Annoying Monday

Another boring Monday. I woke up around 8 am and felt very sleepy to get a bathe. Push up myself and took a shower sluggishly, I asked my wife to prepare a hot black coffee for me. After get ready and done with the light breakfast, I went out to the office. Arrived at the office, I see my unit lead was already there. I meet and salute with him, then proceed to my work station. Today is not my day. Of course it is because I was unable to use my computer as it is claimed that there is a problem with the server in Malaysia. When I asked my friend from IT support in Malaysia, he said there has no problem on the server or domain concerned. He was able to access my account without any problem. It means there must be something wrong with the local network. I mean the network here in Paris! Almost 2 hours of waiting for the IT team here to fix this problem, my patience and endurance reach the limit. I give a first call but not at my satisfaction. Then, I give a second call an hour later and patiently asked them to work out this problem and they asked me back some questions about the problem I had. After few minutes of explanation (again!), they told me to re-start the computer and if the problem yet happened, they suggest me to re-try at the different computers. Frankly speaking, this is bullshit. How could they asked me and suggest me to do such things? That is clearly a non-technical IT answer! What did I want to know is why this problem just happened to me? Why it is not happened to my other Malaysian colleagues that were using the same server like mine? This is absolutely not a global network problem! There is nothing for me to do. I was unable to reach my project directory and I spent 8 hours today just waiting for their phone call. What an irritating day.

....

I am feeling great today. This morning while having a scramble egg for the breakfast, I said to my wife that we will have lunch at the Malaysian Restaurant. My wife replied me without moving a muscle. I believe she agrees with me. Actually, I still have not quite got over the fact that my wife will going back this upcoming Saturday. Time passes very fast. I still remember at one time that we were happily and exhaustedly laid down on the bed on the first day we reached here. So far, everything seems absolutely fine as far as I can tell. Our wish list for this short honeymoon most likely accomplished. As I look up to my wife at the kitchen right now and smile at her, suddenly I am thinking about my next two months here without her. I am so sure that I will miss her damn much. All I can say is, everything is just a matter of time. Well, I am not putting this situation that will affect our relationship but I don’t care about the distance whatsoever because deep in my heart, I am so sure that she will always be there for me anywhere and anytime.

OK. I am still blogging while my wife is too busy in the kitchen. She said there is nothing much for me to help her. We reached the room almost 9 pm after spending almost 6 hours shopping! After having lunch at Malaysian Restaurant, we spent an hour around the area to buy some foodstuffs – spices, instant foods, soy sauce, etc. Just for sharing some information to those people out there who love hot and spicy food and feel limited to buy such food in Paris, please be informed that you will no longer feel that bad. You might be able to grab all these foods in La Chapelle. The easiest way to get there is by taking Metro on line 2. In fact, La Chapelle station is connected to the Gare du Nord and the Gare du Nord Metro Station on lines 4 and 5. Basically, most of the shops there owned by Indian and Sri Lankan which offer variety of products and services ranges from foods, clothes, home accessories and definitely it would be no problem to shop there.

Opps. My wife calls me up for the dinner. Catch up later.

OK. I am done with the dinner. Big thanks for my wife for superlicious menu tonight! Helped her to clean up the desk and bring all the dishes to the sink, I went online back and pour myself a glass of orange juice and flip the TV over to National Geographic Channel. OK, back to the story. After having a full lunch, we straight away going to the avenue des Champs-Élysées - The most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. Actually, I just want to reward my wife to shop as much as my pocket would allow her. Hehe. But then, she just bought a ZARA grey colored shirt and ESCADA perfumes and unexpectedly I myself also bought a ZARA collar t-shirt and a loose fit ZARA Jeans. Hehe. Actually, I have been influenced by her but anyway the outfit looked good and felt comfort as I give a try. The only trouble is, there is a massive queue. I am quite tired actually, after all this walking.

As we heading down to the Louis Vutton shop, it was raining and we could see many people stood in front of the shop for shelter and waited patiently for clear sky to turn over. As we enter the LV shop, I cannot help myself to remain static. This place is so huge. All around are luxury uncountable and unique products arranged attractively inside the glass. I cannot believe such luxury specialty shop environment was filled with too many people excitedly buying and moving around with their big carrier bags. Huhu. Walked around for few minutes inside the shop, finally we decided to go back.

