Saturday, December 15, 2012

Paris 2012 - That one night stay

Bonjour, Paris! Zukry and I have arrived. Remember us from 2010? :)

Dreading the fact we had to carry our heavy bags to a hotel - actually not too far away from the train station. Bought our tickets, we had to walk for a bit before we saw our hotel, Ibis Hotel. Ha, this time we didn't take a wrong turn before we could find the hotel - Bravo!

Our room was not ready, check in time was as usual; at noon. So we kept our packs into the luggage locker made available for £4 each. Refreshed tiny bit more at their toilet, off exploring the romance Paris brings. First station, La Defense. A more developed area with modern designed buildings and the most macho one had to be La Defense. An amazing off squared arc that was actually a functional office building stood in front of us. It didn't give the romantic vibe Paris was assumed to provide, but it was magnificent.

Zukry was busy putting on the tripod, while I gawked at the surrounding. It was lunch time, so we get to see people were having their takeaways at the stairs in front of the building, there was not many tourist around the area. After a few snaps, we thought we too need to refuel ourselves :)






We had Starbucks coffee, bought from inside a mall just beside the La Defense. So, that's basically our mid morning snack before I saw the Longchamp bag I wanted. But I didn't want to buy it there because it wasn't actually a Longchamp boutique (gedik, I know!) It was a bag boutique that sells many other brands, local and imported . The Longchamp leather Le Pliage Cuir in noir/pink/orange in medium size. Not too big, nor too small. Nice but from this shop, Hmmm; nah. Simpan hajat to it's actual boutique lah! :P



Done shopping for a non-Longchamp gift, we headed to the Gallerieas La Fayette - the famous shopping centre with amazing deco on its dome! I had to queue in a long line at Longchamp just to find the bag I wanted no longer available. They were very popular! So, while we were there - I got the chance to belek2 all other bags that were on display including the Balenciaga City collection, The candy bag by Furla (yeap, again. Saje kasik mencabar hati sket) and drool over YSL Chyc from afar sbb... Segan? Hehehe. Bought my facial stuffs at Clarins which actually were the same price in KL (maybe tiny bit cheaper due to the tax) Before heading back to the hotel to check in, we had McDonald's fish fillet. Taktau katmane dah nak carik makan... Penat jalan pn sama lah. Syukur aje dgn burger tu :)





We arranged our time so that there's enough to find my Longchamp and actually meet our friend, our host in 2010 - Syed. Finally, we got to get ourselves cleaned, huhu. Showered and prayed, no time to even enjoy the room. Not much to enjoy anyway, the bed was as expected - just like our stay in Etap Hotel (afterall, they were under the same hotel management) All cleaned and refreshed plus I even managed to google map the Longchamp boutique situated near Champs Eleysees, we headed out! Alhamdulillah, takde masalah kaki sakit whatsoever - so memang puas berjalan...

The time taken to find the boutique, surprisingly not much at all. It was cloudy and we expected it was gonna rain. No umbrella, we always relied on our hooded jackets. Nearing the boutique, there was a band playing. It was already drizzling, so there were plastics covering part of their drums and speakers but it was still lovely. I was hoping that please God..., make the boutique open - janganlah ada private function going on ke ape! Hehehe, that's how determined I was.

Yeay, it was actually a launching party for the new arrivals - Summer/Fall Collection ke ape ntah. Can't remember but it was a party for customers! We can enjoy all the delicacies provided, pandai plak only offered seafood ones to us, but Zukry had one. I rasa2 aje... They obviously served champagne tp they asked if we'd like juices, of course lah nak! It was so nice, that I decided to buy the big bag instead of settling for the medium sized one. They weren't available there too! Sold out. So a navy Le Pliage Cuir for me. I also bought another leather sling bag for Bapak and had tonnes of macarons (berries & mint shells with chocolate ganache / berry cream - yum!) Barang free mesti sedap :) Total damage?, masih mengikut kemampuan, on budget. Hehehe. I went out all smiled, with a rose in one hand and a huge Longchamp bag on another. While Zukry pegang my macaron. Puas hati!




It was raining when we were out finding our ways to Champs Eleysees. We passed so many amazing French luxurious boutiques including Chanel, Dior, Hermes, etc. Lalu ajelah :) hehehe... We strolled along, snaps a few pics. Just taking our time... and then, we rushed to Cadet Metro Station to meet Syed. Straight ahead to Holiday Villa, Restoran Lagenda (Malaysian-ized) - i think it was Legenda de Malaisie. We had makanan Malaysia like we will only be back in many more days - padahal esoknya dah nak naik Malaysia Airlines! Huhuhu... Catching up stories where we left off in 2010 :)

And then with whatever time remaining, Syed dengan pantasnya gave us a little tour - what we have not seen in 2010. Moulin Rouge, at night... and the eiffle tower lights. 


Only one night in Paris. We have this whole day, and tomorrow - we're heading straight to the airport. That airport where I was in 2006 - alone, Charles De Guille (CDG) Aeroport.






This ends our Euro Trip 2012. It was an amazing experience. I love traveling even more, and I adore my husband much more - it was interesting to see who we can become when we were outside our comfort area... 

1 comment:

Jasmine said...

Ah you need so much more than one night in Paris, but looks like you made the most of it! I spent a week there back when I was in college and while I was totally broke, it was definitely a great experience.