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 Disneyland in Paris!

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