Heart of 1,000 ton

The 1 month from mid April to mid May, my heart weighed more than a thousand ton. Had never felt any worse before. Perhaps I don't know how to deal with stress.

Was given less than 2 months to organise a commercial mission in Singapore, Malaysia & Bangkok for our principal. What we had in the agenda for each country - press conference, individual meetings, port tours... in addition, a presentation & cocktail reception in KL & Bangkok which were the key events. 2 big bosses (Vice Chairman & Exec Dir from the Authority) were leading this mission & you know which level of management they would want to meet. Here's a very brief recap why it's a crazy 1.5 month.

Started with:
- proposing program
- research works in order to justify what I proposed
- reaching the top guys who're appropriate to meet & they want only BIG companies
- sourcing for hotels / secretarial assistance for disseminating invitation in that country / printers
After confirmation:
- allocating individual appointments
- liaising with hotels for all details concerning the events
- getting enough journalists for our press conference

The above was multiplied by 3 as we're having it in 3 countries! Atop that, there're the 2 cocktail receptions I needed to organise & have 100 attendees. So was working on the list of guests too.

Been telling myself it's impossible! In the past, we're given minimum 3 months or more & it's only to 1 or max 2 countries. It's the 1st time we're covering 3 countries in a row. To rub it in, Bangkok was having endless public holidays that month... Thai New Year, election, some religious days... the nation was off work for literally half a month! So how to get things done??

I wish I could die at that time. But I'm sure even if I were to die, my boss would drag me outta coffin to finish my work 1st. No joke, I'm dead serious. I couldn't imagine how I would survive.... I'd be dead meat for sure this time. 2 years back, the US Rep screwed it up when they had a similar mission in (only) US & our principal immediately axed them! My boss was fearful & of course the whole load of pressure & work fell onto me. So it's a make it or break it kinda situation. When I was near breaking down, instead of encouraging me he warned me that we DEFINITELY COULD NOT mess it up, full-stop... no reason to be given (not even when it's the principal's fault for the very late notice). Did I ever say I want to mess it up!?!? From then on, he was greeted by a charcoal face everyday - I was too stressed out & pissed. He better not step onto the land mine, my face warned him...

There're also whole lot of miscelleneous stuff that took up lotsa time. In particular the report consisting of updated portfolios of all companies we're going to meet which I had to get it done in a day. Within that particular month (end Apr - mid May), there're a total of 3 public holidays & we should be real happy. But not me. I worked in office till about 11pm the week before. The friday before my mission was a long weekend & Vince was on a company trip to HK. Never felt more depressed & claustrophobic before... I cooped up in my small room till near midnight & no air-con for the whole day... alone in the office, I felt like the whole world was enjoying except me!

Finally it's the eventful week. Had a good but truly hectic start. Individual meetings in Spore were smooth sailing... with big corporations like Temasek Holdings, the national shipping lines, stat boards... very fruitful meetings. Imagine we'd 7 meetings in only 1 day & as a result being late to almost all the appointments! The most awkward part was the lunch meeting @ Equinox & we kept 2 Chairmen waiting for nearly an hour. Was with them while the rest was still doing the press conference @ 1 of the meeting rooms downstairs... & I literally ran out of topics!

As the delegation was here for a week only... the itinerary was super super packed & a lil tough in scheduling taking into account the busy timetable of these big bosses we gonna meet. It went like tis:
Mon - Spore
Tue - Msia by road, stopover @ Malacca for an appointment then to Port Klang & KL
Wed pm to Fri - Bkk
And I had to fly to KL 1st on Mon evening. Put my luggage in the car on Mon morning & Vince supposed to whisk me to airport after work to catch the last flight. I was so caught up during the day that I barely managed to rush back to office to pick my remaining stuff. 1 of the colleagues later jokingly said when she walked past my room she thought I was still around as my drawers were wide opened & docs lying around but the recep told her I had already vroomed off!

The meetings in Port Klang, in KL including with the deputy minister & other organisations were very interesting. But what I worried most was the attendance for the 2 cocktails.

The 1st was in KL & to my relief, near to 100 guests turned up. The ambience & all other arrangements were excellent too (owing it to Hilton KL!). At the end of the event, my boss looking somber approached me & then suddenly turned into a broad smile, congratulated me for the hardwork! It's a success & the bosses were very happy! Alright I thought, 1 hurdle cleared but then it's only mid week... was very concern about our program in Bkk. Like said, due to the limited no. of working days that month, things were not yet finalised especially the evening function & the press conference... it didn't look optimistic at all. If the mission in Bangkok were to flop, it'd ruin everything because the last impression literally lasts. Was still working hard even on the move with the all-men group (except on board, no choice) & upon arrival in Bkk, worked till midnight before I had my dinner while the rest were enjoying some traditional Thai cultural dance over dinner.