I don’t want to remember the details but the thing is I and my wife were very happy with our new stuffs and as we reached La Defense, we head off to the shopping market to buy halal's chicken and finally we reached the room.

OK. I stop here. Hitting the bed now.

Good night.

Red Mill

For the past week days, I spent most of the time in the room with my wife. We don’t have any interest to go out but yet we did some shopping for our food stuffs and yesterday we went out to the Moulin Rouge. Anyway, we just remain outside and have a pleasant view of Moulin Rouge with the weather was just perfect for us to explore the Paris red-light district of Pigalle. Moulin Rouge is a well known cabaret and offers musical dance entertainment for adult visitors from around the world and it can be easily recognized by the facsimile of a red windmill on its roof. One of the hotspots for tourist destination in Paris. After snapping some pictures, we walked down to the Montmartre and did some shopping for final round as my wife will going back on this upcoming Saturday. Huhu. Everything was fine. Mission accomplished, I must say. That’s the reason for my lack updates within this week. I did online but with the limited time left, I am just too tired to write lengthy stories daily about us and I hope the remaining one week will be filled with romance and of course we will enjoy the private time together to the fullest =)

Leisure Sunday

Alhamdulillah.

I am getting better today.

I have been feeling limited and "sick" yesterday. I can't be blaming anyone or anything else for this frustrating situation. The only person truly affecting the vacation yesterday is me. I believe my wife do really understand about the situation but I still feel guilty to her. Sorry sayang.

This morning I called my mom and spent 15 minutes talked with her and my sister.

They were fine. Likewise to my dad. Alhamdulillah.

There was no special news from them except some gossip about my sister. Hehe.

Today, I and my wife were happily enjoyed the leisure time in the room.

I woke up a bit late this morning. Around 10 am. Huhu. To get a motivating burst of self-esteem, I call up my wife and talk to her that I am going to do something that will help me to get that winning feeling once again by helping her preparing the scramble egg for our breakfast.

Then, I washed up and went online for few minutes, I went down to the hotel laundry to wash and dry our clothes and later helped her to cook for our lunch.

As we have bought some spices from Little India quite some time ago, I took the opportunity to show my best in cooking. Hehe. I cooked Tandoori chicken and frankly speaking it was really good. Hehe. I really make my day.

Now, my wife is too busy to iron my clothes for next week.

OK. I will stop here. I want to disturb her for a while.

Two weeks to go. Huhu.

Palace of Versailles

I am not feeling very well today. It really ruins our vacation today. I am so sorry sayang. I believe it was due to the unstable climate, lack of sleep and my bad habit to drink less water. With a hot and dry ambience, I should and must drink a lot of water to counter the dehydration process and to keep a proper balance of water in my body. Luckily, we bring along 2 bottles of mineral water and a pack of medicines.

Headache and dizziness won’t stop me to share a great feeling with my wife at the Palace of Versailles or simply called Versailles. One of the most visited monuments in France. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles and it is a royal château in Versailles, France. The Chateau proposes two itineraries; either a guided tour or not. We chose free and easy. Apart from the state apartments of the king and queen and the Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed to end World War 1), which you can visit on your own, most of the palace can only be viewed in guided groups, and whose times are much more restricted. Long queues are common.

We reached there around 12 pm and as expected there were many people. We could see dozens of buses parked at the outside of the main entrance with the visitors excitedly rush in to get line up to buy the tickets. Unfortunately, only a small part of the palace can be visited - the State Apartments of the King and Queen, and the Hall of Mirrors. The worst time to visit the Chateau is on Sunday when the entrance fee is reduced and the queues are interminable.

The park is extremely large. If I am not mistaken, there were more than 40 big fountains in the park with different size and unique decorations. There are a small train shuttles and also bicycles for rent for ease of exploring the park. There are also boats to be rented on the canal. We just slowly walked around the park and take a break for a few minutes and sit in the shade or someplace cool and drink a lot of water. The hot weather forbid me from continuously exposed myself under the sun and limits our visit for the day. Huhu.

