The Prince Charming

- category: poem/observation -

One last tribute to my memory of Italy trip. On one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I met a friend in Florence, right after I got robbed on the train. Well, he was very sweet and downright flirtatious with me the whole evening, and I sincerely enjoyed his company that night. He confessed that he fell for me that night (even though I still doubt if he really meant it) but I told him it was not meant to be. Still, here is a poem as a tribute for our encounter at Firenzi (Florence) that night. Once again, my Italy trip album can be found here.

I'm not a Cinderella
but a magical night
I did have,
when I met a Prince Charming

I'm not a Cinderella
but the night was magical
As we stared into the romantic glitters
that fell upon the night of Firenzi

I'm not a Cinderella
She did not eat pizza for dinner
and her prince did not flirst endlessly with her

I'm not a Cinderella
He's not my Prince Charming
He's too late but...
perhaps that night I wished I was...

I'm not your Cinderella
I lost my mind to someone else
and you're not my Prince Charming
Because my King is waiting for me
at the other side of the ocean

-fin-

Of Things Lost

- category: observation -

My process of mourning following the theft that occurred in Italy (I know, it takes a while to let go - I've been whining about this) and trying to let go. But just now (December 3), I received the news that my grandma passed away...Such a wonderful woman; I am proud to be one of her grandchildren. I hope she can be proud of me too. Rest in peace, grandma, say hi to grandpa for me.


For a moment,
let me soak in my despair
lament of things lost
over the three sunsets

The horror and trembles
forgiven not forgotten,
relieved but bitter.

So pray....calm down...
..then let go.

But wait...
For a moment, remind me
of the times we were together
over thousands of sunrise

The smiles and gentle caresses
cherished not forgotten,
remembered but bitter.

So pray....pray some more...
...then let go.


-fin-

Notes:
The picture was taken at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France (the famous cemetery where famous people like Chopin, Haussman, Isadora Duncan, Jim Morrison rest). My visit to this cemetery was brief, but this cemetery was really peaceful and calm. OK, perhaps a bit eerie if you walk down the huge complex by yourself, but that was not the case. The complete album is accessible here.

Until next time...

Things that are hard to get over with in Europe..

1) Easy Europe travel & train strike in Paris

OK, compared to US, it is very easy to travel across Europe via train. For non-Europe residents, Eurail is a great deal to travel (and InterRail for Europe residents. Check those two websites for more information and feel free to drop me a comment if you need more convincing about Eurail. I'll give you one right now: monthly train RER/bus/Metro pass in Paris is 104.45 Euros for Zone 1 - 5, whereas 2-month Eurail pass that's valid for all public transportation in 18 European countries costs 798 Euros.

HOWEVER! Living in Paris gives its diadvantage when there is train strikes. People said it doesn't happen often but apparently I did experience it. During the strike, basically you don't know when or whether a bus, a metro, or a train operates. Of course you can consult RATP, but sometimes it only gives you "suggestions" instead of facts on the public transportation condition. For me, since ESSEC is located at Cergy (Zone 5), traveling from Paris (Zone 1) to Cergy took me at least 2 hours during the strike. And it's not straightforward route either. When I normally only do 1-2 train transfers, I have to do 3-5 train transfers during the strike, depending whether the train is going to their initial destination or stopping somewhere along the route. One word about train strike in Paris: TROUBLESOME. Waiting 30 minutes for a train that's unsure to come? Oui, c'est normal!

A picture of how waiting 25 minutes for a train that doesn't even its doors when it comes like:


2) People's craziness with Nutella

Nutella wasn't a new brand for me at all; I've known it since I was little. I never necessarily favored or hated the brand, it's just...there. But nutella is such a crazy thing here. I ate crepes a lot, and nutella is a must ingredient for making a chocolate crepe. And now I'm falling victim to the nutella-worshipping cult. Look at these pictures if you don't believe me how awesome nutella is.

The 5 kg nutella jar in Naples, Italy:



nutella in Chocolate Museum, Cologne, Germany:




3) Church issues:

The churches here are very gorgeous, it's almost a crime how gorgeous they are. However, unfortunately for many of them, they failed to make me feel more religious. Many of them become tourist sites, where people pouring in, being loud sometimes, pointing and "ooh-aah"ing, buying souvenirs, and other touristy things.

