MERCI Paris

The owners are the same peeps behind Bonpoint, an exclusive children clothing brand from Paris that has art-like window displays and most of their shops in the seventh arrondissement.

On the way back home, I had kept a note to visit this newly-opened giant boutique, Merci that has been getting loads of favorable attention from blogger and french people as well. The warehouse-like building with high ceilings, combining lots of black steel and aluminium is a very cool shop indeed. At first I was very sceptical because a lot of french has been saying that the clothes are way to expensive and all just 'for show' but you know what, I loved it. Just the way I would imagine it if one day I have my own place. They have vintage furniture, french-designers clothes, perfumery by Anick Goutal and homewares in the top floor. The concept is anything but new, but they did it well and I would recommend it for anyone visiting Paris.

An old fiat, if I'm correct? Stuffed with plants and flowers. A cool display of spontaneous art.

Au Revoir Paris

Yes, malheuresement, my time's up and I'm returning to Melbourne, not anticipating it obviously but I know I will be back soon, not exactly sure as I don't want to jinx it, but I think I've develop a fine relationship with this city. I'm actually surprising my parents back in Australia, they don't know I'm coming back on Monday night. Honestly I'm not too sure how they'll react, shock...and probably wondering why I'm back so soon. But I came here with or without the intention of staying for 90 days, I thought I'd cruise in, see how it goes etc...But it's been pretty intense this couple of days. My landlady didn't take it so well, I'm sad too, she's très gentille, beautiful, elegant and oh she's just a great person. I have a habit of vanishing without telling so I guess I gotta work on that...

Anyway, every blogger on Paris does it...so perhaps I should do it to, no actually I've always wanted to do it...So here it goes

10 Things Why I Love Paris

1. The L'Air. Often I would close my eyes for a moment while I'm walking, it's usually when I feel so at ease with mysefl, in with that particular moment. Everything seem to be in perfect motion, the air of Paris.

2. The Boulangeries, yes not just the bread, but the facade, the beautiful handiwork, the actual place with old ceramic tiles, little cherubs flying over the ceilings of bygone era, and the anticipation of getting your bread, the aroma, the taste and the funny french ladies behind the counter who always says "Bonne Journée" truthfully.

3, The French Women. They walk with an expression of anticipation, like as if they are searching for something, always in the look out for suspension. Their natural l'air de la mode, très naturel, fashion so understatedly elegant.

4. Rue de Buci, Rue Bonaparte, Rue de L'Université Three of my favourite streets in Paris around Saint-Germain that I passed every single day. The cool galleries in Rue de L'Université, the bistro cafés in Rue de Buci, where Picasso used to do his food shopping, and of course the Laduree in Rue Bonaparte with its playful-trademark green walls, a soft candy palette of boxes arrayed on the shelves. I smile whenever I pass it.

5. The Latin Quartier: from the end of Boulevard Saint-Germain on the 6eme arr to the start of Rue Cardinal Lemoine, The Pantheon, Rue Mouffetard, the little old cinemas with just one or two viewing rooms inside, Rue Monge that stretches endlessly with the most authentic boulangeries, the calm feeling I get when I am walking around there opposite to the Institute du Monde Arabe. Yes everything in Paris seem to evoke a sense, a feeling...

6. My room: my polly-pocket room I call it, with the pink toiles de jouy bedspread, tablecloth and a little rack that holds my clothes. The antique green dresser, the high window with red curtain and of course, the violet sky, the night that never turns into a night that sleeps with me every night.

7. The Yogurt: If you never tasted french yogurt, then you don't know what real yogurt taste like! thick, condesed, milky, fresh, it's like having it straight from the cow! I especially love the Caillé brand. Oh how I will miss it.

8. The Brocantes: The fleamarkets, Yes they are actually the same as the ones in Australia, but it's so celebrated here they have themes that go with each event, or they set it up for a week and when you go visit one it's like being in a entirely different world.

9. The Food Market: Each arrondissement has one or two fresh market that's open every couple of days a week, my best-pick so far is the Bastille Market however I passed the Raspail Market on the way to school on most days. I especially love the chocolat chaud à l'ancienne there on a cold Sunday morning. Perfect!

10. Lastly, it's Paris, the city itself. Everything, when my teacher, the lovely Linda asked everyone to express our dislikes of Paris, I could not think of anything. I just love everything about it, it's so strange for a lot of friends I'm sure, they've had some bad experiences I'm sure, but since the day I've arrived, on that cold Sunday morning, coming out of the Eurostar at Gare de L'Est, I knew right there in that moment, that this city is in favour with me, and I am here to enjoy it!

