Thursday 21/12/2006
We were on ourselves today. All of them were busy, so we had to travel on our own. Decided to go to a few places, but woke up too late at 10am because of lack of sleep. We were darn tired, damn it! Due to the lack of time, we only went to Musee du Louvre (The Louvre Museum). The place was huge, just like any palace in Europe. And that made me think: "How the hell are we gonna finish looking at ALL the paintings here?". Well, anyway, we proceeded, and they were amazing. Well, all looked like unique and beautiful paintings, but I was too dumb to appreciate the "art" of painting; clueless on both the history of the painter and the painting. However, it was all worth it. I got to see the famous ones, especially the Mona Lisa. I was really impressed (although I have no clue why I see people there use their hands to cover and looked at both her halves of her face: fill me on this!).
Arena wanted to go walk around after that (which was around 6pm then, when it closed). So we head down to Champ Elysees again. This time, we got to shop a bit more. Remember I said it was the home of the first Louis Vuitton? We were IN there, and surprisingly, we bumped into some other Chinese Warwick friends. Chat a bit here and there, and we said our goodbyes before we explored the whole building. LV was quite big, with quite a handful of staffs from foreign countries who were able to communicate in their native tongues to tourists like us, and guess what, all of them knew how to speak French (it's SO obvious). You know, till now, I still don't understand WHY people buy LV bags, which all have the same monotonously designed brown leather, with a few new "variations" to the classic one coming out these few years back, although Arena informed me that it's a "must-have" to show that you were "one-of-them" holding that social standing, like being on the top of the food-chain. A-nyway.... I didn't buy anything though. Much of them were too expensive, or useless to me. I got a pastry from Paul, for the first time, though. Really nice, MUCH nicer than Delifrance's stuff. That's why French pastries can't beat anything else on the world (Note: these words came from a person who LOVES bakery-related foodstuff).
It was already getting late then, so we left for home. Dinner was vegetable curry noodles (which wasn't the spicy type) but it was good (Why vege again? My dear Arena told them her favourite food was vege, and still is, in fact). Something new that I haven't tried before: banana "tong sui". They were saying that we also have them in Malaysia (do they?). To cut my ramblings short, it was REALLY sweet, but nice. :P
Friday 22/12/2006
Today's plan was already - ahem - planned by Arena's other relative currently residing on the outskirts of Paris (and I have no idea at the moment how they are related). We woke up quite late, around 10am (it isn't late, since it was when we woke up the previous day anyway), since they needed time to get from their place to ours (yes, we're going for a road trip! haha..). By the time they arrived, we already washed up and had our breakfast.
First stop: Chateau de Versailles, home to the royalties, such as King Louis XIV. Palaces back then were huge right? This too. And I haven't included the gardens. That could easily add up to a few hundred acres! Too bad the Versailles had been destroyed, I don't know, a few times... and it had been reconstructed, so it isn't the original version, but what the heck.
Finally, an audio tour! Well, it is included in the ticket price, so we had to pay for it. I got to finally see the interior of a palace in Europe (and that was just one of it! I want more!). Beautiful arts, grand halls, big rooms... (damn I'm bad at describing stuff => bad in english). Anyway, too bad it's winter, we couldn't walk in the gardens, because there wouldn't be anything to see and we would freeze our toushies off.
We left to their house. We kinda dozed off in their car, because the journey was too long, furthurmore a highway traffic congestion: makes things even better. Took almost an hour to get there, but it was worth it. The houses there were much bigger and nicer; more spacious and reminds me of home. I got to meet the whole family: dad, mom, 2 elder sons and a daughter. The 2nd son had a girlfriend, and when she got in the house, she started greeting the dad in the western style; by that, I mean touching cheeks and doing the kissing sound, you know what I mean. She then did that to Arena (which I can figure she's used to that), and then surprisingly to me. It was my first! I'm not making such a big fuss about it, but it felt weird, cuz the most that I've done is just to shake hands when I first meet someone, and maybe the occasional hug here and there. Cheek kissing? Takes time to get used to.
Well, we were actually there to have our Christmas dinner, since it's close to that occasion, and the whole family would be going to the States for a holiday on the 24th, so they decided to make it on this very day. This was the menu: smoked salmon, escargot, cold cooked king prawns, raw oysters, goose liver pate and peaches to go with baguettes for starters; oven-cooked lamb thigh with mushroom cream sauce for the main course; mandarins, lychees and Christmas cake for dessert. For drinks, I had a cup of white wine to go with the starters, and a cup of Chinese tea to gush the whole meal down after the dessert. Really really really stuffed, just like a turkey for Christmas.
