I Love Paris In The Springtime.....

10/03/2011

We arrived in Paris about 6:30 am and it was a wee bit chilly on the system aaaah 5 degrees to be exact.Yes a slight difference to the tropical temperatures in Asia. Dam it was cold it took us til about 10am to reach our hotel, we were freezing. We couldn't get into our room til 2pm so we quickly put on some thermals and took the opportunity to see some sights. Our hotel was situated just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower so we decided lets go see it. 

Wow it's pretty impressive and mighty big. We clambered up the stairs and took in the sights. My legs went a bit like jelly but considering I'm scared of heights I did ok.

After our descent we walked around the Seine taking in the sights til it was time to check in. I must say we were extremely looking forward to a shower and later sleep. We didn't sleep at all on the plane and were suffering a bit of jet lag.

11/03/2011

After a much needed sleep we took off for the day to Euro Disney. Really expensive but it was a wish of Eden's. Eden having more courage than me went on most of the roller coaster rides. I got to fulfill my childhood dream of riding in the mad hatters teacups. Woo hoo I'm so adventurous!!!

I'm late I'm late!!!!

Woo Hoo

Right at the end of the day I decided to pluck up the courage and go on a rollercoaster, Space Mountain mission 2. I've never been so terrified in all my life, if it had gone on any longer I'm sure I would've vomited everywhere. Why I needed to be remind myself that I have vertigo and I am absolutely terrified of rollercoasters I don't know, but for split second I thought it would be a good idea. Eden thought it was great and couldn't stop laughing at me!!!!

For dinner Eden got her wish and had Frogs legs aah a bit like chicken not too bad.

12/03/2011

We spent the next couple of days exploring some of Paris. We didn't get to see it all, you need about two weeks here and loads of euros.

We went first to the Petit Palais, a fine art museum. The building is beautiful within itself amazing decorative ceilings and murals,wrought iron, stained glass and mosaic floors. Absolutely stunning!!! Seeing Monet and Picasso paintings in the real was a highlight.

One of the painted ceilings WOW!!!

Second for the day we explored the Lourve let me rephrase, some of the Lourve. It is mammoth this place you need a week to explore this museum. Thank god for a map it would be easy to get lost.

There was so much to see we found it quite overwhelming and exhausting. I think we were still trying to get over the flight.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Colossal Statue of Ramesses II

Aphrodite

Gabrielle d`Estrees and Her Sister

13/03/2011

Today I got my wish. We visited the infamous cemetery L Pere Lachaise, where several famous people are buried. One being Jim Morrison. Jim Morrison was a huge idol of mine when I was 18ish so it was actually quite emotional to see his grave, even after all these years. Unfortunately the sculpture of him has been stolen along with the rest of several other sculptures, monuments etc. Absolute sacrilage!!!!

Chopin, Edith Piaf, and Oscar Wilde are also buried there.

The Lizard King

Oscar Wilde

Our next stop was the Notre Dame cathedral. Another mighty impressive landmark of Paris. Beautiful stained glass windows and impressive sculpture not to mention the haunting gargoyles that decorate the exterior of the cathedral.

14/03/2011

Off again on the train to Brittany where we are house sittting and looking after a dog for about 14days. Looking very forward to staying put for awhile. Our train ride took about 3 1/2 hours. We got budget seats but I tell you after Vietnam they felt like luxuary first class seats.

Freddie

We meet the couple we are house sitting for Linda and Mike and Freddie the dog. Really lovely people, very down to earth and really funny. They live in a place called Kergouave Vihan, which means small village. The village consists of just their house!!!!lol It is just outside a town called Baud. The house is absolutely wonderful, it is made of stone and is about 300 years old. No neighbours just peace and queit. We love it. The country side is rolling hills and is dotted with many small villages and gorgeous old stone houses. It is welcomed after the the hustle and bustle of Asia.

Beautiful!!!!

The good the bad and the ugly!!!!