Au revoir Paris, je n'oublierai pas, et je vous voir bientôt!

As requested...

For *Lady Jicky* A photo of the Kenzo satchel/slig bag I got from the Brocante de Printemps du 3eme, with my unsuccessful attempt at bargaining the price down.

I could not resist the logo. Sometimes I wonder why I wasn't born Japanese...I am always assumed a Japanese...I think it runs somewhere along my bloodline...and why can't I be french..?

Comité des Fêtes fleamarket

So this morning I went to one of the biggest event in Paris, that's on twice a year! That is....The antiques & vide greniers in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. The second biggest fleamarket after Porte de Clignancourt in the 18th. Called the Brocante de Printemps, the venue is a step away from Le Marais and Bastille. By the time all the vendeur spilled their stuff into the table, the whole area looks like a treasure box flipped inside out. Literally. I know my brother who loves vintage and antiques will go crazy if he was here, it's like a little kid who was lost in a giant toy store. He would spend hours and hours for sure.

You can find absolutely anything here, name it and I'm sure you will find it. There is a guy who sells vintage luggages, from Louis Vuitton to nameless brands in immaculate conditions. Not that I'd go for those stuff, but my brother would....I didn't particularly want to get anything in particular, because we have the exact market but in a quarter of the size in Melbourne with almost the same kinds of antiques (a quarter of the price tags too) but I thought if I did found anything I reaaaallllllyyyy like, then I'll get it. And that was just the story with me the whole time I was there. I was kinda subconsciously looking for a nice leather bag, and well I found a nice seaweed (more like very dark muted army green) leather Kenzo satchel that this french lady was selling. I've always been a fan of Kenzo, his collection are very understated yet each are very well thought of, elegantly chic, which is why the French lovveeeess his stuff. So all the time I kept circling the area, then after a few hours of rotating the whole place....in the end I thought, oh well, it's such a bargain and this is Paris after all. So I bought it! Happy, no regrets!

Le Cinema à Paris

At the moment, I'm in that stage where I'm feeling very nostalgic about this place they called The City of Light. By the way, it is originally called city of light not because there is many lights that brightens up this city, although that is also very true, but it started as a city with many poets, writers, artists, philosophers etc that it was nicknamed the city with many smart people, hence where the word light appears. Anyway, back to feeling nostalgic, probably the mood that best describe me at the moment is très relaxé, I don't make a strict plan-ahead schedule I usually made up in my head at the start of the day anymore. If I want to catch a movie, I'll go and see one in the many cinemas around around the Latin quartier, hidden in tiny little rooms where you would probably will not recognise it as a cinema without looking up the address first in the Internet. Little neon lights, an empty booth, the light is usually switch off and there are hardly a living soul in le salle. But so far, I've had great experiences!

Paris Je T'aime, is a great movie, recommended by a cousin who lived in London, who lived in Sydney and came from Indonesia. I think this film represent not just the idea about Paris, but about different culture mixing together and for a foreigner coming to Paris or to another foreign land, there is a lot to absorb and this film transcends all ethnicity and background, that no matter if you're Chinese, Americans, English, Arabs or Japanese, I think everyone can enjoy it, as long as they watch it with the subtitles. It comprises of 17scenes directed by more than 12 directors, each with different actors.

Often I go to a café, read my book for awhile, eat my sandwich and do my french homework in between. I am enjoying my days here very much, although a tiny (or growing increasingly bigger by the day) part of me is always reminding me of future plans, how I can't wait to start a small jersey collections, silky cardigans de soie, soft flowy materials...of my drawings, of watercolours...

A Brazilian friend d'un certain âge, just retired and is definitely enjoying his retiring days of traveling Paris and taking up intensive french class in between with his wife in the other class! bravo! and sat next to me in each class (we all sit at the same table each day, like an automatic habit) so we always partnered up whenever there are conversation role-plays. Anyway...He told me to watch Chéri and said it was very good. So off I went to this tiny little old cinema at Rue Mouffetard today and well well well...what a film. Shock and surprise ending, well that's obvious since it's french, they always leave the audience either feeling bewildered, speechless or just utterly shocked...a film written by one of the most celebrated french writer, Colette, who also wrote the classic GiGi, quelle surprise non? this movie is definitely not for everyone, I liked it but hey I'm a francophile...So beware, I've warned you!