And problems didn't just come in a single episode. It had been raining heavily on that particular day & evening. We're all worried as bad weather would make the already congested roads in Bkk to be even worse. It'd affect attendance for sure. But guess what eventually? The total turn-out @ our function was 130+! The function room was fully packed. Amazing! At the end of the function, all of us were completely beat but in the jolliest mood. It's the 1st time that I had some bantering moments with the big bosses... in the past was solely serious work discussions. Received praises of "well done" from my boss in front of the whole delegation & he even jokingly pleaded with me not to ask for any increment. Ha! Besides, the press conference & various individual meetings went on very well too. Particularly the unexpected good response from the Thai journalists!

Like in the past, had a review session on the last evening before their departure & all of them gave a "thumbs up". They said we did very well throughout & it's a very tiring but fruitful trip.
Yep.. I totally agree. The daily program would start as early as 7am (setting off) & stretched till the night, without any breather in between except the travelling time. We'd to split into 2 teams to attend the meetings, so you've an idea how many meetings I'd painstakingly arranged?? It's the 1st time we heard them complaining about being so hectic. Hee!

The bosses even said they'd been involved in so many of such mission (by their different Reps) all over the world before & this the 1st time they'd used up most of the business cards they brought along. Hey it's really God's deliverance!

Now that the mission was well accomplished, I would say what I hated most was the stress when things are beyond my control, eg. how to guarantee attendance for the press conference & the cocktail? I can't possibly force them to be there with a gun!? I don't mind at all doing research works & I love interacting with people from all levels. And it was my good relationship with the business associates in Msia & Bkk that contributed a big part to the success. Or I should say God helped me through my friends there.

Jetlag?

Everybody has been asking whether we've jet lag? Answer: nope. No, not for my previous trips too. Reason is we can sleep anytime. Believe it or not... even on a short flight of 50mins to KL, I can ZzZ! Hehe... good thing's I've found a husband who loves sleeping as well. In fact his zzz power is of a much higher level than me! But if you consider feeling sleepy & lethargic during the day as 1, then we're having jet lag every single day! Ha!

Or maybe there's a lil bit that can be considered as part of jetlag - our bowel system. Both of us experienced the same change for the 1st week back in Spore... in the afternoon around 3pm whereas we have the habit of settling it in the morning.

Tubby-boy

Are you wondering why there aren't many pictures of Tubby so far? 1stly, I'm not a good photographer... confirmed that during our last trip to France. Then, our dear kitten makes it even mooooooore difficult for us to take pix of him. And certainly not with the digital camera. U know... usually after you press the button, it'll take about 1 sec to process. As a result, almost all the pix taken were like a smear... because he'd run off again before his image being captured in the camera (in 1 sec!)! Sometimes if we're lucky to have caught him lazing & staying still in front of the camera, he'd close his eyes because of the flash! And I can't get rid of the flash even during daytime as we're indoors. It'd happened so many times that we now give up using the digicam. So for the time being we just have to make-do with the very low resolution pix taken by our hp.

Linda (the petshop supervisor) told us that Paul (her staff) who helped us take care of Tubby when we're away complained to her - "walao eh!! 1st time see a cat so active leh! runs around so much & kicks the sand so hard that half my living room gana!" FYI, he used to be a cat breeder... Ha... When we brought Tubby to his place we asked whether he needed the cover for Tubby's litter tray & he said don't need.

And yes, did we say we've upgraded his home to a 3-storey house, 1.5m high, that comes with a lovely hammock? We only used the 1st cage for a week & changed to the much bigger 1. He sure loves it... so much space for climbing!

Updates!

Wew! Finally completed our long Honeymoon story! It's become a rather constipated situation as all the concentration was placed on our honeymoon for the past weeks...

Will relate bit by bit what's happening lately... nothing serious or drastic though.

Our Honeymoon en France ~la fin~

Some interesting figures to start with: we've calculated.. on an average we walked a minimum of 7.5 hrs every day... highest in the record was 9.5 hrs on the 1st & last day in Paris!

Before we decided on this trip, my boss said it could be a good time to go as the weather was still cooling & it's long daylight. I didn't really believe him when he said the sun would only set at about 11pm during summer. Furthermore it's still spring time if we were to make our trip. Also asked him whether the shops & department stores would close later in that case & he said nope... "then what's the use? there's still nothing much to do at night wat..." I rebutted.

However when we're there, we gotta agree with my boss. Just don't know why we didn't feel tired easily. It's interesting huh. And Vince's colleagues asked why most fotos taken in day time 1?? So Vince explained to them again & said for the last night, we deliberately made ourselves stay out till past 11pm in order to have some night scene. Now they finally understand what we meant by having 15 hrs of daylight in a day.

And the weather was very inconsistent. The temperature could range from 10 over deg. to slightly over 20. The day we went Versailles was the coldest & we loved it!

My jie-mei asked me... I'd been to Paris twice already, still fun meh? Of coz!! It's totally different from the 1st 2 times when I'd just walked for the sake of walking & wasn't too interested in the monuments as no loved 1 to appreciate the great things & beautiful views with me. And I was so home-sick! This time round, I'd enjoyed many many things for the very 1st time.

