globetrotting - paris and amsterdam (sight seeing)

12.00pm

let me start by apologizing for the super delay in my blog writing. i know it has certainly been a while but i do have a very good excuse for this delay as you will read below. but you know what, i think that may be getting just a bit tired not to mention lazy, of writing blogs and i dont know how long more im going to keep this up. we'll see how it goes. but in the meantime, its back to my story.



before i begin sharing my experiences in paris/amsterdam, i just wanna share with you guys my "excuse" as to why i haven't had a heart to write anything these past few months. you see, since january 2017 (up till today), it has been a bit of a bumpy ride for me and for my family. let's see - attended my hubby's cousin's wedding (and then there's my cousin's wedding coming up next week!), found out from a dental hygenist here in singapore, that i have some dental problems with my gums and teeth (here i thought by going for my yearly dental check up would be sufficient well looks like it aint enough!), then my mom got admitted to hospital for acute bronchitis for a few days, my paternal grandmother passed away and a automobile accident. yup, that about sums it up todate and in that order too. 

no i wasnt involved in the car accident. it happened to my brother and sister in law one weekend. well, thankfully none of them got hurt. apparently this idiot was kinda speeding (dont know how he could be stepping on the accelerator when there was a traffic jam on the highway!) and he obviously wasnt paying any attention to the road or cars in front of him otherwise he would have stopped (you know, i have a strong feeling he was either texting or reaching over for something, so the idiot says it was the latter). joker banged right into my brother's suv (which was stationary at that time as cars were not really moving due to the jam) and in turn my brother banged the car in front of him and in turn this caused a 3 car accident (my brother's car was sandwiched in between both cars). sigh so much inconvenience caused and as we speak, his car is still in the workshop. sigh

ya, so long story short, this first quarter of 2017 just hasnt been great for me at all, for the first time in a very very long time. i dont know when this funk will be over. hey, dont get me wrong, im not saying that attending weddings is a bad thing...in fact thats the only highlight i guess out of this 4 months. its about high time that this bad shit ends right here right now. to be honest, im sick and tired of all this crap that's been going on. wish somebody up there will cut me and my family some slack!

ok enough of self pity. let's get back to paris and amsterdam. i had pre booked our train tickets from london to paris, then paris to amsterdam and then amsterdam back to london (in that order). it was a one week trip for these 2 cities. if im not mistaken, you can only start booking online for train tickets 6-8 months ahead of time. but dont quote me on that, kindly google and check it out yourselves. just like budget airlines, the earlier you book, it can be slightly cheaper and depending on season and if there's any major holidays.

i booked our hotel around the st germain area and if im not mistaken, its at the latin quarter district. its very walkable to notredame, universite de paris, the pantheon. places we saw were of course, the few that i had just mentioned above, the louvre, le eiffel tower, a cruise along the river seine, shopping at galleries la fayette and we took a train to the factory outlet called la vallee village (shopping at the factory outlet here was abit more cheaper than back in singapore/kuala lumpur) . we were also blessed with great weather throughout our one week trip as it was hot and sunny with clear blue skies. 

oh again, a heads up for you guys and as mentioned in my previous blog about london and manchester. i booked most of my day tour packages from the website -  viator.com - and they are reputable and i do recommend it to you. no it aint a con job and im not working for them. i booked the "skip the line" packages which includes the river cruise, getting right up to the top of the eiffel tower and entrance to the louvre. when i say skip the line, it literally means we skip the line. we didnt have to line up in the normal queues which could go on and on especially during peak season. 

and now i shall be plonking in photos taken in paris randomly. oh ya please do your research/homework and chart out your routes before you go and have them printed out if possible or put it to your phone. i did heaps of research until i was seeing stars! for realz ya. hubby made me plan the entire trip and he just followed. he only told me what he wanted to do/see and i incorporated that into our schedule. a happy husband makes a happy wife (i get to shop and buy whatever i want!) , dont you think so? 

friendly french chap giving me a cheeky thumbs up at his cheese stall.

there's like a small morning market very near to our hotel.

let our shopping spree begin! la vallee village.

one of the high end brand loewe at la vallee village. yup we bought something from there hehehe

came across this cool arty farty stuff on one of the buildings in paris

inside galleries la fayette. 

