m y m i n i a t u r e p a g e

PARIS DAY 3 : MONA LISA (PART 1)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

We are back from our short vacation to Singapore. And my feet hurt so badly that I could hardly walk. But overall, we really had a blast! Hehe.

UNIVERSAL STUDIO SINGAPORE | September 2012

I don’t know what the deal is, but this week I still feel like it’s one long holiday week off for some reason. Maybe sebab tadi (Tuesday) I was still on leave. Bukan suka-suka cuti tapi replacement cuti “Wesak Day” hari tu. Thanks to the Firm! Hehe. And nanti training je from Wednesday till Friday!

Hmm, one of my favorite things in the world kan is actually having my body massaged. My feet, my back, my neck and my head. Well, I’ll be getting my massage soon this week. A long, deep massage. Oh, how I wished I could have a massage everyday!

Ok now, let’s go to Paris again.

Click HERE for previous entry.

28 APRIL 2012

My first day in Paris didn’t turn out to be how I’d expected it; not worse, per se, just different. Macam mana nak cakap eh, it was really a rough day. Today was the kind of day when I should’ve called or told my parents or my friends and said I wasn’t doing okay. But I didn’t.

Hmm, whatever satisfaction is in hassling women on the street, it wasn’t funny or charming. But it was super offensive and frustrating. Sigh.

I don’t really know or maybe nobody seems to know what to do about it or even what to say. Kan? So here is a question I would like to propose; how do we deal with this?

Ok cukup pasal tu.

That night, lepas dah dapat Wi-Fi connection, I received a message from my abah;

Abah doakan Idah dalam keredhaan Allah.

Hehehe. So sweet of him. Dia risau la tu. But then kan, I’m scared of being away from my family too, purely because I’ve never been away from them for so long. Paling lama pun 10 days. Dulu-dulu masa dekat boarding school, my parents selalu datang time weekend to see me and masa dekat Uni, selalu sangat balik rumah, almost every week! Hahaha.

So in short, my feelings are a bit of mixed at the moment. Excitement and fear of having a bit of a challenge. Hehe.

And… thanks abah, for the doa. :)

It was 12 midnight (Paris time) and both Fana and Aween dah selamat tidur dengan bahagianya. And I’m always having major sleep issues. Jet-lagged maybe? Masa dekat Eiffel Tower tadi, sambil posing ambil gambar, sambil menguap. Hahaha. Punyalah dah mengantuk. And now, I can’t sleep. At all!

Golek sana, golek sini, still tak boleh tidur. So I turned on the TV and watched some boring show. Boring sebab, tak faham! Hahaha. French ok. Tsk tsk. It’s horrible when you’re sitting in bed and just can’t sleep! Tak suka. Selalu sangat macam ni. Thank God, ada free Wi-Fi dalam hotel ni, so I just on my netbook and just go on random websites and things like that. Oh, tak lupa jugak, to upload some of my pictures kat Facecook. Hehehe. Entah pukul berapa agaknya tertidur.

Then, I woke up at 4.30am. Fana and Aween still tidur. Nyenyak. So I ambil wudhu’ and solat subuh dulu. Kat luar dah cerah. Terang. I pull the curtains and blinds to let the natural light in and having a quiet time before anybody else in the room is up.

The light coming in and my vision going out, escaping the walls I surround myself with. The street looks really nice. The brick buildings and the trees, reaching for their rooftops. Car on both sides and people walking dogs. Yang ada sign board kuning tu, post office. Just in front of my hotel.

All three of us skipped dinner semalam. Terlupa! Hehe. Penat sangat agaknya. So we’d be super hungry for breakfast and have room for everything! Heavy breakfast ni. NASIK. Siap dengan sambal ikan bilis, serunding daging, and gulai ayam bagai. Hahaha. Memang la terasa macam kat rumah. Baru hari ke-3 uols, dah rindu nasik ke. Tsk tsk tsk.

I am so bad at cooking; in fact memang selalu failed masak nasi. Sobs. So, tugas-tugas catering ni, my friend, Fana yang buat. Semua mak nenek rice cooker, kettle, iron semua tu memang we brought from home. Sebab tu lah beg berat. Tu belum campur semua bahan-bahan masakan lagi tu yang memang mostly Brahim. Hahaha. Orang kata, pandai-pandaila nak hidup kat negara orang ni. Duit dah la tak banyak. Keke.

So since Fana dah in-charge catering, I haritu lebih kepada logistic officer. Hehe. Tapi banyak jugak sesat baratnya. Normal. Even kalau kat KL ni pun selalu sangat sesatnya. Hahaha. All of my close friends memang dah tahu sangat. Kalau tak sesat or tak call tanya direction, memang tak sah. My sense of direction is poor to the point of being ridiculous, sometimes. Hehe.

