allie in Paris by William Chua Photography

William Chua Photography

Breakfast at Paris

I woke up at 2pm today and reminded myself I was back in Singapore. It'd have been 8am in Paris. My body has clearly gotten used to Parisian time. I winced again, knowing that there would not be nice hearty breakfast for me today.

See, in Paris, William and I would wake, wash up and head down to the cafe along the street for a good breakfast. Check out what we have on an almost daily basis for the 9 days we were there.

I didn't like jam before trying these yummy jelly like stuff in Paris.

We loved this eggs, cheese and bacon so much that we had this for 3 mornings.

My favourite drink in Paris - Chocolat!

My bestie and his chocolat drink, which comes with valrhona chocolate!

A Rose From Moulin Rouge

My bestie can be quite the gentleman. He bought me a rose at Moulin Rouge when we were having dinner before the performance. I've always liked the combination of a good dinner, a good bottle of champagne, a pretty red rose and a great company.

Thank you!

Oh, and I totally enjoyed the performance by the ladies at Moulin Rouge. I urged all to watch the performance. Compared to Crazy Horse (watched that in Singapore), Moulin Rouge is in a league of its own.

A Trip To Champagne

Boy, was I excited! One of my highlights in this trip is the "Champagne Tourist Route". We bought tickets (152€ each) for a day trip to Champagne region. A minibus came to our hotel to pick us up and then headed for the city of Rheims, capital of the Champagne region, which was 1.5 hours away from Paris.



The day was amazing! Weather was so fine! The clouds made way for the sunshine. It was lovely. Too bad for me, I was suffering from a bad case of migraine! Of all days!!! Argh!!!

First stop was at Rheims Cathedral (another gothic masterpiece), where kings of France were crowned. This cathedral was damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since.

This was followed by a visit to a champagne house – MUMM. Over there, they explained the process of harvesting, processing and bottling of champagne.




And since we had some time, the guide brought us to the old abbey church where Dom Perignon (1638-1715) was buried.

We also had another guided tour of the “Moët & Chandon” cellars in Epernay. A tasting (which I politely rejected) followed by a visit to the shop (bought a wine bottle opener there).




Frankly, the prices of champagne there are not cheap at all! So, in the end, I did not buy any bottle back. Shocking eh?

A Day in Belgium

William asked if I wanted to take a day trip to Belgium. Since I had no plan, I thought it'd be interesting to go out of Paris. So, he booked 2 tickets to Bruges (119 € each). Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country. It's about 4 hours coach ride from Paris city.

Bruges is a great place for photos. It's nicknamed "The Venice of the North" because this place has many canals. A lovely little place. Oh, and if you love chocolates, beer, mussels and lobsters, this is the place for you!

Touring Paris

My first trip to Europe and I spent 9 days in Paris. My bestie, William, was my guide for most parts of Paris. He had been to Paris a number of times and he was the best person to bring a first-timer around.

The photos you are about to see are taken with my Blackberry Bold. At the time of release, the photos taken by William are still probably in his Canon 5D camera. :P

The weather was pretty cold for the first few days. Got warmer by the days.

William and his cameras hung around his neck. He carried them around throughout the trip! He was trying to fix my lousy point-and-shoot camera which died on me on my first day of the trip!!!

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Eiffel Tower

The famous icon of Paris - The Eiffel Tower is designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair. It was the world's tallest building standing at 300m until the construction of New York's Chrysler Building in 1930. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a temporary structure to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution. Yes, and I went up there for a bird's eye view of Paris city (by the elevator, of course).

The Louvre
The Louvre was built by Philippe Auguste in 1204 and was originally the royal castle. Arguably the world's most famous art museum, the Louvre's most popular piece is Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." It was established in 1793, and is one of the oldest museums in Europe. Its collections spans from the birth of great civilizations up to the 19th century. It has about 6 million tourists visiting the museum each year. Me and William spent half a day exploring the sculptures and paintings. I was blown away by some of these paintings and also the view outside of The Louvre. Great place for photos! I took some awesome shots using my BB Bold. ;)

Following the signs in the museum to locate Mona Lisa

Finally caught a glimpse of that famous painting.

My bestie doing that sexy photographer's pose!

Les Invalides
Louis XIV initiated the project by an order dated November 24, 1670, as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers. Les Invalides is a shortened form of hôpital des invalides (the hospital for invalids). The architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant.

Beneath the dome lies two churches: one for the soldiers, and the other intended as a vault for the king but now containing the mortal remains of the Napoleon Bonaparte.

William and I strode down the streets along Les Invalides and walked along the small garden nearby. It was a nice sight. Couldn't resist taking more photos.



Notre-Dame
My favourite french religious architecture in Paris has got to be Notre-dame! That is what I call a masterpiece! Proceeded by a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, a Christian basilica, and a Romanesque church, construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone. Construction was completed roughly 200 years later in about 1345. During its history, Notre Dame has been the site of numerous official and other ceremonial occasions.

You could pay 8 Euros to go up the circular stairways to get a good view of Paris from the top deck of Notre-dame. But be warned, this is no easy task. I was panting all the way up. My knees and ankles were aching by the time I got to the top. Fortunately, it was a cool day when I was attempting the climb.


Champs-Élysées
For you shopaholics out there, let me warn you. The glamour of the Champs-Élysées is over-rated! Unless you are a huge Louis Vuitton fan, if not, you could give this place a miss. Really!!! For me, it was worse since I am not a fan of LV. I was really bored with this street. I thought shopping in Paris was over... until I went to Galeries Lafayette! Now, that department store is every shopaholic's haven! If you have limited time in Paris, skip Champs-É-Boring-Street, head down to Galeries Lafayette instead! You can get your LV there, too! Consolidate your receipts at Galeries Lafayette and then head down to the basement for the tax refunds form. They have counters of staff to help you with that. :D

All these are from Galeries Lafayette. I totally loved it there!

Grand Hôtel Lévêque

This was where I stayed in Paris. A nice little hotel along a nice street (Cler Street) where food is easily accessible and the metro-station (Ecole Militaire subway, line 8) is just 5 minutes away. Thanks to my bestie for this great recommendation.


The room is good enough for me. I spent days just lying on my bed reading my book. This is definitely one of my most relaxing holiday.


And when I wake up, this was what I looked at every morning. :)

We Know We're Besties...

...when we turned up at the airport with the exact same luggage (though different in size). Heh! Great minds think alike!