Our journey began after we had dinner with our families at Changi
Airport on a Saturday evening. For our Europe honeymoon trip, we took Emirates
airline as it was offering a good deal and it would be our first time taking an
A380. Emirates also allowed a heavier baggage check-in of 30kg per person
compared to other European airlines (and we fully utilized that on our return
flight). The check-in process was smooth and we departed Singapore on time. It
was a good start to our trip.
The destination we were heading was not Europe, it was Dubai and the
flight duration is about 7 plus hours. We were glad that the A380 we were
taking had spacious leg room and good entertainment on board. We could even
charge our phone using the USB connection. The staffs were very professional in
servicing the passengers and meals were served at the right time.
Entertainment System on Emirates A380, we can charge our phones using the USB port (bottom right)
Arriving at Dubai International Airport
We arrived Dubai Airport at around 1 am (Dubai time) and had to wait
for 7 hours before our next flight to Paris. So what did we do then? Well, we
did what everyone would do: shopping at duty free store. Dubai transit area has
a big duty free shopping area that one could easily spend a couple of hours
there. Then the remaining hours, we spent at one of their lounges (Marhaba
lounge) as I had a complimentary entry. We could sit on comfortable couches and
eat their buffet there.
Penning my thoughts while enjoying buffet at Marhaba lounge. There are actually more food choices than shown.
We also rest ourselves at this area where there are seats with leg rest.
Dawn at Dubai
Our breakfast on flight from Dubai to Paris
We left Dubai airport around 8 am and flew to Paris where we reached
around 1 pm (Paris time). Paris was still very cold despite we planned to
arrive near end winter. After we collected our luggage, we proceeded to look
for the train station. We heard from our friends that a cab journey from Paris
Charles De Gaulle airport to Paris city would easily cost more than 100 euros
so we planned to take the train instead. When we reach the station, we realized
that there are many trains to different parts of France. We had to take the RER train to Paris Nord
(Gare Du Nord) and then transfer into their metro before we could reach our
hotel. When we wanted to get our tickets, we realized that there were many
automated ticket machines. These machines only accepted coins and since we just
arrived, we did not have any. There was just one manned counter on a Sunday
afternoon in Paris and there was a long queue. We got our tickets after queuing
for about 20 minutes.
When we got onto the train platform, a
musician carrying an accordion was there but wasn’t playing any music. You
might be wondering what he was doing there. Well, we had no clue too at that
time. When the train arrived, the musician guided us (as well as other
passengers) into the faster train, it was basically a train that skips some
stop along the route from airport to Paris Nord. Then he started playing music
along the way while the train was traveling and we really enjoyed the moments,
especially those familiar ones since we are in foreign lands. After playing and
thanking us for listening, he went around asking for some tokens of appreciation.
He came to us first, but we a bit paranoid giving money (we heard stories that
if we give money, there may be more people approaching us) so we gently
declined. He went on and we saw some other passengers who gave. We learnt that
it was actually ok. But he left for another section of the train. We had
experienced, for the first time, riding a train with someone playing music. It
was a warm welcome in a cold environment.
Paris Nord is a huge train/bus station
(interchange equivalent in Singapore sense). The signs are well labeled but the
problem with “newbies” like us, we were unfamiliar even with signage. The good
thing is there is a comprehensive metro map and we figured out the right metro
train to reach Ecole Militaire, the nearest station to our hotel. Train
frequency is about every 3-5 min and each single trip is a flat fee of 1.70
euros regardless of which metro station that the passenger is traveling to. A
day pass is 10.50 euros. The thing every traveler should take note about Paris
metro is that there are almost no lifts, very few escalators and many stairs.
This makes moving around with luggage challenging.
We arrived at our hotel (Hotel Beaugency)
around 3 pm. We chose this hotel for its good location near Eiffel Tower and
near to a metro station. We were additionally rewarded when we discovered there
were 2 supermarkets and lots of reasonably-priced cafés around the hotel.
Checking-in was a breeze but the room was rather small. The reception promised
us a bigger room when we were back from the rest of our Europe trip. Overall we
were satisfied with the room as it was clean and the bed was comfortable to
rest on, after all, the room was just a place for us to rest and we weren’t
expect to spend a lot of time except sleeping at night.
Very small lift. Enough to just fit 2 big luggage and 1 person. Alternatively, put all luggage inside and let the lift deliver while we took the stairs
Nearby street at our hotel.
Good cafe that serves good food :D
Bicycle for rental. However, we didn't intend to ride one so we do not know how to go about renting one
After we put down our luggage, we decided
to explore around Paris. So we went out trying to find “Avenue des
Champs-Elysees”. This is a well-known street for its luxury specialty shops. So
from Hotel Beaugency, we walked across the river “La Seine” and took some
photos along the way. And guess what happened when we reach Avenue des
Champs-Elysees?
Old buildings in Paris well taken care and their heritage well preserved
We could see the Eiffel Tower almost from anywhere in Paris!
Gold statues are part of Paris culture
Across La Seine is the Academie des Technologies
Anti gay marriage protest along Avenue de Champs-Elysees
Another photo of the protest, can you see the law enforcers at the background?
