Below is the archive of posts from our trip to Paris!
WE HAVE MOVED
With the intention of broadening the horizons of what I write about, The Teen Traveller will proudly move to the EUAN SUAREZ BLOG!
WE HAVE MOVED
With the intention of broadening the horizons of what I write about, The Teen Traveller will proudly move to the EUAN SUAREZ BLOG!
JOYLENE'S DAYOUT
Visit my auntie's awesome blog, Joylene's Dayout where she'll tell you all about her climbs, travels and French-toast stacking skills.
WE HAVE MOVED!
With the intention of broadening the horizons of what I write about, The Teen Traveller will proudly move to the EUAN SUAREZ BLOG!
a href='http://joylenesdayout.blogspot.com/' target='_blank'>JOYLENE'S DAYOUT
Visit my auntie's awesome blog, Joylene's Dayout where she'll tell you all about her climbs, travels and French-toast stacking skills.
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Paris Day 2 - The Arc De Triomphe and Concorde
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| The Obelisk, as captured from the second storey of the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. |
Near the hieroglyph-covered monument is the famous Champs-Élysées. The avenue stretches out more than 1.9 kilometers (about 1.2 miles), and is surrounded by small or renowned shops, cafés, restaurants and cinemas. We strolled down the whole avenue from the Place De La Concorde, and taking a bunch of pictures along the way. I was a bit disappointed because we went there in the afternoon and that people tell me it's way better to go there at night.
After a long walk along the Champs-Élysées, we made it to the Arc De Triomphe. I was quite bummed to see that there was construction going on the upper portion of the arch, something that I obviously didn't expect. I really like the detail of the designs around the arc. The arc honors the people who fought and perished for France during the Napoleonic and French Revolutionary Wars.
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| The Arch From The Place De Charles De Gaulle |
After we visited this very historic monument of France, we used the bus to go to Palais Garnier / Opéra, but we needed to take a quick detour because my sister needed to use the restroom. We weren't planning to go to the Galeries Lafayette during our stay, but we stumbled upon it while we had our search for a restroom.
We literally went up and down the stairs of this wine-selling establishment (much like Systembolaget here in Sweden) to find the restroom, because people kept telling us that the restroom is just "along the way". We found it, we used it and we got out of the Galeries Lafayette. That was very unexpected, but at least I got a glimpse on what it [Galeries Lafayette] would offer. Shoe boutiques, wine and alcohol and tons of different restaurants offering different types of cuisines.
We then walked to the Palais Garnier which on the outside appeared astonishing. Much like the Arc De Triomphe, it was undergoing construction. This made me sigh. When we entered, we saw more detail of architecture.
To wrap things up, we took the bus again and went to the Notre Dame De Paris. The Notre Dame is one of the many things that I would just dream to see, but I have seen it. The outside of the building blew me away. The intricacy of the architectural design on the outside made our jaws drop. When we entered, I could feel the solemnity of the church. We donated a couple of Euros and offered candles. I was extremely overjoyed on the fact that I just offered a candle on one of the most highlighted areas of Paris.
The inside of the church was amazing. As a part of the Catholic community, I was astounded. I was astounded more when a mass was just about to start, with about 100+ people taking pictures. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to attend the mass, as it was getting late.
That concludes our trip to Paris, France this 2014. I have seen another part of the large, large area that is Europe. I have seen and experienced some sights that I would never think to personally see my whole life. Paris has been a mind-blowing experience not just for me, but also for my family that went along with the journey.
My favorite part of Paris was definitely seeing the magnificent views on one of the observation decks of the Eiffel Tower. There were also some lows on this trip, such as the Arc De Triomphe being covered with construction and Tabac Du Roule, but those didn't hinder any of the highs we had.
I want to see Paris someday again in the future, just to say "hi" again and to see the things that have changed. Is the city more urban now? Can I still see the flawless architecture I saw the last time that I was here? Is the Mona Lisa still covered with that thick glass pane at the Louvre?
Again, that's it. Hopefully, you too have enjoyed my stay in the city of lights and love. What was your favorite part of my Parisian experience? Comment them down below and let me know! I'm Euan, and from Paris with love, Au Revoir.
My favorite part of Paris was definitely seeing the magnificent views on one of the observation decks of the Eiffel Tower. There were also some lows on this trip, such as the Arc De Triomphe being covered with construction and Tabac Du Roule, but those didn't hinder any of the highs we had.
I want to see Paris someday again in the future, just to say "hi" again and to see the things that have changed. Is the city more urban now? Can I still see the flawless architecture I saw the last time that I was here? Is the Mona Lisa still covered with that thick glass pane at the Louvre?