We spent almost 4 hours for this visit. Actually, it is not possible to explore all the palaces and stop at the variety of gardens in the park for only 1 day. It is time to go back. While heading to the train station, it was raining. Luckily we brought the umbrella. Later, reached La Defense, we straight away go to the Malaysian Restaurant for the late lunch. I ate chicken curry with rice while my wife prefers briyani rice with squid. Reached the room around 8.30 pm. Washed up and lay down on the bed, I uploaded all the pictures in my laptop and get online to check any updates from my family.

11.20 pm already. I need to sleep. Palace of Versailles in memory.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will be getting better.

Good night.

Spring Holidays

Sorry for the late updates. I was back from my spring vacation last three days and I was too busy with my job. Today, I spent some time to recall back those memories with my lovely wife during our spring vacation to Belgium and Germany. Seriously, it was really enjoyable, full of fun and it should be one of the sweetest moments we had spent together. Three days seem too short but the trip was well organized and packed with many stopovers. Nice and friendly people that I got to know during the trip and most importantly, we shared a common feeling – love growth.

The day began early in the morning when we were waiting for my friend and his girlfriend at the hotel’s lobby. We sat down at the sofa and waited for them and 5 minutes later they approached us. It was 6.45 am. Met up and introduced my wife to them, we slowly walked down to the Metro Station. 15 minutes walking filled with stillness as the environment was too calm with everyone trying to save the internal energy by keeping silence down the way and the climate at the time was around 19 degC as stated at the electronic board upon reaching the station. Reached the station around 7.00 am. Checked out the tickets in my pocket and they were sufficient at the moment.

From La Defense, it took about 45 minutes to reach Place D’Italie – Meeting point for the tour group. Reached there, we decided to have a breakfast at the McD nearby. It was 7.45 am. I could see few people stood around the area and they looked waiting for the tour group with their big luggage. Get inside the McD, there was no people around. Placed my bags and leaved it to my wife, I went up to the counter and ordered the breakfast. I ordered two chocolate muffins with two hot black coffees. I have no choices. Finally at 8.20 am the bus came and we loaded our luggage at the bottom compartment and went inside the bus. We sat at the 2 rows from the back and seriously my expectation was wrong as the bus was so comfortable and spacious. I would be able to relax and stretch out my long leg with ease. The bus was partially seated and I would say all of them aged between 40 – 60 years old. While adjusting the seat for my comfort, the tour guide makes a final count before the journey began. Around 8.45 am, the bus departs.

The journey took about 2 hours with 1 stop at the petrol station before we reached Reims. It is 145 km east - northeast of Paris and Reims is often considered as the capital of Champagne, an old province of France, world-famous for its sparkling wine (Champagne) because it is by far the largest city in the region. Upon reaching Reims, the announcement called for getting ready and leaves all the unnecessary in the bus. Our first stop was at the Notre Dame de Reims which is the cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. Slowly walked around the town and snapped some pictures, we decided to have our lunch at the McD nearby. It was 12 pm and there were many people queuing to place their orders. While looking for the seat, I heard someone said “Hello kawan” with Chinese dialect. Turn my head around, I saw a group of Chinese was having their meals. They were offering us two seats next to their big family and they were Malaysian. I replied the offered with smile and thankful since all the seats were fully seated during the peak hours. Start a small chat and introduced a bit about myself, it was a big surprise as they were also joined the tour group and of course we have the lunch with long chat with them. Finished with the lunch, separated from them and we walked around the town again. There was still 45 minutes before we gathered at the bus. At 1 pm, we get in the bus and the journey continues.

Our next visit is Luxembourg, Belgium - a small country located in the Low Countries, part of North-West Europe. Winding roads along lush dense forests, we were so amazed on the yellowish landscape with the windmills scattered on the land. The terrain is mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; highlands slightly mountainous in the north.

We had been chatting for a while after we stopped at the petrol station, where I and my wife went to the toilet and spent some time in the shop. We really had to stop and walk for awhile. I had snickers and my wife bought a 1L mineral water. 15 minutes later, the journey resumes. The roads are windy, curvy, lined with lush green pastures filled with cows and bordered with giant old trees. It was so beautiful. The capitol city is 5 km from the French border. Suddenly, an announcement called for our attention as we were passing a defunct border control building and follow the freeway into Luxembourg City, under in a sharply declining tunnel and up to the old Bock, a castle built in the 900s with catacombs underneath that now serve as a nice bomb shelter.