There was a protest on gay marriage. The French
were just walking along Avenue des Champs-Elysees and we were walking in
the opposite direction. One French teenager actually asked us to join them in
the protest (we didn’t know what the protest was all about at first, in fact we
only found out about it after we returned to Singapore) and he actually spoke
to us in Mandarin!
Moving on, we were quite disappointed to
find that all the luxury shops had closed early on a late Sunday afternoon. The
French really know their work-life balance and have a much higher standard of
living. Since most of the shops are closed and we didn’t want to tire ourselves
on the 1st day of Europe trip, we decided to go for dinner before
returning to our hotel. Just to mention about having meals in France, most of the menu are quoted with the inclusion of taxes but they may additional put extra charges on bread (they assume everyone eat bread) and when ask for water, it can cost about an additional 4 euros if you ask for sparkling/mineral water.
Our first meal in Paris. They cost in total 32 Euros inclusive of bread and water.
After dinner comes desserts! Glacee that we bought the shop beside the cafe.
Eiffel Tower at night. Photo taken using Iphone.
Before I end our recap of our first day in
Europe, let me share with you a video that we took while strolling along La
Seine. As one would say it is romantic to stroll with your loved one in Paris,
I think we had something more, especially it was our first time in Europe, we
were newly wedded and we enjoyed the cool weather. What do you think?
A good rest in the night is essential for
fabulous start in the next morning. We had a good rest and look forward to what
we had planned for our 2nd day in Paris. Since breakfast is not
included in our hotel stay, we ventured out to find some nice food. We started
our venture with the mindset of think what kind of breakfast was available for
the locals. Many stores were not open yet but we did manage to find a few
cafes. Among them we settled on that seemed to serve a good breakfast with a
more “reasonable” price. It basically had 2 types of menu, 1 with eggs and the
other without, and the difference is only 1 euro. So we chose the one with egg
(wondering if it was worth paying the extra 1 euro for the eggs).
Breakfast is first served with a cup of cut fruits, orange juice and coffee for each of us
Some "wheat" for us to share
A plate with 2 eggs and 2 very large slices of ham with some vegetables
As you can see from the photos, I don’t
think anyone would complain the eggs were not worth the extra 1 euro J
After our hearty breakfast, we decided to
go for a little shopping. Another famous place to shop is the Les Galeries
Lafayette. This place is, unlike the usual individual shop, a huge departmental
store that carries many different brands. It is located just beside metro
station “Chaussee dÁntin – LA Fayette”. The famous thing about shopping in Les
Galeries Lafayette is that the customers will queue up to enter different
stores. If you are thinking of buying Longchamp, this is definitely a highly recommended place! Other brands such as LV, Prada etc… can also be found
here and the prices are attractive due to the tax refund which can be done at
the same department store! While we were there, we found out that there were mainly
Asians (more than 80% of the total crowd) and they were mainly Singaporeans,
Malaysians, Thais, Taiwanese and mainland Chinese. We could easily recognize
their languages and their accents. We did our shopping there and return to
deposit our purchases in our hotel. We would be back for more at Les Galeries
Lafayette in Paris Part 2.
A typical metro platform in Paris
Queuing outside to get into the Longchamp store
Queued again to get the design that we wanted and there was actually a 3rd queue (cashier)
In the early morning of our 2nd
day in Paris, we already went for shopping and we hadn’t started sightseeing
yet! After leaving our stuffs in our hotel, we went for a quick lunch before we
started our tour. Lunch was also near our hotel, where we had a simple Chinese
meal. The owner was from Hong Kong who had migrated to France a number of years
back. The meal for two persons was less than 15 euros.
Asian food can be easily found near our hotel
Moving on to our sightseeing tour, our
first stop was Notre Dame Cathedral. This cathedral is found at a rather
interesting location – an island in the middle of La Seine. The nearest metro
station to the cathedral is also located on the island and it is known as
“Cite”. This means the metro line has to be constructed under the river to reach the
station. As we got out from the metro station, we found ourselves at “Tribunal
de Grande Instance”. It looked nice and we just took some photos of it before
we moved on to Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral look magnificent from the
outside and a sense of holiness can be felt from within. At times I looked at
this beautiful architecture, I wondered how much awe it gathered during its
completion in the olden days…
The gate of Tribunal de Grande Instance
Notre Dame Cathedral on a sunny clear sky day
Devotees attending service
Beautiful architecture of the cathedral
Each flame represents a devotee's prayer
Our next stop is “Musee de Louvre” and at
the same location, we could see the “Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel”. We decided
to take a stroll there instead of taking the metro as we would be able to see
more things. We were glad we took the route as we got to know Paris a little
bit more. Our aim was to get to the street “Rue de Rivoli” and to our surprise,
it is a rather busy street. It is somehow like our “Bugis” perhaps. There
weren’t a lot of branded stuffs but the more common things were found there.
And needless to say, it is a busy street as well.
On our way, we passed by Mairie de Paris
There is a Merry-Go-Round in front of Mairie de Paris at Esplanade de Liberation
Advertisement board like this gives us clue that we are in a busy area of Paris
Panoramic video of Musee de Louvre
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Louvre Palace at night
We spent a couple of hours at Musee de
Louvre to watch the lighting up of Eiffel Tower and we returned to our hotel
for dinner. Dinner was a simple cup noodle and I bought some grilled salmon
from a nearby café. I also bought Orangina and some chocolate for our next day
trip to Switzerland.
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