Again, that's it. Hopefully, you too have enjoyed my stay in the city of lights and love. What was your favorite part of my Parisian experience? Comment them down below and let me know! I'm Euan, and from Paris with love, Au Revoir.
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014
EATS: Tabac Du Roule
First, I just wanted to comment on how small this restaurant was. Tabac Du Roule was literally footsteps away from our hotel, so we decided to give it a try. Back to its smallness, it housed maybe twelve people for the restaurant, a bar with a few seats and a cigar shop. Who needs anything if you have food, beer and something to smoke? (Disclaimer: Kids, don't smoke or drink. That's bad for your liver, lungs and people around you. The question before this disclaimer was a joke, I'm serious.)
Trying to stick with the theme of Frenh food, I decided to take a croque Monsieur (sandwich of cheese and ham) with fries and a light salad while my mom and sister respectively chose some entrêcote steak and and a hotdog with fries.
Upon receiving my sandwich, I gladly took a bite. The sandwich was very ordinary and it lacked ham. It lacked ham very much. I was clearly disappointed and unsatisfied with. Y choice.
I struck a deal with my sister to give me half of her hotdog (The hotdog was clearly a FOOTLONG, and the fact that my sister wanted a "light meal" made her a bit annoyed) as I offer her half of my sandwich.
Her footlong was surprisingly better than my sandwich... it was better by a MILE.
My mom's entrecôte was great. She ordered it medium wit some fries, a salad and some sort of peanut sauce. She let my try the steak that had a char on it which I liked. I think that the steak was below my mom's expectation because she thought it was tough.
This restaurant was not a very good one. I wouldn't recommend it food-wise, but what do I know? Maybe they rank much better as a separate bar or a separate cigar boutique...
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Monday, April 14, 2014
EATS: Hippopotamus Bar & Grill
Our first official meal in Paris was at the Hippopotamus Bar & Grill near Forum Les Halles. We were strolling around the area when we thought of having dinner, and we found this place! It seemed to have an inviting atmosphere from the outside. We were hoping to find good food here, to satisfy our first impressions of Parisian offerings.
Before going in though, we were very intrigued if they served real hippo meat. You might be on board with our thinking, believing that they do serve hippo meat, or you might be hysterically laughing now, thinking on how idiotic it would be to serve hippopotamus meat in a restaurant.
Before going in though, we were very intrigued if they served real hippo meat. You might be on board with our thinking, believing that they do serve hippo meat, or you might be hysterically laughing now, thinking on how idiotic it would be to serve hippopotamus meat in a restaurant.
I decided to get some steak with fries and Béarnaise sauce. With mine medium rare, the steak was perfect (either that or it has been a while since I ate steak)! The fries were as crispy as can be and the sauce... I should tell everyone that I'm a sucker for Béarnaise sauce.... It's so awesome!
My mom got the same thing I had, except with a medium well steak, a baked potato and a sauce of sour cream and chives.
On the other hand, my sister settled for some chicken nuggets and fries... mmm? (Granted, it's from the kid's menu)
My mom got the same thing I had, except with a medium well steak, a baked potato and a sauce of sour cream and chives.
On the other hand, my sister settled for some chicken nuggets and fries... mmm? (Granted, it's from the kid's menu)
Onto dessert! I promised myself that our trip to Paris would be incomplete if we didn't savour crème brûlée!
The burnt cream was served in a clay pot and was delightful. It was a shame that they didn't blow-torch the top... that would've made the dessert much more exciting to eat!
My sister had some chocolate mousse. She let me try a teaspoon-full and it tasted very bitter. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate (milk chocolate all the way!). I feel the same way on white chocolate. White chocolate just tastes... weird.
The Hippopotamus Bar & Grill gave me a positive first meal in France. The ambiance was very welcoming to children and adults alike. There wasn't that much people when we ate there, giving us a more comfortable experience. I would definitely recommend it. Très Bien!
My sister had some chocolate mousse. She let me try a teaspoon-full and it tasted very bitter. I'm not a fan of dark chocolate (milk chocolate all the way!). I feel the same way on white chocolate. White chocolate just tastes... weird.
The Hippopotamus Bar & Grill gave me a positive first meal in France. The ambiance was very welcoming to children and adults alike. There wasn't that much people when we ate there, giving us a more comfortable experience. I would definitely recommend it. Très Bien!
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Saturday, April 12, 2014
Paris Day 1 - The Louvre and The Eiffel Tower
It's Euan again and it's time to share my experiences when I was in Paris!