Many of them also do not know church rules and how people should behave whenever there's a mass (or other sacraments) going on, so perhaps that's why churches have hefty, mafia-looking security guards. They would stop you if they think you break the rules (if the sign says "No pictures", then it means ABSOLUTELY NO PICTURES). They would prevent you from going to places preserved for prayers (such as cripts and sometimes, the altar), and sometime they even replace the altar boys. In Rome, Italy, I was surprised to see the priests accompanied by a security guard to enter and leave the St. Maria Maggiore Church. A very interesting sight, I must say.

The last thing about church issues is that there is seldom a kneeling pad. There are kneeling wooden plank, but don't expect them to be cushy like I am used to in US. I learned it the hard way. Ouch! And some churches don't even have the wooden plank, so you have to kneel on the floor. God have mercy.

4) Thiefry in Italy

As much as I wanted to refute this and said something otherwise, the fact is my luggage got stolen in a train from Rome to Florence in Italy. Those thiefs have skills and I encountered at least 3 people in Rome who had their stuff stolen from them while they walked around. Some people said those thiefs would watch you for some time first to see whether you're vulnerable or not, then decide to rob you if you fall to the first category. Well, whatever, just be EXTREMELY careful in Italy (no matter where you are) and keep your belongings close to you, especially if you travel alone like I was. This is quite a pity since I actually love Italy a lot...I wish I can enjoy it with my guard set at "medium-high security" and not at "maximum security".

6) Different versions of keyboards

I love English keyboard. I did not realize it until I go to Europe. France has its own keyboard version where they jumble the letters around, Italy probably has it too (I am not sure; I was distracted by the thiefry), Germany has one. Gods, I am close to having a carpal tunnel from using a French keyboard for a day!
Here's a picture of German keyboard:



7) Toilet problems

No, it's not that you have to use plunger all the time, but I was sure was confused when I saw a "bidet" for the first time. I wasn't sure what it's for. And trust me, it's not a toilet. It's for...uh...cleaning your private parts. OK, moving on.

Also in Germany, many public toilets require you to pay, typically 50 cents. While it's generally well-maintained, it is still quite a pain (for me) to dig down my pockets for some change whenever nature calls.

Don't expect to always see paper napkins, too. France uses rolling cloth towel or blow-dry after you wash your hands, Germany and Italy generaly uses blow-dry. I might be wrong, but I had some difficulties finding paper napkins.

- that's it for now -

A week in Italy

- Travel Journal (Summary) : Sept 29 - Oct 6, 2007 -

I've been dreading the moment to write this summary, largely due to the 1,000 pictures that I lost along with my laptop and backup drive. Of course, they are all materials but losing them has created a burden that is yet to be relieved at this moment (*update November 12* - finally got a new laptop). Nevertheless, the Italy trip had been fascinating and wonderful.

Rome "the Eternal City" really has a proud history to live in and so far the best city in Italy I have visited. Of course, I would not be able to share it with you since my pictures are now history. Still, I would ABSOLUTELY visit Rome again if God gives me the chance to. The list of places I visited (and took pictures of) were as follows:

Saturday, 09/29 : Colosseum, Palatino Hill, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Piazza Venezia)
Sunday, 09/30 : Vatican City, Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel), Castle D'Angelo, Isola Tiberina, Museum of Art at Barberini, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain
Monday, 10/01 : Via Antica of the Ancient Rome, Catacombs of St. Calisto and St. Sebastian, Aqueducts, Circa Maximus, Sacra Argentina, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and once again Trevi Fountain.

After some bewildered moments (my luggage was stolen in a train from Rome to Florence) upon my arrival in Florence on Tuesday, October 2, I got a chance to gather myself and enjoyed a little bit of Florence with a friend (we accidentally met in front of the Duomo). I only stayed for a day in Florence, but I got to enjoy Ponte Vecchio, Michael Angelo Hill that overlooks the city (very romantic spot) and the fake green David, a dinner at a restaurant, Galleria Uffizi (seeing "The Birth of Venus", "Primavera", and "Venus of Urbino" were certainly astounding), and certainly Duomo before my departure to Naples. I personally do not favor Florence that much since the buildings are so tall and the streets are so narrow and suffocated with tourists. It's amazing how everywhere I turned, people spoke English and nothing else.

