Love Lock Bridge, Paris

According to my research, there are 2 different love lock bridges in Paris.  Each one has its own significance.  Ponts des Arts is for committed love and Pont de L'Archeveche is for lovers.  As tourists, we went to both.  :-P  Pont de L'Archeveche is just behind Notre Dame whilst Ponts des Arts is infront of Louvre.  I don't have particular interest to this but since it was our anniversary, I want it to be cheesy as possible.

Here are some of the professional looking locks that we saw.  Love really is a serious business. :)

Versus the lock that we use:

This didn't almost happen.  I wanted it to be perfect that I didn't find the perfect lock.  Not even Ebay can save us.  At the end, we bought a normal lock without a key.  So much for throwing the key in the river.  I was such a bitch the previous day that I kept on dropping hints that if we didn't find a lock, then we should go back in the future to do it.  I think Luke had enough of spending.  This year has alone, we have been to 3 trips, Morocco, Greece then France.  Czech Republic is in the works too.  Maybe that would be the final trip for this year. :)

Right after the Louvre, Luke and I had a big blow out.  I wanted to have a perfect photo infront of the Louvre where they had the glassy pyramid but I didn't get mine and I got so upset.  It was so irrational.  I have been to Paris twice before this trip and twice I took a photo with it on the background.  I even have photos on two different seasons.  I told you, irrational.  I spent an hour(probably) a little upset then we head to Galleries La Fayette.  I have to be honest, I am a bit disappointed.  It is nice inside but a little cramped.  Imagine Harrods but with big dome in the centre.  I am a Selfridges girl by heart still.  We had nothing to do after so we head back to the hotel, rested and left in time for dinner.

The Unplanned Paris Tour

Okay, I promised Luke that we won't do the full Paris trip.  No sights, just few things on my wish list.  It involves going inside the Notre Dame and Jardin du Luxembourg as it is my favourite site in Paris.  Tour de Eiffel didn't even make it on my list as I have seen it on my last Paris trips.  I know, it should be the first one as this was an anniversary trip.  Paris always equates to couples with Eiffel Tower photo in the background.  But not for me.  It's too much of a cliche.  :-P

The first stop on the trip was Jardin du Luxembourg.  I kept on mispronouncing jardin to "hardin" instead of "jardan".  I blame the similarity on Tagalog and my Spanish class for this mistake.  When I was single, I promised to go back to this place when I have a boyfriend.  I didn't realise that after 4 years, I will be back celebrating my 1st year wedding anniversary.  Fate have a funny way of giving us what we want.

 I want this on the wall babe!!!

Plakada sa hair!  No more buns for this trip!

In Jardin du Luxembourg, we found an Asian sister to take photo of us.  Mind you, she approached us first as she was alone on holiday.  Luckily, Asians have Asian photo standards which explains the lovey dovey couple pics of my hub and I :)) 

Across Jardin du Luxembourg is Parthenon so we had quick photo session as well.

This has to be taken with my iPhone.  Our camera wasn't focusing properly that day.

From Parthenon, we head to the train station to buy 2 days unlimited pass and ask for directions to Pere Lachaise.  We boarded the wrong train and ended up in Tour de Eiffel.  Fate have funny way of doing things.  So here's the cliche, totally ate my words.

Thank God for iPhone!  Without it, we won't be able to have couple pic.  We only took few shots and this was the best.  This should go to the wall too babe.  X

Pere Lachaise was a disaster!  This is probably the most famous cemetery in Paris.  It has Chopin, Modigliani and Jim Morrison buried on it.  What I didn't realise was the place was massive and doing a tour on your own is not advisable.  They may have a map but finding the actual grave site is still difficult.  We spent over an hour in there but we only found Chopin.  At least we found one or I will be totally pissed.  Hahaha!  Actually, I am getting pissed that we can't find any grave site.  We first settled to Jim Morrison then Modigliani but since Chopin was very near to where we were during that time, we settled for him.  

We were hungry at this point so we decided to go to Basin de la Villette.  According to my research, it is the largest lake in Paris.  What I failed to read was, it is the largest artificial lake in Paris.  I thought it would be something different but when we got there, I realised that I have been.  It was the area where we stayed in our 2009 trip.  My research also lead me to believe that the area is full of restaurants.  It wasn't.  It feels more like a residential area for me with handful of restaurants.  I think staying in the centre of Paris spoilt it for us.  Luckily, we had a fab meal overlooking the lake.

If this is your first time in Paris, give this a miss.  There are so many places to visit closer to the city centre.  19th Arr is so far!!  

