the hornymoon files: paris and geneva
29.09.2008 : 11:09PM
Sitting at Bangkok’s International Airport (Suvarnabhumi) for a two-hour layover before boarding our flight to Paris, I’m feeling a little excited about our Europe trip. There’s still a 13-hour flight to endure, gosh I hate long-haul flights. The thing that scares me about flying is being stuck on a plane mid-air. I feel helpless if something bad will happen to our flight. It’s something you don’t have control over. Anyway, let’s not talk about morbid stuff.
SG immigration didn’t give much fuss about cancelling my E-Pass, I thought I’d have problems with them but thankfully it was smooth sailing.
Our flight from Singapore to BKK was okay, a bit bumpy during take-off which scared me a bit. Food sucked, Joel told the steward that I wanted vegetarian meal and all they served was a teeny portion of salad (sans dressing!) and about half a serving of pomelo pulp and I am starving mad now. Remind me not to ask for vegetarian meal and go for seafood instead.
Okay, have to end this now because I’m saving my laptop’s battery for our Paris flight, unforch flying with Thai Airways sucks because personal entertainment system are unheard of with this airline so we’re stuck with watching what everyone else with the projector type entertainment.
02.10.08 8:46am
Arrived in Paris around 7:05am yesterday and it was an uneventful flight. I was able to sleep through most of the flight, thanks to my trusty neck pillow. Food was okay, nothing special. Freshened up at the airport, wore my wooly jumper and pair of boots which turned out to be a great decision! It was cold as hell in Paris, I’m glad I bought that pair of Aerosoles boots.
On our way to the exit, we were stopped by a customs official at Charles de Gaulle airport, apparently we looked like we had something illegal with us. They came up empty-handed with their search and we were told to move along. For some reason, I always get stopped at either immigration or customs at any airport I’ve been. I must have some bad luck with border officials.
It took about one hour to travel from CDG to City Centre. We started our trip at Arc de Triomphe, which is a gigantic Napoleon-built structure at the middle of a square. The carvings on the wall are so intricate, as much of Parisian architectures do. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go near the Arc as we’re running out of time (suckers). The Arc is near to Champs-Elysees which we also didn’t get to walk, we just drove past the whole stretch of it. It must really be quite an experience to walk down that famous fashion stretch. A lot of branded goodies hold offices at this road, so everywhere you look, there’s probably a brand familiar to you.
We also drove past the Grand & Small Palaces, Invalides, The Obelisk, Concorde Square, Military Academy, etc. We did the whole touristy thing of taking gajillions of photos, as much as I hate to have my photo taken but for remembrance’s sake we did it. Sucks some of the photos I took were from the bus since we’re not allowed to alight and walk around. Paris is quite strict with tourist buses, we can’t just alight anywhere we please.
We then went to Eiffel Tower- a massive iron structure (which isn’t really as impressive as it looks on photos) and we went to the second storey by a lift to appreciate Paris from a height. It was scary as hell- the wind was so strong it shook the whole tower! You can see a lot of things from the tower and it’s an overwhelming sight. Too bad we didn’t go to the Tower at night because I heard it’s even more beautiful. But for the sake of being green, the lights of the Tower are only lit between two to three minutes.
After our tower tour, we had lunch at a pseudo-Thai restaurant. They served Chinese dishes for crying out loud. Anyway, I was just happy to eat because I was starving by then. Full from lunch, we then continued our tour to the city centre- lots of beautiful architectures (whose names escape me right now), The Opera House, Ritz Hotel, Joan of Arc, Notre Dame Cathedral and of course, the Louvre. We also drove near the tunnel where Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed crashed into.
We concluded our city tour at Galleries Lafayette where most of my tourmates bought their LVs from. Nope, I didn’t get one for myself- still not bitten by the LV superbug. If I were to buy a luxury purse, I would get a Channel 2.55 in a heartbeat but I don’t have the heart to part with such a huge amount of money. Most of LV designs don’t really attract me, except for the Epi leather line which cost an arm and a leg anyway.
