european memories (part ii)

The next part of this series, is all about my one true love - Paris, France. The romantic capital city and home to world famous chocolate, pastries and of course, my favourite: macarons. I won't be able to cover Paris in just one post. Watch out for more if you're interested!~ Here are photos from some of the touristy tourist attractions I visited. I stopped by Paris about 6 times in total, usually spending at least a day, or a few nights to get as much exploring as I could.

 The famous Louvre museum. We managed to explore almost the entire place, with plenty of stopping and resting! It's a magnificently large museum, filled with the most famous works of art. Not to mention, the ceilings themselves are a wonder!~

 The Eiffel Tower required 2 visits! Both were at night so we could see the city's lights twinkling below us. It was so, so cold in late autumn, but the views are absolutely stunning. So very Parisian! I even found some very beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe too. After the long climb up, the view is definitely worth it!

 

 Galerie Lafayette is perfect for (window) shopping, drooling over 800euro fur coats and being dazzled by the stained glass dome above. All the pretty lights.

 

More museum days! This is the Centre Pompidou, home to modern art! Known better as the inside-out building, I didn't think it was as pretty as the Louvre, but still an iconic must-see museum in Paris!

 A hike to the Cimeterie Pere Lachaise had to be a super quick one as we arrived 10 minutes before closing. Unfortunately we weren't able to find Chopin or Oscar Wilde's graves before being ushered out.

 A must-see for any lolitas! Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Angelic Pretty in Paris! They are close together, within walking distance, and I was glad to buy myself a souvenir usakumya! Too bad Angelic Pretty was closed, but I did get to go again! I bought some Royal Chocolate socks from there!

 

 This is where I first glimpsed the Eiffel Tower! From Place de la Concorde~ We were on our way to find Laduree, among other things, and hello, hello!!

 DISNEYLAND! I was actually a little disappointed (and actually suffering from a cold when I went). I didn't get to stay so long to see the fireworks, but the main attraction (the castle, haha!) was lovely!!~

 

 

 

And lastly, REAL life castle! The Palace of Versailles. The most beautiful place I've ever been and ever will visit, I think. I had to go twice because you simply can't see everything in just one visit! My favourites? Definitely the gallery of mirrors and the queen's room. Such delicate and intricate details, I want to decorate my room like so! Haha~!

Pheww! That was longg, next up, more PARIS memories!

european memories (part i)

Now that the holidays are here, I thought it's the perfect time to start a series of blog posts about my trip to Europe last year! They'll mostly be in photo form, because I think they speak for themselves~! I really miss Europe and am crossing all my fingers and toes that I'll be able to visit again later this year too. (shh, it's still a secret!)

I'll have to start my memories in the place where I spent the majority of time - Poitiers, France. It's a very quaint, old-fashioned little town on the south-west of Paris (about a 1.5hr TGV ride away). I was here on an exchange with my university, and have made countless memories here:

 

 

 

My first breakfast (baguette with bonne maman jam!) and the first visit into the centre-ville for exploring and shopping times. The cobbled streets were lovely, except when walking upon them. But it was much more interesting looking up at the old and pretty buildings lining the streets.

 

Fink - the wonderful little chocolate and macaron shop we visited almost daily to get our macaron fix. Chocolate, raspberry and hazelnut for me, thank you very much! They were very, very, very good! Smelt beautifully sweet and always gave us free samples of chocolate and macarons!

 

 'Le bonheur est dans le thé'. Happiness is indeed found in tea. They had a lovely range of teas, and the best scones ever. We frequented this little tea salon, tucked away down a cute alley many times to try their teas and just relax after doing the groceries.

 

 The other tea room we enjoyed, 'Jasmine citron' (I think), which is down another little alley. Very cute and rustic. We only ever tried their tea because we preferred the other tea salon more. They were both as adorable and kitschy as each other though. Filled with books and knick-knacks!

Raspberry, cassis, peach and blueberry (I think) kir! It's the sweetest and most drinkable alochol that's also a little classy! White wine mixed with fruit liqueur. YUM.

 

 More exploring, plus saturday morning markets with fresh fruit and vegetables and flowers!!

 We spent a day with a beautifully lovely French family turning apples into fresh apple juice! Warmed with a little bit of alcohol went down perfectly on a cold day. Finished the day with a picnic (french cheese, more wine, and quiche) and playing with the cutest French children~!!

 Almost forgot, the not-so-great looking buildings that are the law building, and our home for six months. Actually, during the exams, the ceiling of the law building collapsed!! A funny joke was made about it being the start of the apocalypse!!

 

 I had to learn how to cook by myself (among other things). Apart from failed onigiri and failed cold rolls and failed croissants from a can, we managed some delicious heartwarming minestrone from scratch, potsticker dumplings, thai style noodles, and delicious frenchy crepes!

 

 

 Futuroscope fun times. Second attempt at going was a success, and so glad we went! It was actually a lot of fun!! They had some pretty impressive rides and the buildings were SO futuristic! haha!!

 And lastly Christmas! Spent  with gingerbread men, sweet delicious alcoholic raspberry bubbly, movies (die hard, ahem) and lots of cooking! They had some cute Christmas markets and a lovely tree in the middle of the plaza. Too bad we didn't have any snow, yet! :(

'Le Petit Prince' water tower in the far, far distance!

I'm really glad to have lived a small part of my life in Poitiers. I found some lovely places, and had the most memorable time away. Next up will be photos from beautiful, beautiful PARIS!