Les Jours à Paris: Chaise de jets de Shakespeare

 Onwards to the second day in La Ville d'Amour! This day we decided to wake up earlier although we spent the whole night playing cards and laughing so hard. Of course, we woke up and departed later than planned, what do you expect? Ignoring our partly grumbling tummy, we set off to our previously planned destination: Notre Dame! Somewhere along the way, though, we couldn't resist the sweet scent of crêpes lining the streets and Wilson and Firu bought one each. I was smitten by the girl making them. She was made up but looked effortlessly chic. Very pretty!

A little tip: never think too highly or romanticly of Paris upon visiting this place! More often than not, it isn't. Be prepared to fight your way to take pictures - even romantic ones - in a sea of people, intending to do the same. Also, whether you need tickets or not, get in line before it grows too long! Speaking about lines, we actually queued at the wrong line to enter Notre Dame. We ended up only able to climb up the south tower - thank God it wasn't as high as the Cologne Dome. Too bad, the interior was probably superb. But I also enjoyed the exterior very much. Gothic-styled! It was unbelievably crowded because, apparently, it was the cathedral's 850th anniversary. Congrats!

 If you cross the small bridge just next to the Notre Dame, you'd be able to see small stores/restaurants lining the streets. For lunch, we checked some out. The first one we checked out had an enthusiastic waiter, who threw a chair our way, inviting us in. We moved on to another one because it was too pricey for us. He followed us, carrying the chair, prompting us to go in. We decided on the second restaurant...only to find that they were owned by the same person. We splurged a lot on Foie Gras and Escargot! I heard the escargot was tasty - I didn't eat it - but the Foie Gras was disagreeable. It was then that we got introduced to a Parisian mealtime, which takes at least 2 hours. My life-long dream was accomplished: I WENT TO SHAKESPEARE & CO.! It was everything I imagined it to be and more. I instantly wanted to move to Paris just so I could go there everyday. To soothe my heart, I purchased a book on Paris - which I almost finish - and a Shakespeare & co. tote bag. Yaay!

Afterwards, we set off to check out the Grand Palais, which was turned into a skating rink for the winter (or was it for the week?). The line went on and on and we ditched the place, moving towards Pont Alexandre III. By far, I think it's the most precious plus aesthetically magnificent bridge in Paris. You can get an acceptable view of the Tour Eiffel from here as well. Afterwards, we walked along the rest of Champs-Élysées towards the Arc de Triomphe. There was an event going on, a ceremony in the centre of the arc. Some kind of commemoration, I think, what with all the generals and bouquets. We took the métro straight to the Tour Eiffel. It was massive! And I was flabbergasted. Too bad there were some construction being done, ruining the beauty of the tower. Otherwise, I thought it was a rather majestic closure of the day. Stay tuned for day 3 of the journey! Cheerio!

Les Jours à Paris: Les Pyramides du Louvre

Hello, readers! If you know me in real life/have read my previous post, you're probably excited to read about our trip to Paris, France - La ville d'Amour, they say. Iva and I had been planning for this since July or August and were completely excited about this. Being the only girls, we were the ones to move the group - since, otherwise, there wouldn't be a trip at all. We stayed for four days and three nights. Still it wasn't enough to explore the city. But we enjoyed it all the same.

 We departed quite early on Thursday morning - after christmas break - and arrived a little past midday in Paris. We roamed the station for a bit to buy inner-city tickets for five days. Our welcome in Paris was nice, everyone was kind. We went straight to our hostel. After getting a little bit lost, we finally found our hostel. We hit a bit of a dead end when the lady at the counter couldn't speak English at all. We made it through, checked in, put our bags in our room and went on our first real Parisian trip. First stop was lunch, which wasn't easy to find and we became desperate and ate at a Chinese restaurant just a little off rue du Rivoli - it was affordable and delish, though!

