Dec 30 2009
Not So Lovely and Romantic Paris
Is Paris really a city of romance? If you think so, you might have been deceived by numerous publicity regarding how lovey-dovey Paris is – which is not exactly true.
This is the La Seine river – the river usually used to film advertisements of French couple cycling together, French uncles sitting at some cafe smiling at you or maybe 2 French dudes French-kissing publicly.
But no, I don’t think such publicity reflects the reality of Paris. Really, now let me tell you why.
To get around Paris, one usually use the Metro trains or buses, since the places around the city is well-connected with these public transportation services.
Waiting for a train might be exciting, but the more you wait, the less exciting it gets. Moreover, the train ticket is so tiny.
So tiny that you might worry about misplacing it or it gets picked-pocket by some French kids.
And when you want to get off the train, you have the open the door yourself.
This is the handle that must be handled in order to open the door, not like the usually automatic door huh? However, there are more advanced trains which don’t require you to open manually.
Perhaps a trip to Paris might be lovely and romantic if you have this…
A white limousine that takes you wherever you want. This is what I call a great trip – a professional service with a personal driver! Unfortunately, only rich dudes get that.
Anyway, here are some of the places I went while I was on a 5 days 4 nights + 2 days 2 nights (thanks to Eurostar) in Paris.
Champs Elysées is well-known as an avenue for business, luxury goods and nightlife. While you think I was looking out for expensive stuffs such as Louis Vuitton or Gucci, I was only attracted to this Mercedes Benz car.
So sporty, and it looks like a Batmobile! I really wish to own it, but I know I can’t afford such luxury.
Instead, I got myself a postcard.
A €0.70 (RM3.70) pathetic postcard of Paris. That’s the only item I was willing to buy at Champs Elysées. What to do, limited budget mah.
And at the end of the road, you’ll see the Arc de Triomphe.
This arc was commissioned by Napoleon after his victory in a battle. There’s a museum in it by the way.
I also get to visit Paris’ very own Disneyland!
It’s like every kid’s dream to be at Disneyland. But when you’re already 20 plus on your first visit, things might not be as exciting as you thought. Seeing shirtless Mickey Mouse and pantless Donald Duck doesn’t make me excited. That’s so gay!
Anyway, the great experience about the day in Disneyland is that it was snowing!
Thick layer of snow covers every available surface, converting everywhere to ammo locations for snowball battles. It might be fun to have snow during Winter season, but sometimes it’s not good as well. You’ll know why later on.
Next up, the Lourve Museum. No, it doesn’t mean Love Museum.
The place is really huge but I think everyone’s main purpose of visiting this museum is to see Mona Lisa.
I don’t understand what the big fuss about this painting is. It seems so intriguing, but I don’t think so. If Mona Lisa is a nude hot babe painting then I understand why lah.
The Notre-Dame Cathedral is next.
Move aside hunchback, the straightback of Notre-Dame is here! Looking more handsome and charming!
Okay, lame I know. Anyway, I wanted to go up to the highest floor but unfortunately it was closed due to the weather. Now this is one example why Winter is baddddd.
Eiffel Tower is another must-visit location in Paris!
Standing at 324m high, this structure is a famous icon of France. No visit to Paris is complete without a journey to the top. However, hopes of going up came crashing down because of the weather (again). But fortunately on the 3rd visit, it was opened! Woohoo!
More on that in a dedicated Eiffel Tower entry. =)
I also managed to visit Rodin Museum. It’s the last home of Rodin, where his mansion and garden displays various sculptures, drawings and engravings.
The most popular sculpture is The Thinker – certainly a really deep thinking nude man.
Another must-visit place is Montparnasse Tower.
At the 56th (indoor) and 59th (open-air) floor, you get to see a full 360° panoramic view of the city of Paris. Going up costs €10.50 (RM55.10) for an adult and you can stay there till it closes.
Here’s one of the view facing the Eiffel Tower. The experience at the top is simply amazing, especially during the night when the roads and buildings light up.
Located just outside the city center, La Défense is the largest office complex in Europe.