Conclusion is..... it's an extremely fun & romantic honeymoon... just like what we'd dreamt about. Very often (even till our last day there) we just couldn't believe that we're walking on the streets of Paris, shopping @ l'Avenue des Champs Elysées, admiring the beauty of Vieux Lyon....... I mean, it's less than a week from deciding to getting everything ready. Though had been telling myself that the next time I go back to Paris would be with my loved 1, I never dared to think about it as seemed like it's never the right timing (1st was $$, housing issues, then it's because of my dad, getting the car & Tubby.... etc).

I'm so thankful to God for making my wish fulfilled at the least expected time.

Our Honeymoon en France ~last day~

Despite having packed most of the stuff on the previous night, we're still busy dumping things into our luggage the next morning. I gotta confess... it's me. There're so many things I had to use in the morning (for shower/skincare), was so fickle in deciding what to wear & messing up some of the clothes that were already in the luggage. Hubby had been doing most of the packing since the night before & was busy clearing the mess till the last minute without complaint. PS huh lao gong! Hehe... Now you know why I'm always very late to the airport when I travel alone?? But I'm sure you already know me long ago right...?

Had to check out @ 12pm & we only planned to leave for airport at 3pm (our flight was 6.50pm). After depositing our luggage at the hotel, we took a walk in the vicinity for the last time... enjoying the cool weather, the environment, the beautiful buildings... Then stopped at one of the more happening restaurants to lunch before heading back.

As usual, we took the métro to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Spent a lil more time in finding the right platform & also for the connecting train @ the interchange. Thank God we weren't too lost. The métro connectivity, while very developed, is well-known for being very complex & we'd braved it throughout our stay in France without problem. So you can imagine how complicated it was to go to the airport!?

We're very early at the boarding mall, like 2 hrs before ETD, as our check-in only took less than 5 mins. Without much better things to do (no DFS at all!!), we're stuck in our seats reading the only newspapers we could grab - Asian Wall Street Journal for me & Herald Tribune for hubby. Hey, don't be so surprised... I used to read AWSJ 1 ok....

Nearly dozed off while reading the papers & as if it's not bad enough, the boarding time was delayed for half an hour. Finally got on the plane but it didn't take off till exactly 2 hours later than the scheduled time! Our butts started to cramp even before the 12-hr+ flight journey began!! But the most intolerable part was the din!!

However we still gotta thank God because we didn't have a connecting flight to rush. All in all it's late for more than 2.5hours. There were quite a few passengers making arrangements for the next connecting flight as I think they'd missed the last 1. It's great that we returned in good health though we're a lil tired & disoriented.

And we only took a few pictures on the last day.

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day7~

Started the day by getting more chocolates & sweets to bring home. Had tested the chocs (it's really not an excuse for eating! hee!) & they're very nice. So thought of bringing more back as I was sure it'd not be enough when we're back. And remember the Ferrero Raffaello Coconut, the coconut version of rocher with an almond in the middle, that used to be sold in Singapore? Both of us love that but disappointingly we can no longer find it in Singapore. Found in France & we bought 4 boxes back (think contains 30+ pieces in ea box)!! Hee!

It's already past noon after we brought the food stuff back to the hotel & out again. Went shopping at Boulevard Haussmann & bought a few more tops & a bermudas for Vince. Our ultimate aim that day was to stay out late so we could finally take some night pix of Notre Dame & Eiffel Tower. Therefore we walked towards Ile de la Cité by taking another route from the previous day's. Spent some time at Forum des Halles which is a big park... it used to be a central wholesale marketplace some 800 years ago. Next to it was the 2nd biggest church in Paris - St Eustache Church. Very nice... with a mixture of Gothic & Renaissance designs but it's undergoing major repair works.

Made a few rounds at the 2 streets of restaurants near Les Halles. Vince's dear wife wanted to have chicken that evening but we concluded that Parisians so love the chicken that they eat only beef! In the end settled for fast food again & right after our dinner, we passed by this restaurant that served chicken in various styles of cooking!! Why it's always like this!!! Then had dessert at 1 of the restaurants facing the Seine river. Had my 1st tarte aux pomme (apple tart) on this trip but it's a shame that I didn't get to eat my fav - tarte tartin at all.....

Then very slowly we walked to Notre Dame & it's just the right timing when we reached. Beautiful Notre Dame...

Thereafter, we had a stroll along the River Seine to the other end where Eiffel was. It's the easiest & most convenience way by foot.

It's almost completely dark by the time we reached Eiffel Tower... ie. it's nearly 10.30pm Paris time. The brightly-lit Eiffel looked truly glamorous!

Finished our last shot close to 11pm & made our way back. Was feeling a lil sad that it's gonna be our last night & 5th day in Paris. Well... happy hours always pass you by swiftly!

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day6~

Wanted more ZzzZ that morning & thus woke up later than usual. Left the hotel past noon & it's a raining day. We had a stroll to Rue de Rivoli again to get some more souvenirs. Then conveniently walked through Le Louvre to Pont des Arts (bridge of arts), the 1st iron bridge in Paris. They're setting up a gallery there but we didn't stay too long as it's raining pretty heavily.