After our Pinoy tourmates did their LV shopping, we then headed to the Louvre! Are you crazy not to set foot on that legendary landmark when you’re already in Paris? The minute Joel and I saw the Glass Pyramid up close, we went bonkers. Who wouldn’t be anyway? It was overwhelming! We were just fantasizing about going to the Louvre and now we can officially say we’ve been there.
We FINALLY saw the Mona Lisa, which isn’t really a huge painting and she doesn’t have eyebrows! Kekeke. It’s so popular it’s the only painting probably guarded by human guards (of course we couldn’t tour the whole Louvre in an hour! You can’t even do it in a day. It’s that huge). We also saw a few other paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, marble masterpieces that are Venus de Milo and Psyche & Cupid, and probably a hundred more paintings and sculptures. Pretty, pretty although I’m more partial to geeky museums. The Louvre apparently holds 400,000 art pieces. Yup, 400,000 so you can imagine how big it is.
We were pooped by the time we arrived at Galleries Lafayette- it wasn’t a quick walk getting from there to the Louvre and back! My boots even though comfy hurt parts of my foot. Thank goodness I didn’t go with high-heeled boots or else I would’ve gone to heaven already.
Well Paris isn’t as bad as some people paint it out to be- it does have its fair share of graffiti, but nothing serious really. I loved its fabulous architecture, I wished I understood it even more. I wished I were more artsy-fartsy than I am now. The people were okay, I didn’t interact with them much anyway. Although our tourmates found some of them rude.
I wonder how it is to live in Paris for a few months… because from what I’ve learned Paris has a seriously high standard of living. I wished we were able to try out a few Parisian cafes and restaurants but we just didn’t have time to do it.
Unfortunately our hotel (Mercure Hotel - three star) was outside the city centre, but fortunately we were near to a Carrefour so we bought our water (cheaper than in Italy). But I have to say, regardless of brands- whether it be the cheapest or the most expensive, water tastes like shit here. I don’t know why all they have is mineral water and I don’t really drink that (given a choice) because of its aftertaste.
Our hotel in Paris was okay, nothing to shout about. It was bare- no boiling kettle, slippers, etc. Joel and I grabbed our dinner from a fast-food/casual restaurant. We spent about €8.50/meal (inclusive of pasta, panini and drink) and we were full! Yummy food for a fast-food restaurant and we were happy campers because of this.
So now we’re on our way to Geneva, Switzerland. Currently enduring a six-hour bus ride to get there. We don’t know yet if we’re going to buy watches so we’ll see. I have to stop typing now because the French countryside looks amazing! Bye for now.
02.10.08 9:58pm
Typing this from the comfort of our hotel room (NH Hotel, near Geneva International Airport). We arrived in Geneva (Geneve) around 4:30pm. The bus ride was actually about eight hours long but we had quite a few stopovers along the way. Weather was cool, but not freezing, so I was able to walk around with just slippers on. I can’t wear my boots for a long time because my toes will start to hurt.
Geneva is more laidback than Paris, that’s for sure. It sure is fascinating to see so many familiar luxury timepiece brands’ marquees. You name it, they’ve got it. The places we got to visit today: Jet d'eau (water fountain), a busy shopping district, Bastions Park (where Reformation Wall is), and United Nations.
Joel and I decided to buy Tag Heuer chrono watches for ourselves, I got the mother-of-pearl face Link watch whilst he got a black face Aquaracer. We probably saved about SG$300-400 per watch which is quite a lot. Great buy if you ask us as these watches are definitely Swiss made, parts and all.
Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant and food was crap. Our hotel room was so much better than last night’s and I can’t wait to hit the sack. A bit sleepy now from all that traveling we did this morning. Tomorrow we’re heading up to Zermatt and we’ve been told the hotel there is amazing so we couldn’t wait!
