Eiffel Tower!!!

Hmmm... realised I have procrastinated blogging about my France trip... Shall skip Versailles first... so here's the Eiffel Tower...

Majestic looking ya?

There are beautiful flowers and nice grass patches where people can have picnics around the Eiffel Tower.

Look! They have policemen on horses patrolling the area. Heard that they were actually chasing a thief the weekend before I was there.

Me at the top of the tower... The view from the top is great! The are even signs to tell you how to spot other attractions/monuments.

I had to climb up a gazillion flights if steps to reach the top. 700+ I think... I could have taken the lift... but it's always better to say 'I climbed the Eiffel Tower'.

Look at the number of people who wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower that day! We took almost 3 hours from the time we started queuing till we came down - we queued for 1.5 hours I think.. which was quite long. According to Wanling, she only queued for less than half an hour when she climbed up the last time!

The good thing is that sun sets late.. so even at 8pm, it was still rather bright...

The Eiffel Tower being lit up at night. It was close to 9pm I think... and look at the sky!!!

Climbed the tower with Susi, Wanling's friend from Germany.

Hah! A angled shot of the Eiffel Tower! Does it look artistic?

For more pictures, check out my album at http://picasaweb.google.com/jillkjh?pli=1

Updated with Versailles and Eiffel Tower photos... was just too lazy to blog about them.

Anyway, I'm off to school soon... Will be in Munich this weekend... but only leaving on Sat. There's an international dinner tomorrow night. Still thinking of some 'Singaporean' dish to cook for the event...

Rouen

Stayed in Rouen on Saturday and took a walk to town.


Here's my kind and nice host! Wanling! Posing with the forest near her place...

They have exercise stations there - not too different from Singapore. But they use the cross section of a log instead of metal weights...

Look! It's green on this side of the forest...

While the other side is totally brown.

I'm not kidding you. I just turned left and right to take the above two photos.

A tree with 2 colours!!! Actually, it's just that 2 trees were planted very near to each other. And the branches interwined to give the sight of a 2 colour tree.

Flowers in someone's well-kept garden.

We reached town in one hour or there about...

The cross that marked the spot where Joan of Arc was burnt.

Rouen is a rather small town - very different from the feel of Paris. It reminded me a little of St Gallen, but maybe more happening.

The main shopping street in Rouen. and another sight - the clock in the distance...

Me and the clock!

I didn't manage to go to the Notre Dame in Paris.. and so, I went to the one in Rouen. Looks imposing...

After that, we headed towards Seine River for lunch. Yep.. this rivers actually runs all the way to Paris.

Wanling and I!

After lunch, we decided to go visit this Maritime museum.. and to see this ship that apparently was docked nearby...

Wanling crossing the railway track...

Hee... I still think it's a bit freaky to walk across the railway track. But then I'm also aware that there is ample warning given if a train is approaching.

Yep! The ship! Belem.

It's a ship built in 1896. and the only ship that was once part of France's ocean-goign trading fleet in the 19th Century. Now, they refurbished it and it docks at different ports for people to board and walk around.

Haha.. found this giant anchor. It's bigger than me!!!!! And that's a blue Peugeot beside it. I see a lot of Peugeot on the roads in France.

More photos of me on the Belem!

*ring ring* Time to go!!!

We headed home where we prepared curry chicken!!!

Chef Wanling...

*work in progress*

actually, it was the almost done version already.

Ingredients needed: Curry powder, chilli, water and milk! Oh ya.. Chicken too!

Curry with rice!!!

And for dessert:

Chocolate mousse from Carrefour. It's pretty good!!!

See me pigging out...

And how Wanling is the official spokeswoman for the mousse! :)

And finally, it was time to pack up as I would be leaving from Paris the next day...

Oh.. and like here's a shot of Wanling's room.

Trip out to Paris!!! The LOUVRE!!!

On Friday, I took a day trip out to Paris... To visit the Louvre, walked from Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe via the Tuileries Gardens - or Jardin des Tuileries and down Champ Elysee - Paris most famous shoping streets with all the high ended brand names calling out to shoppers. Lost myself on the streets of Paris for a wonderful afternoon. The bad thing is, my camera ran out of batt after the Louvre... so you'll have to rely on my descriptive prowess to imagine how it was like. :)

Anyway, the day began like this...

Heh.. in France, they have these ticket collection machines in all train stations where you can collect your tickets that was ordered online.