Around 4.30 pm, we reached the destination. Luxembourg City straddles several valleys and outcrops, making the city's layout more complicated. Our first visit was The Monument of Remembrance and usually known by the nickname of the Gëlle Fra. It is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers that volunteered for service in the armed forces in the Allied Powers in the First World War.

After brief explanation from the tour guide, we have been informed that we have only 2 hours to spend in the Luxembourg City and we supposed to have the dinner here as the hotel is a bit far from the town and there would be no shops opened during night time. Later, we were freely separated from the tour group and leisurely explore the vicinity area. We took the remaining 90 minutes to visit the Adolphe Bridge (Pont Adolphe) which is an arch bridge in Luxembourg City. The bridge has become an unofficial national symbol of sorts, representing Luxembourg's independence, and has become one of Luxembourg City's main tourist attractions and was built in 1900. Snapped some pictures, finally we decided to have pre-dinner at McD nearby.

It was 5.15 pm and there were many people hanging around with family and friends. One of the attractions along the way to the McD was the flea market which really alive and it offered many kind of old goods and varieties of paintings. As far as I could remember, there were also a group of youngsters having a great time at the open air café while the environment was filled with an orchestra music played by small kids. It was really happening. Done with the dinner, we took sometime exploring the souvenir shops around the area. Bought some souvenirs, we decided to visit another hotspot in the city. Along the way, we stopped at the façade of the Grand Ducal Palace. It is the official residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Took some pictures, finally at 7.15 pm we get in the bus and heading to the hotel which is close to the Luxembourg Airport. Day 1 trip was over.

Day 2. 6.30 am. I woke up and get prepared for the trip. 7.00 am, I and my wife went down to the hotel cafeteria and have our breakfast. I took 2 breads, a milky cereal, and mixed fruits. Done with breakfast, we went back to the room upstairs and packed all of our stuffs before check out. While waiting for others to check out, we wait at the bus and looked around the hotel area. Suddenly, I have been approached by the co-tour guide cum bus driver, he greets me “Assalamualaikum” and spontaneously I replied back to him “Wa’alaikummussalam” and shake hand with him. Then, we have a nice conversation and he looked very happy to meet me and my wife when he knows that I am a Muslim and came from Malaysia. He said Malaysia is a good country and actually he got a lot of friends and relatives working in Malaysia. Few minutes chat with him, nearly 8.00 am we depart from the hotel heading to Germany. Our first visit for the day was at the Karl Marx’s House at Trier, Germany. I am so sure you all know about him. He was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. Often called the father of communism. Then, we paid a visit to The Black Gate. It is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany and also known as Porta Nigra. It is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps and has been designated a World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened color of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

After spending almost 1.5 hours in Trier, we then take a move to Koblenz which took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Trier. Koblenz is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) and its monument (Emperor William I on horseback) are situated. I would say Koblenz is one of the best place to be visited in Germany and it is a nice place to share sweet memories and lovely feeling with your spouse and witnessed by a clear Rhine River flowing downstream and strong forts crowning the hills encircling the town on the west, and the citadel of Ehrenbreitstein on the opposite bank of the River. We took the opportunity for 1 hour boat ride along the Rhine River which is one of the most important waterways in Germany and is linked by canals to other major rivers in Western Europe. There are a lot of beautiful castles along the Rhine River. Most of them are rather small, and a lot of them are in ruins, but there is a great variation of them. They are usually placed on a hill or small mountain along the river because their owners usually lived off the taxes they collected from merchants wanting to travel through their area. Some of the castles have recently been restored and are now accessible again. You can get a great view of them by taking a train that travels along the side of the river, and definitely by the boat ride! It was pretty amazing!

After the boat ride, we went up to a hill along the Rhine valley whereby there was a war memorial monument has been placed there. Snapped some pictures and walked around, finally we get in the bus and around 4.30 pm the bus departs. Our last stop for the day was at Frankfurt. It is one of the two largest financial centers in continental Europe and it is the place of residence of the European Central Bank. The main sight in the city is Römer, the city hall which means “Roman”. The Römer was partially destroyed in World War II and later rebuilt. We then walked around the city hall and stopped at some souvenir shops. Finally, around 6 pm we gathered at the bus and 40 minutes later we reached the hotel. Day 2 trip was over.

