Things you see everything in France

Lille

• dog poo
• beggars
• homeless
• furniture store
• specialty beauty products
• sales
• clothing store
• dressed up people (but only from the afternoon)
• joggers

Things you see everywhere in France

Paris 1

• food shops
• grand parades
• baguettes
• dogs on metro, in supermarkets, in baskets
• tight parking space
• grand architecture

Day 2 23/11/2008 - France

Lyon -> London

Highlight

• We were so surprised that the sun was actually up, so we hurried our breakfast so we could have a walk around Tete d’Or
• Breakfast was the usual affair, but after indulging last night, we took it easy…and didn’t even ask for the made to order pancakes or eggs
• It seems like everyone was out in force at the park again. Everyone was either running or riding a bike or pushing a stroller around. So I guess that’s how all the French people stay skinny.
• Found out Nicola was pregnant while we were walking through the park, so that was great news.
• Off to Vieux Lyon, which goes from Saint George’s right up to Saint Paul, which was really cool. The old houses with their traboules (silk workers passageways) were still in use, and we kept going inside houses to discover magnificent interior courtyards, wells and spiraling staircases
• Up to Fourviere Hill again since the sun was up, and admired the much more beautiful city views.
• The Croix Rousse market was already finished when we got there, and it seemed the sun has also decided to call it a day. Still, we enjoyed some more views from the hills area, saw more courtyards and walked through more traboules, but these weren’t as magnificent as the ones around Vieux Lyon, and because we were getting quite cold, decided to held for some food.
• Most of the restaurants had completed their services, and there were only about 2 restaurants still opened, so we went to Le Bouchon Des Carnivores. As the name suggests they specialise in meat, but we decided to get more bouchon classics. As expected, the food was very good, and we got very filled up.
• The wind was really blowing at this stage, but we still went on the Light Tour of the city. The Notre Dame cathedral was the most lit up, and looked spectacular, but otherwise the buildings we looked at were a bit dull.
• It started snowing, so we thought it was time to call it a day… so off to the airport we went.

Food

• Hilton hotel breakfast:
  • orange juice
  • grapefruit juice
  • pineapple juice
  • muesli with strawberry pot set yoghurt and dried fruits
  • grapefruit
  • smoked salmon
  • smoked halibut
  • cold cuts
  • cheese selection
  • sausage, bacon, mushroom, beans, grilled tomato, scrambed eggs
  • croissant
  • pain au chocolat
  • apple turnover
  • raisin twist
• Le Bouchon Des Carnivores dinner:
  • baguette
  • Lyonaise salad – lettuce, bacon, coutons, egg, mustard dressing
  • hot sausages in cast iron pan
  • andouillette (liver sausage)
  • crumbed pig trotter
  • chips
  • nougat with almond
  • almond tart

Day 1 22/11/2008 - France

London -> Lyon

Highlight

• The plane was very empty. We actually arrived ½ hour early, but then had to stand in the freezing cold while waiting to go through immigration.
• Took us awhile to figure out the public transport situation, but finally got to our nice new hotel with a nice balcony.
• Off to Bernachon, the patisserie, which was doing a very brisk trade…so we joined the queue and got some really delicious food.
• Picked up our tourist map, then walked around the Place Bellacour with its huge horse statue, but it was very cold.
• Window-shopped our way to the Rue de Merciere, which is filled with bouchons, for lunch.
• Picked a little place in an alleyway, but there were so many people and it was very cold since the heater went off. Luckily the food was good and we tried a few Lyonese specialties.
• After that very full lunch, it was time for some actual sightseeing, so we took the funicular up to the top of the Fourvière hill, where we visited the spectacular Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière church, with its beautiful interior, as well as exterior.
• The view from the top was not too bad, but the grey clouds meant any photos would be terrible.
• The Fourvière Roman Theatres was very large and very impressive as well. There are good signs to tell you what is going on.
• Hit the shops since we knew everything would be closed tomorrow, so caught the metro back to Part Dieu for the shopping centre there.
• Bad idea, the whole world seemed to be there too. It was so packed you can’t actually get to the shops since there will be crowds of people walking past.
• It didn’t seem like the French seem to be suffering from any recession at all. The shops were packed and people were buying up big. There seemed to be a few shops having about 20% discount, but the majority were not.
• I found some stuff I like but as usual, they didn’t have my size.
• I gave up on shopping pretty quickly and decided to head back to the hotel to relax first.
• As usual, we were the first people to be at dinner, for a long time actually. We didn’t mind as the service was very good at the beginning, and as the restaurant filled up and they got busy, things slowed down a fair deal.
• And the food…average one star stuff. I did think some of their sauce was too salty and heavy, otherwise it was a wonderful experience, and I got to practise some French.