Unlike the old-preserved buildings in central of Paris, La Défense consists of modern-looking structures. The most prominent structure in that area is the La Grande Arche.
It’s a huge hollow cube large enough to contain the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The Arch has a gallery and provides views over the city. It costs €10 (RM52.50) to go up, for just 20 minutes – certainly not worth it.
So these are some of the attractions I’ve been to during my trip to Paris. There are other not-so-significant places too but I’ll skip it at the moment.
Now, French food. To be honest, I didn’t really fancy the local cuisine. It’s either they taste weird, or French is simply not my taste.
When you dine in a typical French restaurant, you’ll usually be served with a basket of breads – complimentary I guess. But the bread is hard and rough, that it might hurt the delicate skin inside your mouth. Seriously.
This was one of the appetizers I had – Filet d Hareng Pommes a l Huile – which I have no idea what it means except for “filet” which kinda represents “fish”. So I thought it’s like the fish & chips that kind of fish.
But when it came, it’s like raw fish! Not my taste! =S
Appetizers aside, and now – the main course. Perhaps the most acceptable food around is the Spaghetti.
Everyone loves Spaghetti. Nowadays it’s a normal Malaysian-served food, you can have it almost everywhere. Other than this, the other main courses are just… =S
Although it’s hard to choose an appetizer and a main course that suits my taste, the French desserts are exceptional. Just like this Tiramisu cake which looks like a battle tank.
This Tiramisu cake is just taste-bud-blasting! You can feel the different blend of taste as you feed a scoop into your mouth. You’ll surely savor every bit of it. Simply délicieux!
But no matter how luxurious French delicacies can get, Crepes is my favourite casual French food.
At about €4 (RM21), this Nutella spread with banana slices wrapped with roti canai is rather available everywhere, along streets and in cafes. Thanks to a friend who recommended it.
Yeah, damn expensive. But like what I said, don’t convert – or just eat once. I think it’s quite easy to make one at home. =)
Well, with so much places to go (which requires entrance fees), so much French food to eat (which is costly) and…
…so much adult stuffs to see (which you can’t get without money), you’ll need lots of money to have a lovely and romantic time in Paris.
This amount is certainly not enough okay!
Anyway, when I was walking along the streets in Paris, I spotted something familiar. I saw this…
…and I walked towards it with curiosity. To my amazement…
kenwooi.com engraved on ice on the car’s rear glass!
A fan from Paris? Bonjour! =P
cool post u have! enjoy! :D
Filet d Hareng Pommes a l Huile IS a fancy name for fish and chips haha. i speak french, it’s the native language over here. you shouldve taken me along with you, i can easily fit in a suitcase haha ;P
and omg that ‘batmobile’ is really something!
Sounds like u are complaining haha:D
Waw very long and interesting post. Hey I thought your eiffel tower photo can become postcard ;)
Oh ogie noted, do not go Paris during winter. XD
hahahahahahahah u not scared kena belasah ar writing ur name on the back of other ppl’s car? my 2010 resolution GO TO EUROPE!!! hahahah happy new year now
the eiffel tower is magnificent! very informative! that’s first-hand experience in Paris! Great!
Paris looks so lonely from your photos. :D But the benz is simply awesome. Indeed like the batmobile.
Wah bro..now ur turn in Europe a??How many days are you going to be there??hehe
the fish dish look yucky. maybe because u stated that its raw. haha
BS. You drew that kenwooi.com didn’t you. Glad to see youre having a good time Paris :P
Waaa..O.o~ Nice “review” on Paris!
I love the batmobile~
oit! free publicity!haha
Oh,I Miss Paris…Been there once….I think Barcelona is better than Paris
http://eyriqazz.blogspot.com/
wow!! bring back the memories!!! cool!!!!
ur blog is really cool. now i’m noticed. hehe
hahaha…later the owner of the car open your blog and hack it. hihi
bonjour….a place of romantic Paris..duno wait till when juz can go lor..
here me at Nikel Khor
To experience the romance you need a girl. When I was there with my wife, we did feel the romance…
wah u got fan in Paris.. it’s a really nice thing a hehe.. btw, have a nice holiday!
how to feel romantic when your loved one is not around le? hahahaha bring a hot lad there then you will feel it!
hey! Paris got roti canai meh?