Tickets to and fro Paris...

Passing a station along the way... Don't I seem so much closer to the track?

Cause I sat on the lower deck on my journey there...

Most of the trains are double-decker. Probably to accomodate the crown during peak hours.. cause standing is not allowed on trains. But so far, haven't encountered a super full train. Most of the time though, there is enough space for each group of traveller to have like a 'section' to themselves - a 'section' being a group of 4 or 6 seats

Finally, got to my 'destination' The Louvre... or Musee Du Louvre.

The Louvre was once a formal palace I think... But when I first saw it, I didn't think it looked particularly special or anyting. Cause it just blends into the other buildings around it. But I was in for a pleasant surprise...

The walkway to get to the courtyard where the entrance to the Louvre was...

When I got to the end of the walkway, the sight just took my breathe away... You have to be there to experience it. Think walking out to see two pyramids greeting you, with loads of people milling around, taking photos... sitting around and soaking in the sun...

Me in front of the Pyramids installation by I. M. Pei.

Did I forget to mention the water installations and how 3 sides of the museam surrounds the courtyard...

The entrance to the Louvre is in the large pyramid

So this is a shot of outside from within the pyramid...

And look at the number of people who visited the Louvre that Friday...

There are 3 wings full of artwork for visitors...

First stop: The Denon wing where Mona Lisa and most of the other paintings were displayed, togeether with many many many scultures and busts...

More cute guys anyone? The thing is... they have probably been dead for centuries... Actually, I dun really have much idea who they are cause everything was in French.

*tip: rent the Audioguide... I found it helpful as it explained the rationale behind paintings - who commisioned it, for what reason, the situation at the time where the painting was done and stuff. Very informative!*

But they didn't have much on the sculptures... so here's my own.

Here's an armless bandit... probably lost it in a war, as in the arm of the statue (not the person) could have been destroyed in a war, or chopped off by people who did not like it or broken in some transportation process?

He should have been some great conqueror. Looks somewhat like a Roman gladiator...

And I really have no idea who this is...

A marble throne... Looks mighty uncomfortable for a King to sit on it the whole day... and looks pretty small too!

Caught sight of this painting as I was exiting the Denon wing... I dunno why, but I like it... :)

Saw a lot of other paintings there, but couldn't take photos of them. There was this huge painting (The largsest in the Louvre) that depicted a banquet scene - Les Noces de Cana by Véronèse. The Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter series by Archimboldo.

Here are two of the four paintings...

Spring by Archimboldo. See how it's a young man, and he's made up of flowers the bloom in spring.

And here's Winter... made of roots, looking old and hardened.

I like this series not only because I like how the seasons are symbolised, but it also traces one's path in life, showing an aging process. How a young man will become old as time passes. But hopefully, we all won't be as bitter and as grumpy when we get to Winter.

Another shot of the courtyard... Pretty no?

And I just thought this was very cute.. like this small Cupid/Angel trying to put on a helmet...

Can never get enough of this... Postcard-perfect?

And in another wing, there was this 'garden' full of statues... Some of them used to be placed along Champ Elysee, but are now in the Louvre to protece them from the weather.

A warrior or some Greek God blowing a horn...

All the statues are holding clocks telling the same time.

Hahaha.. isn't this cute? The mini thinker.

The weather was very good! See! I could just walk around in my top... A bit sunny though.. thus the sunglasses...

See me in the mirror? hahaha.. it's an upside down mirror...

Yep... so after spending 4 and a half hours in the Louvre, my camera battery died on me.

Took a wark through Tuileries Garden. It is wonderful how you can see the Arc de Triomphe rising in the distance. It was like a 90 mins walk away? or maybe even more? I think the garden is not really that great. Or maybe the flowers weren't really blooming. But they had a couple of ponds and stuff. Nice to go there and relax on a lazy afternoon.

And then i walked pass Champ Elysee and saw the huge LV! It's 3 to 4 storeys high... and I heard they have a quota for the number of items a person can purchase. Cause I was approached by a few tourists to help them buy sth from LV. Didn't agree in the end.

The good thing is that the sun sets super late in Paris. It was still rather bright even at 8 pm...

Took some detours into some small streets. Saw loads of cafes (There's one at almost every street corner). After a long afternoon/evening stroll, I made my way back to St Lazare train station and went back to Rouen...