Wednesday, August 30, 2006

the looooonnnnng overdue post on france!! (cue Eugene: yay!!) but i still cant post photos up yet.. so pls wait :D

PARIS
Paris is a must visit destination when you go europe! the classic pretty city.. clean (save a few dog poo here and there).. the river seine wasnt as impressive nor romantic as i tot it shd be.. but then again.. the sky darkens at like 10pm.. so i dun get to seeing the river when it's lit up.

the effiel tower is pretty fr afar and rather ugly up close. its nice when u stand far away at the guards museum (i think) and look down to the effiel tower.. there's a nice and big garden right in front of u and then the tower at the back. super nice!! and you'll c everyone hanging out in the garden, or juz taking of shoes and dipping into the fountain/pool (nope it's nt the man made beach that Straits Times reported sometime back). and you'll just see kids playing with the sprinklers to water the plants.. haha i tink the greenery business is larger in paris than it is in singapore. cuz there is like TOTALLY no rain and it's ard 40 deg with no shade no aircon etc.. can die one la. haha but i digress

the effiel tower costs like 3 euro (6 singapore dollar) to climb up and 11 euros to take the lift up. so guess which i took? oh btw they're student prices. it's a bit crazy climbing up 400 or 500 steps on high heels.. ahah there was 2 platforms and i wanted to die after the 2nd one.. cuz i tot i hadta cont climbing up to the 3rd. but luckily (or unluckily) there was a lift (tat cost 6 euros i think) up to the 3rd platform.. anw even tho i climb until wanna die and wanted to give up, the view at the top was SOOOOO worth it :D :D

and then there's the arc du triumphe and the champs elysee.. it's a bit crazy trying to stand in the middle of the road (champs elysee) to take the classic view of a long wide road leading up to the arc du triumphe in the background.. haha so you'll c many tourists stand in the road divider and pose and take and run off :D

hmm. the cathedral of notre dame is in on a small plot of land in the middle of river seine (cant rmb if u call it the estury or the spit or wadever). well. i dun really like churches and cathedrals.. so notre dame is just another one to me lor.. but there r some really good authethic french food on that plot of land.. a bit pricey tho.. but well worth.. haha tho i vomited like 4 times in the night i ate it.. cuz the food was a bit too rich for me and i cudnt take it..

speaking of food.. i ended up eating A LOT of jap/korean/chi food cuz its cheap! relatively la.. and it's healthier (ie less fattening and more dan4) than the french ones.. oh and kebab is good too.. cheap!! and nice but heaty

metro in france is rather consumer friendly.. but needta make sure to check the direction before gg into the gates.. the metro works on a honour system. tho u see ppl jumping in thru e gates or 2 ppl squeezing in when they only pay for 1 person.. and since no one checks the tix stub.. you can juz buy the children tix which is half price ;) tho i wun recommend doing tat la

ooh and disneyland!! surprisingly empty la considering it's summer hols.. i think 1 day for disneyland and 1 day for walt disney studios is enough.. unless u wanna sit every single ride.. so i sold my 3 day pass on the 3rd day :) disneyland hotel isnt too bad even tho i got the cheapest room.. haha but the food is rahter horrible and far too crowded etc.. buffet breakfast ma. .and it's included in the package..

BEAUNE
this is the 1st small town i went too. went there on a day trip cuz i had the rail pass and can travel anywhere within france for 9 days within the month.. but since no one checks the rail pass i think i used way beyond 9 times.. anw.. beaune is famous for its wine.. so we went to a wine tasting place and tried like 15 types of wine for 10 euros or sth.. as usual i dun like wine.. the most memorable wine is a cassis (blackcurrent) dessert wine which is SUPER DUPER SWEET!! think ribena in its concentrated form.. too viscous to flow properly.. lolz.. but it is really a quaint little town.. with an old hospice with rich history.. opened by the rich for the poor and homeless and vagrants

GENEVA
we took the train to geneva.. think we;re not supposed to.. cuz the pass is only for within france.. but since no one check then heck la.. we got on the overnight train and you can see all the people in the sleeping seats.. it's like a dorm and each room contains 2 double deckers.. haah but no i din go in there.. i just went to the 2nd class seats.. there wasnt a proper customs to stamp the passports.. the wonders of EU ;) anw.. switzerland is CRAZILY EXPENSIVE!!!! cant rmb the exchange rate le.. but ya its tat bad until i dun even wanna eat macs.. haha so i think if i do travel rd switzerland i'll either starve to day or make lotsa day trips there.. we went to the UN hq.. tour rd there a bit.. well i tot it was ok la.. nt really v fantastic.. haha cud b because the guide was a frenchman and i cudnt understnad him too well

CHAMONIX
the french alps!!! pretty pretty pretty.. blogged a bit abt it b4 le.. so shant talk too much.. but go visit hurry b4 it all melts down ;)

NICE
sth like bali to the westerners lor.. it's nice la (no pun intended).. but SUPER HOT!!! haha.. the sand burns yr feet when you walk on it.. but the water is generally clear and quite nice.. but cuz it's like a 'bali', food is rather expensive and nt too nice and the place is a bit messy etc.. we juz went to the private beach and rent a seat with an umbrella for like 1 afternoon and then u can swim when u want to or read or juz sleep :D

MOROCCO
morocco is a ctr tat's surrounded by france on 3 sides and by the sea on the last.. so its highly influenced by france on almost everythg.. the place is rather pretty.. haha but by then im rather sick of travelling.. so everywhere ends up looking the same to me and dun really take note of whats where.. the thg i like abt morocco is tat it still has a king and queen.. sooo nice :D

ok shall blog abt part 2 nxt time..