Paris: The Guide (Not so guide anymore innit?!) - Part 3

The journey from Montmarte to the Eiffel Tower was not that near that we could walk, so we used the Metro. The Metro is quite confusing at first, but you'll get the hang of it.

If you look at the Paris Metro (subway) map, it just looks like a tangle of lines. Just note that the lines are either numbers or a letter, numbers are Metro stations and letters are RER stations, but all also subway la. same same but different.

Also, some of the trains do not have automatic doors, you have to pull a latch on some, push a button on some, to open the doors. So don't panic if the doors don't open on your stop, you have to open it up yourself. And also remember to say 'pardon' (in a french way...like Par-Don...??) when you want to get through....i think they probably don't respond to 'excuse me'.

So yeah, we took a Metro, stopped at the stop where the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be, but we couldn't find it!!

Always just a reflection on building windows but it was nowhere to be seen. We must've taken the back way (we found out when we walked back to the station after we chilled at the Eiffel Tower) coz it did not look like we were heading the right direction, got no tourists!!!

After what must have been 15 minutes and after passing many French cafes where a typical dinner for one costs at least 20€, and beers cost 8€, we managed to find the one monument that if you don't see, meant that you have not been to Paris...the Eiffel Tower.

The One monument that is a must see when in Paris

so tall (not really) that it was dizzying to see it

aips been there!!

errr........you get it la

At every hour, the tower lights up like a Christmas tree, once i get round to it, maybe i'd post up the moving jpeg of it....

We didn't go up on it, we being kiamsap, decided to save the 12€ that would have cost us to go right to the top. But then, you'd want to get an overall picture of Paris WITH the Eiffel Tower in it right?? So, it would have been better to go to another place, the tallest building in Paris, Tour Montparnasse, to catch the full view of Paris. It was cheaper summore!!

OK, this is probably no longer a guide, so it's going to be renamed, Paris - Day 2 on the next post.....

tomorrow....

Paris: The Guide - Part 2

Arrived, but too early to check in the Hotel, so checked baggage into the Luggage Room, be careful not to leave valuables in your luggage, anyone (guests or people who look like they're guests) can get the key from the reception.

the hotel's facade

the hotel's really nice and dizzying spiral staircase (one of the first of many staircases that you will encounter in Paris!!)

Then roam la, make sure you have a very good and detailed map coz as i said, EVERYTHING is in French, Paris is not a very tourist friendly city.

We found a Hard Rock Cafe brochure at the hotel lobby, so that's where we headed first coz it looks quite near from the Hotel.

We're on a quest to collecting HRC Kid's T-Shirt from all the cities that we visit from now. Prefer collecting the Kid's T-shirt instead of getting overpriced knick knacks and fridge magnets....although, the t-shirts won't have any picture or memorabilia of the place we visit....ooppss.....we'll figure something out about that la...

Hard Rock Cafe Paris

Then just walk la, walk summore without knowing where to go and if you're lucky, can find some shops by the alley way

like this, it's so french innit

found Marley without a leash

found some cool alleyways, the buildings in Paris are quite old. Also, some small lanes smell like pee coz supposedly Parisians like to pee anywhere they like, until the government had to build loads of public toilets, but still the alleys smell like pee!!

found 2 arches just like this, there are loads in Paris, mostly old ones but then there is one modern arch....what's with French people and arches??

lots of scooters around, got Peugeot scooters, and a BMW scooter with a roof just like this

So after all the roaming, it was time to check in to the room, and this is the view from the room...nice eh, but at night, can hear cars zooming by.....

the view

After checking in, apa lagi!! Go roam la, what for stay in the room, go explore la.

1st stop is Sacre Coeur, or "Basilica of the Sacred Heart" which looked near enough to walk to from our hotel. Turned out that it was a half hour walk!! But then at least we get to see the Paris streets.

maaf insurance

We walked and walked and walked and passed this place that's like Chow Kit, got cheap clothes la, but cheap cheap also still 1€. And very dirty la, just like Chow Kit....and must climb uphill summore....then we saw something white!!

it was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, but it looked like a mosque....but it was white, apparently the stone that they use to build it exhumes white chlorite which makes it look white or whiter over time.

come on, doesn't that look like a mosque?

just to prove that we were there!!

got load of people chilling on the steps, just listening to the street performers or enjoying the view of Paris.

chilling...

No pictures of the inside of the Basilica, pictures not allowed, but it was DAMN beautiful!! Got paintings on the roof la, got stained glass window la, got people confessing their confessions la....(is that right??), got a lot of candles la....loads i tell you!!

managed to 'find' the Eiffel Tower from all the mess that is Paris...