OMG! The car is so…. sexy!
In Paris, generally France, everything is about art.
They love and enjoy viewing a painting for hours.
Just like the Japanese who spend their weekend in the Zen Garden watching monks raking the stones.
The foods look c’est bon!
Anticipating ur Eiffel Tower post. =)
like i said, wait till u go 2 venice.. its even overated !
ah… food, wine and art in paris… bestnya!
those crepes and tiramisu are really tempting, can’t stop thinking how delicious they are.
The last part : nice way of A&P of your website :P
I wonder whose car you just pulverized with your blog address!
wow. very good go to enjoy holiday at overseas. cool cool.
Do you notice the Paris drivers are rude too?
seriously? kenwooi.com?
So Paris is not romantic.. well, romantic or not, i would love to visit there one day…aaon is back.. 3 months is not enough for him, he said.. so who about u, Ken…. when r u coming back or are u staying there for good? :)
You alone, of course no romantic lor! For honeymooners, different story! Wah,,,you must be very rich- – can afford to travel all over Europe. Must be very expensive… Lucky you!!!
I miss the Seine River. I stayed in a hotel right in front of the river goddamn expensive about 300Euro per night! I was there for 10 night. It was like a big hole in the wallet T_T
But the night scene – darn worth it…
hey i love paris there! happy new year in advance to you (:
sounds like your enjoying yourself and keep comparing lol. Keep us updated :P
very nice post and easy to read. the car is awesome.
Great! Very entertaining tour of Paris, merci beaucoup.
Your post let me feel like I’m there minus off the cold snow of course.. and so funny lo.. u go and write ur webbie on the car and say its a fan there.. HAHA.. we all know u did it :X
shhh…don’t tell people that it’s me who ‘engraved’ kenwooi.com on the car…winter not so bad lar, at least can let people there to know what’s kenwooi.com without forking out any $$$ :)
Actually, ken… I never did think Paris as a romantic place. Perhaps South of France is better? Provence looks more beautiful to me. But first choice of romance is not Paris for me. I’m more into Venice and Greece. I think these two places are for the passionate and lovey dovey.
You’re really a true blue Malaysian, aren’t you? I think, the food at home here in Malaysia tasted alot of better. To be honest, I think Malaysianized spaghetti tasted better than the originals in Italy and France. More flavourful. LOL…
What can I say? Home sweet home, I guess. no matter where we go, we’ll feel that sometimes, some certain things back in Malaysia is better.
And one the thinking man… it looks like he’s pooping to me. :( (I’m not so good in art, am I?)
haha. so many reasons to not like snow and winter eh? guess what, the tv host also mentioned that Paris is not all that lovey dovey like what u experienced. ;p
and since when u r ur own fan? writing kenwooi.com on ppl’s car. lol
wow! nice post! plus, great to have fans everywhere! :) paris is indeed a nice place to visit.
I want that Mercedes Benz! haha! :)
I dint know Benz made batmobile. lol
nice place. wanted to go there…. LOl at kenwooi.com
actually French eats a lot of bread. it’s their daily meal. their bread= our rice. they must have it every single meal. from breakfast till dinner. well, that’s what my french lecturer told me. to you, their bread is hard, to them, our bread sucks. LOL
faster post the eiffel tower entry. i wanna see more pic. :D
i was in paris last march, totally disappointed…waaayyyyyy overrated and dirty and pretty ghetto too…and i didnt even by a sigle postcard because i think the photos i took look waaa better…
go visit switzerland, amazingly pretty…check out the mountains and montreuz is my favourite !!!!!
I love the limo n the merc too
not interested in others =P
Oh my god..I would LOVE to go to Paris maybe next year or year after. It’s so so pretty!!
Yeah I’m on holidays in Reading now, going back North East on 5th. :)
It’s certainly a charming city, only too tourist packed. Looking forward to returning.