Day 3. I woke up around 6.30 am. After having a breakfast at the cafeteria and check out, we depart to Bonn, a birthplace of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. I couldn’t remember so much the details about the places we have been visited in Bonn. After took some pictures at the Beethoven’s house, we walked around the town and visited Historic Town Hall of Bonn and Hofgarten (Court Garden) with Kurfürstliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle), which serves as the main building of the University of Bonn. The vacation was towards to the end. Our last stop was at Köln (Cologne). It is one of the oldest cities in Germany and the most famous landmark is The Cologne Cathedral which is a World Heritage Site, being one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany and one of the world's largest churches, being the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. Nearly 3 pm, we waited for the train at platform 8 and the journey took 4 hours back to Paris. Around 8 pm, we reached the room.

Looking back, 3 days seem too short but it was filled with full of excitement, valuable memories, endless enjoyment and new experience through our love diaries. OK. 11 pm already. There will be a new vacation tomorrow. Keep updated.

Short Friday

Today, I was alone in the office. All of my unit members still on their holidays. Since there was nothing much to do in the office, I went off early.

Ding Dong. I rang the door bell. I am back. My wife then opened the door and took my bag and later served me a cold drink. Took a break for a while and then I went online to see any updates from my family.

Few minutes later, I and my wife went out to the Les Quatre Temp. Reached there, we directly proceed to the shop, Decathlon Marathon. I bought a white long sleeve t-shirt, an orange colored 10 Liter hiking bag come with 2000 mL water container inside and a small multi-purpose bag. Done with shopping, leisurely walked around inside the mall and finally we decided to go back.

Along the way back, we stopped at the Turkish Restaurant which was my preference place to have my dinner for the last three months. As a regular customer, the owner and the other three staffs shake hand with me and when they looked at my wife, they seem knowing that I just came back from the long holidays. Ordered the same snack, we have a relaxed dinner at the outside.

Finished the kebab, we went back and packed our stuffs for the trip tomorrow. Yes, we will be on the spring trip to Belgium and Germany for three days. It will be a short trip indeed but it is too meaningful for us to keep in our love diaries =)

The Spring Time of Love

This morning I woke up a bit late just to express my enjoyment during this public holiday. Washed up and helped my wife preparing the breakfast, we later sat down at the sofa while surfing the net and discussed about today’s activity. While having nasi goreng hailam with cucur bawang for our breakfast, we decided to visit the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and Galleries La Fayate. Done with breakfast, prepared ourselves and getting ready, finally at 11.45 pm we went out from the room.

Along the way heading to the Metro Station, suddenly I am thinking about my last three months spent here. Walking alone and did everything on my own. It was really a big challenge for me. Alhamdulillah. Frankly speaking, I cannot imagine my life here without her. She brings me the true happiness and a picture of love. I hope within these days, I will try to fill up all the sweetest memories in my heart and up to now, the eight days were filled with love and care.

Back to the story. Our first visit for the day was the Arc de Triomphe. It is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile (Star Square). As far as I know, the arch was built to honor those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. After snapping some pictures from different angle, finally we start the move to the Notre Dame.

From the Arc de Triomphe, we took a Metro Train at Charles de Gaulle Etoile at line 1. While walking towards the station, suddenly we realized that we were on the wrong way. I couldn’t remember exactly the location of the station as we came earlier. Looked and walked around the vicinity area, finally we found it. Huhu. From line 1, we stopped at Chatelet and changed to line 4 in order to go to the St. Michel station. The Notre Dame is only walking distanced from the station. Came out from the underground station, the atmosphere was too good to witness our memorable day. The Notre Dame is very popular and widely considered as one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Maybe some of you guys have ever heard about the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I knew about it from the animated feature produced by Walt Disney quite some time ago. Originally, it was a novel and written as a statement to preserve the Notre Dame cathedral and not to 'modernize' it. Took some pictures and walked around the shop lots nearby, finally we decided to have our lunch at the Latin Square nearby.

