Honfleur - a charming lil town, also known as "City of Painters". Fell in love with this beautiful place. It felt nostalgic just by walking on the slated & slopy ground & exploring the traditional houses & shops.
Étretat - magnificent! The cliff is well-known for its natural arch. Went there during winter & it's freezing cold because of the sea breeze. Spent some time climbing a bit of the cliff (really a bit only), strolling & having some fun on the beach.
Here’re some pix I took during the 2 trips:
There’re also some interesting recollections along with the photos._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Remembering my 1st trip to France was during winter, I first went to the port for training and was totally not used to the climate. As we're located at the edge facing the English channel without any blockage, the wind was unthinkable. The weather was said to be one of the worst in last 10 years. Once, I was calling home at a telephone booth (I didn’t have auto-roam service as it’s cheaper to use phonecards then) when it started to rain. I had to brave the rain + the extremely strong wind to run back to the hotel. Everything was flying in the air then.. the dustbins (big ones, half of my height) were being swept away too. You can't imagine how insecured I felt then. And there's hail on one of the nights.
Every morning my French colleague, FA, would pick me up at the hotel & go to the office together. One of the mornings she wasn't free to do so. I didn't mind at all as I could enjoy a nice morning walk… it's actually not that far.. 20-25 minutes by foot. But it turned out to be a stormy weather that morning & without any taxi to hire, I had to walk to the office in the rain... using umbrella was totally out of the question because of the strong wind. With no doubts, I was thoroughly drenched when I arrived at the office. I knew nobody at the 300+ (I think) office. Suddenly I missed home so much & while everyone was having their lunch, I hid in my colleague's room & cried. Have no idea how long it had been & without me realising it, a dude appeared at the doorway & asked whether I was alright. To me, that’s the 1st time I met him who’s a management trainee from another department but he had actually taken notice of me the day I arrived when I was introduced to many people. His compliment on me: A pretty Asian lady (though I don’t think I looked good then. Perhaps I was the 1st Asian girl he saw, that’s why). He somehow succeeded in distracting me from my homesickness when we started chatting. So he, Mic, became my FIRST friend in France (not even FA as she's known to be an extremely cold person & most of them including Mic disliked her). From then on, he would keep me company for lunches & dinners when I was alone and it came to a point that he’s officially recognised by the Director as my caretaker, haha. Over the weekend, he drove me to Honfleur & Étretat, caught a movie & shopped around too. He indeed made the otherwise stressful stay an enjoyable one.
The day when I had to leave for Paris, he took an hour off work to send me to the station & helped me settle my luggage on the train. At that moment, I realized that I’d unknowing become reliant on him. I supposed to feel happy that the training was finally over & I was heading to a 5-day vacation on my own. But I felt the opposite then. Anyhow I arrived in Paris after a 2-hour train ride & my late boss’ children, Amélie & Réne, brought me to the hotel. They left me to do whatever I wished to before meeting up again at Amélie’s place for dinner. Suddenly I was all by myself & I missed Mic terribly. By the way, I’m proud to say that I found my own way to Amélie’s without any tips from anyone on my 1st evening in Paris. Though it’s a lil scary as the quiet streets were poorly lit & I was struggling with the direction, at the same time, trying to watch out for robbers.
The whole of next day, I tried to walk around. When I returned in the evening, I got a message from the receptionist. It’s from Mic! I couldn’t believe it as I didn’t give him my contact details in Paris (I didn’t know it myself as the accommodation was arranged by Amélie). I ran to call him & he told me that he’d be taking the night train to meet me in Paris the following evening after work so we could spend the weekend together! Like a fairytale ya? I asked him how did he get to locate me & he said after I left, he realized he missed me very much, so he mustered all his courage to get the tel no. of Amélie from FA. He then called Amélie & explained himself in order to get the hotel no. Voilà… The next day when I talked to Amélie, she teased me & said Mic was such a sweet guy. In the evening, I waited for him at the train station & we’re so happy to see each other again. Very drama right? He rented a room in the same hotel & we spent the next 2 days touring Paris. However dreamy it was, we still had to part… it’s only a real short stint for us. Or should I say, he’s my French boyfriend of 2 weeks? He’s super nice & respectful towards me. But I seriously doubt the relationship would be fruitful even if I didn’t leave France as I was more like emotionally dependent on him in a total foreign land & he towards me, I guess it’s just an infatuation? The irony was... those 2 days in Paris had made us realise that we're of different world, in terms of communication & expectations. I'm sure if he'd known that earlier, he'd not have made the trip down to Paris. We didn't talk about it but we're (I believe he thought likewise too) somehow relieved that we had only 2 days before any conflict surfaced. At least there're only good memories now. Romantic Paris... the encounter I had had indeed lived up to its name.