From there we walked to Ile de la Cité, a small island uniquely situated in River Seine, where the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris is. It's fun walking in the rain... gotta enjoy while we could! Reached Notre Dame about 45mins later. The more than 700-year old Gothic church looked really gorgeous! Went in & we're simply in awe of the beautiful interior. And it's so crowded. When we came out after the tour, we realised it's raining heavily again. No wonder there're so many people inside... to take shelter huh.

Unable to take much pictures..... but the rain didn't deter us from proceeding on & we decided to take an extended route to Eiffel Tower. Think we must have walked for more than 6km (!!)... covering Montparnasse area, passing by Hôtel des Invalides, Ecole Militaire (Military School) etc... It stopped raining by then & the weather's great. Were admiring some houses when we're close to Eiffel Tower & thought - how would these residents feel.. being able to face the great view everyday? would they be so used to it that they don't find it special anymore?

Finally we reached the big park in front of Eiffel - Parc du Champ de Mars. It's quite a long walk & we got to see the Eiffel Tower gradually getting bigger in front of us. WOW... couldn't believe we're standing right before the lofty La Tour Eiffel! Truly magnificent!!! It's said to be the best monument that symbolises Europe (not only France)......

Took quite a few pix but not very well taken as we'd forgotten to take our stand out. & there's no way we could wait for the night scene because it's only 7.30pm & far from getting dark! Felt real exhausted by then & had to take the métro back.

Know why we're so drained? Tis the route we travelled by foot for 6 hours on our 4th day in Paris.

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day5~

Left hotel at noon & we're going to Versailles by train. There's a direct train from Gare St Lazare so it's very convenient. But the problem was the signages made it quite confusing & we nearly took the wrong train.

Château de Versailles, or the Castle of Versailles, is located in the suburb... Southwest of Paris. Took about half an hour by train to reach the town of Versailles. The château is just within walking distance.

Felt the coldness once stepped outta train station & very soon, it started drizzling accompanied with very strong wind. When we saw the dark cloudy sky ahead, were a lil hesitant but decided to go ahead since we're already there. Glad we didn't make a U-turn.

While wandering in the château, we couldn't help but to think how such a massive piece of land with very impressive buildings was developed & looked like with the kings & queens living in more than 300 years ago. It could also house 20,000 courtiers at a time! Believe it!? It just made us feel so small... as if the boundaries were limitless. Ended our tour there when we're near to freezing, so cold that we couldn't walk normally. To think that at the end of our visit, we only covered less than 5% of the total land size which is about 815 hectares in total !

From Versailles, we took the train to Montmartre, back to the city of Paris. Visited another remarkable monument at the top of Montmartre hill - Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. There's this charming lil village behind the church, with many restaurants/bistros/pubs & painters.. a very arty place...

Walked down the Montmartre hill & the sloping lanes to reach the Montmartre area on ground. As usual, we intended to walk back to the hotel & took a stroll on the main road. There're many sex shops & peep-show bars on both sides, only then we knew it's a red light district. And before we even realised it, we're in front of Moulin Rouge! Had been wanting to go there to take a look in one of the evenings but we're always too tired to make a special trip there. So we're really happy to 'bump' into it! It's 7pm then & the sun's still shining brightly... so there's no way we could wait till night time to take some night scenes.

On the way back, went to the supermarket to get mineral water & some snacks. Reached our hotel around 9pm & ended our 3rd day in Paris.

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day4~

We're booked on an 9am train from Lyon back to Paris. Planned to wake up latest @7am... to get prepared & pack up the remaining stuff, then to have our breakfast before checking out. However we got up late & had only 10mins to take our breakfast. Not that the breakfast was too marvellous to miss... again, just to fill up our tummy. Wanted to save some $$ mah...

Eventually left with only 20 minutes to check out, walk to the station & look for the right platform... & there're more than 10 lines at the station! Thank God we made it in time, in fact 10mins earlier. It's soooo cold to be waiting @ the platform!!!

Cute huh?

Arrived @ Gare Saint Lazare @11am & we're a lil lost initially. Good thing it didn't take us too long to finally locate the hotel. It's actually very near to the station but we mistakenly took the opposite direction. Again, had to wait for about an hour before we checked in. Guess no more surprises due to the prior personal 'inspection'.

When we entered the room, we're surprised but this time it's a pleasant 1. Our room was big! Even bigger than some standard hotel rooms in Singapore or Malaysia. And the bathroom was like 3 times of what we previously had... besides a bathtub, there're 2 toilet bowls (1 for doing business & the other for washing)! Everything's in white, so clean & new! Wow... It's very very much better than we've expected. But the next moment, we're thinking... could they have taken our booking wrongly? Because during our visit to the hotel on the 1st day, they quoted us 2 types of rooms: 1 standard room for €145 & the next category, a deluxe @ €190. We definitely didn't want to pay S$390 for a room per night! So to be safe, we reconfirmed with them the type of room we'd originally booked. The hotel staff, who's very helpful & friendly, immediately understood our meaning & confirmed that they'd given us an upgrade. Hee! So happy!!