27/02/2011

Hoi An is delightful old town set on the Thu Bon river. Most of the buildings pre date the war and have been preserved so it's easy to imagine as you wander the narrow streets what it use to look like. The streets are filled with gorgeous colourful lanterns. Hoi An is full of character with European, Chinese, and Japanese influences and it is a shopping mecca, everywhere you go there are such delights for all the senses. This is the place to go if you want affordable custom made clothing!!! I wasn't going to get anything made but I sucumbed and ended up getting shoes and a dress made . Eden had a couple of outfits made aswell. Taylors are everywhere, just about every second shop is a taylor, it's quite over whelming, and very dangerous on the wallet. Our bags are getting heavier and heavier!!!!

There faces are sculpted out of the roots of bamboo

28/02/2011

Off again to Nha Trang on a sleeper bus. We were rather anxious as to what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised. The bus was rather nice and we had good seats. What possibly could go wrong?

After about an hour out of Hue An the bus broke down and for about 3-4 hours we were left sitting.We found a eating place full of locals who shared their dinner and beers with us. We ate this food which is very similar to fresh spring rolls. You take a piece of rice paper and add meat and salad and you roll it up. So simple and so yummy. We learnt how to say cheers in Vietnamese ….. YO. I think Eden is getting an education in how to drink Vietnamese style.

We finally arrived in Nha Trang at 11am, 17 hours later. Aaaaagh a trip we will never forget!!!!

02/03/2011

We thought some therapy was in order after our ordeal bus ride so we ventured off to a place called Thap Ba Hot Springs. The mud bath sounded like the go.

Getting there was another thing. We were given directions and a map. Easy not quite. It makes it a wee bit challenging when most of the road signs aren't in english and most challenging when they are non existent, and even more challenging when the locals send you off in the opposite direction. Hmmmm,

Well we got there in the end thanks to Eden finally spotting a sign that we could read. I must say my patience is being well and truely tested here!!!

Mud baths, well I thought it would be warm mud but it was kind of luke warm going on cold. We found it quite chilly, due to an overcast day didn't help. We spent 15minutes in the mud bath. It is suppose to help treat a number of ailments such as skin dieases. After our mudbath we showered then we jumped into a mineral bath for about ½ an hour. It wasn't very warm either, but we finished off our therapy with a swim in the pools which were really nice and warm.

We felt amazing after, our skin felt so soft and luxurious. It was well and truly worth the effort!! I thoroughly recommend mud baths, not just for the health benefits but for the experience!!!!

mud mud glorious mud!!!!

03/03/2011

We headed off on a boat to visit three islands, snorkelling and visit an aquarium. We clambered onto our boat with a number of other travellers most being under the age of 25, and putted out to the first island where we snorkelled for about an hour. The fish and coral were abundant and amazing. It was brilliant. Our guides were excellent really funny and they showed us a really good time. After our lunch which was a fine spread they entertained us with their boy band. I was most impressed, they had made the drum kit out of old saucepans, excellent recycling at it's finest and to tell you the truth it didn't sound too bad.

didn't know Yamaha put out a range of saucepans

The boy band

After the boy band we all jumped into the water for our floating bar . One of the guides jumped into a floating ring and proceeded to hand out drinks to us. A lot of fun had by all. Eden is getting really educated isn't she?

Our last port of call was the aquarium. They had enormous groper and snapper there. I've never seen fish so big. There were hundreds of tropical fish and sharks,but the highlight were the giant turtles. They were just so amazing. We got to feed them and Eden got up real close to touch one.

We had such a good day it was so much fun, we were exhausted.

04/03/2011

Our last long haul bus ride hopefully for awhile. Eleven hours or so and we made it to Saigon. Unfortunately first impressions aren't very high. We got scammed by the taxi driver to the hotel and he proceeded to lock the doors of the taxi till we paid. Not nice situaton to be in!!!!!

We spent two days in Saigon getting in some last minute shopping and taking advantage all that is cheap as when we fly to europe cheap doesn't exist.

07/03/2011

Back to Singapore for a couple of days before we fly to Paris.

Goodbye Vietnam it has been a challenging, good, bad, ugly and beautiful experience.

Paris here we come.