Food

• Bernachon:
  • sausage brioche (€2.60)
  • coffee eclair (€2.70)
• Le Merciere lunch:
  • bread with mustard potato, terrine, puy lentils and haricot beans
  • head of veal with potato and garlic mayo
  • crumbed stomach with penne mushroom bake
  • quenelle in crayfish sauce
  • cervelle de canut (chives cheese)
  • gateau Lyonnais
• Christian Têtedoie dinner:
  • sesame stick
  • seafood foam
  • vegetable tartlet
  • grain bread
  • coteaux languedoc rouge (€9)
  • veal crumbed ball with raspberry cream with crumble mix
  • Smoked Monkfish with Langoustin with Avocado dressing
  • Snails in Vegetable Foam
  • Rabbit Rilette
  • French duck
  • Grand Marnier souffle
  • Chocolate tart with chocolate ice cream and cream
  • fruit tartlet
  • almond tuile
  • chocolate biscuit

Day 3 4/8/08 - France

Paris -> London

Highlight

• A leisurely late start for once.
• Brunch at Angelina. The décor used to be nice once upon a time, but is now a faded glory. Still, the food was very very good and the service was not too bad. This is loads better than Lauderee.
• Very full and satisfied, started walking around. It was great because the sun came out an the weather was glorious, but disappointing since most of Paris decided to go on vacation so everything was closed.
• Spent 1 hour at our favourite pharmacy, got lots of cream and stuff for Slokky.
• We were definitely much happier when we got to St Germain area, lots to walk around and see. There wasn’t that much stuff on sale, an of those, not much in my size.
• We did managed to score at Heyraud, a pair of brown shoes of Slokky and some black and white heels for me.
• Found some very cute knits from somewhere (that's a store name!), but no good one my size
• Tried to find wii but couldn’t.
• Walked around the Latin quarter for a little while, and had lunch at 3pm at a touristy place. Not too bad for the price (€10) but not great, except for the excellent chips.
• Picked up our stuff at the hotel, then Eurostar, with yet another very very long line.
• Took 40 minutes to check in and nearly missed train, which left late because of the line.

Food

• Angelina breakfast:
  • mini croissant, pain au raisin, pain au chocolate
  • baguette with jam, butter, honey
  • fruit salad
  • orange juice
  • hot chocolate with cream
  • brioche
  • eggs benedict
• L’Auberge du Moulin lunch:
  • pate with baugette
  • cheese crepe
  • roast chicken and chips
  • pepper steak and chips
  • chocolate mousse
  • napolitan ice cream

Day 2 3/8/08 - France

Paris

Highlight

• Grabbed breakfast at the local patisserie. Quite nice but not as good as the one we visited last time.
• Walked around the Tuileries, checked out Angelina, then lined up at Musee d’Orsay.
• We got there at 9:15, and was just outside of the taped off area, so not too bad, but a massive line did form behind us. We got in by 9:40.
• Decided to get the audio guide, which was not great at all, but as there was nothing to explain any of the paintings, it was better than nothing.
• We managed to finish the ground floor and the 5th floor before they kicked us out, still need to do 2-4, so looks like another trip is on the cards.
• Highlight was definitely the 5th floor and the vast collection of Money, Van Goth (extremely crowded here!), Renoir, Sisley and Pisarro.
• Back to hotel to relax before venturing out for dinner.
• It rained as we were walking there, but luckily stopped when we left.
• Hardly anyone eating so got very quick and personal service.
• Heavy Asian, especially Japanese influence, but chef is half Spanish. The food is excellent, especially the pork, but was very expensive.