Went out @ around 1pm. The itinerary of the day was to explore the touristy Rue de Rivoli, 1 of the most famous streets in Paris. Along this extremely long & straight road (approx 2km), one can see several famous monuments & places of interest. It's great for shopping too & 1 of the end is linked to Champs Elysées with Place de la Concorde being the connecting point.

On the way, we passed by La Madeleine again & Place Vendôme. Bought some souvenirs... Rue de Rivoli is also known for having a string of souvenir shops. Took quite a lot of pictures @ Place du Palais Royal & across the road was the very famous Musée du Louvre! Spent a bit of time in Le Louvre & from there we continued on Rue de Rivoli. Then came l'Hôtel de Ville, the City Hall of Paris. Had a great time shopping around too. One of the purchases of the day - this stylish, zipped-up pink sweater...

Guess the price?? Will reveal @ the end of this post.

It's a laid-back afternoon we truly enjoyed. Covered the whole of Rue de Rivoli by foot. And the weather was great... cold, windy & cloudy.

Heading back to hotel by taking another route, exploring the small & interesting lanes. On the way, went to a big supermarket near Opéra Garnier to buy some chocolates & sweets back for colleagues. Reached hotel past 7pm. After a lil rest, went out for dinner @ a Kebab shop just down the street... it started raining then but we're happy that it stopped soon after, just before we were about to return to the hotel. Well.... 6 hours of walking were enough for our second day in Paris.

And yes, about the sweater.... we bought it @ €3.90. Tatz right, S$8, ie. It's so unbelievably cheap right??? At 1st I thought I saw it wrongly. So this definitely was the best best buy for our whole trip!

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day3~

Rise & shine on the 2nd day in Lyon! Had a good night's rest in a comfortable room...
Got all prepared & had breakfast @ the hotel's café. Oyes forgotten to mention it came with complimentary breakfast (can you believe it? €50nett for a good room w breakfast compared to Paris' & w/o breakfast!). But we're quite disappointed with the variety, or no variety. Basically just a selection of bread & jam, a generous serving of ham (which I don't fancy but hubby loved it!), yoghurt, fruits & coffee/tea/juices. We'd 2 servings each & we're done. But it's still better than none & we saved at least S$20 on breakfast!

Left hotel @10am. Wanted to go back to the city centre for some shopping. So far, I hadn't gotten anything for myself while Vince bought a polo-tee in Paris on the 1st day. Also got daddy a very small Eiffel Tower & some postcards for sis on day1.

The weather was great & very cooling. Had a relaxed morning walk to Place de la République. I bought a top but the best buy of the day was the Levi's denim jacket which my honey had persuaded me to get. This particular Levi's store was slashing prices storewide. I thought it's still ex after a 50% discount (€49) but hubby said we couldn't find 1 @ tis price in Singapore.

Just when we're moving on after spending more than 1 hour in Levi's, it started raining. Good thing we'd our jackets with hoods! So convenient... could walk anywhere with our hoods on but it's not a heavy downpour of course! We've no chance to do it here in Singapore but it's so common there.

After the shopping session, had lunch at Mac (during our stay in France, we'd quite a lot of fast food meals as it's cheaper). Then proceeded on to visit the Opera House, Hotel de Ville & Place des Terreaux. Also visited one of the oldest church - Eglise Saint-Nizier. Another beautiful monument with impressive interior.

In the late afternoon we decided to visit the supermarket & then back to the hotel to rest. Reached hotel around 6.30pm & got a message from Florence. I'd totally forgotten about her! She's from the Port & we used to work closely till she's transferred to Lyon 4 years ago. I emailed her the day before we left Singapore but as she's not working then, she only got the email on that very morning (Mon). She tried calling us at the hotel but we're not in. Eventually arranged to meet at her place @ 8.00pm that evening. Thought we could have an early rest.......

Took the métro to her place... it's not very far, 3 stops away. I was feeling glad to be able to see her again after more than 3 years & Vince was excited to visit the 1st French home! Introduced hubby to them & had dinner at her place while catching up on things. And Florence was very impressed that we took the métro by ourselves without seeking any help & getting lost. Hee!

Left their place slightly past 10pm & walked to the station. It's cold & windy!

And here's our 2nd day in Lyon.

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day2~

Woke up early next morning & it felt great to wake up in Paris! Washed up & packed up. Went for a morning walk before checking out. Boy..! It's cold on a Sunday morning @10am! Bought a baguette from a nearby boulangerie... saw many on the street carried 1 or 2 so we decided to join in the fun. Wanted to take it as breakfast as it's much cheaper. Chewed the baguette while carried on exploring until our jaws were so so tired... & we'd only finished half a loaf!

Checked out after the stroll & walked to the train station. It might look strange in Singapore to drag your luggage on the streets but in Paris, every1's doing it.