It was hard to communicate with their children (btw, they are all grown ups, all in their 20's, and fyi, the eldest son is 28), since they could only speak Teochew and French, and nothing else. However, the dinner was nice, and it felt special, cuz I could feel that Christmas spirit around.
We left at around 11pm, got back home at about 12am, talked with the family for a bit, then slept.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Parisian holiday (Part 1) ~ My journal
Tuesday 19/12/2006
I woke up at around 7am to get tidied up on time for the bus at 10. Aren't I crazy? By the time I got to the bus stop (which is at Cannon Park, a small shopping mall near our Uni with our favourite Tesco supermarket), I had to wait for the bus to arrive for almost 1 hour. Stupid me. Thank God I've got my iPod to company me. The bus finally came, and we left Coventry. The driver was really funny and sarcastic while making journey beginning and end announcements, so the journey wasn't that bad.
Got to London at 12.30pm. Early? Yes. Realised I had to carry a big, heavy backpack, so I can't walk around too much. What a waste of time! I spent my time waiting for my friend, Arena, in KFC reading "Paris" (a travel guide I borrowed from another friend) and having lunch.
Arena arrived at 3+, but she asked me to go Oxford Circus to wait for her, since I could kill my time walking around the shops there. So I left. Due to the much too heavy backpack, and the cold weather, I couldn't walk much. I decided to wait in Niketown like an idiot till she arrived around 5pm. I followed her around, but we ended up in Cafe Nero, and stayed there until 9pm. Left for Waterloo station, but had McDonalds dinner before that (a day of fast food, don't you think?)
Waterloo station was REALLY cold. We found a waiting room, but there was a flight of stairs leading down to the ladies, which smelt bad. Stupid security people asked us to leave at 1.30am when we were already feeling comfortable. We head down to the Eurostar station to wait, since we were only then informed that the station was still opened for us to wait. Sometime in the middle of the night, both of us had to pee, and stupid ruling of having opening times for PUBLIC toilets made us really mad. Thank God I am a guy, so I could relieve myself somewhere outside. We were already getting really tired and sleepy, and it suddenly became so cold in the morning. Before we went through the ticket gates, I bought a hot chocolate to warm myself up.
I didn't expect Eurostar to be SO crowded at such a time, 5am! After going through the ticket gates was the immigration. Much of this was easy, but I was in a queue where an African lady was stuck, so that took time for me to switch lanes, as the other lane was also busy at the time. The train was nice and comfortable. Thing is, the lights were on all the time, and the lights weren't the soft ones: they were really huge and bright from the sides. Crazy people, don't know how to design a good train. Haha..
Wednesday 20/12/2006
Arrival to Paris! We were greeted by Arena's uncle, and brought back to their home. He made us some noodles for breakfast, which was good, since he works as a chef. (You can already expect the niceness of the upcoming food he would be preparing for us). We waited for his children to come back from college and school (a son and a daughter) while we tidied up and rested from the long journey.
His son brought us out for a walk around Paris, an introduction. We visited La Fayette and La Printemps (both popular shopping complexes, famous for the brands they contain, and the internal modern architecture). We decided to go Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) after that. We took the Metro, and walked. Dear him, he didn't like going to these places, so he was really sure about how we could get there, though he knows roughly which stations we should go. Anyway, the Eiffel was quite difficult to find, but when we got there, it was amazing to be seeing the famous Eiffel Tower stand right before me, standing at 324m (calculated with the flag pole). The whole structure was huge! The whole time hearing about it, it was finally THE time to see it in person. However, a tower is JUST a tower. So nothing much could be done there, except for going up the tower, which costs 4.50 - 11 Euros, depending on which floor you want to go, which wasn't worth it. So we headed off for the famous Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph), which also stands facing Champs Elysees, a road where big brands, especially Louis Vuitton, stands. He wanted to get something in a shop called "Celio", which apparently sells only men's apparels. It was cold on that day as well, so I told myself that I had to get another pair of gloves, since I lost it long ago last year. He had a student card, so I grabbed the oppurtunity to get a small discount as well.