The first official travelling day was started by an unexpectedly long walk to the Louvre. Considering that we stayed at the Tonic Hotel at Les Halles-Châtalet which was just a good ten minutes away, we took a thirty minute walk because our map skills weren't up to par (something to work on).
Finally, we managed to stumble upon the legendary Louvre pyramid, and the view just blew us away. In my opinion, the pyramid and the buildings around it encompass mixed characteristics of simplicity and intricacy.
The thing that didn't blow me away was the long line. After a good 45 minutes of waiting, we managed to get in and buy tickets. € 12 for the permanent collections (18+), while it was free for minors. Oh, did I tell you that the main objective of going to the Louvre is to see the fine art, especially the Mona Lisa? Well, now you know.
The first official travelling day was started by an unexpectedly long walk to the Louvre. Considering that we stayed at the Tonic Hotel at Les Halles-Châtalet which was just a good ten minutes away, we took a thirty minute walk because our map skills weren't up to par (something to work on).
Finally, we managed to stumble upon the legendary Louvre pyramid, and the view just blew us away. In my opinion, the pyramid and the buildings around it encompass mixed characteristics of simplicity and intricacy.
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| The Legendary Louvre Pyramid |
After a dizzying maze of corridors with complex paintings, marble sculptures and a very, very long hallway, we managed to stumble upon Mona Lisa. The painting was enclosed in sort of a cabinet, with the front side composed of a thick glass pane.
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| My Best Picture Of Mona Lisa. |
There was about fifty tourists gathered together near the painting. It was believed that Leonardo Da Vinci painted this from 1503 to 1506.
My feelings after seeing the Louvre: disappointed and unsatisfied. I was disappointed because we didn't get to explore as much as we wanted to, because we were only in Paris for a short while, and wanted to savour as much as we can. Unsatisfied, because I expected everything (not just the Mona Lisa) to have more "oomph".
We exited the Louvre and got on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus with the intention of disembarking at the Eiffel Tower.
We got dropped off, and the Eiffel Tower immediately made me smile. This is something that I've only seen in movies and shows all my life. I couldn't believe that I was going to personally see it!
That smile was quickly rubbed off because of the astoundingly long line that we saw. It was long enough that you needed to line up for the line to get tickets. To give you an idea on how long the line was, we managed to enjoy some sandwiches and take a bathroom break, even before we reached a quarter of the line.
We bought our tickets and went up the elevator to the second floor. I literally got blown away, not just because of the astounding view of Central Paris, but because of the forceful winds that came in our way.
I cannot explain the happiness that I experienced when I was on the observation deck. It was just so cool seeing all the buildings from something that you just saw in the movies!
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| An Awesome View of the National Navy Museum |
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| A View of the Emile-Anthoine Stadium and the Bir-Hakeim Bridge (Pont Bir-Hakeim) |
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| A View of the Seine River |
That basically wraps up our first travelling day in Paris! Don't worry, there'll also be some Eats!
So, from Paris with love, Au Revoir.
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Monday, March 3, 2014
EATS: Hippopotamus Bar and Grill
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Our first main meal in France (I don't know if you consider McDonald's something "main", but you get what I'm saying) was at the Hippopotamus Bar and Grill near Les Halles.
We were actually intrigued before going Ito the restaurant, frightened about the fact that they actually serve hippo meat, but we were quickly relieved upon spotting an English menu. My petite knowledge of French helped, but I still couldn't quite understand most of the foods.
After ordering, the kind lady that attended us served us a basket of bread and a bottle of water as complements. The bread was hard on the outside... Shame they didn't serve us some butter with it.
My sister opted for the children's menu. She got some chicken nuggets and French fries (see what I did there?) for her main course.
My mom and I went for the Hippo Steak (Pardon me if that's not what it was called), which was NOT made of hippopotamus meat. I ordered mine medium with fries and Bernaise while my mom ordered hers medium well with a sour cream baked potato and barbeque sauce.
The steak was beautifully cooked, much better than in Jensen's Bøfhus back in Stockholm. The Bernaise was okay, but it wouldn't be something worthy of a highlight. Fries were good: not too crispy and not too covered with oil.
Something good about our deal was that everyone got dessert. My sister wished for a chocolate mousse and my mom and I went for a Frenc classic: creme bruleè.
Our overall experience in this restaurant has been very pleasant.
I remember our first two weeks in Sweden where we had lunch at TGI Friday's near Kungsträdgården and how this ranked better than that. The Hippopotamus Bar and Grill is definitely a recommendation, 8.5 out of 10.
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