While walking to the Latin Square and crossed the bridge, suddenly I said to my wife about the boat ride as I noticed a long queue buying a ticket for the boat tour around Paris. My wife was very excited and she said this will be a last resort for her due to time constraints. Then, I grabbed my wife’s hand and walked down to the ticket counter and lineup.

Luckily, the next trip for the boat tour is one hour later and we have a sufficient time to have our lunch. Bought the tickets and confirmed the details, we rushed to the Latin Square and finally we stopped at a kebab stall. 30 minutes later, done with the lunch, we rushed back to the boat tour counter and waited for the trip. The tour took about 1 hour around Paris along the Seine River and definitely we really enjoyed the moment to the fullest. It was a dreamy experienced and this spring season will be a witness to our happiness and keep the magic of love alive!

Love Is In The Air

For the past three days, I was too busy to update my daily blog. I was trying to get back to my normal routine and 8 hours working per the day seemed too long. On the Monday morning, I have no motivation to go to work. It was too hard for me to wake up early in the morning and leave my lovely wife alone in the room. Take it easy, said my wife. OK. Now, it’s been three working days and I just let the time flows constantly. Within these three days, I have lunch in my room. My wife cooked for me. Hehe. Luckily the apparthotel was only 5 minutes walking distanced from the office.

When I reached the office at 12th floor, I realized that there was nobody but the light was switched on. Actually, 12th floor was only occupied by three engineering disciplines specifically for my project – Process, Mechanical and Piping, where other disciplines were at 11th floor. When I slowly walked through to my workstation and looked around, I was so sure that I was alone that time. That’s OK. Suddenly, I stopped thinking about it and my eyes wildly looking at my desk. All the files and documents arrangement still remained the same but there were three yellow stickers posted at my flat screen monitor. One stated “Welcome Back” and the other two were written by French words. I couldn’t understand but I was too sure that they were posted by my team mate for welcoming me back to work. Thanks friends. Hehe. Then, I switched on the computer and hanged my jacket at the corner. As expected, there were more than 800 emails to be read. Most of them were sent from my friends in Malaysia and normally the emails were repetitively replied by others and sent to all including me. Huhu. Actually, I have no problem since my inbox capacity can still hold these craps and sometimes it was really a huge release to read their replies. Most of them were really funny and normally I will read them all when I got full headache. Huhu.

While checking and replying some emails, I heard someone pass the door. It was my deputy project coordinator. She was very nice and she used to work in Technip Malaysia for more than one year. Greet and had a short conversation with her, then I continue checked the emails. Few minutes later, all of my team mates were in the office and as usual we will have a coffee break together. Chatted about the long holidays and my new looked, finally at 9 am, back to work! Five minutes to 12 pm, I was getting ready to go back to the apparthotel. As promised, my wife will cook for me and we will have the lunch together. Reached the room, the lunch was ready to be served. Within these three days, she cooked ayam rendang, ayam masak merah, daging masak kicap, kobis goreng, sambal ikan bilis, sambal udang, udang goreng kunyit, ayam goreng and daging goreng kunyit. Huhu. Superlicious! Thanks sayang.

Done with lunch, we took a break for awhile and surf the net together. Nearly 1 pm, prepared myself and get back to the office and resume the work. Actually, there was not much work to do for this week. Moreover, quite a number of my unit team including my unit lead still on holidays and will be back next week.

Last Monday, I and my wife went out to the Montmartre after office hours. Montmartre is the highest Paris hill with 130 meters and it is the last village in the big city of Paris. We went out around 6.30 pm and reached there about 40 minutes later. We chose to visit Montmartre on week day because it can be very crowded during weekends where the local people will normally paid a visit to the Sacre Coeur church on the hill and enjoyed the sunny day upstream the hill.

At Montmartre, we will discover gardens, old houses, steep streets and staircases with wonderful and magnificent views on Paris. Downstream of Montmartre, we could see many souvenirs shops along the way down to the main road.