As it was getting late, we head back home, and found ourselves dinner already prepared (the father had to work during the afternoon and the night, so he cooked when he went back for a rest). It was a vegetables hot-pot (otherwise known as steamboat). Difference is, he already cooked it, so it was sort of like a vege soup already. But other than that, it was really nice. It felt like I was already in Malaysia, getting good food all the time. The mother (who was MUCH friendlier than the others) bought us some kuihs for our desert (HEAVEN!!). We all chat a bit (among the mom, Arena and me), and we had to sleep earlier, since we didn't have much sleep the night before.
To be continued...
I woke up at around 7am to get tidied up on time for the bus at 10. Aren't I crazy? By the time I got to the bus stop (which is at Cannon Park, a small shopping mall near our Uni with our favourite Tesco supermarket), I had to wait for the bus to arrive for almost 1 hour. Stupid me. Thank God I've got my iPod to company me. The bus finally came, and we left Coventry. The driver was really funny and sarcastic while making journey beginning and end announcements, so the journey wasn't that bad.
Got to London at 12.30pm. Early? Yes. Realised I had to carry a big, heavy backpack, so I can't walk around too much. What a waste of time! I spent my time waiting for my friend, Arena, in KFC reading "Paris" (a travel guide I borrowed from another friend) and having lunch.
Arena arrived at 3+, but she asked me to go Oxford Circus to wait for her, since I could kill my time walking around the shops there. So I left. Due to the much too heavy backpack, and the cold weather, I couldn't walk much. I decided to wait in Niketown like an idiot till she arrived around 5pm. I followed her around, but we ended up in Cafe Nero, and stayed there until 9pm. Left for Waterloo station, but had McDonalds dinner before that (a day of fast food, don't you think?)
Waterloo station was REALLY cold. We found a waiting room, but there was a flight of stairs leading down to the ladies, which smelt bad. Stupid security people asked us to leave at 1.30am when we were already feeling comfortable. We head down to the Eurostar station to wait, since we were only then informed that the station was still opened for us to wait. Sometime in the middle of the night, both of us had to pee, and stupid ruling of having opening times for PUBLIC toilets made us really mad. Thank God I am a guy, so I could relieve myself somewhere outside. We were already getting really tired and sleepy, and it suddenly became so cold in the morning. Before we went through the ticket gates, I bought a hot chocolate to warm myself up.
I didn't expect Eurostar to be SO crowded at such a time, 5am! After going through the ticket gates was the immigration. Much of this was easy, but I was in a queue where an African lady was stuck, so that took time for me to switch lanes, as the other lane was also busy at the time. The train was nice and comfortable. Thing is, the lights were on all the time, and the lights weren't the soft ones: they were really huge and bright from the sides. Crazy people, don't know how to design a good train. Haha..
Wednesday 20/12/2006
Arrival to Paris! We were greeted by Arena's uncle, and brought back to their home. He made us some noodles for breakfast, which was good, since he works as a chef. (You can already expect the niceness of the upcoming food he would be preparing for us). We waited for his children to come back from college and school (a son and a daughter) while we tidied up and rested from the long journey.
His son brought us out for a walk around Paris, an introduction. We visited La Fayette and La Printemps (both popular shopping complexes, famous for the brands they contain, and the internal modern architecture). We decided to go Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) after that. We took the Metro, and walked. Dear him, he didn't like going to these places, so he was really sure about how we could get there, though he knows roughly which stations we should go. Anyway, the Eiffel was quite difficult to find, but when we got there, it was amazing to be seeing the famous Eiffel Tower stand right before me, standing at 324m (calculated with the flag pole). The whole structure was huge! The whole time hearing about it, it was finally THE time to see it in person. However, a tower is JUST a tower. So nothing much could be done there, except for going up the tower, which costs 4.50 - 11 Euros, depending on which floor you want to go, which wasn't worth it. So we headed off for the famous Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph), which also stands facing Champs Elysees, a road where big brands, especially Louis Vuitton, stands. He wanted to get something in a shop called "Celio", which apparently sells only men's apparels. It was cold on that day as well, so I told myself that I had to get another pair of gloves, since I lost it long ago last year. He had a student card, so I grabbed the oppurtunity to get a small discount as well.