Food

• croissant
• chocolate Viennoise
• pain au raisin
• ham baguette
• emmental cheese baguette
• lipton peach tea
• La Table du Lancaster dinner:
  • baguette ,campagne, lemon, olive bread
  • cucumber soup
  • sardines with wakemi and wasabi
  • frog’s leg with cauliflower tamarind sauce
  • tuna with Japanese rice and ponzu sauce
  • pork with honey barbeque sauce, apple
  • goats, brie, 2 other cheeses with dried apricot and redcurrant
  • floating island, rolled coconut, candy floss and cream
  • pistachio dim sum with strawberry sauce
  • Himalayan tea
  • blue mountain Jamaican coffee
  • pistachio macaroon, passionfruit chocolate, raspberry almond cake

Day 1 2/8/08 - France

London -> Ashford -> Paris

Highlight

• Stuffy train ride to Ashford.
• It rained heavily so we gave up trying to see the town, and headed straight for the Ashford Designer Outlet instead.
• Well, this seemed to be stragith out of UK suburbia, with overweight families dragging along their kids to indulge in the fast food at the food court.
• I was disappointed there was nothing on offer in terms of food, so I actually had to eat fish and chips from a chain store.
• Slokky though got to indulge in his Maccas, and I had a bite to see if anything has changed in the 15 years or so I have been avoiding the place. Even though they have supposedly upgraded their ingredients, it seems the taste is still the same.
• This place is supposedly designed by the same architect as the Millennium Dome, and it actually looks like it from the outside, but the design was definitely not practical as it was not shielded from the elements, in a country that constantly rained, so that as we walked between the shops, we kept getting wet.
• We started off slowly, but then stalled at a couple of stores, and had to rush at the end. I was satisfied though that we had covered most of what we wanted by the time we had to leave.
• The discounts differed. Some were very good while others weren’t worth bothering. Ted Baker had nothing my size, neither did Next
• Ended up with:
  • silk knots (£2)
  • Ralph Lauren shorts (£6.99
  • Adidas tank top (£7)
• Eventually it did stop raining, so it made our walk back to Ashford International a bit more pleasant, but still no sun.
• The check-in for Eurostar was very quick, so we had to hang around for a long time at the not much to do terminal.
• We sat next to some extremely noisy people on the Eurostar, so I couldn’t sleep.
• Eurostars hotel was very modern, very much like the Scandinavian design hotels.
• Dressed up for dinner. Luckily other people were quite dressed up too so we felt good.
• Dinner was excellent. We went a la carte for once, and was treated to some an amazing meal. The service was a bit slow but the waiters were so cute!
• The weather had changed for the better, so we took a leisurely walk to the metro. Ah, Paris.

Food

• Harry Ramsden's lunch:
  • fish and chips (£5.20)
  • apple juice
• McDonalds oriental beef burger and chips
• Senderen dinner:
  • bread sticks
  • saffron lobster soup
  • Chanterelle mushrooms served with squid and cockles flavoured with spiced oil
  • Poached duck liver with morel mushrooms, walnut and curry
  • Roasted wild duck with beetroot, cooked in a salt crust
  • Roast suckling pig, leeks with rougail, carrot taglitalle with pink berries and mango
  • raspberry pannacotta
  • French napolean with Tahiti vanilla cream
  • Butter biscuit with rhubarb and strawberry
  • raspberry macaroon, orange jelly, almond tartlette with psichacio

Day 3 19/5/08 - France

Paris - > London

Highlight

• Got kept up most of the night by the aunties talking so really really tired.
• 4:30am start to head back home, a very uneventful trip, but at elast we weren’t delayed.