I wonder how Chomie’s doing, hope she’s not too sad with us gone and all.
Sitting at Bangkok’s International Airport (Suvarnabhumi) for a two-hour layover before boarding our flight to Paris, I’m feeling a little excited about our Europe trip. There’s still a 13-hour flight to endure, gosh I hate long-haul flights. The thing that scares me about flying is being stuck on a plane mid-air. I feel helpless if something bad will happen to our flight. It’s something you don’t have control over. Anyway, let’s not talk about morbid stuff.
SG immigration didn’t give much fuss about cancelling my E-Pass, I thought I’d have problems with them but thankfully it was smooth sailing.
Our flight from Singapore to BKK was okay, a bit bumpy during take-off which scared me a bit. Food sucked, Joel told the steward that I wanted vegetarian meal and all they served was a teeny portion of salad (sans dressing!) and about half a serving of pomelo pulp and I am starving mad now. Remind me not to ask for vegetarian meal and go for seafood instead.
Okay, have to end this now because I’m saving my laptop’s battery for our Paris flight, unforch flying with Thai Airways sucks because personal entertainment system are unheard of with this airline so we’re stuck with watching what everyone else with the projector type entertainment.
02.10.08 8:46am
Arrived in Paris around 7:05am yesterday and it was an uneventful flight. I was able to sleep through most of the flight, thanks to my trusty neck pillow. Food was okay, nothing special. Freshened up at the airport, wore my wooly jumper and pair of boots which turned out to be a great decision! It was cold as hell in Paris, I’m glad I bought that pair of Aerosoles boots.
On our way to the exit, we were stopped by a customs official at Charles de Gaulle airport, apparently we looked like we had something illegal with us. They came up empty-handed with their search and we were told to move along. For some reason, I always get stopped at either immigration or customs at any airport I’ve been. I must have some bad luck with border officials.
It took about one hour to travel from CDG to City Centre. We started our trip at Arc de Triomphe, which is a gigantic Napoleon-built structure at the middle of a square. The carvings on the wall are so intricate, as much of Parisian architectures do. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go near the Arc as we’re running out of time (suckers). The Arc is near to Champs-Elysees which we also didn’t get to walk, we just drove past the whole stretch of it. It must really be quite an experience to walk down that famous fashion stretch. A lot of branded goodies hold offices at this road, so everywhere you look, there’s probably a brand familiar to you.
We also drove past the Grand & Small Palaces, Invalides, The Obelisk, Concorde Square, Military Academy, etc. We did the whole touristy thing of taking gajillions of photos, as much as I hate to have my photo taken but for remembrance’s sake we did it. Sucks some of the photos I took were from the bus since we’re not allowed to alight and walk around. Paris is quite strict with tourist buses, we can’t just alight anywhere we please.
We then went to Eiffel Tower- a massive iron structure (which isn’t really as impressive as it looks on photos) and we went to the second storey by a lift to appreciate Paris from a height. It was scary as hell- the wind was so strong it shook the whole tower! You can see a lot of things from the tower and it’s an overwhelming sight. Too bad we didn’t go to the Tower at night because I heard it’s even more beautiful. But for the sake of being green, the lights of the Tower are only lit between two to three minutes.
After our tower tour, we had lunch at a pseudo-Thai restaurant. They served Chinese dishes for crying out loud. Anyway, I was just happy to eat because I was starving by then. Full from lunch, we then continued our tour to the city centre- lots of beautiful architectures (whose names escape me right now), The Opera House, Ritz Hotel, Joan of Arc, Notre Dame Cathedral and of course, the Louvre. We also drove near the tunnel where Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed crashed into.
We concluded our city tour at Galleries Lafayette where most of my tourmates bought their LVs from. Nope, I didn’t get one for myself- still not bitten by the LV superbug. If I were to buy a luxury purse, I would get a Channel 2.55 in a heartbeat but I don’t have the heart to part with such a huge amount of money. Most of LV designs don’t really attract me, except for the Epi leather line which cost an arm and a leg anyway.
