EU trip - Day 9 - Paris

I was finally awake after the third alarm set for 7:30. Yes, you heard me right. lol! I set 3 alarms, one hour apart. The first one for Subuh but it was already bright outside. Hmmm, I got the timing all wrong. Subuh animatronic T-rex betul ni.

Lil's email was simple to understand and follow -- "take the metro line 4 from gare de l'est... get off at st michel station. look out for exit to place st michel. that's it. you can't miss the fountain at place st michel".

Nak dijadikan cerita...
I did just that but I didn't see a fountain or anything that resembled one. I was outside of a Préfecture de Police building and flower market.

Flower market and Prefecture de Police

I walked a bit farther and saw the river. I could have sworn that there was only one exit (no numbered ones, esp. one that should direct us to Place St Michel). After walking a block on the opposite way, I saw Notre Dame, which puzzled me.

Lil told me come back to the river, but the thing was we were on an island so there are rivers on both sides. Lol! I jogged in a counter clockwise direction away from Notre Dame. I arrived at the Police building again. When I turned around the second corner, I could see the fountain at the far distance and Lil at the bridge. Woohoo! In the corner of my eye, I saw a policeman watched me ran with a map in my hand. I wonder what went through his mind
(So, in actual fact, Place St Michel is just right across Notre Dame. ROFL!)

Together, we arrived at the walking tour meeting place with minutes to spare. But apparently, it didn't start till 10, and there were still people arriving till then. :P
In the mean time Lil and I got ourselves acquainted. We finally got to meet up. Yay! If only Sila were there. we would have rocked Paris hahaha.

To tell you the truth, I lost my bearing when we were walking around in Latin Quarter. That's typical of me. If I'm sitting in the passenger seat, or even if I'm driving, following behind someone else in a convoy, I won't check to see where we'll be going because I know it doesn't fall on my shoulder to bring us there. Oh sorry, I'm getting sidetracked here.

I know that we started near Notre Dame and finished in a square with lots of restaurants near Pantheon. In between, we were shown
- Saint-Séverin

Saint Severin

- Musée de Moyen Âge-Cluny

outside of Musee de Cluny

In the courtyard of Musee de Cluny

- Sorbonne
- statue of Montaigne - It is believed to be good luck to touch Montaigne's shoe before an exam

Statue of Montaigne

Saint Étienne du Mont

This picture is meant for Lil.  Remember that one particular person? ;)

Pantheon

Our guide even pointed out a place where they serve good French food... the innards :)
Overall, I enjoyed myself throughout the walking tour. Our guide did a wonderful job. She knew a lot and made witty remarks every now and then.

After the tour ended, Lil took over as guide and brought me to one of her favourite eating places. The tarts were marvelous!

My awesome guide!

Our dessert.  Yummy-licious

After walking through (yeah unfortunately I wasn't in my running gear to jog) Jardin du Luxembourg, Lil introduced me to Pierre Hermis, one of Lil's favourite pâtisserie. The ispahan, pastry and macarons were out of this world. We sat and ate on a bench near St Sulpice, not before taking pictures of our purchase. The lady behind the counter stopped me from taking pictures when we were inside. :P

Jardin du Luxembourg

Palais du Luxembourg

A couple of our purchases

As per Lil's FB album, it's "Paris-Brest Infiniment Caramel (caramel au beurre salé - caramel of salted butter)"

Macarons - ones that melt in your mouth; (pic is courtesy of Lil)

Émotion Ispahan; (pic is courtesy of Lil)

Bonjour Lil! (pic is courtesy of Lil)

Enjoying the ispahan; (pic is courtesy of Lil)

St Sulpice - checkout the non-identical towers

Enjoying our pastries near St Sulpice

(Somebody asked if I was following the Holy Grail trail just like in Da Vinci Code? I may not do it in the correct order, but a couple of days ago I was outside Westminster Abbey. Louvre was in yesterday's itinerary and today it was St Sulpice's turn. My friends in Edinburgh showed me Rosslyn Chapel. More on that in few days' time)

On the way to Notre Dame, we stopped at Patrick Roger (you have to say it correctly) where Lil treated me to some amazing chocolates including an egg shell filled with chocolate and praline. *Drool*
That made our brief stop at Place St Michel nothing in comparison. Hahaha. But we had to take a picture together for Sila ;)

Presents from Lil.  Merci beaucoup!

Cutie pies

Say Sila!

We then walked to Notre Dame and went inside. I love the stained glasses but my camera is so bad in low light.

In front of Notre Dame

Lil's camera did a better job in capturing this

I wonder what's the story with the statue with the head in his hands... I should google that later

With the visit to Notre Dame, I've already done most (if not all) in my list, so Lil recommended Sacré Coeur. Not before we stopped for icecream. Oh good Lord! Thank God I don't live in this city :D

Sacré Coeur looked magnificent on the hill... up until we couldn't take pictures in the Basilica and it rained afterwards. A family was stopped for video-taping and was immediately ordered to leave. Lil managed to get a shot before that.

The basilica on top of the hill

You can't forget the Eiffel Tower

Paris is mostly flat.

We took refuge in a nearby restaurant when it rained. Since it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon, we ate in. We also had a nice chat with American ladies at the table next to us.

After our (early) dinner, I had to get some souvenirs. I asked Lil, what's the windmill on all those fridge magnets? Little did I know, that's Moulin Rouge. Moulin rouge = red windmill. I thought it was an Amsterdam thing. ROFMLAO on my ignorance. Lil just had to show Moulin Rouge since it was just nearby.

As we were walking towards Moulin Rouge, Lil commented that this would be a smooth transition to Amsterdam, except Paris doesn't have the infamous glass windows. I'd believe it when I see it. Lol!

Sukanya dia. Hehe... Tapi ni belum masuk lagi :D

I got back to my room pretty early to a holidaying standard, but with the "spring forward" tomorrow we would lose an hour. Bah humbug! I needed to pack anyway and it was still drizzling outside.

Thanks Lil! You're such a sweetheart for spending the whole day with me. I also sampled some great food today. You made it even easier for me with your excellent French ;-)

Let's end this post by listing down the French phrases that I spoke the past couple of days:
- The common ones - Bonjour, merci, oui
- un carnet, s'il vous plait -- when I was getting Metro tickets at the Tabac in Gare du Nord
- je ne parle pas français to the cafe owner when ordering for cafe et croissant

Yes, not that many :D