There are over fifty cinemas around the 6eme and 5eme arrondissement of Paris, that starts from the Place St-Germain-des-Pres all the way from Boulevard Saint-Germain, passing Metro Odeon with three cinemas within eyesight just when you reach the top staircase of the metro, then all the hidden ones around the Panthéon, Sorbonne and a handful so small it takes a courage to enter. Good thing for me I live around this area, and I am loving it! An insightful blogger recommended me to watch Villa Amalia with no other than Isabelle Huppert, recently the head judge of Cannes Film Festival and is probably the most celebrated of French cinema second to Catherine Deneuve (who I passed in Melbored end of last year!).

May the cinema force be with you this week! Enjoy a movie or two and don't forget to use a SPF 30 sunblock when you go out to the Sun, don't want to start looking like an orange peel too soon... and I've seen a few around Paris... euh*

Comfort & Joy: a novel

Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah.

This book I picked up at Shakespeare & Co. yesterday afternoon simply because I liked the cover, the 3euro bargain price and thought to myself "Oh how bad can a book with a title of comfort and joy be thaaaat bad..." and you know what, I finished the book the same night!! It was so good I could not put it down...The story is truly mesmerizing and teared my eyes a handful of times. It is a story about a librarian who had previously been utterly dissapointed at how things happened between her ex husband and some family members of her, and one day she bought a ticket on impulse just to get away from her past and found herself in a plane accident in a town not far away from Seattle. She encountered a little cottage owned by this guy and his son who had experienced a similar tragedy. She tried to help them and in the process learnt many wonderful lessons from her friendship with the little boy. It is really not one of those romantic novels you'd think it's just about a woman falling in love etc and so on, the victim etc etc... It is about believing and finding faiths in unexpected places and the joy that comes with simple gestures...I love it so much! Now I'm desperate to read a new novel but has too much stacked in my side table...not too sure how I'm going to bring them back to Australia...perhaps I'll give some away... :(

Un Mariage de Rêve

or released as Easy Virtue in the United States.

One of the reason the French Language is utterly intricate and complicated is that some words when joined as sentences and translated, are not what you think they would mean in English or is not as easy to translate as you would think. Such as this. I thought un mariage de rêve is translated as a marriage of dream, a woman's vision of her dream wedding, a film about having a great wedding and all those things wonderful about a wedding. But pas du tout! Not at all, when I looked up the English title, it was Easy Virtue! Woaah, that is so totally different meaning that what I thought the movie is about but when you think harder and search the meaning of virtue and of course have watched the film, everything made sense. In definition, virtue means having goodness, righteousness, and moral excellence. Easy Virtue is something as near-impossible of quality to attain if you are...lets say, a human living in this kinda-world. The film is not what I had expected, but I enjoyed very much watching all the commotions and problems that arises between the character of Jessical Biel as an American newlywed, entering a wealthy 'proper' English family. The fits and fights reached to a peak at the end of the movie, and the ending is surprising and I recommend the movie to everyone, particularly women of all ages.

When you think about it, a marriage of a dream can also means a collections of dreams, hopeful things that one wishes to gain or expects to have, yet often are dissapointed as real life promises the opposites. I guess one must watch the film to really understand why Easy Virtue would be translated to Un Mariage de Rêve. The lead character of Jessica Biel is the centrepoint of the film, for a bit of summary and I hope I don't dissapoint you in telling this, is that she is what the meaning of the film is about, in the end, even though she has the darkest history from all the English aristocrats characters around her, she has the imperfect virtue of a character.

Anyway from French translations to all this definitions, I must stop or I will trail into other dimensions...Hope you get to see this film when it comes out in DVD :)

Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-prés

A group of jazz ensemble over at the corner of Saint-Germain-des-prés. The Jazz festival is until the 25th May. Come over to Saint-Germain to see all the action!

The next door church at the same location that says Easter: Christ Lives - Risen! Oh yeah!

L'Ascension

A photo of the sky in Budapest, around 6 30pm, the day my cousin celebrated her wedding by throwing a memorable dinner in a beautiful old mason. I looked up the sky and saw a trail of what looks like the cloud tail of a plane perhaps? I recently watched a short clip of a French director's view of Paris and he said that when you walk the streets of a city, always look up, the view of the top is as equally interesting as the view below. Paris is one city that has interesting tops!