There are varieties of souvenirs offered ranges from t-shirt, key chain, magnetic deco, cup, and of course a typical souvenir from Paris, Eiffel Tower replica. It really took us hours to shop! In fact, the price is incomparable and I would say cheaper than other places I had been before. Sometimes the price offered can be reduced significantly if we have a gut to negotiate with them. After spending about two hours along the shop lots, finally we bought t-shirts, paintings, key chains and decorative magnetic. Slowly walked towards Metro station at Anvers, we took the train and went back home. 40 minutes later reached La Defense. Around 10 pm, we reached the room.

The Louvre with Love

Yesterday was a first Sunday in the month. I took the opportunity to visit Musée du Louvre with my wife as there would be no entry charge. My team mate told me that Musée du Louvre is one of the “must visit” places in Paris. The museum is among the most visited art museums and houses some of the world's most famous works of art, such as Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace which considered as one of the Louvre's most valuable pieces and has been on prominent display since 1884. Actually, I didn't care so much about the historical values or whatsoever. The fact is that, I really hate history subject the most during those days in school and I failed the subject during my SPM trial examination. Anyway, when I recalled back the history lesson, there was a black and white picture of Mona Lisa and now I can see it with my eyes =)

Mona Lisa

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Alhamdulillah, last night I could sleep peacefully. I was recovered back from the jet lag and get back to the normal rhythm and energy level. Woke up tirelessly, washed up and get online for a few minutes, I benefit the fresh air at the balcony. The garden was closed as early in the morning and I could see an old man with his skinny dog walking around outside the garden along the walkway. The ambience was too calm. Suddenly, I was approached by my wife and we sat down at the balcony and discussed about today’s visit. After that, she prepared the breakfast, cucur bawang mixed with potato sliced. Done with breakfast and cleaned up everything, we prepared ourselves and went out from the room around 10 am.

From La Defense, it took about 20 minutes to reach Palais Royal Musée du Louvre station. From the station, we could access the museum entrance at the ground level inside the Louvre Pyramid. As expected, there were too many people. Looked for the information counter and grabbed some brochures and map directory, we accidentally went out via an elevator heading to the exit door upstairs. Hehe. That’s ok. We still want to take some pictures at the central courtyard of the museum which occupied by the Louvre Pyramid and serves as the main entrance to the museum. Walked around and snapped some pictures, suddenly we have been approached by a Malaysian. He was politely offering to take a picture of two of us and of course we were happy about that. Then, had a short conversation with him, finally we lined up to get in to the museum.

In front of the Louvre Pyramid

Actually, our initial plan was visiting the Arc De Triomphe. But then, I changed my mind and shifted the plan to visit The Louvre and spent some time for window shopping along the avenue des Champs-Élysées - The most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. With its cinemas, cafes, and luxury specialty shops, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world and is known in France as La plus belle avenue du monde ("The most beautiful avenue in the world"). So, we were not too surprised to see many luxury shops - Louis Vuitton, ZARA, Lacoste, Sephora, GAP, and many more along the way.

Eiffel, I'm in Love...

Yes, we have been to the Eiffel Tower. One of the most well known monuments in the world and of course it was also known as a symbol of romance. I didn’t know exactly why the monument has been recognized as a symbol of love, but what I did know was, there were many movies or drama series ranged from European to Asian really make use of this extraordinary monument for creating such lovely scenery. For me, I was totally impressed on its daring shape which was determined by mathematical calculation involving wind resistance and the artistic element involved. Moreover, it was completed in 1889 and could stand still up to now. What a superb ancient engineering.

I and my wife went out from the room around 3.00 pm and slowly walked down to the Metro Station. Few minutes later, we reached the station and I bought the tickets. From La Defense, we stopped at Charles De Gaulle Etoile and after that changed to line 6. From line 6, finally we stopped at Trocadero. The Eiffel Tower was only walking distanced from the station. There were too many people hanging around there. I believed most of them were not local people as they looked too excited to snap the pictures. Normally, when I said to my team mate about this visit, they will laugh at me. They said the tower itself has been too commercialized as compared to other nice places in France such as Mont St. Michel. Anyway, I will treat this visit as a priority since I was there with my wife. Just to record some memories with the symbol of love. Spent few minutes upstream and took few pictures, we walked down heading to the tower.