Food

• pineapple yoghurt

Day 2 18/5/08 - France

Paris

Highlight

• Started off very leisurely, with a visit to the local supermarket to stock up. We decided to hold back, and only got one cheese (my favourite mobier), some spread and some pate.
• Off to the local market, which pretty much looked like all the other markets we have been to in Paris, with the difference being we can actually buy stuff to cook! We admired all the parts of the animals, marvelled at the cake displays and took lots of photos, before picking up a feast for lunch.
• Tried out some of my French at the stall, could understand the numbers, so getting better.
• Had a nice nap after lunch before being driven out to Paris proper again.
• Walked down towards the streets of Pont Neuf, around Rue Saint Louis, for all the quirky art and food shops, and past store after store of ice-cream, before we got to the recommended one (Berthillon?). The ice-cream was absolutely stunning, the flavours were really innovative and so nice.
• There was a bread expo on right in front of Notre Dame, got to watch them make baguettes and a few Bretagne specialties, after which you got to taste and buy.
• Lined up for some fresh milk and fairy floss as well.
• We stayed home during the rain, so the weather was glorious again when we came out. Finally ventured inside Notre Dame (the line was so short!). There was a mass going on, but the stained glass and the really high ceilings were both very stunning.
• Strolled slowly towards the Metro to go to Chinatown!
• There is no cliché to this one, a big ugly shopping arcade, built in the style of HK style government housing complex, with a few shops spilling over.
• Our aunty was so excited to show us around, pointing out all the little knick knacks, and all the Vietnamese stuff you can get.
• We picked up a few Viet items we can’t get in London, and Slokky actually carried a box of Mee Goreng back!!
• Dinner at one of the many Vietnamese restaurants. The pho had wonderful stock, but the noodles and the beef (which was too thick and too thin) was a letdown. My grill pork was the reverse, the pork was too fat and it wasn’t grilled nicely. This was so disappointing as I was really looking forward to having good Vietnamese again, but it least it tastes better than any of the Vietnamese in London.
• Shopped for our own won ton and war tip to take home.
• Back home for more chatting, photos and strawberry tart.

Food

• apple tartlet
• palmier
• puff pastry with creamed filling
• vinegar pork
• dutch sausages
• tomato and mozzarella salad
• beetroot salad
• mixed salad leaves
• pineapple
• praline, lemon and coriander ice cream
• banana sorbet
• taste test bread
• prune tart
• Brittany sugared pastry
• milk
• fairy floss
• dinner at Viet place:
  • 3 colour ice
  • Vietnamese coffee
  • rare beef pho
  • grilled pork
• strawberry tart

Day 1 17/5/08 - France

London -> Paris

Highlight

• Very quick at Eurostar check-in so had ages to wait at the station.
• People behind me kept kicking me so I couldn’t get any good sleep.
• Caught the metro (4) and then the bus (128) to Aunty’s cool stone house, which still manged to be very typical Chinese.
• Had a nice Chiense meal at home before heading out to town.
• First stop, St Germain des Pres, to the Aigle to buy a cool shoulder bag (€32).
• Then to the cheapest pharmacy in town (it was packed!) to get some face cream and deodorant. Will do more research next time to what stuff to buy, there were so many choices!!
• The weather was on and off rain and sun, but we decided we were going to attempt to go up the Eiffel Tower anyway.
• Had a brief glimpse at the church of St Germain des Pres, then window shopped our wap towards the Eiffle Tower.
• Past the impressive Musee de l’armee and La Dome.
• I wanted to go to the free museum night that night, but we couldn’t because of the aunties. Oh well, next trip.
• The queue was so much shorter than last time, and it only took around 40 mins to get the the 1st set of lifts.
• I wanted to walk the stairs but we didn’t since we were with the aunties.
• When we got ot level 2, the weather had cleared up, so took some quick snaps before another time to get in the lifts to go up to the top.
• The wait was long, and by the time we went up the very cool lifts, the weather had turned bad. Still it was cool, as you could see sun shining in one area, and rain in another. The view was clear, even if not sunny, and we could see all different parts of Paris. Definitely a worthy trip.
• waited another 40 minuts to come, then waited forever for the aunties to go to the toilet since the lady was cleaning it.
• Total spent, 3 hours. Time spent looking at things, around 40 minutes, the rest was waiting time. Next time I will try and come at night and eat at the restaurant.
• Down via Palais de Chaillot on our way to the Arc de Trimphe.
• There was a ceremony going on with uniformed people, a speech and a brass band, but we didn’t bother going close enough or staying long enough to find out exactly what was going on.
• Went for a brief walk down the Champs Elysee, but it started to pour again, so we hopped on the metro on the way to Montparnass.
• Dinner at an old style bistro, which aunty knew the people well. They conversed in Chinese and French, which was so funny. The chicken was very good and the milk dessert. All the other dishes were very passable indeed, so it proves that food is just good in Paris.
• Drove home, observed the sunset while going around the Arc de Trimphe roundabout. So beautiful, and so crazy with the traffic.
• Detoured to the Bois de Boulogne and watched all the transverstites/prostitutes standing around. They were much uglier than their Thailand equivalent though.
• Home for tea, chocolate and chats about the past and view more photos of Slokky.