Lastly, we went to Parc de Villette for a free outdoor cinema since we were in the area.  I messed up with the train so we ended up in the wrong place.  I thought we could walk it through.  We can't.  Luckily, there was a train station in the area.  We took it on the right time.  If we didn't, we could we'll end up nowhere.

This photo was taken before dusk.  By the time the film started, there were at least a thousand people in the whole park.  We were there at the right time and we were seated close enough to the screen, exit and toilet.  :)  Tetro was playing that night.  We left halfway through the film as we weren't confident with the train times.  The film BTW, started at half 10.  By the time that we left, it was almost 12 midnight.  

Luke slept til late that night.  

Dancing on Port St. Bernard, Paris

Since Luke and I have been to Paris before and we both have been to all the tourist spots, I made sure that this trip will be as culturally filled as possible.  When I googled Paris festivals, I got excited as they were so many during the summer.  All I needed to do was to choose which one will suit us and which one would be exciting for us to do.

I have always pictured dancing beside the River Seine to be very romantic.  I expected slow dance with champagne in hand but it turns out, it was salsa night!  Everyone had their salsa hips on which intimidated the both of us.  Even normal looking guys can dance!  In the end, Luke and I watched people move their salsa hips and left.  That same night, Luke and I made a pact to enrol to Salsa class once we were back in England.  We need a bit of social dancing in our lives!

The walk back from Port St. Bernard at night time is amazing.  There were so many buskers.  Near Notre Dame, we stumble upon a group of Jazz singers.  The voice of the man was so authentic I felt like I was back in the prohibition era.  Yes, I went that far.  :P  I would love to live in Paris in the future.  I love the whole Paris vibe.  

The same night, Luke and I explored the Latin Quarters towards St. Germain.  The area is filled with cafes, restaurants and pubs.  I love the laid back style.  I hate the rip off drinks price after happy hour.  A little flute of champers is 10 Euros.  People watching is amazing in this area too.  Too many bearded, slim and tall guys.  Total feast for my eyes!!! 

Notre Dame Hotel, Paris

Luke and I turned 1.  This is the main reason why we went for another holiday.  1 year, paper anniversary.  Luke paid for accommodation and I paid for I can't remember now.  :-P  As it was our paper anniversary, I gave Luke a love letter that he didn't expect inside a Prada wallet.  I do like to splurge on my non-designer(with his shoes as an exception) wearing husband.  

I have never noticed this before but French people are terrible with their customer service.  Luke rang the boutique hotel before we left Rouen to ask for parking directions.  Originally when he rang, he was told that the daily rate was 17 Euros, that morning, he was informed that it was 24 per day and when we arrived, it was 35 Euros.  When we asked the lady in the reception where to park with cheaper rates, she smirk and told us that it is the same everywhere without giving us ideas where to park.  I don't expect that customer service especially if we have to pay £150 a night.  The following day, it rained, we asked for umbrella and we were told, no we don't have any left.  I expect people to at least pretend and look but nothing.  I am still annoyed thinking about this.

Stay at this hotel if you want to be centrally located.  The view is amazing, I can't deny that.  Walking at River Seine is lovely at night time too.  Notre Dame is less than 5 minutes walk, Parthenon is less than 10 minutes and 15 for Jardin du Luxembourg.  The love lock bridge for lovers is less than 5 minutes walk and for the undying love, it can be 30 minutes walk or 3 train stops away.  For 150 a night, you pay for a compact room without fridge, just telly, shower without bath with shampoo/soap and lotion toiletries.  Breakfast is not even included.  Stay away if you want peace and quiet.  You can't get that in Latin quarters.  During our stay, we here sirens go every night and traffic.  Double glazing can't do anything with the traffic noise.  Lucky for me, I am used to it.  

And oh, if you like being connected in the WWW, stay away from this place.  The wi-fi is horrendous!  It goes off every 10 minutes.  

Double bed.  This is the actual width of the room.  

This photo was taken from our room.  This is what 150 a night is for.  That and the Christian Lacroix designed rooms.

Giverny - Paris

If there is one thing I love about road trips, it is the fact that we were not time bound.  You can wake up any time you please (apart from when there is free breakfast which is usually until 11AM) and you can leave whenever, until check out time of course.  :)

Rouen was nice but it is good for a day or two.  I am a big city girl and my body craves for traffic, noise and overpopulation.  I am weird that way.  I haven't appreciated solidarity yet.  I am still young, I have loads of time for that in the future.  :-P

Giverny is an hour and a half away from Rouen and an hour an a bit to Paris.  It is famous for being Monet's town.  Yup, Claude Monet the French impressionist.  It was his garden and pond that inspired most of his paintings.  For weeks, we went back and forth discussing between driving and taking the Eurostar and decided that it would be fun driving plus Luke bought Z4 this year and Euro road trip is the only reason why I am letting him keep that car.  *evil stare*

Few things you should know about Monet House and Garden:

1.  It is not free.   The house and garden is 9.50 Euros and with the museum visit, it is about 19 Euros.  We only went to the garden and house as I've been to bigger museums before and I've seen Monet's work.  Living in Europe has its perks.  British museums are the best!  Most of them are free unless they have a private exhibition.