Today 21 May 2009 is Ascension Day in Paris, a national public holiday that commemorates the day when Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven following his crucifixion and resurrection, according to Christian belief. It the 40th day of Easter and is ten days before Pentecost Sunday. Public holidays in Paris is a tranquil day, there is not much happening, yet it is very lovely to walk the silent streets as you will feel or I usually feel that Paris belongs to me. All mine :)

Pray and Reflect about your life, Thank God and I hope you all have a blessed day.

"The Sweet Life in Paris" David Lebovitz

The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz. His sixth book, his recent was The Perfect Scoop, an ice cream recipe book, I have red great reviews about it, definitely a must-by if you love making homemade ice creams or if you fancy eating it :)

The book's cover is the facade of Laduree in Rue Bonaparte, 6eme arr, about a five minutes walk from where I live. It is a very beautiful corner, and everyone who passes it will slowly paced their walk and admire the colourful Laduree packagings on the glass window and for those who loves macaroons, I mean who doesn't? those cute round little cookies glued together with sweet filings, will go inside and buy a couple to munch on the way home.

The funny, whiney (self-confessed) Mr. David Lebovitz at his book signing today at WHSmith at 248 Rue de Rivoli, 1eme arr. I had a great time listening to his reading of whacky emails he received from fans reading his blog. Since 2002, David L. has been living in Paris, he shares his hilarious and just everyday crazy encounters with the French in his popular blog while writing recipe books, doing chocolate tours and just enjoying Paris and loving it more and more.

Once you love this city, it's hard to leave it behind...n'est pas?

I will surely enjoy my Sweet Life in Paris, Thank You David! All the way from Indonesia... :)

Budapest: gothic charm

A doll's house in the apartment. Welcome to Budapest.

At last I had Hungarian Goulash...and it was Homemade! yum just the way your mom would made it and the way I had it when I was growing up. Yes it is very similar to my mum's soup surprisingly.. clear spiced water, potatoes, boiled-for-hours chopped diced meat, carrots and vegetables. My cousins family were saying it was the best-proper meal they had since traveling abroad in Europe, homecooked and delicious. And surprisingly after a two weeks fest of eating on the run that consisted of takeaway kebabs, nutella crepes in Paris and scary Chinese food, they all lost a considerable amount of weight! :) We were on a marathon in Paris but I'm sure they were pleased with themselves..

The remnants of modern art-deco furnishing...going up to the apartment...

Arriving on Friday afternoon in Budapest, I was feeling very relaxed, we passed some grey neighborhood along the way from the airport but once we were near to the apartment and the crowded streets, I knew I was in the city where they made all those spy movies! The city is surrounded by tall green hills, ancient gothic buildings now occupied as museums and government houses, and a few great bridges that separates Buda from Pest. My cousin's husband lived outside of Buda, along the hills, where most locals would prefer to live with clean air, big lands and fresh vegetables and fruits at your disposal.

A very tall guy...the mosaic-like ancient buildings, on the way to Vaci street. A beautiful sunny day!

Besides Metro lines, they have electric buses and trams. As you passed this street, you can see the hills around Budapest.

Although Budapest is not as pretty as Paris, the city has it owns...um gothic charm as I would put it, grey rustic monuments sits along the clear river, what looked liked a very old drawn brown bricked building has very cool modern art-deco interior, where our service apartment was.

Central Market, the biggest food market in Budapest, seeling fresh produce from meats to vegetables and spiced - liquor drinks. Palinka is a speciality Hungarian liquor, usually between 40-70% alcohol level. My cousin's husband grandfather used to make his own Palinka and it was abundantly served at the wedding dinner :O it burns the throat from 10 seconds and they a splash of warmth would engullfe afterwards, warming the whole body.

On Saturday we went to Vaci Street (Vaci utca), where cafes with nostalgic charm of little tables, flower pots and colourful chairs lined the long street, inviting many tourists and locals to sit for hours and absorb the sunny weather.

Colourful buildings with equally interesting folks and people to see from all over the world.

There were quite many embroidered patchwork cloths in antique speciality shops around Vaci Street; traditional way of embroidering and craftwork are still very much prided here.

We had a good walk, although my cousin had to walk for an hour to find a clothing store that did not exist anymore. Poor koko Chris...no wonder he lost so much weight!