Naples....well that's a completely different story. It was definitely a lifesafer to meet my friend, Sandra there (and leeched off of her a bit), but I was very surprised to see downtown Naples upon my arrival on Wednesday evening. The city was crowded, disorganized, quite dirty and gave off the atmosphere of insecurity. Of course, given that I was just robbed a day before fueled my negative bias about Naples. However, some of my friends shared my impression and could not even wait to go out of Naples! Still, like another friend said, Naples looked like a certain city area in Jakarta (my hometown) so dealing with Naples, albeit seemed dangerous, was still doable for me.

I did not venture to the city; I opted to go to the beautiful coasts outside of Naples named Positano and Amalfi beaches. I did not go to Capri since I did not want to trouble my friend so much with the high traveling costs (and she said Capri was kind of overhyped anyway). It's somewhat regrettable that we saw a lot of garbage bags on the street sides on the way to the beaches. Also, the beaches could have had a better view from afar if the air was not so polluted. Nevertheless, the beaches were beautiful and I could have spent more time there had I not been "crushed" by the robbery and discouraged by Naples itself.

After spending two nights there, Sandra and I hastily bade goodbye to Naples and went back to Rome to spend our last night there. It's truly bittersweet seeing all the wonderful sites once more and internally wept 'I took pictures of those sites before!' and encourage myself to create new memories with my camera (yes, it was not stolen, thank God). We managed to have some fun on our last visit to Rome before we went back to Paris on Saturday.

As I mentioned before, my camera was not stolen so I actually have the pictures starting from right before I left Rome (for Florence) until I got back to Rome. The album of my Italy Trip is accessible here.

So that's it, my very very much overdue travel update. I will now ditch travel journal updates and write more about my impressions with my EuroTrip so far and also my Germany trip. Until next time.

- to be continued -

Very Quick...

- Travel Journal: September 27 & 28, 2007 -

These are one-liners...
September 27: The day before French final exam and last day of student presentations
September 28: The last one to arrive at the exam room; how embarassing was that! Had a little trouble withdrawing cash from ATM machine, but after an attempt at a different machine and a call to the bank shortly after, the problem was beautifully solved. As for the exam? I don't know; I think I did okay...at least it's done (for now).

- to be continued... -

Enough Wine and Cheese for Today

- Travel Journal: September 26, 2007 -

Note: This is the last album uploaded on my GoogleWeb. All the 1000 pictures taken in Italy trip had no chance to be uploaded before the laptop was stolen. There will be no photo mentions for a while, at least until I find myself a new laptop to work with.

I have no class today and instead, the school organized a "wine and cheese" tasting free of charge. There were many interesting selections of cheese, most of which I tasted, but only a handful I really liked. The French brie is good, but I dislike stronger cheese such as blue cheese and goat cheese. Too strong for me. Even the orange cheese (one has a paprika mixed in it) has some kind of cow aftertaste (yes, cow!) The creamy ones are best, I think. But again, it depends on your taste buds.
The full album of wine and cheese tasting is accessible here.

After filling ourselves with wine and cheese (sorry for not commenting much on the wine - but Riesling wine is my favorite of the 2 white wines and 2 red wines presented), we wathed a French movie called "Americain Cuisiniere". It was funny and cheesy even though I could only understand about 10 - 15% of it, but yeah... It’s kinda awkward seeing breasts displayed so repeatedly and so gorgeously.

When I came home via train, I thought I saw police officers covering a dead body at La Muette station; I was instantly shocked and horrified. I also have to book train tickets and hostels for my upcoming Italy trip on Saturday...

- to be continued... -

The Week of French Exam begins

- Travel Journal: September 24, 2007 -

Note: I don't have a laptop right now, so I am using a computer in school with a French keyboard to type...oh, the joy...oh, and there is no journal on September 25.

I woke up too late and didn’t shower before school today. I managed to catch a (not so late) train to Cergy, and I could only smiled sheepishly while the teacher glared at me when I opened the classroom door on 9:25 am. After school, I had an interesting experience trying to look for a plunger with Sandra. We raced around Auchan with one of the managers and still could not find it. Seriously, it's like one of the old TV series where you have to find specific things on the supermarket aisles in a time limit! ... But we finally gave up. In turn, I bought some stuff for early food stocking and promise to buy more tomorrow. After that, I went back home and started updating blogs again when I met my boyfriend online and started chatting with him. Imagine my shock when I realized that I forgot his birthday more than a week ago! OMG! He was very sweet about it though, and I promised to buy him a nice souvenir when I go back to US in December.

