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July 24, 2010

July 2009 Memories: Exploring Paris

Ladies and gentlemen (ade gentlemen ke bace blog haku?),

Let me show you how to discover Paris in one night and have a blast while doing it!

1) Buy Eurostar package:
    -book MONTHS in advance as the tickets get more expensive when you buy it last minute (style AirAsia
     ni!)
    -book complete package with return tickets (London-Paris-London), hotel stay, and bus tour (this way,
     you'll have easy access to all the main attractions in Paris)
    -book for the earliest train out and latest train in to optimize time
    -if i'm not mistaken, we booked our package 2 months in advance and got a deal for GBP90 per pax.

2) Bring your bestfriend along to enjoy the feeling of bergedix-gedix di Kota Paris.

3) Bring your boyfriend along to get the feeling of beromantik-romantik di Kota Paris.

*  *  *  *  *

First Day 
We made our way to St. Pancras as early as 4.30 in the morning memandangkan keretapi kami dijadualkan bertolak pada 6.55AM. Mengantuknya hanya Tuhan saja yang tau!

 St. Pancras International Train Station

Paris scheduled at 6.55am!

Penat menunggu.


Sesampai nya di Paris Gare du Nord station, haruslah bergambar macam org tak penah jumpe train station kan? 

Hero dan heroin filem berkeretapi.

Muke poyo takleh bla.

Puas bergambar, we made a move to find our Hop On Hop Off Bus station. To our surprise, no signboard was available. Kerja membelek peta pon bermula dan akhirnya jumpa jugak bus station nyer! Weeeeee.. We hopped on the bus to get to our hotel ASAP and check in. Gotta get rid of these bags!

Sempat menggedik time sesat :p

Checking the maps.


We hopped on the bus enjoyed Paris's gorgeous view.

 Walaupun penat kami gagahi jua!



Here are some interesting places we visited:

Magnificent Notre Dame
(wonder if legend of the hunchback is true)

Palais de Justice
(macam mahkamah tinggi kot?)

Because our hotel is nearby Eiffel Tower, we hopped off at Eiffel and decided to look for the hotel on foot. Kononnye boleh la sambil cari hotel sambil jalan2 enjoying the view. It turned out kami sesat. Ugh! After almost one hour of walking, baru lah jumpe hotel itewww.. The hotel is not bad, a bit small though. Yang penting bersih, ada katil and ada toilet. OK la for a one night stay. Sampai hotel mandi jap, rehat jap then terus keluar. No time to waste bebeh! Ohhh, we were starved. Luckily there's a Lebanese restaurant just next to our hotel. Melantak la ape lagi kan?

Even the hotel corridor pon kecik!

Kebuluran tahap takleh kaver!

Found this place on our way jalan-jalan from the hotel. Don't even know what building that is.

Eiffel, finally!

 Dinner time!

Finding halal food is quite hard in Paris. My friend said there's a halal KFC but we can't find it. We ended up choosing a restaurant that doesn't serve pork, as stated in the menu. We just ate fish n' chip, ommelette, and some fries. Sungguh tak kenyang! Cukup alas perut je. We continue sight-seeing that night to Eiffel once more. Man, she was gorgeous at night! i don't think i'll get bored of the sight. Even the very VERY cold weather couldn't turn us down.

 Isn't she gorgeous?

We're finally there!

BFF!
*Muke control ceria padahal sejuknya Ya Rabbi! Tapi gedik gak nak pakai dress :p*

 And she glows and sparkles when the clock strikes twelve.
The most breath taking view.

 View from the bottom.

 Time to go back. Our very pink limo is waiting. HA HA!

Our first day seems quite short despite arriving early. Ye lah, dah sesat kan.  It doesn't really help when the local people don't really speak English. We continued exploring with the little time we had left on the second day.

To optimize time, we checked out of the hotel early morning and Shaq and i went to Paris Gare du Nord to re-check on the train schedule and put our luggage in the locker while Mr. Chenta went to Eiffel tower to buy the entry tickets (God, you can't believe how crazy long people queue just to get the tickets!). We came back to Eiffel just in time after he obtained the tickets. Hehe.