Not to bore you with our loooong sightseeing inside of Musée du Louvre, here are just a few pictures of the insides of the museum. Basically, it's an art museum, divided into 3-4 floors, whose parts house different kinds of artworks. The most famous is, of course, the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, which we barely got to see, covered by the sea of people. I'm so glad we went in, unlike many Indonesian tourists, especially of our age. We actually talked about art! I was in heaven. Not just the european art but asian and even african art were there as well, hence the strange-looking statue at the bottom. We stayed here until dark. By the way, we thought the edifice in front of it was the Arc de Triomphe. We weren't wrong, it was just not the one we were looking for.

In case you haven't noticed, I am completely smitten by the pyramid construction of the Musée du Louvre done by I M Pei - yes, I just figured this out. Such a modern exterior touch to an interior-wise traditional-looking museum. I also adore the fresco-covered insides of this museum. The middle picture pretty much sums up our whole trip, where Iva and I stare deep into a map and plan out our next move. Funny, in a group full of men. We made the mistake of thinking the Champs-Élysées wasn't that long and tried to walk from Louvre to the real Arc de Triomphe. Needless to say, we were exhausted. But it was a sight to be seen. We ordered takeout and went back to the hotel. Iva and I then planned our trip for the following day before we even did anything else. Stay tuned for our next adventure in Paris! Cheerio!

Out With the Old, In With the New

Last year I made a review of what happened to me the whole year. Although I never thought much of New Year's before, I want to keep doing it for the years to come. Doing reviews/flashbacks is one of my favourite activities. I was so scared of what 2012 had to offer for me last year but glad that it came. Here's what I've achieved throughout the year:

January

This is the month (and year) I started blogging. I got interested after seeing Bonnie of Flashes of Style's blog. This was the month I saw a Halle rendition of My Fair Lady with some girls. On a sidenote, although I didn't blog about this, I went on an impromptu trip to Leipzig with my friend, Atika and we stayed over at our friend, Aqbas's place. It was all very sudden and I got to see the Völkerschlachtdenkmal upclose and personal in winter. So beautiful!

February

This was the last month I visited Karlsruhe. It was the last month I got to experience the town with my beloved and friends still living there. Impossible to think of this time without a pang of nostalgia. This month we (The Suyabifytjoeng gang or whatever) were supposed to head to Paris but forgot to plan it out and went to North-Rhein Westfalia instead. This was also the month Firu and I celebrated our 19th monthversary and I baked cupcake for everybody. It didn't look good but tasted yummy all the same. Yum!

March

This month was tiring yet filled with not much of an event to celebrate. My fondest memory was of the Buchmesse (Book Fair) Atika and I attended in Leipzig. It was crowded to the brim with people cosplaying and such. I just wish I could've been there with someone else because Tika doesn't enjoy such things as much as I do. My not-so-fond memory was picking up my one and only inkling. That was a pain.

April

This was one of the most enjoyable months in Firu's absence. This was the month he went to Indonesia while I had to make do with my studies. I enjoyed it very much, though. Thanks to Mr Borchers' fieldtrip to the local Pompeii Exhibition - which I adore! Zahra and I planned to visit the magical town of Weimar on Easter Break and it was poetic. We both drooled over the quilt pen. The month was closed up real nice with the grill party held by the Indonesian students in Halle. Despite my own belief, it was a blast!

May

The last month before my finals. Instead of studying, I decided to reunite with a good friend in Kassel. This was my first time coming here. It was beautiful and mystify me in a way I never though I could be after leaving Karlsruhe. Little did I know back then that life would lead me to this small town later. The next week I went to Primark Hannover for the first time - my first Primark experience. I was completely flabbergasted by all the products!

June

Finally, finals! I've been hearing about it for a year now and I've passed it, thank God! Before finals, though, on the weekend, I went hiking with some kids from the university. It was exhausting and awesome! I had a total blast. My first and only hiking experience in Germany so far. After finals, I've got all this free time and nothing to do so I met up with Netta and fool around with someone else's SLR camera. What a summer experience! Later on, Divina came to visit me for the third time in Halle. We took pictures and made a video. Yaay for June!