As it was getting late, we head back home, and found ourselves dinner already prepared (the father had to work during the afternoon and the night, so he cooked when he went back for a rest). It was a vegetables hot-pot (otherwise known as steamboat). Difference is, he already cooked it, so it was sort of like a vege soup already. But other than that, it was really nice. It felt like I was already in Malaysia, getting good food all the time. The mother (who was MUCH friendlier than the others) bought us some kuihs for our desert (HEAVEN!!). We all chat a bit (among the mom, Arena and me), and we had to sleep earlier, since we didn't have much sleep the night before.
To be continued...
Monday, December 11, 2006
Rather sad (and depressing) holidays
I finally finished watching the series I mentioned a few posts ago. Although the ending wasn't at all what I expected it to be, but it was interesting enough. Just because of that, I am crying out for more!
Holidays has indeed started for me, and I'm already starting to feel dead bored. And the final week of the term filled with tests and assignments? I've already did bad for 2 of them (well, make that 3 if you would count a quiz that I decided not to attend). I'm not feeling that bad because of this, but something that I can't figure out what it is, or because it always happens to me after watching a tv series which makes you think and think even harder, and all the what-if's.
Maybe it's the homesick feeling (which I haven't had this feeling since the beginning of the term till now), or the feeling of loneliness (yes, since it's not nice to not have your family right by your side, AND the fact that I have been single since I was born), or just PMS (which I think, if this the answer, started a few days back, wait, make that yesterday).
My housemate went back home today, which makes 3 of us left in the house. I've got another module to study for the exam on the first week of next term. It worries me, since I've not been attending any of the lectures last term, and now I have to read notes from the beginning to the end, trying to understand what the hell is going on (or what HAD been going on, rather). When my friend/housemate reminded me that it's actually one more week to the day I leave for Paris, that worried me even more. Wait, is it because of all the worries I'm having now? Maybe that can explain my PMS. ;-)
Last night, I managed to (finally) unpack my luggage and transfer everything into my wardrobe. Now my room looks so much tidier, left alone my desk, which still is a mess (and I don't even bother cleaning it up, since I've been using the laptop on my metal chair with a thin CUSHION while sitting (or lying) on my bed. So it's for certain it's much more comfortable on the bed than my lovely chair. :)
Almost forgot. Last night (as well), we had a house dinner (a dinner for all tenants of this house), and my british housemate bought us a lovely box of chocolates from Thorntons (that's luxury indirectly spelt out). They had it wrapped really nicely in red paper and a dark red ribbon with a christmas tree hanging from it. Me and Shan decided to take a picture of it before we ripped it apart (haha.. thank God we didn't in the end).
Holidays has indeed started for me, and I'm already starting to feel dead bored. And the final week of the term filled with tests and assignments? I've already did bad for 2 of them (well, make that 3 if you would count a quiz that I decided not to attend). I'm not feeling that bad because of this, but something that I can't figure out what it is, or because it always happens to me after watching a tv series which makes you think and think even harder, and all the what-if's.
Maybe it's the homesick feeling (which I haven't had this feeling since the beginning of the term till now), or the feeling of loneliness (yes, since it's not nice to not have your family right by your side, AND the fact that I have been single since I was born), or just PMS (which I think, if this the answer, started a few days back, wait, make that yesterday).
My housemate went back home today, which makes 3 of us left in the house. I've got another module to study for the exam on the first week of next term. It worries me, since I've not been attending any of the lectures last term, and now I have to read notes from the beginning to the end, trying to understand what the hell is going on (or what HAD been going on, rather). When my friend/housemate reminded me that it's actually one more week to the day I leave for Paris, that worried me even more. Wait, is it because of all the worries I'm having now? Maybe that can explain my PMS. ;-)
Last night, I managed to (finally) unpack my luggage and transfer everything into my wardrobe. Now my room looks so much tidier, left alone my desk, which still is a mess (and I don't even bother cleaning it up, since I've been using the laptop on my metal chair with a thin CUSHION while sitting (or lying) on my bed. So it's for certain it's much more comfortable on the bed than my lovely chair. :)
Almost forgot. Last night (as well), we had a house dinner (a dinner for all tenants of this house), and my british housemate bought us a lovely box of chocolates from Thorntons (that's luxury indirectly spelt out). They had it wrapped really nicely in red paper and a dark red ribbon with a christmas tree hanging from it. Me and Shan decided to take a picture of it before we ripped it apart (haha.. thank God we didn't in the end).
Friday, December 01, 2006
Bananas everywhere!!