- to be continued...(No update on Tuesday) -

Blog on hold...again

Quick update: Blog owner got her bag stolen at the train from Rome to Florence on October 2, 2007. Fortunately, she did not lose her passport or IDs, but she lost her laptop containing 1,000 pictures she took in Rome. Thus, there will be no pictures about all the wonderful places in Rome she visited, limited collections of Florence, Napoli, and perhaps a little bit of Rome later on.

The story will continue once she is back in Paris on October 7, 2007.

- to be continued... -

The Day of the Breizh Parade

- Travel Journal: September 23, 2007 -

Yesterday, I spent too much time surfing around the internet and watched Iron Chef episodes on YouTube; I haven’t prepared the presentation for tomorrow's class!
But first thing first, I had to go to Breizh Touch Parade. There were supposed to be a celebration of Celtic music with over 3,000 musicians and dancers taking part in this exciting event in Paris. But again, I got side-tracked and went to Madeline Church near Opera. Even though it was under construction (and so was the Opera), it has such a strong statement; the Joan de Arc statue, the humble tribute to John Paul II and Mother Teresa, and the gorgeous altar made the quick visit very much worth it.







By the time I reached Champ d’Elysee to see the Breizh Parade, the dancing stopped. Darn it! That explained why my pictures only got people in costumes standing around...But! I did get some good shots of the musicians.







I was also supposed to meet with friends but they arrived late and eventually I was wandering around alone. After a quick visit to the Arc de Triomphe (this time up, close, and personal), I bought a professor-recommended French dictionary and an Italian reference book (and I’m going to Italy next Saturday!) at W.H. Stone near Le Louvre.




After that, I simply went home and spent 5 hours to prepare the presentation. The long hours was largely because I got too excited about the putting pictures in the presentation. Some pictures even got rejected and did not make it to the presentation, you know... Anyway, I went to sleep right after I finished.

And hey, the whole album "Wandering in Paris - part 3" can be found here.

- to be continued... -

A Day of Relaxation

- Travel Journal: September 22, 2007 -

Today, I was resting at home to rejuvenate self. Yesterday’s excitement took a heavier toll on my body than I thought. Moreover, my sickness was not actually went away; it was just conveniently delayed. Worked for me though; I spent time catching up with blogs’ updating, picture editings, upcoming travel arrangements, homeworks, and job search – related stuff. I had to be careful though, I needed to stay healthy since people around me were getting sick (it’s the transition from summer to fall, after all).

I also had the first long conversation with the French lady; she’s also happy with the Moët & Chandon I bought for her. She also told me about a market in Pte. St. Cloud that’s open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I have to always beware of pickpockets. She got her money stolen once before in that market. In addition, I just found out that this house experienced a burglary once and that Dewi lost many valuables without getting any money back, so again I have to be very careful and not take security for granted in this very nice area. Later that night, some friends were texting me and invited me to go to a chic club in Paris named Le Queen, but l opted to stay at home and watch Iron Chef. Entertaining Iron Chef episodes over an exciting night out at Le Queen? Certainly, especially with my stamina not in its top shape. Next time though, I would be glad to rock out “what my mama gave me”. Just you wait...

- to be continued... -

The Cathedral and The Champagne

- Travel Journal: September 21, 2007 -

Today was the day of the last field trip that ESSEC organized. This time, we went to Reims to see the gothic Notredame Cathedral and La Champagne to the House of Moët et Chandon for wine tasting. It would be a great time, but the morning started kind of shaky. I woke up later than I expected and reached Cergy Prefecture Station around 8:40 am. I was worried because I thought I missed the bus (we were told to meet in front of ESSEC on 8:30 am), but apparently the bus itself ended up being late. All of us waited until close to 9 am.

That little setback was remedied as soon as we reached Reims. When I saw The Cathedral, where most of French kings were crowned, I was awestruck. IT WAS HUGE and GORGEOUS! Some of the snapshots below did not do enough justice to this grand cathedral.








During our free time, I had a chance to explore the city. It was a charming city with lots of life. I had a great nice walks with friends and we had some hilarious moments trying to get the timer going with Sandra’s camera. It was worth it; all of us were laughing whole-heartedly, and the picture came out great. I had to pester Sandra to share me the picture; I ablsolutely love it! We also had a unique pie at a nearby pastry shop. It was stuffed with pork, rabbit, and veal dipped in champagne and baked in a wooden stove. It was delicious! I was greedy with eating that I did not think about shooting a picture of the pie, but here are some pictures of the precious free time.






