Chapter 12: Lights of Paris

22 December 2013

Guess where was the first place we visited on our second day in Paris?

Too many pretty desserts. I took a long time to decide what to order. The only bad thing about this cafe is that there was not many seats inside. But then again, I think its the culture in Europe, to not spend too much time on breakfast. I think we were all in shock when Giulia told us that most Europeans only have a croissant and coffee for breakfast.

Since there were no seats, we sat outside, in the cold. Yup, even the waitress was surprised we wanted to sit outside.

They say you eat with your eyes. And looking at everything is almost as good – or even better – than tasting some of these beautiful pastries.

The honey cake I ordered is THE BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER TASTED IN MY LIFE.

Here at Montmartre! The Sacre Coeur Basilica is at the top of a hill and we had to climb a pretty steep route to reach the top. Along the way, there were many shops selling souvenirs, an indication that its a popular tourist attraction.

Trying to do a jump shot but we had lousy cameras that did not managed to capture our elegant jump 😛

All the hard work of climbing the hill was paid off because at the top of the hill was this beautiful view of the city of Paris.

There was really a lot of people, we were warned to take extra care of our belongings.

The Place du Tertre in Montmartre, where some of art’s great names once set up shop. Today the plaza is occupied by painters offering conventional portraits of the city to tourists.

I spotted this cute cat painting on a building and giant meringues again!!! Temptations!!

I also spotted this pretty cat inside one of the shops that was locked. She was sadly looking out the window so I placed my cat mittens near the glass and she responded to me.

My super power is that I can communicate with animals.

Another river and bridge.

On the way to Moulin Rouge, I found out that there was a sex museum next to it. Fascinating. I wonder what is inside. Lol.

Notre-Dame de Paris!!

Notre Dame is also known as the most visited un-ticketed site in Paris.

The bridge of love locks! I personally think this is lame but whatever.

I was more interested in the serenity of the view!

Seriously people, why do you want to put your trust in love on a padlock?

We were starving so time for lunch! Spotted this really cosy cafe named Esmeralda and we decided to have our lunch there.

As AK was buying his food from the outside, I wanted to take a candid shot of the restaurant and its name (so that I do not forget it) and the guys there posed for my photos. Through some exchange of words, he suggested that I take a photo with him. I do not really know why he suggested that, its not like I am a celebrity. Lol.

Overly friendly people sometimes scare me.

After some walk and shopping, we stop for dessert! The funny thing here is that there is a specific timing for meals. For instance, the restaurant will be serving lunch food from 12 pm to 2.00 pm so if you walk in at 3.30 pm and want to have lunch, you can’t because its already tea time. Thus, you can only order light food for tea time.

This is a very difficult news to swallow for us, who come from a country where we eat round the clock. Haha.

The bestie’s choice.

My cake was nice but not as yummy as the one I had this morning.

Here again!! I simply love how clear the sky is.

Playing around as usual.

From afar, the neatly lines trees looked as if they were bodyguards to the Eiffel Tower.

Bare trees are still fascinating to me. Trying out the different modes in the camera with the bestie as my model.

As it was starting to get dark, the Eiffel Tower was brightly lighted up.

Honestly I was reluctant to join the queue to go up to the Eiffel Tower but since I figured that this would be the first and last time I am here, I might as well experience it all.

There was such a long queue and it was very windy so I was literally freezing. I never felt this cold for the past 11 days so I was pretty grumpy. Haha. I think we queued for a total of 2 hours before finally getting our tickets.

I was slightly freaked out when the lift started moving up. It was really high, I do not really have a few of heights but there were so many people in lift and I was just being paranoid.

The view! It was really cold. We were freezing and we wanted to take the photos as fast as we can so that we can leave. Haha.

I think the photos do not do the place justice. I mean, I was taking photos with my handphone and ipod, how clear can it be right?

Old photos of the Eiffel Tower were interesting.

The nicest photo we have of the view was this.

It was actually hard to take photos with the view because we were still figuring out which mode and lighting suits best. Since we were freezing, I think our brain kind of froze too.

And the best photo we have of us together is this blur photo. :p

Even though it was pretty, it was not as breath taking as some people promised it to be. Perhaps its because I am from the city of skyscrapers and pretty lights too so the view was not uncommon to me.

We were really freezing during the walk back but that did not stop us from continuing to play.

And I thought this candid photo of the bestie is pretty cute.

While we were walking about, the Eiffel Tower started to flicker lights. It was pretty and so many people around us stopped to take photos / videos of this.

Looking for a suitable place of dinner! The cold weather must be the one making us hungry so often!

Mini bagel.

Sumptuous dinner! I love it! The restaurant was very crowded so thankfully there were only 2 of us so we did not have to wait long. This restaurant has mussels as their speciality and the bestie was excited. Lol.

So now I can say that I came to Paris, went to the top of Eiffel Tower in the freezing cold and eat the best cake ever!