After the meal, we just took a shower and dressed like a tourist! Hahaha. Put your scarf on because a scarf really can complete your outfit and makes it easy to update your look. Hehehe.

We started our journey early in the morning (7.15am), and there was no one there at the metro station! Awal kan? Hmm, Paris metro station on the other hand is always dark.

Ok, so how to pronounce “Malakoff Plateau De Vanves” ni? Senang sajork. Gini.;

“Malakoff Platu Di Vang”! Hahahaha. Hari-hari duk dengar benda yang sama, 4 times a day. Hehe. Mau nya tak ingat.

Since today is Saturday, we bought Youth Weekend Ticket (Ticket Jeunes Weekend); a day ticket restricted to use on Saturday and Sunday. So ticket ni memang available to all under 26! Hehe. And thank God we’re still eligible to purchase that ticket! We saved a lot! Be ready to be able to prove your age both at times of purchase and by inspection teams that frequent the transport network. So, jangan tipu ok! Hehe.

Cost : 3.55Euro

Fare zone : 1 - 3

Source : HERE

First thing I did masa keluar hotel tadi was to check the skies and it was not a good sign. It was still very cloudy with rain looking like it might come down any minute. Hmm. I love it when it rains seriously. Sometimes I find rain is so romantic. I love falling asleep to the sound of raindrops on the roof. But not now please. Bukan masa travel. Hehe.

Where are we heading to?

THE LOUVRE

THE LOUVRE : The closest metro station - Louvre Rivoli or Palais Royal Musee De Louvre

Opening hours :
- Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday - from 9.00am. to 6.00pm
- Wednesday , Friday - from 9.00am. to 9.45pm
- Closed on Tuesday and French holidays - 1 January, 1 May, 25 December

Admission fee - 11Euro

Source : HERE

We arrived at The Louvre pretty early around 8.15am, posing snap snap pictures of us in front of the Louvre! Oh God, we should join the queue first at least! Ambil gambar later. But then, the queue wasn’t too long yet probably about 80 people in front of us. This is nothing.

30 minutes later, the line was probably 10 times this and the queues inside just as crazy, but it was very well organised.

The big glass pyramid is the main entrance to the Louvre and the ticket counter just under the entrance. Since we were among the first 100 people to enter the Louvre, so the queue inside was rather short. Lagipun banyak counter ada. Maybe around 8 counters kot? Sampai-sampai dekat counter, we quickly got our tickets and tiba-tiba ringan mulut nak berborak dengan orang yang jaga ticket tu kan and I asked;

Where is Mona Lisa?

Hahahaha. Dia macam haaaa tak tahu nak jawab apa. Rasanya soalan ni adalah salah. Maybe kena tukar ayat and tanya, “Where can I see Mona Lisa” kot? Kekeke ;p. And he smiled and replied;

She’s upstairs waiting for you

Hahahaha. Whatever la kan. Hehe.

Ok, so first famous art piece we came upon was the Winged Victory.

A sculpture and paintings on the walls we saw along the way to Mona Lisa. We were keen to reach Mona Lisa as the guidebook had suggested we do just that before the crowd arrives at the Louvre. Tapi kan, it seemed that everyone else had read the same guidebook and decided to take note of the same piece of advise! Hahaha.

Punyalah ramai orang. Nampak kepala je how? Hehe. Tapiii, cuba cari mana iols? Nun di depon sana! Hahaha. Fida… Fida…Tak senonoh perangai. Bila tengok-tengok album my friend, terjumpa gambar ni. Haha. Tak sangka!

There was a huge crowd in the hall where the Mona Lisa is. While there was no proper queue, I managed to edge my way to see her! Kekeke.

She had a wall to herself and was snug and secure behind glass with guards watching intently. Couldn’t believe we were actually there with her in all her glory. She is lovely. Oh, and she is as small as what the guidebook had said. I can’t really see her sebab I’m having a problem with my eyes kot lately ni, rabun orang kata. Tapi taknak pakai spec. Hehehe.

But then, well, that was a check on the list of touristy things to do! Hehe.

When you are at Mona Lisa, make a 180 degree u-turn to admire the Wedding Feast at Cana!

Wedding Feast of Cana! It is gigantic.

To be continued…

Panjang sangat ni. Training sat lagi ni sure tersengguk-sengguk mengantuk. Haha.

Good night!

Labels: Paris, Travel

3:13 AM | 4 comments

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Fida Jacob
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Hi everyone! My weaknesses are pretty things and kindness. Knowledge is of high importance. I believe that everyone has the potential to become the best they can be and that beauty comes within. This is a spot where I'll share with you some of my adventures + my inner thoughts! Oh and don't forget to follow me on instagram! : @fidajacob