2.  Parking is free.  Hurray!

3.  Food in the area is expensive.  We may own a Z4 but we are very reasonable with spendings.  To give you an idea, a small beer is 6 Euros.

4.  You can book in advance online.  Alternatively, arrive early as there is queueing.  Monet house and gardens and the museum is the only attraction in the area.  

Inspired by this painting

Water Lily Pond and Weeping Willow

You get the idea.  :)  The place is very very scenic.  I can see why Monet was inspired.  What's surprising about this trip were the paintings on his house.  They were all from Japanese era.

Find me!!!

 I can easily blend in in the garden!

Floral top and floral skirt FTW!

Although I slept so much the previous night, I slept throughout the drive to Paris.  I only woke up near Le Defense.  I recognise the area as we stayed there the first time we visited France.  :)

Rouen - Paris

When I was younger, I dreamt of travelling America on a convertible or VW Combi.  In my early 20s, my dream was changed to driving in a convertible to Europe.  Now that I've done it, it wasn't much of a fun for me.  1.  There is the hair situation when your hair can't stay perfect no matter how much you style it.  2.  I get motion sickness which leads me to sleeping on the car most of the time.   3.  I can't drive yet.  I really need to sort my license out.

I have been to Paris twice before.  Both times with my mum and my sister.  We have covered mostly all the famous spots in Paris so this trip didn't need much planning for me.  I can just eat, relax and enjoy the scenery.  I can't tell you if the drive to Rouen was scenic.  All I can remember was the long motorways then I woke up and bam!  We were in Rouen. :-P

Rouen doesn't feel like Paris at all.  It feels more like a small English town with loads of Gothic Churches, tea places, cafes and restaurants, high street and designers boutiques (Hermes to name one) and timber incorporated houses.  In the UK we call them Tudor houses as they were made in the Tudor era but in Rouen, it feels like it was incorporated into the design of the house.  

When we first arrived in Rouen, my first thought was, where can we park?  The roads in the city centre is small, usually single lane in residential area.  The traffic system is weird.  They have go for both cars and people BUT only go for cars if there are no pedestrian passing.  We almost had an accident on our first hour which scares the hell out of me.  When we finally found the parking and the boutique hotel, we did our usual, slept and rest for hours and got up in time to explore the town.

I've got only 5 things to see in this trip.  I'm quite lenient since I know I am here to stay for good in Europe. :P  Here they are:

1.  Church of Joan d'Arc

Very interesting architecture, in the shape of the dragon.  This is the actual site where Joan of Arc was burnt.

2.  Rue de Gros Horloge

3.  Rue St. Romain

Where all the good tea places are and everything shabby chic in my eyes are.  :P  

4.  Cathedral de Notre Dame light show

This is free and not to be missed.  Our show started at dusk.  We sat right in the middle with wide lens angle and got these amazing photos.  If you miss the first few minutes of the show, don't despair.  They played it back to back.  

5.  Les Jardin Du Sculpteur Jean-Marc de Pas

The last one didn't happen though as we intended to go Giverny instead.

In Rouen, all you need is a good camera, good shoes for walking and basic French to survive.  I don't have basic French skills but my husband does.  Thank God!  He is specially good with asking for directions.  

La Boulangerie, Rouen

La Boulangerie is a boutique accommodation, located in a quiet residential area of Rouen.  It is a few minutes walk from the city centre so you are still centrally located, minus the town centre noise.

When we first arrived at the accommodation, I was quite annoyed that the place seemed closed.  Only on closer inspection that I found a note instructing us to ring house #7 if there is noone in the Boulangerie.  

Our room was spacious and quirky.  Our bath is right across our bed with separate small room for the loo.  The bed is comfortable and clean.  No telly but an ipod dock is provided.  Ideal if you love peace and quiet.  No lifts, just stairs but Aminata was very helpful.  She insisted on carrying our luggage although we can carry it ourselves.  

TIP:  Don't miss the breakast.  Try her jam especially the orange with almond.

NOT FOR:  People who have difficulty walking.  The stairs are quite steep.

PRICE:  Very good for the service that you get.  Mind you, French people are not well known for their customer service.