Food

• toffee waffle
• won ton and wor tip
• dinner at Bistro de la Tour:
  • duck mousse with baguette
  • escargot
  • fillet of bef in mushroom sauce and spaghetti
  • African grilled chicken with green sauce and roasted banana
  • steamed milk pudding with strawberry sauce
  • profiteroles with chocolate sauce
  • coffee ice cream
• hazelnut chocolate
• orange peel chocolate

Day 3 14/1/08 - France

Lille -> London

Highlight

• Another early morning start to make it to work. Woke up at 6:20am to pack. Luckily the station is so close that we only needed 5 minutes to get there.
• It was still very dark outside so didn’t really see the tulips very well. Saw them during the day too but didn’t bother to take a pic of them.
• Slokky did his normal rushing thing, walking really fast and panicking at everything, even though we were early and there were absolutely no lines, so we got through all the security checks in 10 minutes.
• Train not coming out from Disneyland this time so no kids, but lots of business people instead.
• Saw numerous French people looking at an abandoned food bag on a seat, opening it up and smelling it, until one of them actually opened it to eat!!
• Got stuck for more than 1 hour because there was a problem in the Euro tunnel. I don’t know what it was but at least 2 trains went past in the time. I actually watched the sunrise from the train.

Food

• apple
• pineapple tart (€3.50)

Day 2 13/1/08 - France

Lille

Highlight

• Was going to start our usual early day, but we were just too tired to wake up and since the sun wasn’t up, we didn’t go out until after 9:30am.
• Caught the metro to Wazemme Market, where on Sunday there’s a huge flee market. It was starting to buzz when we got there, and was choked full of people when we left two hours later.
• The clothes, nik naks and such wasn’t of much interest, as they are nothing compared to the markets of Asia and Africa. What we wanted to see was the food of course, but that part of the market was pretty disappointing. The usual stores that you could find outside, and not even that much to choose from.
• It was more interesting wandering around the streets. Stopped off at some bakeries for some goodies (slightly cheaper than Paris) and admired the terrains, cheese, ready to heat meal (much better than the stuff you get in London) in the shop windows.
• All the shops are meant to be closed on Sundays, but because it’s sales time, they have "exceptional openings", which was lucky for us.
• For some reason, even though we were wandering around the streets of this little square, Slokky managed to get lost. He stopped to look at the map every minute or so.
• Slokky stepped on dog poo, right after I told him to watch out for it.
• There was a whole row of the market occupied entirely by roast chicken shop (all in all I think there are at least 10 around the market), and we couldn’t resist getting one, especially accompanied by that potato soaked in the roasting fat. Grabbed a still warm baguette and headed back to our apartment to make use of the facilities for lunch.
• As we had finished seeing all the site yesterday, we only had the Citadelle left. Half the stores around had exceptional opening today, but not much people were in them.
• Stopped off to have a brief look at the Vielle Bourse, which was a building(s) with a little square inside filled with some booksellers. However, only half the stores were opened and there were no people there today.
• We wandered around the near empty streets, and found out where all the people went when we reached the Citadelle.
• Everyone was decked out in their designer sportswear and jogging around the outside of the Citadelle. After our indulgence for the past weeks, we thought we’d better have a walk around as well, so we did a very pleasant loop around.
• It was only past 2pm when we finished, and as we had run out of things to see, I could finally go back to the shops to browse to my heart’s content.
• There were lots of lovely stuff. Why is it the French shops have better stuff than everyone else even though it’s the same company? The stuff in Kookai, H&M and the like were actually better quality and better design than in Aust and London! I saw some great flats that I wanted but didn’t buy because of the lack of space. There were also these beautiful wool scarves in the best colour which I also didn’t indulge myself in. The designer stuff are also cheaper here too. There were a few pairs of Marc Jacobs flats and Chloe heels that were fabulous, and the cookware is great. We nearly got a set of Tefal ingenio pans (the ones with the removable handles), but decided to stick it out with our old ones for a bit longer, and when it finally dies we’ll invest in some top quality ones.
• We wanted to go to Carrefour but it was closed, so we didn’t end up trying that Galette de Frangipane, the one with the crown in every single shop after all. We did manage to find another supermarket, Monoprix, where we bought some discounted goods and regional goodies.
• Finished our shopping before it was acceptable dining hours, but since there was nothing to do, we decided to dine anyway. Walked around a bit before settling on a corner pub not far from the station. It was cheap and cheerful, and the waiter spoke pretty great English. The food was simple and cheap, but the servings were so huge we absolutely couldn’t move when we finished. The taste certainly didn’t compare to yesterday, but it was what we expected in the setting.