Along the way, we have seen many people lay down on the ground, relaxed and enjoyed the sun. Suddenly, I heard a big clap. I noticed there was a group performing street dance with techno music. They were surrounded with supportive and eager faced crowd and they really can dance. Then, we walked down and stopped at the bridge on the Seine River. I said to my wife about the boat ride and asked her if she wants to take the boat ride tour. By looking at the long queue, we continued walking towards the tower. Reached there, I stopped at a stall to buy a mineral water. My wife was too thirsty as the ambience was too hot and dry. Looked for a place to be seated and took a break for a while, finally we lay down on the ground. Few minutes later, get up and took some pictures, we walked underneath of the tower. Walked around, we were just too sure that we won’t be able to climb up the tower as there were too many people. The queue has been extended up to the main road and it became double-layered.

Hopefully, someday we would be able to go up and experienced the peak view from the Eiffel Tower. Then, we proceed to the green garden at the back, took some more pictures with a bigger view, finally we decided to go back.

About 7.00 pm we reached La Defense. Along the way back to the apparthotel, we stopped at the Monoprix. We bought bread, strawberry jam, margarine, food containers, yogurts and mineral water. Done shopping, we went back home. What a beautiful day.

Day 2

We woke up too early this morning. We were too tired and for the time being we lacked of motivation for any outdoor activity and our ability to really enjoy the holiday were significantly reduced within these days. Jet lag fatigue was a normal symptom experienced and it was estimated that we need at least one day for every one-hour time zone crossed to get back to our normal rhythm and energy levels. I couldn’t remember the details but I was so sure that I fall asleep 3 times this morning. When I woke up and recovered back some energy, I realized my wife was in the kitchen. She prepared the breakfast which supposed to be our dinner last night. Huhu. Washed up and disturbed her in the kitchen, I saw a clammy rice mixed with some ikan bilis fried on the hot plate. The smell was good. Few minutes later, we had our heavy breakfast - nasi goreng kampong with a telur dadar.

Done with breakfast, cleaned up everything, ate some fruits to gain more energy, I switched on my laptop and get connected to the net. Fast checked, there was not much news from my family except from my sister. She just like to leave some humorous comments or messages in my friendster. She’s the only sister I have in this world and we were very close in our family and normally she will share all the personal or love stories with me. Hehe. After few minutes online, I feel sleepy again and simply get to sleep. Few hours later, I woke up and my wife was in the kitchen again. For the time being, she was preparing our lunch and she cooked ayam masak merah, daging kicap and kobis goreng. Huhu. I could easily finished two plates of rice today. Seriously yummy!

Few minutes later, cleaned up and had a nice and relaxed conversation at the balcony, the sun already setting and the sky was very clear. We have seen few local people were excitedly laid down on the grass at the garden and enjoyed the sun while reading a book. There were also some small kids aged 5 – 7 years old energetically playing in the garden.

The environment was filled with their cute and childish voices and it was so funny to see them burned themselves under the sun. Finished two glasses of orange juices and some fruits, I said to my wife to get ready for today’s visit. I got few places in mind to bring her but I have not finalized yet. The weather was very good and we should be able to visit any places without any problem. To be continued…

Day 1

Yesterday, after 3 hours break, we went out to the Les Quatre Temp, a shopping mall in La Defense to buy some foodstuffs. The mall was distanced by 1 km and we took about 40 minutes by leisure walking to get there. Along the way, I introduced to my wife to some shops and let her know about my daily walkway to the office. Pass through Technip building, snapped some pictures, we walked down towards the center of La Defense. The sky was clear with the sunshine spread all over the city. We could see many people hanging around and enjoyed the sun. Upon reaching the mall, we pass through the Grande Arche. A big modern monument built in the city and classified as one of the most popular place to be visited in Paris. There were many people seated on the staircase at the Grande Arche, freely and leisurely spent their time with friends and families during this public holiday. Then, we walked around the area and took some pictures with different view, we continued walking towards the mall and few minutes later we reached there. We spent hours in the mall. Looking around for few minutes then went in to the shopping market. As per check-list, we bought a cooking oil, rice, green vegetables, chilies, onions, potatoes, fruits, milk, fresh juices, chicken, prawn and meat. Got everything, we went back to the apparthotel. Reached the room, my wife straightaway prepared a light snack for us – Cucur ikan bilis. It was really delicious!