But things started to go downhill due to my sudden sickness. I worried about my physical stamina and worried that I would not be able to enjoy the wine tasting at the House of Moët et Chandon. When I was waiting for the house tour, I seriously felt ill and struggled to stand up, let alone walk. When the tour began and the guide started to explain the different parts of the house and showed us a video, I felt my concentration slipping away.

I did not know what “woke” me up; the coolness and darkness of the wine cellar, the exciting labyrinth of the huge wine cellar and the possibility of getting lost due to my excessive camera-clicking to whatever objects I could find, the guide’s explanation about the long process of making wine, my friends, the realization that it might be easy to steal a bottle or two of still-under-process wine, or any mixture of any of the above. But one thing was for sure. I began to like Brut wine, at least the Brut Imperial of Moët & Chandon. All this time, I always drank sweet wine, but after tasting Brut Imperial, I began to wonder what on earth I had been drinking. Sure, I am not a great drinker, but I think I can appreciate a good wine when I came across wine. Moreover, the champagne actually helped revitalizing my energy and soon enough, I felt better already. I also found out from my teacher that French people like brut champagne the most (and hated the sweeter ones), so I bought one bottle of Brut Imperial as a gift for the French lady.









My only remaining drawback was going back to Paris via RER from Cergy. When the bus reached Cergy, it was close to 8:15 pm. It was a rather tiring journey back home (mostly because we spent a lot of time sitting down and did nothing at the bus already), but thank God for Sarah, Aimee, Laurie, and Nayuta who also took the RER to go to our respective apartments (except Nayuta, who went to take a bus to Germany). When I got home, I was so tired but obviously very happy. That was another great field trip. Bravo!

Oh, I almost forgot, the full album of The Cathedral and The Champagne is here.

- to be continued... -

Not the Best Day You and I had in Life..

- Travel Journal: September 20, 2007 -

It was a bad morning. I met the French lady in the morning, and she made some unfavorable comments implied towards Sandra. The worse thing was that Sandra was actually at the corridor and heard everything. Of course she’s pissed, and I felt really responsible. I knew from yesterday that asking her to let Sandra stay at the apartment was a bad decision; I felt really bad for both of them. I could understand why both of them felt the way they did, but I am definitely responsible for not being able to encourage better relationship between both of them.

After school, I went to Auchan at the nearby mall (the same one that has H&M, but this time I did not buy anything there). After comparing the prices of Auchan and Monoprix, I definitely need to do grocery shopping here, it’s much cheaper (later on, I found out that Monoprix is the most expensive grocery store chain in Paris). On our way home, each of us bought a cute black ballet flats for walking shoes at Auberg, the transfer station, before going on our separate ways.

When I got home, I took one look at my desk and knew immediately that Sandra mistakenly packed my laptop adapter. This was quite a disaster since my laptop could only last an hour or less without the adapter (the battery’s dying). That evening, it was such a hassle for her to go back and forth to give the adapter to me and reach the internet café (she still did not have internet; later that night, she decided to stay at a friend’s place in one of ESSEC’s Cergy residence halls). Meanwhile, that night I had a serious contemplation about the upcoming potential Italy trip.

By the way, I am very embarrassed about not being able to answer the phone here in the apartment. They rang pretty frequently and since I assumed they were all for either for the French lady or Dewi, I never bothered to answer it. It’s not that I could say anything decent... Anyway, I had to sleep early for tomorrow’s field trip to Reims and La Champagne. Wine tasting, anyone?

- to be continued... -

The Internet Dilemma

- Travel Journal: September 19, 2007 -

Before I started, I just want to share this funny print ad that I saw at the train station. I thought this was really, really cute. I apologize for the somewhat poor quality.



Even today, Sandra still did not have internet in her apartment, so we went to my apartment after school so she could do some work done online. I actually half-forced the French lady to allow her to spend the night at my room; deep down, I knew this would not go well. But I stood by my decision and felt that it was very much needed for Sandra to get online. I had experienced first hand that not having an internet connection was just a slow suicide.

