of Light :)
they let me plan the itinerary as well!

here are some memories from that trip...

i arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport at 7.20am, then we took the taxi to Rue des Archives, where our accommodation was.
aunt V had booked an awesome place for us to stay - it was an apartment in the heart of Paris (google map location).
she often went to France for business trips, so we depended on her experience and language skills.

 the view from the taxi. i love the old-world architecture.

the apartment was on the 4th floor, above some cafes in the Le Marais district, which is a very colorful neighbourhood because it is full of important historic buildings and trendy shops.

 we had breakfast (various bread, coffee) at Le Pain Quotidien as we waited for the keys.
the croissant was so-so.

 the view from the cafe. the giant green thing is a recycling bin.



 the old apartment building only had stairs. it was tough climbing up and down, but i loved the vintage-ness of it all.

 our wonderfully furnished little apartment (1 bedroom, 1 shower/toilet, 1 kitchen, 1 living room, 1 mini Eiffel Tower).

 it was the weekend, so we could visit the street market in the plaza a few blocks away.

 flowers for sale.
fresh fish!
 the nearest metro was Hotel de Ville, which is the grand old building in the photo.
we were also right next to BHV, a big department store that opened in 1856.

 we explored the neighbourhood - it was full of cute shops.
it was good thing there was a reasonably-priced grocery store (Franprix) nearby so we could stock up on daily necessities like coffee, cola, eggs, cheese and sweets.

 creative graffiti was everywhere.

 this is the view from the cafe where we had lunch - Les Bouquet des Archives.
the great past-time - watching and being watched outside a cafe.

one of the dishes from lunch - smoked salmon, baked salmon, and veg.
my cousin doesn't eat much, but he loved the escargot so much that he kept the shells.

 back to Hotel de Ville.
i thought it was a hotel, but it's actually houses the City's administration.
they were broadcasting live tennis matches there.

 we met aunt V's friend and ex-boss, uncle E, who kindly showed us around the city for the day.
we walked to Ile de la Cite, the small island in the middle of the river Seine, and gazed upon the majestic Notre Dame.
it was crowded with tourists!

some souvenirs at the stalls lining the Seine.

 a bridge covered with love locks - Pont des Arts.
these ladies were taking photos of the locks.
yes, it was raining.

 then we went to try some Berthillon ice-cream at Ile Saint Louis. this is from a cafe facing Pont Saint-Louis, Le Flore en l'Ile.
the actual Berthillon shop is further inside the island and there was a long queue outside.

i had pistachio flavor - it was the best ice-cream i ever had. i'm not kidding.
the incredibly dense cream coupled with the fragrant pistachio and delicate sweetness was just perfect.

i think uncle E said this was the oldest restaurant in Paris - Au Vieux Paris.
the building was constructed in 1512.

and this is the interior of a Paris Metro station.
i like riding the trains and seeing the different designs of the stations.
just be careful with your belongings in case of pick-pockets.


some notes:
the weather was rather chilly - i wore a fleece jacket inside my wool jacket.
always say, "bonjour," when you enter a shop, because that is polite.
always speak as much French as possible, because people like it when you try your best to communicate in their language.
most people there can speak English.
all photos were taken with the compact camera my uncle lent me.