there's plenty of chic cafes in and around paris. they are known for the coffee and pastries. oh la la...tres bien! people just sit around the sidewalk and watch the world go by. ah thats life! simplicity, non?

one of our lunches after window shopping at galleries. i had a croque madame with a side salad. so good!

academie nationale de musique (national academy of music)

outside of notre dame cathedral

our hotel was just behind the pantheon.

standing right under le eiffel tower. such an amazing architecture made from metal

up on the top floor of eiffel tower. such a breathtaking view of the entire city of paris. sorry i dont have 360 view to show you. this is just part of it.

on our river cruise along the river seine after doing tour of eiffel tower

passing by some famous landmarks along the river

 after the cruise, it was time to hit the louvre. check out the famous glass pyramid and the inverted pyramid inside the museum. wow right?

just mucking around with the pyramids hehehe

paintings on the ceiling at the louvre. really amazing how people can paint like that

a painting of david and goliath in a fight at the louvre

just wandering around the lourve. its a huge place!!

view of the lourve, inside out from god knows which part of the lourve we were at hahahaha 

aha one of the most famous paintings in the world! presenting the mona lisa by leonard de vinci. (portrait de lisa gherardini, spouse of de francesco del giocondo) this was what we came here for.

another famous sculpture/statue of  venus de milo at the louvre

arc de triomphe at champs elysees. 

monoprix, a local departmental store along champs elysees

avenue des champs elysees on a wet day

on our way from paris to amsterdam on the thalys train. im not sure if i booked our meals or it was given when i booked our seats. in anycase, it was pretty good. 

one of the plentiful "coffee shops" in amsterdam. almost at every street there's these coffee shops. hehehe...heaven on earth. 

view from my hotel room window which overlooks the city centre or amsterdam centraal. isnt it breathtaking and so picturesque? if you looked closely, some of these buildings are slightly tilted which makes it all the more quaint and unique. 

honestly, these are damn good fries! and with that special in house dressing drizzled on top. wow! finger licking good! give it a try if you are there.

a high end shopping mall in the city centre called debijenkorf.

these 3 photos above were taken at the dam square, which is almost the centre of town. lots of little shopping streets all over the area. you'd be spoilt for choices.

i think dutchies in general, like/enjoy nutella, the chocolate spread. i mean i do too hahahaha 

yaaaaa....when in holland, you gotta try their cheeses! unfortunately my parents and brother do not like/eat any dairy products more so when it comes to cheeses hahahahaha...only i can stomach it in my immediate family (my hubby and my sis in law are totally fine with dairy products) but having said that, i draw the line at blue cheese ok. oooh its as if somebody stepped on dog poo...gag

some random souvenir shop near the flower market that sold bongs, cookies, ice cream, soaps etc made from weed or canabis! sadly we couldnt buy any to bring back home, these stuff are

banned you know!! ugh...totally frustrating. they should legalize it.

getting "lost" in the city.

lots of tiny canals around the city and so peaceful. you tell me, isnt this a lovely sight? 

shopping along these tiny narrow streets. it was awesome.

chinatown 

our day tour starts here at the rijksmuseum

beautiful stain glass inside the museum

one of rembrandt's masterpiece - nightwatch

self portrait of vincent van gogh

amsterdam centraal station, very busy area in the centre of town

cruising along one of the many canals in amsterdam

passing by the dutch national opera and ballet (red and white building) which is also the same building as amsterdam's city hall.

outside of the rijksmuseum. 

just next to our hotel, there's a huge parking area for bicycles! bicycles parked as far as the eyes can see! no joke. 

have you ever had a shot of coffee/expresso with nutella spread? well here you go. i tried that and oh my lord, it was super rich and yummy!! 

woo hoo...lollies anybody? 

as mentioned earlier, amsterdam has many "coffee shops" and we stopped by one to have a break. 

known as the FEBO vending machines where you can get fast food and its inexpensive. from burgers, sandwiches, kroket (otherwise known as croquettes), fries to some pastries.

well ok i hope you have enjoyed this "trip" down memory lane with me. that's about it. i hope you continue to support my blog and i will try to keep it going - for the time being hahahaha. until whenever, stay safe and be kind to one another ok!


ttfn

3.48pm