Make sure you don't just go to the Basilica and go off, there's a small quaint town just next to the Basilica, if i am not mistaken it's the small town of Montmarte. Very nice, looks very arty, maybe coz they were a lot of road side artists painting the Basilica and also portraits/caricatures of tourists (for a fee that is)

the arty feel to Montmarte

i bet the flats/condos here must be DAMN ex!!

there's a funicular that takes you up to the top of the hill where the Basilica is, but to save money, walk the steps la!!
this is the other quieter steps....

Just be careful when you go up Sacre Coeur, at the bottom of the hill where the steps up starts, you will definitely be harassed by some Afrikaans more popularly known as Bracelet Men. What they do is they will stop you and try to tie a friendship bracelet on you, when they finish the bracelet, you'll probably find that you're stuck with him coz he tied himself to you via the bracelet, so you'll be 'bracelet buddies'. They'll only cut off the bracelet once you pay them some €....so beware of this!!!

So, money saving tip....walk to your destination (if walkable) because most of the stops on the Metro are just a few hundred meters away, so walk if it's walkable.

Another tip, if you plan to walk a lot, go and buy a carnet of Metro tickets. 1 ticket is usually 1,60€ but if you buy a carnet (a book of 10 tickets) it would only cost you 11,60€. So plan your journeys well and you'll save a lot!!

Next up....

The one thing you come to Paris and have to see....

The Eiffel Tower....

tomorrow!!

Paris: How to vacation in Paris very cheaply from London....The Guide - Part 1

OK!! If you happen to be living in London or are in London for holidays and want to travel to Paris, you can do it really cheaply. Go to lastminute.com and search for package deals of travel (by Eurostar) and accommodation (choose your own hotel) in Paris.

We got a DAMN good deal, £196 for 3 days/2 nights in Paris!! That's DAMN value i think.....

So you get to travel on Eurostar, it takes 2 hours 15 minutes to get you from London's St Pancreas Station (a really nice transformed cathedral of some sorts) to Paris Gare Du Nord (probably North railway station in French i think)

the nice skylight of London's St Pancreas Station

Lookout for your coach number, it's on the floor, don't miss it

don't get on the wrong trains, make sure it's the Eurostar....well, you must pass through Immigration first, so definitely won't be on the wrong platform la

remember to pack your own breakfast/lunch or nuttella bread, bananas and crisps (British equivalent of potato chips) and a bottle of ribena. Food on the train is quite ex....and it's in €

you know you've reach Paris once you peek outside and see loads and loads of graffitti on any available spaces on the walls by the rail tracks....or if you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of Sacre Coeur

and you see somemore Eurostar trains going in the opposite direction

and come to to realise that EVERYTHING is in French and VERY LITTLE english translation!!

To be continued.....

tomorrow!!

Paris preview

We're back from Paris......it was a good trip, DAMN tiring, but it was a good trip. We walked and walked and walked (coz we were too cheapo to buy the metro tickets for 3 days) and walked summore. We only had the unlimited rides metro ticket for 1 day and shared a carnet (book of 10 tickets) of Metro tickets between the both of us.

Loads of pictures, i'm sorting it out now but here's a few from the last day we were there.

The view from the top of Arc de Triomphe. Damn, during this trip we climbed A WHOLE DAMN LOT of steps!!

Girls favourite store. Damn a lot of asians come here to shop that they even have a few Japanese and Chinese sales advisors. I think half the customers were from Japan and Taiwan or China!! No, i did not get aips anything from here....who said LV was cheap in Paris!!

Everything is in French!! The description in the musee's and monuments also ALL in French!!! If you're lucky, then some places may have leaflets of the description in English....only if you're lucky. Hrrmm.....maybe they don't have it in English so that people have to spend 5€ for the audio guides......

no Holy Grail down there (damn you Dan Brown!!!).....the inverted pyramids are actually in the underground shopping complex adjoining the Lourve. Managed to get this photo when no one was touching the DAMN pyramids

yeap, we joined in with all the tourists to catch a glimpse of the most famous lady (or is it a man) in art. Also tried finding the painting where the museum curator in Da Vinci Code laid down spread eagle and wrote secret message with his own blood so that we could get a picture of me lying down in the same position....didn't manage to do it, coz i couldn't remember which painting it was!!

Check back everyday from now, there WILL be more posts on Paris coz i took a whole damn lot of pictures!!

Ben....Big Ben

Somewhat the 2 most famous icons of London, the Big Ben and the Underground.

Actually the architecture of the Big Ben and the Parliment buildings is just simply amazing, if you can get up close to it and see the details, you'd be impressed too....


actually the water from the Thames looks just like the water from Port Dickson, just looks like Milo.....yucks!!