In the Land of Pepe Le Pew

Visited Paris in June of 2009. Took the TGV train from Stuttgart which cost 200 Euros roundtrip. I think it took us three hours to get to Paris but then we didn't mind since it was way cheaper than flying.

One of the many statues in the Luxembourg Garden.
Caption: Dammit, standing here the whole day fully exposed
with this tiny thing is bad enough.
Now this pigeon decides to poop on me? Why me???

Stayed at the Hotel Excelsior Latin which was in the middle of the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement). The hotel was walking distance to the Pantheon, Louvre, Luxembourg Garden, Notre Dame, Centre Pompidou and the Sorbonne.

Notre Dame illuminated at night. 

Rose window in the North transept in Notre Dame with the
theme of the Old Testament. 

La Pyramide Inversee, which is a skylight,  in the Caroussel du Louvre. 

Sacre-Coeur Basilica, located in the summit of Montmartre,
is the highest point in the city.

Unlike our trip to Barcelona, we decided to be all-touristy in the city of love. This included walking along the Moulin Rouge district, viewing the city from Montmartre, going to the Eiffel Tower, walking up Champs-Elysee where all the high-end shops are, visiting the Louvre, etc.

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower from below.

Walking along the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe 

Arc de Triomphe

Moulin Rouge

A cute little fueling station on one of the streets in the Pigalle district.

If you're in Paris for a limited time, I suggest you visit the Musee D'Orsay rather than the Louvre. If you are a true art lover, you would need more than a day to see everything in the Louvre. If you're going there just for the sake of saying you've been there, then just pick a specific section that you really are interested in. I'm guessing most people would want to see the Mona Lisa. Prepare to be disappointed though since the Mona Lisa room is normally packed with tourists and the painting itself is not even that big. Very difficult to get up close and take a good photo.

The famed Mona Lisa portrait of Da Vinci.

Among all the things we did,  I would recommend that you take the Seine River Cruise and a day trip to visit the Chateau de Versailles. The cruise costs about 10 Euros if I'm not mistaken. To go to Versailles, just hop on a train headed outside Paris. You'll be there in less than an hour. Another suggestion is to grab a baguette sandwich in one of the many delis in the city and hang out by the Seine or the Luxembourg Garden to people watch.

If uncertain of which area in Paris to stay, check out this map as it describes the differences among each neighbourhood.

More pics from the trip will be posted soon!

When In Amsterdam...

take a canal cruise.

Straightest area of the canal. You can see right through to the 4th bridge.

walk along the Red Light District.

No photos of the girls can be taken unless you want trouble.

visit the Flower Market.

visit the Anne Frank House.

Really blurry shot of the AF door

The Anne Frank House from afar

kill time at the Sex Museum.

wander inside the Hemp Museum.

rent a bike...

Bikes everywhere!

...and go sightseeing.

Royal Palace on Dam Square

Madame Tussaud's

Munttoren Tower on Muntplein Square

An old castle-looking building turned into a restaurant

Church by the Flower Market

watch out for the train.

The train passes right in front of our hotel on Raadhuisstraat

admire the cute little canal houses and boathouses.

Canal house with nice pink windows

One of the many boathouses along the canal

hang out at a coffeeshop.

The Bulldog is a popular hotel and cafe among tourists

Abraxas is a popular coffee shop among locals

people watch while having an Amstel.

and do what the locals do.

See what the guy has in his left hand? :P

I "Heart" Barcelona

I have a friend who is going all the way to Spain for her Nadal-fix. She's gone to China two years ago to watch him play. And to Bangkok last year to drool over him court-side. She's a stalker. She's crazy. Anyway, I digress.

Spent 6 days in Barcelona in the Summer of 2009. Weather was around 30-34 degrees but then I come from a tropical country so it wasn't really that bad.

Decided to stay in a hotel in the La Rambla area called Hostal Opera Ramblas. It's a budget hotel located along an alley a few meters away from the Opera and the Liceu metro station. A night's stay cost us around 55-63 euros. The hotel is located right smack in La Rambla which is a 1.2km-long street in central Barcelona that's very popular with both tourists and locals.

Walking up La Rambla

Everything is walking distance from this area--the city beaches, the Boqueria, Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila (by Antoni Gaudi), countless bars, restaurants, hotels and even the shopping district.

Entrance to the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria

La Boqueria bursting with colors

Sagrada Familia ceiling (taken while waiting for the lift)

View from one of the towers of Sagrada Familia

Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi

Since my travel companion and I aren't the artsy-fartsy kind, we only spent 2 days doing the normal touristy stuff and decided to spend the rest of stay hanging out at the beach, both inside and outside the city. Beaches outside the city are a mere 10 to 15-minute train ride away with Castelldefels and Sitges being the two closest and most popular. If going to Sitges, the right beach is where gays mostly  hang out and the left beach, right behind the pink church, is where families and straight couples mostly go.

Cool cafe at one of the city beaches

Sitges Beach

Lunch at a Restaurant by Sitges Beach

La Rambla is littered with restaurants so foodies need not fret. On our first day, we decided to eat at Pinotxo, a really tiny stall inside La Boqueria, which I've read so much about. The place doesn't have a printed/set menu so whatever they feel like cooking that day are the only ones available. Would do you good to know the Spanish words for chicken, pork, beef and seafood. Food was good, ingredients fresh and the caña cold.

Estofado and a Caña

While some of the restos along La Rambla are tourist traps, I strongly recommend having a bite at Cafe Viena which is just past La Boqueria. Order their Flauta d'Iberico d.o Jabugo. It only has 3 ingredients: jamon iberico, flauta (like baguette) and a juicy tomato that's rubbed on the bread to give it a bit of moisture and flavor (no tomato slices included in the sandwich!). So simple yet tastes so divine!
The.Best.Sandwich.Ever. Mark Bittman totally got it right on his article.

Flauta D'Iberico d.o. Jabugo
Photo from here

Another thing not to be missed in Barcelona is the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. It truly is a spectacular display of color, light, motion, music and water acrobatics. It's not open the whole year so better check out their site for opening schedules. Highly recommended.

Watched the Magic Fountain of Montjuic show...

one Summer night. AWESOME!!!

My feet are itching to go back!

Cafe Viena

C/ La Rambla, 115
08002 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 171 492

Pinotxo

Mercat de la Boqueria, La Rambla
Barcelona, Spain 
+34 933 171 731

Hostal Opera Ramblas

C/ Sant Pau 20
08001 Barcelona, Spain
+34 933 188 201
www.operaramblas.com

Sagrada Familia

Plaça de la Sagrada Família, Mallorca, 401, 
08013 Barcelona
+34 932 073 031
For ticket info and opening hours, visit the Sacred Destinations page.

Euro Country Seeks Bailout

Photo from OleOle.com

Greece asked for a bailout in April last year, then Ireland in November.
Now it's C. Ronaldo's country. Portugal.
Wonder which European country will be next.

Read the article on CNN.

Things I miss from my European Summer...(Part 1)

the BOOZE!

Amsterdam: Amstel at one of the pubs near the RLD

Italy: Birra Moretti at Lake Garda

Barcelona: Spanish San Miguel on the way to the beach

Germany: Bit Copa--tastes like shandy

At a Biergarten: Eichbaum

Stuttgart: Lösch-Zwerg Bier

(a bit of a tongue-twister so I call it "Dwarf Beer")

No schnapps and grappa on the list because I don't miss 'em at all =)