OMG!!!! its really nice dear ….I love architecture of the building there…really really nice
http://triplesmiley.blogspot.com
i’ve always wanted to try french food.. i don’t know why people generally say that it’s not their cup of tea.. it must be nice to get to travel.. :)
u hav a nnice blog! all bout travelling!
u studying in europe now? which uni? i studying in nottingham now.
Nope, I’m on a mini holiday! =)
Hey, ken wooi are you traveling alone in Europe?
I have friends with me. But yeah, looks like I’m all alone since I never mentioned about the people I went with eh. =P
wow… it is my dream to go here…
but… it still a long journey huh.
Lol. The bat mobile rawks! I like your style of writing. Quirky! :D
Not romantic meh?? I like it wor…nway, you always not forgot to promote ur blog wherever you are…hehehe~
Happy new year! :D
wao~ is a happy trip for u~
haha… i will get there SOON~
Wah! Best ar going on vacation
Happy New Year Dude
hey wei ken….happy new year to you..wishes u all d best in 2010~~~ur blog sound really cool…..great support from me!!!
The limo and mercedes benz so yeng >.<
Btw, i wonder what's the reaction of the car driver when he/she saw the kenwooi.com on his windscreen. hahaha! sure suprised!
Love the Benz.. Isn’t it so cool to just go there and then hook up with some Euro billionaire who’s hunky and have him buy that Benz for you on the first date? (My fantasy. My bf is going to kill me if he reads this. LOL!) Hope to go to Paris one of these days..
P/S: Filet d Hareng Pommes a l Huile = Apple and Herring Filet with oil
(Well, that’s what it means anyways)
Kenwooi.com going European? Heh… doubt so :P Nice effect anyway! ^.^
Why didn’t you capture some of the stuffs inside that Sex Shop? So not like you :P
And where’s Mona Lisa and Notre Dame?
Enjoy your vacation dude.. great experiences! And blog on :)
wow!!! i also want to go paris!!!! i am curious of what is sold in the sex shop :p
happy 2010 to u!
Bon jour Ken. Parle vou Englais? of course you do. lol. Glad to see photos of Paris again. Its been 4 years since I last placed my foot steps on Paris. Really miss that place. You’re right its not as romantic as people think. Le Defence was my favourite.
happy new year to you!
hahaha the owner will surf net and come to find u hehehe
You’re back! =)
Disneyland Paris was fun for me haha. was there when I was 4 or so LOL
totally expensive, i’ve never been to Paris again >< maybe when I saved money haha
Take care and Keep blogging!
A lovely post with wonderful photos. The train looks adorable, I will be visiting Malaysia in March and after seeing it I’ll make sure I ride in one.
Happy New Year and best wishes for 2010.
Cheers.
Melbourne Daily Photo
Great to see you spending the holidays in Paris . .. . . Happy New Year dude! :)
wish i will be there one day :)
Happy New Year yaaaa
+PimP My DaY+
HAPPY nEW yEAR!
HUAT AH!
hey first of all thanks for the visit!
you are enjoying your trip too! =) stay cool & Happy new year
Wahhh, what a great experience!
Not So Lovely and Romantic Paris huh? It’s simply because you need to go with your love ones there lor.. ;p
Anyway, thank you for stopping by.
Have a great New Year!
(btw everyone need a New Year’s Resolutions ;p )
Ken,
You certainly showed us a lot of Paris, whether it is a place of love or not, it doesn’t matter. may be next time, you will find that some one waiting at the next table.
Did you go to France from UK or from Ipoh?
Thanks for visiting my site.
Happy New Year,
Ann
p/s I am too old to visit Paris for love, may be my daughters will. If I went , the husband will be looking from architecture point of view. and I, for blogging photos. LOL
I went to Paris from London. =)
happy new year…nice place to go, nice food to eat….nice pic to see…lovely….
Awesome tour around europe there wei!
hi there~~~
I see you have a wonderful holiday… I hope I can go holiday overseas too… Haha!