Eventhough I didn't see any mini coopers in Budapest, there were some old-vintagey looking cars that resembled a fiat and a mini cooper all in one. I forgot what its name now, anyway I went crazy in the local supermarket, everything was so cheap, compare to Paris! yogurt..chocolates...sweets to bring back for friends. Ah I can an hour in a supermarket. If you want to make me happy, just drop me in a nice supermarket with lots of speciality sweets and food to see and pick me up in a few hours..he he he

Fête du Pain

Fête du Pain à Paris

I had been waiting this moment ...since....well since Monday :P and the 22 minutes it took me to walk from Saint-Germain...every step of the way I was dreaming of being in bread heaven as the first bites of a good bread does to a french person. I knew the bread has to be good, I mean it is the event that showcase bread, one of the three Les goûts de Paris: du pain, du fromage et du vin. And also I knew they were making the bread inside and selling them outside afterwards...amidst the rain...I was marching away...closer and closer...

Once at the premise, off I went to the over-heated giant tent in front of Notre-Dame Church, filled with a jolly good bunch of hungry-bread-grabbing tourists eager to snatch not just a handful but an eager basket gesture with their hands filled with free cut baguette that were offered at each counter. Hey you can't blame them, I too had my greedy moments inside, it was nearing two o'clock in the afternoon and I was super famished! he-he-he. The music was on full-high, the chefs patisserie were singing aloud while shaping and moulding little unbaked croissants. They were having a great time and I'm sure each of them were very proud that they get to show visiters of Paris about their love of bread-and bread making.

After tasting a few snatches of bread inside, I needed to refuel my unsatisfied hunger, so I headed outside to one of the smaller tents selling the baked-goods.

I did had one of the best sandwich in Paris, of just plain jambon et buerre, my favourite, they are called Le Parisien in boulangeries, ham and butter, but oh my goodness, the butter is just so sweet and delicious. It melts in my mouth and the bread is so fresh I could taste a bit of the burnt sides of the bread as it was baked in a non-industrialised machine and it just came out of the oven before lunch! Um..to describe bread heaven, well it's like eating something that you like, it taste good in your mouth, it doesn't scratch the top of your gum as some crispy bread does and you know it's healthy for you so you eat with no guilt. Actually since living in Paris, I no longer think food as the enemy like I often does with certain food when I was living in Melbourne, including bread. :)

The mini croissants, crispy and yes I'm sure they melt in your mouth. Yum. I had a good lunch. Until 18 May and it is a yearly event. At the end of the festival, they usually have a croissant winner.

Cette Semaine

Corner of UGC Danton cinema, metro Odeon and Boulevard Saint-Germain 6eme arr.

Another reason why I love Saint-Germain so much...look at this little bistrot with little flower pots hanging above the awning...and the black boards with hand-written menus...I was over at metro Odeon when I saw this little gem of bistrot.

I was checking out cheap cinemas near Odeon as I was anticipating Anges et Démons with Tom Hanks in it and is out tomorrow! I gotta watch it...I think the story is crispier than Davinci Code...anyway I'm a bit tired today, feeling a bit restless...it's probably the build-up anticipation of going to Budapest this weekend! hurrrarrrr!!!


However there are some must-haves to do by the end of the week, a visit to the Brocante market in Bastille, where there are over 200 antique dealers selling their stuffs in a big giant white tent. I hope it's worth the 8euro entry ticket.

This afternoon as I was passing Notre-Dame on my way to Le Marais, I passed another smaller tent with the big text of "La Fête du Pain" Oh my goodness, I was screaming awweesssommeeee, anyway it is a yearly event where about eight to ten boulangers made breads at the premise from mixing flour and water to actually baking it in their oven. I'm pretty sure there are free tasting...! Starting from this Thursday 14 May through to the 18 May. Sweelll...

Every year, the event is held in Paris opposite of the Notre-Dame. This photo is from here.

And I also need to get a body lotion. :)


Infront of PAUL boulangerie at Rue Rennes...6eme arr. It was corner parking...it is illegal but there it's the norm in Paris.

Paris Space Invaders

Walking the streets of Paris, there are countless times when I was would suddenly stopped midway through my track because of something peculiar staring at me. Yes I am referring to the street arts of Paris. One of them called The Space Invaders introduced by my cousin in London, is one of the frequent artist that leaves their trademark mosaic tiles around the high corners of Parisian corners and street walls. They are one of the well-know street artists that does other cities around Europe. They look like little robotic insects, in colorful two-toned squares. I managed to find some more over the weekend around the Bastille area.