The TGV train left Gare de Lyon on the dot & it's not packed at all. So we'd the luxury of having 4 seats instead of 2. It took only 2 hrs to reach Lyon's Gare Part-Dieu as it travelled at a speed of approx 320km/hr. Our hotel was just opposite the station so again, it's very convenient. But we're having lotsa doubts... we paid €70 for the 1st nite in Paris & see what kind of room we had. This 1 in Lyon was €50/night...!

Once we stepped out of the station, we felt the warmth & scorching sun that we'd to take off our windbreakers. The weather was so different from Paris!! Checked in & the room turned out to be A-Ok! Air-con? Yes! Was a simple & perfectly clean room, nothing much to ask for... Looked like it'd been undergone a renovation recently. What a relief! Hubby thought it's the best deal room & I couldn't agree more.

Settled the luggage, got changed quickly & off we went, eager to visit the 2nd largest metropolitan area after Paris & 1 of the oldest cities in France. Took the métro to Vieux Lyon, the old quarters of Lyon. We're totally charmed by this part of the city... Most of the buildings there were built during the French Renaissance. Walking through the lanes with rows of Gothic & Renaissance houses on both sides was like walking through a tunnel of time... for a moment, we're somehow connected to the life & prosperity the city underwent during the 16th & 17th centuries. It's truly amazing & indescribable!

Visited the traboules which are narrow passages linking the street directly to the inner courtyards. The interesting part is that there are people living in all these houses. Both touristic & residential area. We found notices everywhere especially in the traboules to remind visitors to respect the privacy of the residents as these places were supposed to be private properties & some traboules actually need to have an entry code. But most of the residents allow visitors to walk freely during the day.

Lyon is well-known for being the gastronomic capital of France & the Michelin 3-star restaurants. Not that we're interested to dine in 1 as we're far from affording it! But truly there're so small cafés & restaurants around that we didn't know which to choose! Sometimes too many choices may not be good especially when we know none of them.

After settling our lunch @ 1 of the restaurants, we continued our walk. Found the entrance to the Fourvière hill which is the beginning of a very loooong flight of stairs. We hesitated for a while before taking up the challenge. Were so short of breath & to make it worse, we couldn't stop laughing at how each other looked & yet we motivated each other to move on. By the time we completed the stairs climb, I saw stars! Before I could fully catch my breath, we're already on another lengthy slope. You may not be able to imagine or see clearly in the pix but from the distance between the ground & la Fourvière, it's not difficult to gage how much we'd hiked!

Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen in our brain, we made a slight detour to our original destination. However, the scenery & the magnificence of it we enjoyed was undoubtedly worth all the efforts.

After the terrace garden @ Fourvière, we adjourned to the very famous cathedral - Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière. Standing at the foot, it looked truly awesome!! No picture can really describe the sight & feeling... looking @ historical monuments like this, we always wonder how could they have built such huge buildings with sophisticated carvings???

We enjoyed the surroundings & took time to walk around. It's quite warm & very windy... we'd hoped it could be cooler.

Then we slowly walked down, back to Vieux Lyon. Also visited Saint Jean Cathedral & we're so impressed by it. From there, we walked to River Saône, then stopped at the city center, Presqu'ille, which is in-between the 2 rivers. Thought we could do some shopping but only realised that the shops weren't opened on Sundays. It's good to be in retail business in France - work till about 7pm on weekdays & Sat, no work on Sun!

So we decided to return to hotel by foot. Passed by River Rhône & we just needed to walk straight all the way. It's like a "ghost-town" everywhere... Wanted to get some mineral water on our way back but no supermart was opened. Suddenly we appreciated our retailers in Singapore.... Eventually managed to grab some basics @ a petrol kiosk near our hotel.

Back at our hotel past 7pm & needed to settle our dinner. Without much choices, we dined in at the hotel's restaurant. A simple dinner with a main course & a drink (beer for hubby & wine for me) each & cost nearly S$80!

And then, rested our tired legs early on our 1st day in Lyon!

Our Honeymoon en France ~Day1~

Friday evening left office on the dot & hubby already waiting downstairs. Everything went as per planned - had dinner, went home, showered, packed the remaining stuff into luggage & then off to the airport. Took only 5 mins to check in so we were well on time! And the plane left on the dot. Well! It's a very good start indeed!

Not used to the inflight services especially in terms of entertainment & food. No personal TV! But the 12-hour turbulence-free journey was a good compensation. The returning flight was worse... their inflight audio system broke down. Not only did all the passengers cramp in our seats for exactly 2 hrs, we had to endure the loud irritating noise (sounded like when we're tuning the radio) throughout the 120-min repair process!! The speaker was just above us so can you imagine it??? And no audio entertainment at all because our control panels weren't working!!! I was like watching mimes while hubby enjoyed himself in the slumberland. What to do? Their airfare's the cheapest. But actually SQ wasn't that ex too.. just top-up a total of $200+ but there's no more seat on our departure date. It's a big pity!! Say whatever you want but am still happiest being a Krisflyer

Arrived @ Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam slightly past 5am which was ahead of the scheduled time. Was feeling a lil lethargic at 1st... all in all zZz for about 5 hrs while my honey was snoooozing next to me most of the time onboard except makan time....! But the thought of reaching our destination in no time just enlivened me! Went through the immigration checks & waited for about half an hr more before boarding the connecting flight which took about 50 minutes to reach Paris.