On our way up.

 View of Paris!

We women on top. Hehe

Home is 10 433km away. 
i got home sick when i saw this. Sobseb!

We then continued our journey to Musee du Louvre, bought some souvenirs, stroll along Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and a quick visit to Arc de Triomphe before dashing off to Paris Gare du Nord to catch our train. We were in a mad rush! In the end, we missed our train (despite arriving 20 minutes early! Ughh!). Luckily the people at the counter were so nice and let us board the next train to London. Phew!


Journey on the bus.
The weather was unpredictable. Drizzly then suddenly sunny. :p

 Louvre's door.

There's a Louvre at the end of the tunnel.

We're in Louvre!

i love you, you love me..

:)

 i love art stalls like this. They have plenty in Paris. Beautiful yet cheap paintings.

i guess Lady Diana was killed in this tunnel? i guess laa...

One of Paris' many beautiful monuments.

Last stop: Arc de Triomphe.

Here are some random pictures of funny and unusual things we saw in Paris:
Bicycles are everywhere in France. For rent. Eco-friendly sungguh!

Parigi ke Perigi? hehe

The only Casino closed at night. haha

i HEART Paris.

In case you're wondering how much to budget for a night in Paris, i hope my budget could help :)
1) Package (inclusive of train tickets, hotel stay and bus tour) = GBP90/pax
2) Meals for two days = 40 Euro/pax
3) Eiffel Tower tickets = 13 Euro/pax
4) Souvenirs = 50 Euro for both Mr. Chenta and i.

Okay, penat menulis. Bye!


July 20, 2010

July 2009 Memories: Trip to London

 WARNING!

This post is loaded with LOADS of photos.

As i babbled in the previous post, Mr. Chenta and i went to visit our bestfriends in London.

July 3, 2009:

    * Departed from KLIA on a 1000hrs flight (KL time).
    * Arrived at Heathrow at 1600 hrs (London time)
    * Jakun melihat Shaq's flat
    * Jet lag
    * Malam lepak kat Hyde Park (with Mr. Chenta, Faiz, and all of Shaq's flatmates)

We arrived at Heathrow feeling ecstatic. i can't wait to see Shaq. Heathrow airport is not how i imagined it would be. It was crowded! We queued for almost one hour to get through immigration/custom. And the airport is errr... old. KLIA is so much nicer. When i first saw Shaq, i was so overwhelmed that my eyes water. We ran madly towards each other and hug and scream like mad. i swear it was like a scene of Hindustan movie.

Arrived at Heathrow. H1N1 was deadly famous that time. i just had to wear the mask.

The long Q to reach the immigration counter

 Reunited at last!!

My arrival at Shaq's flat was celebrated by delicious meal by Kak Aqmal and Aisyah. They prepared rice and a few dishes but the thing that i remember most is that they cooked Ikan Kembung Goreng Cili.. Banyak okeh ikan diorg. Dalam 10 ekor camtu. All for 4 of us to eat and finish at dinner time!

Later that night we went out for a walk. It was really cold. Like 16C cold! i was kinda pissed coz when i was in KL Shaq told me they're experiencing heat wave, panas nak mampos, and told me to bring t-shirt, shorts, dresses, leggings and flipflops. So memang aku tak bawak la sweater, or kasut kan? Rupenye sejuk gler. i was shaking all the time that night. Nasib ade Starbuck's hot choc.

Hyde Park: Picnic malam2 bute. Takde keje!
Meet the girls: Kak Aqmal, Kak Sarah, Aishah, and Shaq!

5th July 2009

    * Jet lag (was wide awake at 4am)
    * Tatau nak buat ape dah so i cooked nasik goreng
    * Ride on double decker bus (i was so jakun!)
    * Sight seeing (Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Two Towers, The Parliament, Big Ben)
    * Amek gambar macam org gler

That morning i was wide awake at 4am. Tried to go back to sleep but failed. Kol 5 pagi dah terang macam kol 7.30 pagi Malaysia kot! Last2 aku bangun, selongkar dapur diorang, and masak nasik goreng. Selambe je kan masak kat dapur orang? Then the adventure began..