Another one that I'm sure many of you living in Paris has probably seen is sort of a sticker of a dandy man with their italic signature of Leo et Pipo printed at the bottom of the sticker. I managed to find a blog about their interesting history. It says in the blog that these two individuals came to Paris in the beginning feeling like a complete strangers, in a pretty cold city filled with complete often equally cold people. They wrote as I am quoting from the blog, that growing up in the east suburbs of Paris filled with sweetness and the quietness of the suburbs, they are appaled by the alienated feeling of Paris, a city-museum (quote) with artificial everything. Which is true I suppose and I am sure most people feels that way the first time they arrive here.

So, to break the ice a bit, in March 2008 they started to stick these characters on the walls of Paris as a way of saying "Hey there, I'm new here, let's be friendly!" They hoped that people would notice and stare for a bit and continue walking. The blogger said that for him/her, the characters felt like friendly ghosts watching over the neighborhood. Which is somewhat true, they represent watchful eyes and for new comers, that Paris is filled with hidden treasures. Another blogger wrote that it for her the characters injects human warmth and charm to the city. I'm sure that everyone has their own interpretations, for me though, I just find them so curiously cuttteee....scattered away in places for me to find and snap away.

The yellow cat is also another street art that has transform itself to a museum exhibition at the Pompidou centre. He was caught red handed donning a mask, which was how he found his fame in the first place. I spotted this one over the weekend too, just a day after my cousin told me about the cat in Paris.

Falling in Love with Paris...

Falling in Love with Paris...all over again

The flower market is also one of my favourite places to visit. The little flowers in their little pots are so inexpensive compare to the ones in the shops. A good place to take your mothers.

My cousin who got married last weekend in London came over to Paris this weekend for a short break with her whole family, parents and brother and sister-in-law. I naturally became the on-off tour guide, and had a fun time practicing my french the whole weekend when we had to do the daunting task of ordering food in a restaurant and just asking simple things to get by...and I really enjoyed their company here. Arriving with EuroStar on Friday morning, they rented a service apartment at Rue Saint Denis called Le Petit Châtelet over on the 1st arrondissement, which was very central and is just a stone away from Georges Pompidou Centre and within walking distance to the Louvre Museum. On Friday, we went to Le Marais, we had sandwiches by the Pompidou center, went passed by Île Saint-Louis and saw a really cool jazz ensemble and my auntie loved the flower market at the Cité had dinner at a cool brasserie over at the 11eme arr.
It was one of the personal highlights of my day, the light, the song of Ave Maria, along the passage of the Louvre in the afternoon. It was magical.

Unfortunately the crêperie place that we all wanted to go to was closed on the friday and the next day when we came back after walking a good 20minutes from the metro, and with each step we were discussing how many courses we were going to have and which toppings etc...we found out the place was fully booked!! Walking back to the metro with our down faces... I told them, this is one of the charm of Paris, a city that 'literally' takes your breath away but it also meant that they just have to come back to Paris..!

The carousel at Jardin de Tuilleries, my auntie said that the city of Paris is like a city made of squares of pretty blocks, like legos, all laid out in such a way that they lit up.

So anyway, on Saturday they went to see the Eiffel Tower, and at night, we decided to take a rest and get sandwiches and takeaways to eat in the apartment instead, which turned out better for everyone too as some of our legs were about to fall off...aahaha if you are not used to walking, well Paris can be a bit cruel...but because there were too many interesting places to see, we just kept going.

I realised that Paris is truly a captivating place sans les clichés, and with each day spending time with my cousins, auntie and uncle, I just wished more and more that my parents can come here and not just see this beautiful city, but feel it in their hearts as it has captivated my own.

I can't seem to get over the notion that you can just paint your hearts away whenever you feel like it in Paris. She is just splashing paints and enjoying every second of it and me being the thrilled tourist clicking away on my camera.

Can you see the expression on her face (sorry it's blurry) just enjoying and listening to her music and walking away like as if she is absorbing l'esprit de Paris. Walking along the Seine as I have said many times is the Paris to-do, you will not get bored trust me.

When we all visited Notre-Dame church, I lit up a candle and made a wish. I was told that if my wish came true, I have to come back there and say my thank you prayer. Although my wish was not so that my parents can come here, because that is too do-able, I'm sure they will come here very soon, it was something else I hope will come true. When it does, I will tell you all and by that time I would probably have a one-way ticket to Paris again.

Inside the Church, there were a long slides of resin sculptures like these one above, depicting the many scenes of Christ Jesus's lives. This one if I am not mistaken was when Jesus blessed the bread and wine, the last supper. I am just transfixed by the 'real' mimicking of the bread that the apostle is holding. Doesn't it look like a real bread, even at that time, they can do a real good impression of a real bread. Sorry, I just love bread...