While waiting for the next flight @ Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport

Touched down @ Charles de Gaulle Airport & expected to join another looong Q @ the immigration counters. But surprisingly the signage led us straight to the luggage conveyor belt & the exit was just next to it. Only then I remembered just one immigration check is needed in Europe (how could I've forgotten what I've been telling my clients?! Though mine's ocean-based info, it'd be the same at the customs).

Passed through the exit & we're both so excited to take in the 1st breath of cold air. But then we're not totally sure was it the air-con (we're still indoor) or from the morning Spring breeze, ha! Something happened then which I could only say it's God's wonderful arrangement... Were standing on the long travellator leading to the métro station & I gave way to a lady who came up from behind. Had a glimpse of her when she passed by & suddenly I recognised her as my late boss' wife! It couldn't be more coincidental right!?! I've been thinking about her & the rest of his family often especially because we're going to Paris. The 1st time I went to Paris in 1998 my late boss' children took very good care of me & I lost touch with all of them soon after returning. In 2003 I tried calling them in Paris but to no avail. So we exchanged contact nos but as we didn't expect to meet each other, we couldn't manage to arrange for a meet-up eventually.

We reached our hotel smoothly. The hotel was a 10-min walk from the station for both metro & train - Gare de Lyon. Intentionally chose that area so it's easier for us to catch a train at the same station to Lyon the following day & convenient for us to collect our train tix. We also thought it's a good idea to stay in a different place from the last 4 days. Good thing we weren’t too lost & only took us a short while to locate the hotel with the heavy luggage. However the room would only be ready @12pm, which was exactly an hr later, so we left our luggage at the hotel & went exploring. Enjoyed just walking around. The interesting part was that after walking for about 30mins, we thought we’re quite far from the hotel but before we even decided to make our way back, we realized we’re back at the cross junction next to the hotel!

Finally checked into the hotel and we're not happy at all to see what came in sight. Yes… I did it again… the room was without air-con! Knew Vince was quite taken aback but he tried not to show it to upset me further. The room was clean (phew!) but it’s so small that we could reach from one end to the other with 1 leap if the bed wasn't there! The bathroom was pathetic. The shower cubicle was not only strictly meant for 1 person but it’s best for 1 stationary user, perhaps the best method to use it is to soap ourselves outside then enter the shower cubicle... stand below the shower head & just let the water rinse the soap off our body! The toilet bowl was also fixed at a weird corner, just next to the shower cubicle (forgot to take a pic!). There’s this pillar-like concrete piece next to the bowl which was not perpendicular but slanting towards the bowl. So when I did my business, I had to tilt my head a lil in order not to have my head gana knocked! Same for the basin so I could never stand too close to it. Funny design huh?! Think their other rooms aren’t like that. We had a peep at other rooms & it seemed bigger... or maybe psychologically thought so?? If without air-con can open the window right? Since the weather was cold. But they’re doing part of the exterior & just so happened a scaffold was built right outside our bedroom window. Actually upon checking in we’d requested the receptionist to give us a room which was not in that row where the scaffold was & she gave us right that! Perhaps we shouldn't have even mentioned it. We still kept the window pane ajar throughout the night eventually but didn’t feel comfortable at all. The surround wasn’t bad though… there’s an open-air market less than 10 steps away, quiet, near metro & train station.

After settling our baggage, we just wanted to get out, of course also because we’re so excited to hit the town! However we’d an important task to complete before we could really relax & that’s to find a good hotel for our return stay in Paris after Lyon. We had secured a room in TWO hotels, both very near to St Lazare train station (Gare St Lazare), 1 for all 4 days & the other only last 3 days as no availability on the 1st day. And we could cancel the reservation before 2359 on that day (27/5). After seeing what kind of room we got ourselves, the more we’re convinced to adopt the theory of “seeing = believing + assuring”.

So we started our day’s journey… let’s say the 1-hr walk before checking in was an appetizer. Please be informed that the whole traveling was made by foot except from from the very 1st destination to Gare St Lazre & the very last destination back to the hotel.

First visited the 1 with cheaper room rate. As expected, it’s not very appealing… was better than where we’re staying in terms of size but seemed much older. If given a choice, we’d not stay there. Then while we’re on our way to the 2nd 1 @ Boulevard Haussmann, we chanced upon this hotel that looked very presentable from the outside. Visited their rooms & they’re good due to the recent total revamp. They’re left with only 1 standard room during the period we wanted & the rate was €145… very ex… Visited the 2nd hotel, it’s as good & cheaper by €20. It’s a pity the 1st nite wasn’t available. After much consideration, we chose the €145 1 as didn’t wish to waste time packing/unpacking again & moving around. Then came to the final part when we searched for a internet café to cancel our 2 reservation. Phew! Done & we finally could enjoy our sightseeing!