July

July was insane. Everyone was busy applying for a place at graduate school. I was no exception. Despite that fact, I could still fool around with Netta, Mimi and a camera. Although so, I went back to Kassel once again to apply for the university there. After everything was said and done, the only thing left to do was wait so Rezy, Ervina and I went to Göttingen for the first time. Firu came just two days before our second anniversary and we traveled to Leipzig, Berlin and Dresden before I left Halle for good. We also explored Kassel a lot afterwards.

August

The peak of summer, the time I fulfilled one of my annual wishes: going back to Indonesia. Lady luck was on my side. Reunited with high school friends I was, my soulmates/best friends as well and, of course, my most beloved sister. I got to spend Eidul Fitr with my big family too. My sister and I ended up having quite an adventure that month, which you can read more about here. 

September

Second batch of home in September. My best friends (of 8 years) and I had our great reunion - where I cosplayed - and Takoyaki party! It was a blast and I miss them in the wee hours here. The last weekend in Indonesia I spent with my family, discovering a new culinary treat, and Firu's family. Then Germany called and I had to go back, where then I featured a local clothing store in Kassel and made friends with people.

October

October kicked off with a good start. I found a permanent home and Firu helped me move there. This was the month I started university life with so many expectations, gained some new friends and explored new places. For starters, Firu and I visited Düsseldorf, the Japanese quarter of Germany. We both enjoyed the experienced and gulped down two bottles of japanese lemonade with glee. Later this same month, Firu took me to Venlo, Holland for my birthday and we raided the Indonesian grocery store there. I went on a ladies' date to a local flea market with 3 ladies, including Sakurako. Also, I entered a New Look competition and won cold, hard cash! (look out, this will come up again!)

November

Sakurako quality month, this is! I slept over at her house - in an impromptu ordeal. Not much else was happening, aside from me exchanging clothing items with my sister. To commemorate my and Firu's 28th monthversary, we went to Essen and watch birds by the river. At the end of the month, Sakurako and I met up again to make onigiris and dashimaki tamago for the International Dinner we attended. Needless to say, our tummy was full to the brim and we went home well-fed.

December

December means christmas! Although I don't actually celebrate the event, christmas markets always excite me. Sakurako was also very excited about it and we explored to two christmas markets this month. It was a total blast! I am so happy and glad to see my sister wearing the shorts (from Selective Potential) that I sent her way. How our worlds total upside down, I find very interesting. With the money I won - and some financial support from Dad, I finally purchased my first SLR camera! Nearing the end of the year, Firu and I went back to Karlsruhe and traveled to Paris (I'll post all about this).

With all that is said and done, I just want to wish you all a completely belated Happy New Year and write down my new resolutions. Before that, let's review what I promised myself I'd do last year:

1. Explore MORE of Europe! [Next stop: Paris!] ✓✓
2. Stay, of course, in a loving relationship with my dearly beloved~ ♥ ✓
3. Go home to Indonesia! Preferrably, during the summer ✓
4. Earn money myself AGAIN! Now make it more artistic, if you will
5. Be less antisocial, be happy, and be true to yourself!

Uhh...yeah, 3 out of 5, how bout it? To be fair, no. 4 is in progress, although not artistic at all, and I can't really tell if no. 5 is accomplished or not. I did gain more friends and broaden my horizon in friendship. Does that count? Either way, here's another list of resolutions/goals:

1. Become financially responsible (as well as mentally etc. too, though)
2. Become more artistically involved in anything (projects, competitions, etc.)
3. Learn to love Firu right and stay in a loving relationship with him ♥
4. Go through with the semester abroad program (find out the infos first)
5. Experiment more with photography!

What are your resolutions/goals this year? Did you accomplish the ones you set out to do last year? Happy belated new year's, all! Hope 2013 will bless us with a lot! Cheerio!

Guest-blogging at Jen's

Hey, guys! I don't think I've fully recovered from the trip yet but I'll post something soon, I promise. In the meantime, enjoy this guest post I did over at JennifHsieh. It's still keeping in tune with the feature on this lil' ol' blog. So go drop by and say hi! Cheerio for now!