Paris, Day 9

Mija & I left Barcelona with a big smile in our hearts. We will never forget the hospitality and kindness Mamay Cely, Manang Elaine, Manong Jay, and Tatiana showed us during our entire stay. Hopefully,  another opportunity like this will knock on our doors again so that we could visit them anew in the future.

We were back in Paris but this time it was only the two of us. Manang Mitzi & family and Mark & Mariesse had all gone back to the Philippines while Mija & I were scheduled to leave the following day. That day we were supposed to have a short trip to Brussels, Belgium which is only 1 1/2 hours train ride from Paris but we decided to spend our last day in Europe in Paris. We did not have any plans for the entire day because we thought of making it our rest day, although we had a short visit to places we failed to visit the first time we were in Paris like the Academie Nationale de Musique, Lafayette and the elusive Eiffel Tower at night (elusive I say because of unforeseen events that prevented us from seeing it at night).

The view of Paris from the top of Eiffel Tower at night was stunning. It was a dramatic culminating experience for our European vacation. We enjoyed it except for one thing - the piercing cold. Then we hark back to our hotel and had a nice and sound sleep before our long trip back to reality the following day.

Academie Nationale de Musique is just in front of Lafayette
Mall owned by the family of Princess Diana's alleged lover Dodi.
Mija in her sexy pose. lol

What was I thinking? lol

Great capture!

Lovers in Paris, indeed

Je T'aime Paris!

I really love this shot. Can you see the Arc de Triomphe on the upper left?

Mija managed to pose despite chilling to the bones.
She was totally unprepared for the extreme cold weather that night.
You can see that in her face. lol

A smile coming from the heart.

Paris, Day 4

The outdoor temperature that time was at freezing point but since we already planned beforehand to go to Paris Disneyland that day for Marywill and Biboy (Mija's 2 cute pamangkins), the plan still pushed thru. So there we went to Disneyland on early morning of our 4th day in Paris, all geared up for the cold weather. We took the subway train at Charles de Gaulle, a one-way trip that cost us one hour of our time plus another hour finding the station. 

When we reached Disneyland, Mija & I decided to part with the group to grant the wish of our grumbling stomachs. After that, we decided to try the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was the first and last ride we had in Disneyland Paris because Mija, Mark, Mariesse and I have all agreed to leave early so that we could still catch the Louvre before it closes. 

Paris Underpass (?) - Finding the subway station to Disneyland Paris  was like looking for a needle in a haystack

Grabbing a bite of those French breads

At last, the station to Disneyland

Trying to shrug off the cold that shrouded our flesh. Then after a successful try, our efforts were wasted as snow began to fall from heaven. It was magical.

Hai ho! I am a pirate eh!

There are not enough words to describe the Louvre. The list of collections which the museum houses is endless. We all know that seeing every item there would take us a year to finish so we just selected few important pieces to locate like the Monalisa, Nike of Samothrace and the Inverted Glass Pyramid.

The Louvre - view from inside the right wing

I am definitely sure the ancient sculptors are GAYS! Just kidding. =)

One of the corridors of the museum

MONALISA

Nike of Samothrace

You will find many items inside the Louvre  peculiar bordering disturbing like this painting of a pregnant Mother Mary

Paris & Versailles, Day 3

On our second day in Paris, Mija and I woke up earlier than the rest so we could get around the city before our scheduled trip to Versailles in the afternoon. We took the tour bus again using the same receipt we had the other day (which was valid for 24 hours), therefore saving few Euros. We stopped by the Invalides and took some pictures. It was freezing cold that time so we did not spend so much time there.

Bridge in front of the Grand Palais

Overlooking the Eiffel Tower

Invalides Palace where Napoleon Bonaparte's remains lie

Our next stop was Le Sacre-Coeur. The church took our breath away! It was gigantic and we have never seen something quite like it before. However, it looked more like a mosque than a church. After a short prayer inside, we walked to Moulin Rouge passing by Paris' red district. Then we headed back to our hotel to meet with Mija's cousin Mark & his wife Mariesse. Only the 4 of us went to Versailles since Manang Mitzi & Kuya Ghil had already gone to the place a few years back.