The weather was great without any rain but not consistent.. in the morning was very cooling, noon time onwards was not cold at all… till later in the afternoon the temperature went down again.

Covered the whole Boulevard Haussmann, then headed for Champs Elysées & we got to visit l’Opéra Garnier, La Madeleine, Place de la Concorde which were all on the way. Not forgetting the Arc de Triomphe @ the end of Champs Elysées! Having lotsa fun just chatting, enjoying the great views of the historical monuments & buildings, the weather, the people…. & simply the thought of holidaying! But everything’s expensive there. Even a Mac meal set exactly the same as in Singapore costs slightly over S$13 (€6.50), so a lunch @ Mac costs S$27 for 2! In the afternoon we bought a sandwich from a boulangerie & paid €4… a takeaway sandwich from a bakery you know… Nothing's cheap. Yes something, beer & wine. REAL cheap!

After Champs Elysées, we started to feel the soreness in our feet. By then we’d already covered an 8-hr tour on foot. Amazing. Perhaps because of the long day light, we were reluctant to call it a day & carried on to River Seine. From there, we’re near to giving up & gotta stop a few times to rest. When we walked, we’re somewhat swaying sideways especially when we crossed the road…. & it’s like Charlie Chaplin!! I’m serious! Reached hotel around 10.15pm & the sun wasn’t completely set yet, like 7pm in Singapore?

Only had the strength to shower & we’re totally knocked out in the bed.

If you are interested, we'd be delighted to invite you to join us in a summarised Paris tour for Day 1.

Finalisation before our trip

Packed up on Wed, 2 days before we left. That's the earliest for me in the record! For all my past trips, I packed only the night before. I would usually prepare a checklist to save time but had no time at all to do it this time. Anyway wouldn't know what clothes to bring till we stood in front of our wardrobes. Been checking on the weather forecast but it sure didn't help much: 11°C but feels like 8°C (WHAT THEY TALKING ABOUT?!?!?! My hubby asked. Hehe... me have no clue either!). Visited other sites & the temperature forecast ranging from 14°C - 19°C. How come so much difference 1?? Nevertheless, 1 part was consistent - Mostly rainy & cloudy. Ok we'd pack at our own risk...

Thursday night, sent Tubby to this guy who's working with Pets' Lovers. He's recommended by his supervisor whom we met during one of the visits to their TPY branch to get some stuff for Tubby-boy. We'd go to her for advice concerning Tubby & she's always so willing to help. Though he charged a lil more than the normal boarding places, his was a better enviromnent as he only had 1 doggie at home with her 3 bbs & they're all caged. And he offered to let Tubby out every night when he's home. Hmmm... seemed like Tubby's getting a better deal than at home huh.

Friday @work... super holiday mood but I was still fussing over our accomodation in Paris. Like said, we'd actually settled all the hotel bookings but on Thurs I happened to read some more reviews about the hotel we've booked for the remaining 4 nights & discovered NO AIR-CON in the room! Oh no... I still ended up with 1 that fell short of my hubby's only requirement! After the long search we're ready to pay a bit higher to stay in a relatively new hotel but even for that it's zero availability during that period. Became a bit panicky as the day was nearly over. Eventually secured a room in 1 of the not-so-appealing hotels & planned to go in search personally upon arrival. Now you see why I was so busy.

Sometimes I can't tahan my own fussiness too but I can't help it. Good thing my hubby can take it so well! Hee! Thanks for being so understanding!

Back!

We're back from our Honeymoon!

Just touched down yesterday around 5.30pm & we're at work now... no choice.. 5 days of annual leave is already a luxury to us. Supposed to be back earlier @ 3.30pm but the flight was delayed for 2 hours @ Amsterdam airport!
Still feeling a lil disoriented but very fulfilling

The week before we flew off was truly bz bz.... too much things on hand. Gotta tie up the loose ends for my last work trip & mission at the same time settle all the necessary for our honeymoon most importantly our accomodation. Wanted to put up another (countdown) post on Fri, the day we left, but only had time to type the title! Anywayz I could afford 2 posts earlier on was already good enough. Didn't have time to share a lil about my nightmarish mission & God's grace.

Brought mum out for a simple dinner once reached home. Then back home after dinner to try upack some stuff esp the essentials & the dirty clothes, changed our bedsheets, cleaned Tubby's place before fetching our Tubby-boy back. Only returned past 11pm. Showered while hubby busy settling Tubby, kept the clean laundry (that mum did for us) & packed souvenirs for our colleagues. Only ZZ @1.30am... YAWNNNN..... Yep it's a lil overwhelming especially after 8 days of enjoyment... hee...

Be back very soon about our dream-like trip & others. Wanted to upload pix today & only realised my honey helped me pack my camera in my bag but not the cable...