Please visit me @ http://wklow.blogspot.com :-)
i can see 3 reasons why u say so:
1) your de facto impression and expectation on France
2) the French meeting an English speaking tourist
3) you didn’t go with the right person
:p
wow what a tour.. happy new year 2010 mate.. :-)
Paris! One of the destination in my top travelling list! envy envy envy!
yeah… the ticket is soo TINY…..
How I wish I could travel the world, carefree.. :D
wow..i would love to visit all those places that you went..you are one lucky guy..despite all those criticism from you, i’m still looking forward to go..haha..happy new year to you too!
brother, happy new year! have a blast in europe ya!! dun forget the little ppl back here!!!
Thanks for visiting my blog. You have many nice photos of your travel to Paris and I like them. Must have taken you lots of time to edit and upload so many of them.
By the way, you might like to add Google Adsense to your blog for higher income. It has done well for me.
Happy New Year 2010.
Diana @ http://www.DianaTan.net
that ticket is so so so tiny..i need magnifying glass!!happy new year
Nice post! I’m drooling over the foods wtf.
OMG sounds so fun!!
Disneyland!!!!
EEEEEEEEEE!! >.<
wow. that looked like a fukin awesome trip! =)
happy new yr!
Hahaha. By the way, the dessert really looks yummilicious! *Slurps* How much I wish I can try it.
Oh ya, happy new year. :)
Nice pictures and good information. Do they allow photograping the Mona Lisa now? They never did. Happy new year, Ken.
Aaah PARIS!! Such a nice place. Oh yes, Happy New Year to you too! :D
Yehaaa..what a marvelous post! Ahakz…
Next time please, please bring our instant ‘roti canai’ to promote…ahahhaha..at least..
Whatever it is, great vacation…
http://faizalazelan.blogspot.com/
Hey Ken,
What a famous blog you have here. You must be spending a lot of effort to have today’s result. Keep it up! :)
why dont u bring me along? aucch im so envy with you now.. hihi LOL about the train’s manual door..and the ticket is too smal, not effective at all.
Wow…nice trip! even though it feels expensive to me…I might be going there this year…keeping my fingers crossed! Will consult u next time…haha!
i agree that Paris is not so romantic as we saw in the film/tv… but during my visit on early november there’s no snow yet…lucky you…
yo man.. go try a platter of seafood at any restaurant.. definitely an experience you wouldn’t want to miss. They have these large trays of fresh seafood.. YUM!
OMG! You’re in a romantic city *ENVY*
Make a trip to Italy & Rome if you can.
Happy New Year
about the words…I doubt, seriously. LOL!
Still it’s nice if can go to paris too..
Happy New Year to u la kenwooi…
And wish u a better year in 2010..
LOL… dat kenwooi.com on da car is super cool dude! :D love this Paris post… really well said :)
nice post! europe trip is something really fun if we have lots of $$ HAHA
hey.. when i read ur post.. it remind me when i was in france.
went there for study trip for 2 weeks.. =D seriously from ringgit malaysia to EURO really @_@…. but nice environment. now think of it also missing it wei.. T_T nice weather.. but i still miss malaysia foods when i was there.. =P
Happy New Year =)
So you celebrated you new year in Paris?
Nope, I was already back in UK. =)
wow!! you are in Paris!!!!!!! so nice!!
hiya back…
Paris reminds me of Robert Langdon and Amelie (most romantic movie I have seen…yes it’s French!!)
Hi there,
Happy New year to you too and thank for visiting my blog :)
Cheers,
nice shots on paris =)
and omg u really actually vandalized a car with writing your website LOL
Never been to Paris before. Will check it out myself. See it is lovely or not. ;)
bonjour,
comment allez vous?
can i have some of the food…
looks pretty delicious…
love the scenery…
happy new year..
see ya
wow.. amazing shots… really love the pictures!!!
i’d bet that you written that Kenwooi.com by yourself. :P
ahaha!
and lol well i guess if you go to a place where you don’t know the language, it’s pretty hard to order the good food since you don’t know what they are!
the tiramisu looks damn nice tho even it looks like a battle tank xD
a tour around europe, i envy you!! :D
Paris IS indeed a very expensive city…
Anyways, Happy New Year to you.
raw fish…..omg..how come u order a raw fish…
how u eat it?..arghh……fishy….EEEEEEEEEE
Seems like u had a great trip there!!