Anyway, I created a soup with ratatouille and potatoes and sausages for dinner; in my opinion, it actually was kind of good. We also studied for exam and due to Sandra’s suggestion, I was really contemplating an Italy trip for the one week break we will have after the French language training course. I just hoped the wire transfer is good to go soon.

- to be continued... -

Back to School

- Travel Journal: September 18, 2007 -

I was feeling much better today and went to school with Sandra. Class was great and such a learning experience as always, and we went to H&M at the nearby mall after class. As always, H&M always lured me to buy something; I bought a purple belt with retro vibe. Also, when Sandra took care of some of her beauty needs, I went to Yves Rocher to buy some shower essentials and a facial moisturizer. When I found out that Sandra tried her best to speak French to her beautician, I honestly started wishing to be more courageous to speak French.

I went back to my place to pack more properly and once again spend the night at Sandra’s place. That night, we realized we had so much school-related stuff to do. However, Sandra’s apartment still did not have an internet connection made it difficult to do anything internet-related.

- to be continued... -

Monday is for Skipping Class

- Travel Journal: September 17, 2007 -

I felt awful when I woke up this morning. My back and feet hurt so bad that I decided not to go to school today. I was internally whining when I got up from bed and internally screaming when I started walking away from the bed.

In short, I spent the day resting at home. I only got out in the afternoon to do some quick grocery shopping. It’s very convenient to have a grocery store located close to the apartment, so I am very grateful for that. When I got home, I did a very much needed laundry.

In the evening, I went to Sandra’s place to catch up with lessons and homework. I have to tell you that Sandra has the best crepes ever! I ended up staying at her place that night.

- to be continued... -

The End of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine...and my feet.

- Travel Journal: September 16, 2007 -

I woke up very exhausted today and my legs were numb. I was also late to the 11 am mass at the church for the second time in a row. I was very ashamed and dissapointed in myself, there was no excuse about it. The mornind did not start on the right foot, in my opinion.

In addition, it was a completely wrong decision not to bring my camera to church today. Especially since right in front of the church, a flea market of antiques, furnitures, books, and questionable but cool objects just suddenly appeared. I regretted not bringing my camera, but this flea market was just too inviting. I quickly drown myself in a selection of old vases, tea pots, key chains, books, mirrors, accessories, and many others. After going around the flea market for roughly one hour (yeah, time flew by so damn fast!), I found myself buying a mirror for Sandra, a cool metal claw finger accessory (I always wanted to buy one for a long time!), and two folded spoon/fork/knife sets. I was proud of my buys since even though there were many claw finger accessory designs, the one that I chose (a hellhound) was totally cool and the only one that did not have a duplicate. I swore there was this one guy kept eyeing on my claw, waiting for me to drop it back to the pack so he could pick it up. Try your luck some other time, buddy.


My buys from the flea market


I absolutely love this hellhound!

Actually, the reason I decided to linger no longer in the flea market was I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. Apparently, I developed quite nasty blisters on my toes due to excessive walkings for the past two weeks. As a compensation, my pelvis unconciously shifted back to adjust my weight balance. However, that meant my back muscles were constracting too much and could not stand it anymore. I need to be careful next time, because my walking adventure is far from over. On the bright side, I am now weighing 58 kg (128 lbs - I weighed close to 140 lbs when I was only sitting and driving in California), a weight long forgotten since I left Indonesia in 2005. I am much slimer and fit, but I do need some endurance training. Remember how bad I am at running? Yeah...

Anyway, I rested at home a little bit and watched some Iron Chef episodes at YouTube. After a while, I forced myself to venture out a little bit more even though I did not feel my back was getting better. As a result, I half-heartedly revisited the Luxembourg Palace and Garden, seeing a street scene along the way. There were also a small art exhibition at the Petit Luxembourg by Agnès Pezeu.





But I lose my spirit along the way very quickly and decided to let it go and get some rest. After buying "An Idiot's Guide to Europe" from W.H. Stone, an English bookstore at Rue Cambon near Le Louvre, I took a train home, but when I missed a stop and got off at the wrong transfer point, I realized I shouldn't go out that afternoon after all. At the bright side though, I got a glimpse of Avenue des Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, as shown in the picture below.