I can't help thinking about the time when I was chatting with my pet sis over MSN Messenger, and it started when I was talking to her about the thought of getting an iPod. It was in the afternoon (here), and it was after my lunch, so I decided to get a banana to chew on. After that, we started talking like this:
Pinky&theBrain: woi wankin there is it
αLεχ:. :was downstairs la
αLεχ:. :now eating banana...
αLεχ:. :hahaha
αLεχ:. :so kinda similar to wanking...
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: eeeyerrr....... i tot u wankin......... eating somemoree.........
Pinky&theBrain: ehhh
Pinky&theBrain: the banana there damn big rite
Pinky&theBrain: i mean the uk bananas
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :u have no idea how much im laughing now
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
Pinky&theBrain: yah lah.like askin whether ur banana big or not..... hahahahaha...
αLεχ:. :NO LA
αLεχ:. :the UK bananas........
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHAHA
αLεχ:. :AS IF I KNOW
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: im laughin also lah..........
Pinky&theBrain: HAHAHAHHAA
Pinky&theBrain: stupid lah you.. hahahahhahaa
αLεχ:. :U LA!!
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :HAHA... they have big and small bananas as well la....
αLεχ:. :but the big ones are really big...
αLεχ:. :hahaha
Pinky&theBrain: bigger than malaysia right
αLεχ:. :ya....
Pinky&theBrain: aiyor...sound funny lah....
αLεχ:. :thats for certain...
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: that means bigger than yours ah... ??? HAHAHAHHAHA
αLεχ:. :WTF!
αLεχ:. :hahahaha....
So after a while of talking back about iPods (and other things), we continued:
Pinky&theBrain: eh u buy frm japan damn CHEAP man
Pinky&theBrain: u know they sell nano there for RM900 only.....
αLεχ:. :really?
αLεχ:. :how to buy?
Pinky&theBrain: my *friend* is there whatt
Pinky&theBrain: hahahhahaa
Pinky&theBrain: u 4got ledi meh...i got japan banana there mah....hahaha
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :so how big are the bananas there???
αLεχ:. :hahahahahaha
Pinky&theBrain: not bad lehh...quite big wor.... can fight with malaysians... hehe
*Edited to fit the blog and to prevent any confidential information(s) to be released to the public =)
Pinky&theBrain: woi wankin there is it
αLεχ:. :was downstairs la
αLεχ:. :now eating banana...
αLεχ:. :hahaha
αLεχ:. :so kinda similar to wanking...
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: eeeyerrr....... i tot u wankin......... eating somemoree.........
Pinky&theBrain: ehhh
Pinky&theBrain: the banana there damn big rite
Pinky&theBrain: i mean the uk bananas
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :u have no idea how much im laughing now
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
Pinky&theBrain: yah lah.like askin whether ur banana big or not..... hahahahaha...
αLεχ:. :NO LA
αLεχ:. :the UK bananas........
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHAHA
αLεχ:. :AS IF I KNOW
αLεχ:. :HAHAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: im laughin also lah..........
Pinky&theBrain: HAHAHAHHAA
Pinky&theBrain: stupid lah you.. hahahahhahaa
αLεχ:. :U LA!!
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :HAHA... they have big and small bananas as well la....
αLεχ:. :but the big ones are really big...
αLεχ:. :hahaha
Pinky&theBrain: bigger than malaysia right
αLεχ:. :ya....
Pinky&theBrain: aiyor...sound funny lah....
αLεχ:. :thats for certain...
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
Pinky&theBrain: that means bigger than yours ah... ??? HAHAHAHHAHA
αLεχ:. :WTF!
αLεχ:. :hahahaha....
So after a while of talking back about iPods (and other things), we continued:
Pinky&theBrain: eh u buy frm japan damn CHEAP man
Pinky&theBrain: u know they sell nano there for RM900 only.....
αLεχ:. :really?
αLεχ:. :how to buy?
Pinky&theBrain: my *friend* is there whatt
Pinky&theBrain: hahahhahaa
Pinky&theBrain: u 4got ledi meh...i got japan banana there mah....hahaha
αLεχ:. :HAHAHA
αLεχ:. :so how big are the bananas there???
αLεχ:. :hahahahahaha
Pinky&theBrain: not bad lehh...quite big wor.... can fight with malaysians... hehe
*Edited to fit the blog and to prevent any confidential information(s) to be released to the public =)
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