Happy New Year!! :)
Looking fun there. I wish to see the Mona Lisa, desperately!
“# nicdanic on 02 Jan 2010 at 6:52 PM
raw fish…..omg..how come u order a raw fish…
how u eat it?..arghh……fishy….EEEEEEEEEE”
hi nicdanic: i thought chinese eats raw fish during chinese new year??? yu shang?
i see the picture still think paris is romantic la! xD
Love the White Limo!!! It’s my dream wedding car! Wuhahahah!
walao Ken, you made it longer than my Haiyai trip. I thought mine was long. lol…Happy 2010 Man
http://howjun.blogspot.com/
aiyaaa…
so damn jelez eh
u working abroad or study abroad? so nice.. always travel around!
awesome.. orang kaya, lol
Happy New Year !
if u are travelling with ur gf, sure it will be muchy more romantic ma…
Ken Wooi, all i can say is that – stop complaining and start enjoying.
Happy 2010!!!!! Woah!!! So envy lei… Romantic or not, i’d still very much wish to visit Europe some day!!! Nice photos!! Cheers!!! =)
i went to the art museum before to see mona lisa when was young….at young age i din really enjoy to see those arts…like u say…it is not nude ler…hehehe
Wah, nice trip leh. Happy New Years to u too! Ei! Help vote for me yea? Closing date is on 5th Feb. More details on my blog post – Happy Pandemonium!
so nice get to travel =)
Have lots and lots of fun there~!!
ALONE is Paris is so unromantic.. Winter is always look dull, only brown n grey. Really bad timing and.. alone….humnnnn
Next time sponsor me go with you la… *shaking my head*
Paris unromantic..@.@
but it’s been one of my dreamland~~
gonna travel there one day!!;p
update more~~
Romantic or not, I think it’s damn expensive!!! Well, if you got the money, why not? And who are you kidding? Scribbling on somebody’s car like that!! Hahaha!
Huhu.. (-.-)
Feel like going Paris NOW!!
Hmm.. gotta start to plan from now on..hehe
:)
witty post ….. surely Paris can’t be THAT bad …. just splurge some and you may taste the world’s best cuisine.
Though Tokyo of Japan got the most 3Michelin stars restaurants now.
oH man~ Paris was damn nice. I do believe if you can speak French, getting hook with local chics was easy. Just a cigarette, just a few words or perhaps with a few walk. There you can get your Bang.
Sexercise was their daily needs and it just like a snack to them
^__^
damn my last visit … i can’t even speak French…
woo Paris..
bonjour monsieur.
wooooooo!!! ken u did it again! love the post :) been there aggess ago and i suppose it looks the same? hahah! those buildings won’t chg. and i lurrveee disneyland! btw, well done on the manny manyy comments!
BeN’Z ver6.09
lifeofbenz.blogspot.com
wtf wtf u went to disneyland T______________T i wanna go there sooooo badly!!! hate u!! HEMPH!!
nice !
paris (*.*)
wow u got fan from paris. its surely ur hard die fan. hahaha. anyway, nice travel. i wanna go there someday..
google translator:
Filet d Hareng Pommes a l Huile
JADI
Filet of Herring Apples has the oil
SO
what does that mean?
Melaka also have that Ferris Wheel..
Also want to lelong ma..
I would like to visit Paris too :D GEEE
Nice photos and very informative.
omg, u are so famous!
woah!that was awesome :) credit to u my friend :)
Wow! Really funny that white limousine looks so unusual to me!
You are so famous, kenwooi’s fan engraved your site’s address here….
Too bad you didn’t like Paris. :))
hope to be there one day. no.. 1 month. lol =)
ouh wow. is that really your fan? i mean from paris.wow.a big wow.