Their cute flat.

Beautiful shoplots.

Jimmy Choo Couture!
Was closed that day :(

Two super duper large pizzas for my first meal in London!
 First double decker ride!
Mase ni ade sorang makcik ni marah2 kitorang sambil jerit2. WTF? Memang anti-asian kot?

First stop: The Tower of London


Us and The Tower of London. We didn't take the tour. i'm not into the whole historical aspects. Hehe


Bits about the Tower of London:
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It has played a prominent role in England's history. It was used as a place of refuge for unpopular monarchs and at times a centre of government. (More in Wikipedia)

The famous London Bridge!
We didn't go exactly at the bottom. Amek gambar from the river bank je. Gorgeous scenery!

St. Paul Cathedral
 Menuju Buckingham Palace

Tadaaa!
Buckingham Palace!
i was hoping to get a glimpe of the Queen. Tapi hampa!
Again, we didn't go on any tour. Melawat di luar sahaja..
Guard yang naik kuda yang pakai topi bulu2 tu pon takde. Sebab that time diorang tengah tukar shif or sumthing. :(

The Queen and Princess of the Palace!
 The Diana Princess of Wales Walkway

Two girls with the Big Ben

London's Eye!
Sayang jugak kami tak naik!! Ramai orang time tu. Ugh!

We managed to visit/see the above places on our first day. Kejap je kan? Ye laaa.. Tak masuk mane2 tour. LOL. Rasa agak rugi bler fikir balik. Then again, buat ape masuk muzium mahal-mahal when we're not really interested in history? LOL.

Not many people know this but Mr. Chenta lived in London in late 1990s. We went to his neighborhood. i guess he missed his childhood there. Huhu.

Getting there..

Beautiful church.

This Chinese-Muslim restaurant looks yummy. Tapi tak sempat singgah sebab tak jumpe tempat parking.

Dah sampai!
Welcome to Lewisham!

His old school, Rathfern primary School.
 His old house.
On the way back to Central London (to Shaq's and Faiz's houses) we saw Chelsea Stadium! We're not football fan, apatah lagi Chelsea fan. Tapi dah bende depan mata harus lah singgah kan? LOL

We were starved after our visit to Lewisham. Jumpe kedai kebab depan Chelsea stadium!

Nampak tak muke kebuluran?

Chelsea Stadium

Mr. Chenta is the new coach. Hehe

And i'm their new player!

Tours info.

We also went to shopaholic's shopping heaven. HARROD'S!

They're having the annual sale!

Looking oh-so-heavenly!

Pakcik Harrod's yang comel dan friendly!

Nanti kite gi lagi oke BB? This time i wanna borong all the Diors, Louboutins, Chanels, Marc Jacobs in there!

We also went to Madame Tussaud's! The line was crazy long! Berkat kesabaran yang ada, dapat jugak masuk.. Phew!

Me, myself and i!

i was there!

Giving Kate Moss a kiss!

Dinner with the sexay George Clooney

It's amazing how my ex boyfriend can get along well with my current boyfriend. Huahaha

Mr. Chenta was ecstatic to see Miley.

 The gorgeous Lady Diana.

My palm against the late Michael Jackson's.

MJ's initial.


Itu lah sedikit sebanyak tentang London through my eyes. Banyak lagi tempat tak terpergi seperti London Dungeon, Greenwich, and errr banyak lagi la! Tapi apakan daya,takde rezeki. time tu Nanti dah banyak duit bole gi lagi.
Phew! Panjang gak post pasal London ni ek? Ini belom lagi ditokok tambah dengan trips ke Paris, Bicester Village, Manchester, Liverpool, Bath, and Stonehenge! Nanti ade mase saya nak bercerita lagi. Nak gak bercerite! So that the memory lives in my writing even if i forget (al maklum laaa saye ni pelupe orangnyer!)