After our Pinoy tourmates did their LV shopping, we then headed to the Louvre! Are you crazy not to set foot on that legendary landmark when you’re already in Paris? The minute Joel and I saw the Glass Pyramid up close, we went bonkers. Who wouldn’t be anyway? It was overwhelming! We were just fantasizing about going to the Louvre and now we can officially say we’ve been there.
We FINALLY saw the Mona Lisa, which isn’t really a huge painting and she doesn’t have eyebrows! Kekeke. It’s so popular it’s the only painting probably guarded by human guards (of course we couldn’t tour the whole Louvre in an hour! You can’t even do it in a day. It’s that huge). We also saw a few other paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, marble masterpieces that are Venus de Milo and Psyche & Cupid, and probably a hundred more paintings and sculptures. Pretty, pretty although I’m more partial to geeky museums. The Louvre apparently holds 400,000 art pieces. Yup, 400,000 so you can imagine how big it is.
We were pooped by the time we arrived at Galleries Lafayette- it wasn’t a quick walk getting from there to the Louvre and back! My boots even though comfy hurt parts of my foot. Thank goodness I didn’t go with high-heeled boots or else I would’ve gone to heaven already.
Well Paris isn’t as bad as some people paint it out to be- it does have its fair share of graffiti, but nothing serious really. I loved its fabulous architecture, I wished I understood it even more. I wished I were more artsy-fartsy than I am now. The people were okay, I didn’t interact with them much anyway. Although our tourmates found some of them rude.
I wonder how it is to live in Paris for a few months… because from what I’ve learned Paris has a seriously high standard of living. I wished we were able to try out a few Parisian cafes and restaurants but we just didn’t have time to do it.
Unfortunately our hotel (Mercure Hotel - three star) was outside the city centre, but fortunately we were near to a Carrefour so we bought our water (cheaper than in Italy). But I have to say, regardless of brands- whether it be the cheapest or the most expensive, water tastes like shit here. I don’t know why all they have is mineral water and I don’t really drink that (given a choice) because of its aftertaste.
Our hotel in Paris was okay, nothing to shout about. It was bare- no boiling kettle, slippers, etc. Joel and I grabbed our dinner from a fast-food/casual restaurant. We spent about €8.50/meal (inclusive of pasta, panini and drink) and we were full! Yummy food for a fast-food restaurant and we were happy campers because of this.
So now we’re on our way to Geneva, Switzerland. Currently enduring a six-hour bus ride to get there. We don’t know yet if we’re going to buy watches so we’ll see. I have to stop typing now because the French countryside looks amazing! Bye for now.
02.10.08 9:58pm
Typing this from the comfort of our hotel room (NH Hotel, near Geneva International Airport). We arrived in Geneva (Geneve) around 4:30pm. The bus ride was actually about eight hours long but we had quite a few stopovers along the way. Weather was cool, but not freezing, so I was able to walk around with just slippers on. I can’t wear my boots for a long time because my toes will start to hurt.
Geneva is more laidback than Paris, that’s for sure. It sure is fascinating to see so many familiar luxury timepiece brands’ marquees. You name it, they’ve got it. The places we got to visit today: Jet d'eau (water fountain), a busy shopping district, Bastions Park (where Reformation Wall is), and United Nations.
Joel and I decided to buy Tag Heuer chrono watches for ourselves, I got the mother-of-pearl face Link watch whilst he got a black face Aquaracer. We probably saved about SG$300-400 per watch which is quite a lot. Great buy if you ask us as these watches are definitely Swiss made, parts and all.
Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant and food was crap. Our hotel room was so much better than last night’s and I can’t wait to hit the sack. A bit sleepy now from all that traveling we did this morning. Tomorrow we’re heading up to Zermatt and we’ve been told the hotel there is amazing so we couldn’t wait!
I wonder how Chomie’s doing, hope she’s not too sad with us gone and all.