Place de La Concorde


A Glimpse of Arc de Triomphe

I finally went back home and watched some Iron Chef episodes again. Oh, I forgot to tell you that these were the JAPANESE Iron Chef, not Iron Chef America. I think the Japanese Iron Chef was much more entertaining and exciting, and Iron Chef America is not even worth comparing at the same level. Anyway, after doing laundry and updating blogs / editing pictures, I went to sleep.

P.S. : Once again, the full album for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine is here.

- to be continued... -

The 1st day of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine

- Travel Journal: September 15, 2007 -

Today is the first day of the two-day annual event of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine. It was an exciting day to explore Paris, but since I am not a natural morning person, I woke up late (around 9 am). After taking my time getting ready, I decided to visit the furthest interest point as my first destination, the Techno Parade in Le Marais. I purposefully took a quick stroll alongside the Seine River and got several great shots. Two of them are below; you can see the rest of them in here.


Square du Vert Galant


Pont Neuf

And quickly enough, I walked on Rue de Rivoli going towards Bastille to catch the crowd of the that is The Techno Parade at Le Marais. It was exciting and crazy (when I got there on 1:30 pm, it could easily be more than 5,000 people gathering on the street). Also, I finally got to see how French people street-dancing (which involves a lot of snake-like arm movements and stationary up-and-down bobbing leg actions). Perhaps it's just one of their styles, but it certainly is a new experience for me. And did I mention that Le Marais is the gay quarter of Paris? Anyway, you can see a small video footage of the beginning of the parade on my Vox blog. Below are some of the pictures I took about the Techno Parade.






Anyway, after hanging around for about an hour, I decided to walk a little bit north of Bastille. I passed Place des Vosges and entered Musee Carnavalet, which unfortunately did not allow photography inside the museum. The museum itself was built as a townhouse in the 16th century, and it contained paintings, decorated rooms, and many works of art rich of Paris history. Since today was part of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, people were free to visit. I also did my first vintage shopping at Rue des Rosiers. I got two vintage tops that I absolutely love. The best of all, they costed me 25 Euros.


A garden in Musee Carnavalet complex

After passing the Techno Parade crowd once more and Hotel de Ville, I rested at the frontyard of Notredame Church. Not for long, though. There was this random French guy tried to strike a conversation with me and tried (unsuccessfully) to ask where I came from. When I ignored him purposefully (I just wanted to eat, man!), he even asked a passing-by key chain vendor to ask me where I came from. He also claimed to have bought me a La Tour Eiffel key chain; "Please listen, I bought this just for you," he said. Oh God, the stuff a girl has to go through just to rest her legs and eat some lunch! Anyway, I bolted out of the otherwise great scenery immediately.


Hotel de Ville


The Notredame Church in Paris

I continued my path down to the Quartier Latin area, passing the La Sorbonne. The school was closed unfortunately, I was too late. Normally, this school is closed to public but today is one of the two days of the year when non-students could come visit inside the school. Well, I blew my chance off of this one...

But, the Luxembourg Palace and Garden was simply a redemption. Not only the scenery was gorgeous, (this time) I conversed with a nice old Spanish guy who have lived in Paris for the last 20 years. He spoke very little English and I spoke very little French, so voila! But he was a really pleasant guy and I enjoyed our "Lost in Translation" moments with him.


Palais du Luxembourg

After deciding that my feet were getting less fatiqued, I strolled closer to the palace and immediately decided not to go in simply because I realized my feet were just too tired to go up and down the stairs in the palace anyway. Surprisingly though, I met some ESSEC exchange students in front of the palace! One of them recognized me and called me over, and shortly enough, others started to appear! Sarah, my Pepperdine colleague also showed up and kindly invited me to have a girls' night out moment in her place with three other girls. It was also at this time that my camera's battery died. So, no picture from my camera about the girls' night out at Sarah's place. But, the full album is accessible from here.

We had an awesome time; we shopped the ingredients at a market near Sarah's place, we cooked them together, ate them, drank some red and white wine, and had long girl talks. I absolutely loved, loved it! Another pleasant occurence that evening was that the tortellini with mushroom that Migena cooked did not make me throw up (I am known for my inability to eat pasta). It's probably because I ate them with lots of salad, but still, I did not throw up. More importantly, I think the meal was delicious, a very lovely meal! After some more girl talks, I decided to go home since it was getting late after all (about 11 pm).

Tomorrow would be another day of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, and I hoped to venture some of the closer destinations, but man, my feet were hurting me....

- to be continued... -