Food

• giant palmier
• flan (€1.30)
• baguette
• roast chicken (€5)
• potato soaked in roasted chicken fat (€1.60)
• waffle with sugar and butter filling
• set dinner at Le Napoleon (€13.90):
  • ham and brie salad with mustard dressing
  • 2 types of terrains
  • white bread
  • beer
  • androulette with mustard sauce, chips and salad
  • mussels a la crème with chips
  • chocolate cake with loads of cream
  • lemon sorbet and strawberry ice-cream

Day 1 12/1/08 - France

London -> Lille

Highlight

• It was a relatively late start. We had a smooth ride on the Eurostar. Managed to arrive at our hotel and get out by about 12pm
• Checked out Euralille for a bit. Got myself some North Face winter shoes (60) for Iceland.
• Checked out a few games store before catching the confusing Metro to the <> Market.
• Forgot about needing coins for the ticket machine so had to go to ticket office to get Metro ticket. Luckily here there are no lines and the tickets are cheap.
• Did a bit of shopping at Galeries Lafayette while waiting for the tourist office to open. (yup the 2 hour lunch break).
• Unfortunately Slokky was doing the “I am anxious we’re going to be late, so let’s rush everything” thing so I couldn’t stop to look at anything I want, and we had to go to the tourist office, which is situated in the Palais Rihour. The Palais is kinda unremarkable, especially after all the huge sites we’ve seen before.
• Looked at the various other buildings on our audio guide and general wandering around - Opera, Hotel de Ville, Eglise St Maurice,Musee de l’Hospice Comtesse. The most interesting part is theCathedrale Notre Dame de la Treille, a mix of ancient and modern, which was very interesting. The abstract paintings of the ascension to the cross make a change from the usual drawings and sculptures you see. The front of the church has been newly decked out with thin marble that lets the light through and is quite cool.
• A stop to the huge Carrefour hypermart completed the day, we stocked up on our usual cheese, terrain and waffles.
• Dinner at Le Sebastopol, a 1 Michelin star restaurant. The staff was not too good at English, but we did manage to find out what we were ordering. The food was excellent, especially the exquisite desserts. Thing weren’t too fussed over, the presentation very simple, the only letdown was probably the boring meat plates.
• It was good value considering I actually got 2 glasses of wine with my dinner as well. We were truly stuffed by the end of it, so a stroll back to the hotel was much needed.
• Lille is definitely a walkable city, you can see all the major sites on foot. What was unremarkable was that there was much less to see and do than I anticipated.

Food

• huge pain au chocolate, palmier and chocolate chip bread (3)
• tarte tartin
• Dinner at Le Sebastopol:
  • little bread rolls
  • tasting plate with foie gras dumpling, cauliflower soup, steamed egg with foie gras
  • dessert plate with chestnut crème, raspberry tartlet, sugar tuile, hazelnut chocolate