Le Sacre-Coeur

Perfectly framed. Thanks I brought my tripod.

Moulin Rouge

Like Le Sacre-Coeur, Versailles is enormous! If not for the extreme cold weather and our flah-like tour guide, we could have stayed there a little longer. Anyway, our trip to Versailles was both educational and entertaining. Educational because we profusely learned the history of French Monarchy from our walking-Google Parisian tourist guide, and entertaining because of the vast collection of paintings, furnitures, and other artifacts still preserved in the palace that we came to see in person. In that place also I first saw snow (Mija had first seen it in Canada)!

Versailles Palace's Facade

Queen's Bed (Marie Antoinette)

King's Bed (Kings Louis XIV-XVII)

Versailles Palace's Garden

Grrrrrr! 

After a tiring day, we all succumbed into a deep slumber. However, around 2 in the morning, a call from Philippines shattered us. We had been informed that Mija's maternal grandmother died. The sad news kept us awake the rest of the dawn. Mija and I were supposed to be in Europe for 2 weeks and we were scheduled to visit 8 countries but because of the Lola Mary's death, we have to cut short our trip and have to cancel our trips to Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, and Hungary. Mija used the rest of the dawn in cancelling our bookings in these places. We wasted more than 50K in penalty and uncancelled bookings but it was all for the chance to see Lola Mary before sending her to her final resting place. Instead of going home on the 16th of January, we cut the trip to January 11. 

Paris, Day 2

Our 2nd day in Paris was action-packed. Though we were a bit jet-lagged (caused by the 7 hour time difference), our bodies were full of excitement and enthusiasm as we started to explore what is for me the most beautiful place on earth. We took the bus tour and stopped by these famous landmarks:

1. Arc de Triomphe

2. Eiffel Tower

3. Louvre Museum

4. Notre Dame de Paris 

5. Avenue de Champs-Elysees

6. Placa de la Concorde Obelisk de Luxor

7. La Grande Roue

Mija was all wrapped up as the temperature for the day reached 0°C (freezing point)!

I felt like a star sporting my first ever winter clothes by Zara. I did not know how to deal with this long scarf so i let it flow as it is. 

Oh my! This one is my favorite. It was huge and grand and it is just meters away from our hotel.

Yes, we are LOVERS-IN-PARIS! 

Memento of love and our lifetime souvenir

No wonder why Eiffel Tower is acknowledged as one of the best structures in the world. Magnificently crafted by the architects and engineers whose names were immortalized in the bottom part of the tower.

La Grand Roue and Obelisk at Placa de la Concorde. You wouldn't believe I took this shot inside of a tour bus as we passed by the place.

Mija enjoying her saunter at the famous Avenue des Champs-Elysees

The Louvre. We were not able to catch up to the place before its closing time this day so we just took pictures in front of it.

Norte Dame de Paris

Paris, Day 1

After a long and energy-sapping trip, we landed in Paris, France at 10 P.M. of January 2, 1011. From the airport we went straight to our hotel Le Claridge Champs at 74 Avenue Des Champs-Elysees (just a few steps away from Arc de Triomphe and in front of the main outlet of Louis Vuitton).

It was a nice hotel. My first time to check in a 2-storey hotel room. Pretty huge room for Mija & I. Cable TV, however, a thumbs-down!

Our Hotel's Sala. No, this was not hit by typhoon ondoy.

Dining & Computer Areas. Internet access is 10 Euros.

Kitchen. This has not been used at all.

Our room, overlooking the Eiffel Tower when you lay down.

Stairs leading to the 2nd floor where our room was

Shower Room. Toilet is downstairs. Weird isn't it?