2nd trip to France.. also during winter. Again, I stayed in Paris for 5D4N after work. But this time round, was all on my own as I had lost touch with Amélie & Réne. Like said previously, on the 1st day in Paris I was busy looking for alternative hotel & completely stressed out. When I finally settled my accommodation, I sat in front of Jardin des Tulieres.. was engrossed in studying the map & planning my route. Was so exhausted that I couldn’t bother much about etiquette… ungracefully sitting on a parapet - hunching back, swinging legs… my head bowed so low that I was sure my hair had successfully acted as a curtain for my face. Just when I was enjoying solitude amidst many other resting visitors around & continuous passers-by which were like just 2 meters away from me, I sensed from the corner of my eye that someone was nearing me. I hoped so hard that he/she wasn’t approaching me… as you can see I was totally not in a mood nor right form to befriend anyone. But yes, I heard a man’s voice & he’s speaking in French. I pretended I didn’t hear him without lifting an inch of my head. He didn’t give up just like that.. he came closer & asked me in French “How are you?”. Not given a choice, I looked at him & breathed out a reluctant “huh?”. This time, he used English & asked whether I needed help. I replied “NO.” & wanted to go back to my map. But he wasn’t deterred by my reaction & asked me where I came from & what I was doing in Paris. I relinquished & we slowly got into a chat. He’s a Tunisian who looked exactly like a Caucasian (slim & tall, with a pair of deep set grey eyes) but had a Malay name – Mohamed. We exchanged a fair bit of info on our own countries. When he knew I intended to take a walk, he offered to be the tour guide. To some extent I didn’t mind making a friend there but of course I was being very wary. So thanks to him, I had a lil narrative stroll to the places of interest along River Seine. He even walked me back to the main entrance of the hotel. As it’s his off-day the following day (e said he’s a chef), he asked to meet me at noon.
Early next morning I moved to the new hotel that was only less than a 5-min walk. After settling down, I rushed out to look for an adaptor as I needed to charge my dying mobile phone (been using colleague’s adaptor during the days of training & in Lyon). After getting my adaptor I took the chance to shop around. While waiting to cross at one of the junctions, a tall guy suddenly stopped next to me & spoke to me in French. I didn’t get what he said, so he asked in English “what’s the name of this street?”. I looked at him bluntly & pointed to the street name board nailed on a building wall just behind us. What a lame question right?? Then he asked me where I was from. I didn’t bother to answer him & ran across the street.. right into Zara. And he followed! He tried to get near me but I moved into the crowd & made sure I was surrounded by ladies. He got the cue & left the boutique shortly. That’s why I say a poor pick-up line makes a real bad impression ya? Haha.. nah.. just that I wasn’t free to befriend anyone or everyone who comes up to me. And it didn’t stop here, later you’ll know.
I bought lunch back to hotel as I needed to charge my phone and was ready to be out again after an hour or so. Didn’t think too much of the arrangement with Mohamed.. afterall we hardly knew each other & I didn’t get his contact no. (& no intention to do so). But to my surprise, he’s really waiting for me downstairs. We then visited another part of Paris for the whole day & had dinner. Again, he sent me back to the doorstep of the hotel. He’s working the next day & asked to meet for dinner. He would again wait for me in front of yet another hotel I would be moving to the next morning.
Early next morning, with the help of my dear friend Bernard I left the 2nd hotel. After checking in, I went to Bernard’s place which was located at the countryside for a delicious French lunch prepared by his beautiful wife. Thereafter I stayed behind for a chat & only left for the train station in the late afternoon. The train ride back to the city took an hour & I was already late in meeting Mohamed. The station wasn’t too far from my hotel.. I thought it’s about 20 mins’ walk.. however I got so lost that I had to refer to my map again & again. Just when I was studying the map at a junction, a guy on a scooter stopped in front of me & asked whether I need help (yes, same pick-up line as Mohamed). I told him “No” & turned away. But after a few seconds, I gave up & approached him for help with embarrassment. He showed me the way & I hurried off after thanking him. But after only a few steps, I was still very unsure & tried to figure out at the 2nd junction. Just then, I saw his scooter pulled up in front of me again & pointed to where I should go.. I waved at him in appreciation & headed towards the direction he indicated. Again, upon approaching the next junction I wasn’t sure which route to take as there’re simply too many small lanes without road name! And for the 3rd time, the nice guy appeared in front of me again. Ha! After giving me very precise instructions to reach the hotel, he introduced himself as Gilles & asked for mine. He said he wished to ask me out later. Not again. Though he’s real helpful & a very cute guy, nope… I wasn’t free. I felt bad in rejecting him so I gave the hotel’s no. & asked him to call me an hour later when I knew I would be out the whole night. The interesting part was I couldn’t figure out how he managed to meet me at every junction? Illustrated below:
When I finally arrived at the hotel, I saw Mohamed waiting for me across the road & by then I was already more than an hour late. He said he had since been waiting there & was relieved to see me as he’s getting more & more unsure whether I had played a trick on him by giving the wrong hotel.The next evening which was also my last day in Paris, I met him at the same place. As usual we met in the evening after his work & he brought me to a new place for dinner & then walked around. (like the past nights). also caught a movie in one of the nights. When he sent me back, he told me he couldn’t bear to part with me & wished to linger awhile more. I had to remind him that we knew I was just a visitor & thanked him for spending so much time with me & gave him a goodbye hug. He got a lil upset & asked why didn’t I ask for his phone no. I told him it’s not necessary & turned to enter the hotel. When I was about to take the lift, he’s still standing there, looking at me. I knew I had to leave him there & then. I did start to develop some good feelings for him but I gotta be realistic. Hmm.. in this particular scenerio I think I acted like a man instead huh. I was glad I had someone to accompany me when I was all alone in Paris though.
Interesting Paris indeed. Being approached by a guy a day for 3 consecutive days.
But no matter how fun the encounters were, they couldn’t beat the joy & happiness I enjoyed with hubby when we visited Paris for our honeymoon last year. It’s just so different.
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