Paris

Ay sori naman, hindi na ako nakapag post ulet tungkol sa Europe trip namin. I know I still owe you more stories, and I have to document all these good memories before I forget (and acquire more good ones). So....Paris... (in lomo and my trusty compact cam named chiquita...mukhang nde kinaya ng blogger ang dami ng photo uploads ko, kaya eto nalang muna. oh well. )

Ahh... I also loved Paris. Never mind that I only know of two phrases when I went there, which were Bonjour and Excusez-moi I learned my troisième and quatrième words onsite):

Deux
Kakadating lang naming Paris, transitting to Barcelona via Orly airport. We took this transfer bus from the airport (at 7am, freakin’ 10 degrees in the morning). Sabi ko kay madame driver (na naastigan ako, kasi waw…isa syang big bus driver na babae, na napaka gracious and witty. This I find amusing kasi A)babae sya B)she’s French (so kala ko ba ‘di sila friendly?) “two please?” Sabi nung madame, “deux?”. Wah. So ayun pala yun. Call it my most abused word for the entire French –speaking trip (Paris, Cannes, Malta).

Bonsior
Sabi ko sa cars le france driver nung galing kaming Orly Sud, for our last leg of the trip “Bonjour!”, tapos sumagot sya ng “Bonsior!”, tapos napaisip ako—is it the “Bonjour” way to address women? Tapos ni-google ko, at jomaygas—good evening pala ang ibig sabihin nun! josko.

What I love about Paris is this certain air of fine, old world culture that’s oozing with effortless sophistication. My ‘omaygad, I’m in Europe’ moment lingered here, starting even, with Charles de Gaulle Airport driveway. It was so foreign yet somewhat accessible. We stayed in this small hotel around the 10th Arr. The easiest reference to it is the Tour de Eiffel and adjoining Champs de Mars, which is literally two blocks away. Our usual morning and evening route consist of bypassing the nearest Metro station (our hotel had one beside it, the Piquet-Granelle), walking past the Eiffel and taking the train from any metro beside the Seine to anywhere. We even tried walking from Champs Elysses to our hotel. Twice. All these resulted to very tired feet, of course, but we could have not done it any other way (naaks). Walking brought us to Invalides, Km 0 (Isle de Paris), Palais de Tokyo, Musee de Arab, Marie Antionette’s kinky ‘play village’ (we took the train to the outskirts—Château de Versailles) and the banks of river Siene. Madali lang i-navigate ang Paris (well, kasi mas naligaw kami ng ilang beses sa Barca kesa dun. Hehe). Isa pa, kahit saan ka yata magpunta may famous landmarks and place of interest. And the weather was ‘waw’. May lamig, may sunshine at magaan. Ang hindi ko lang gusto sa Paris ay yung airport nilang CDG. Marahil dahil nakatira ako sa Singapore, at nakita ko na ang airport ng Barcelona (na naiyak si Jay sa pagka-mangha. I repeat. Haha), pero hanep talaga. Parang hindi ko malaman kung ano ang mas okay, yung NAIA natin, o itong CDG. It looked okay naman sa arrival. Yung departure lang talaga siguro—parang lalo kang naeexcite na uuwi ka at hindi ka na magtatagal pa sa airport nila. Haha.
Feeling ko ay napaka overrated at super hyped ng Champs Elysee. Mas nagustuhan ko pa ang vibe ng Avenue George V na tahimik at feeling posh talaga, compared sa mahabang kalyeng ito na parang nasa gitna ng EDSA at Orchard Road ang lapad. Madami ngang tao, pero para namang hindi espesyal. Or it’s jas me. Madami ding taong nagsabing iwasan ang ‘tourist trap’ na lugar na ito, kung saan mataas ang krimen at presyo ng bilihin. Eh sa kadahilanang gusto kong bumili ng *ehem* souvenir--pinuntahan namin sya.
Ang paborito kong lugar ever sa Paris ay ang--hulaan nyo.

Yung Shakespeare and Co. na antiquarian bookstore.

Ang boring ko talaga.

Ay! nagpunta din nga pala kasi sa kung saan saang museums sa kadahilanang gusto naming (reads: ko) sulitin ang aming museum passes. Bumili kami ng pass kasi may malditang gustong maki-usyoso dun sa dating bahay ni Marie Antoinette sa Chateaux de Versailles na asa labas ng Paris. Kung bibili ka ng museum pass na good for 3 days, makakapasok ka dun, sa Louvre, sa Centre de Pompiduo at sa kung saan saan pa. Mukhang nasulit naman namin itong pass na ito, dahil sa totoo lang mahal kung iisa isahin mo yung kada museum. Iwas pila pa. Well, somehow.
Syempre hindi mawawala ang Eiffel tower experience, kung saan, salamat sa research nung researcher sa amin (ako yun!), napag alaman na kumikinang pala ang tore na ito on schedule sa gabi. Kumikinang at mega dancing lights. Nakita nyo na ito malamang sa youtube, pero I'd have to tell you--it felt and looked so much better when you're there, breaking a case of stiff neck.

Syempre sino ba ang makakalimot sa 'Jay moment'? Hindi si Jay. Definitely. :P

here laid (and lied) Marie Antoinette (and friends). hehe.

Chateux de Versailles.

Au Revoir, Paris. :)