Eurostar is the high speed train that connects UK to France and Belgium via the Channel tunnel. Eurostar started providing its services on 14^th November 1994.

On 14^th November 1994 Eurostar started its services between Waterloo International stations in London, Gare Du Nord in Paris and Brussels south railway station in Brussels .From 14^th November 2007 Eurostar services shifted to the newly built St. Pancras international. Hence rail services to/from Waterloo International ended on 13^th November 2007. 13 years since launched, 81,891,738 travelers have sued the services of Waterloo International. Eurostar provides daily direct daily services from London and Ashford International to the gates of Disneyland resort Paris and during the winter holidays season, Eurostar operates 2 services every week from London and Ashford International to Moutiers and Bourg St. Maurice in the French Alps. It also runs a direct service to Avignon in Provence on Saturdays during summer.

There are total of 750 seats on each train, which is almost equivalent to capacity of two 747 Boeing planes. 544 are in standard class and 206 are in business class.

Eurostar provides three classes of services to its passengers: -

1. Standard or economy – which includes no food services. But is the preferred choice of the passengers as fares are comparatively less.

2. Leisure Select – Which includes a larger and comfortable seat and a three course   meal?

3. Business premier – Which provides Private check in,   a larger and comfortable seat, a three course meal with aperitif, and access to lounge.

Eurostar services are reliable and even more punctual; thanks to the dedicated High Speed line 1.

Following are the new journey times for Eurostar trains: -

London Paris Trains:      London – Paris: 2 hours, 15 minutes

London Brussels Trains: London – Brussels: 1 hour, 51 minutes

London – Lille: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Bon, si vous avez suivi, au dernier post, je repartais en angleterre, mais forcement en arrivant, pas de scanner, donc total impossibilité de vous envoyer mes nouvelles aventures! Je vous ai donc fait une petite update

Erm , voila, je vous l’ accorde, c est un chouillas decousu comme note

Maintenant je suis de retour a Coventry, et Mon nouveau boulot a commencé! Vous en saurez plus tres tres vite !

5am: alarm // 5:45am: Hilton Olympia Hotel lobby // 6am: private transfer // 6:30am: St. Pancras International // 7:05am: Eurostar boarding // 7:27am: Eurostar to Paris, Gare du Nord departure from London St. Pancras // 8am: beautiful British countryside // 8:35am/9:35am [local time]: cross the border; Beauty and the Beast on the iPod-one earphone for each of us // 10am: “there must be more than this provincial life” but it’s so beautiful! // 10:50am [local time]: arrival at Paris, Gare du Nord; madre = ma mère

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the whirlwind begin!  We met our fabulous tour guide, Sammy, and the rest of our group: Anita (Canada), Steve (Austrailia), and Sandra (Canada/Middle East).  And then we embarked on the most surreal day of our lives.

I was completely “nerd-ing” out and loved having so many of my interests connect with the beautiful city I was experiencing.  Apparently I did manage to retain some high school French; French history was my favorite unit in AP European History four years ago (woah); the opera house was where so many of the operas I’ve studied and have sang arias from; driving through Haussman’s urban planning and on the boulevard named after him was an urban studies dream come true; gaining another cultural frame of reference was the best souvenir of all, and I definitely understand how and why so many great minds were inspired by Paris.

The only complaint we both had was that we needed to leave at the end of the day!  We may have scratched an itch but we barely scratched the surface of Paris.  Seeing the sights was amazing but there wasn’t any time to experience “Panam,” the people’s Paris, which is my favorite way to explore new cultures and territories. Instead of fretting, we just promised ourselves, and Paris as we pulled out of Gare du Nord, that we would be back.

The photo gallery below includes the hundreds (literally) of photos snapped throughout our day.  They cannot possibly do justice to actually seeing/experiencing Paris live.

Whether you’re taking your car abroad this Christmas because you own a second home, you’re looking for a property to buy or you’re just going on holiday, it’s worthwhile making sure you understand the roadsigns you’ll come across. You’ll be that much safer.

Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) the long stay airport parking and travel extras specialist, has put together a table of European road signs for the ‘Know Before You Go’ section of its website.

The table highlights unusual road signs found in popular holiday destinations in Europe. Many road signs in Europe are internationally standardised. However, recent research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has found that tourists driving in foreign countries are ‘three times more likely to be involved in an accident abroad due to ignorance of local traffic laws’.

Helping travellers

The APH research table highlights the unusual signs that could confuse drivers and found that while France has few signs that differ from those in the UK, Germany has a number of confusing ones including the ‘path of priority road’ sign and ‘city speed limit’ signs.

Some of the Swedish road signs also have a slight variation on the international signing system. For example, the ‘Warning’ sign in Sweden is a yellow triangle with a red border and a black vertical line in the centre while in the UK, the sign is a white triangle with a red border with an exclamation mark in the centre and a small rectangular sign underneath.

Nick Caunter, managing director of APH, says: “More and more holidaymakers choose to hire a car in Europe or drive their own car abroad, so we felt it was important to highlight the most confusing European road signs for drivers.

The table helps travellers to study the road signs they’ll come across at their holiday destination before leaving the UK and they can also print off the table from the ‘Know Before You Go’ section of our website, and take it abroad with them”.

APH is also a carbon-balanced company and has, through the World Land Trust, helped purchase more than 1,000 acres of Belize rainforest. Airport Parking and Hotels Ltd is one of the UK’s leading booking agencies and has over 29 years’ experience as a retailer of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. APH offers parking at all major UK airports, ports and Eurotunnel terminals plus airport hotels packaged with parking, airport lounges, travel insurance, car hire and holiday taxis.

For further information visit www.aph.com or call 01342 859515.

Road Sign	Country	Meaning
	Throughout Mainland Europe	Snow Chains Obligatory
	Throughout Mainland Europe	No Stopping
	Throughout Mainland Europe	No waiting or parking
	Throughout Mainland Europe	Give way
	Throughout Mainland Europe	No traffic at all
	Throughout Mainland Europe	Centre of Town
	Throughout Mainland Europe	Priority to the right
	Throughout Mainland Europe	End of priority road
	France	No cars or bikes
	France	Parking start and end
	Germany	Bus/Tram Stop
	Germany	One way
	Germany	Path of priority road is seen beneath the diamond-shaped ”priority sign“
	Germany	City limit (unless posted otherwise the speed limit in a town is 50km/h (31mph)
	Germany	End of city limits
	Italy	No vehicles carrying explosives
	Italy	Pay toll
	Italy	Customs
	Sweden	Junction
	Sweden	Warning
	Norway	Countdown to level crossing
	Norway	Passing without stopping prohibited at customs
	Norway	End of maximum recommended speed
	Norway	Lay-by or passing place
	Norway	National Heritage
	Norway	Accident
	Poland	Toll
	Republic of Ireland	Yield
	Republic of Ireland	Junction at corner with a minor road sign.
	Republic of Ireland	Unguarded Level Crossing

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

First post about my trip to Belgium in November
All the pictures taken will be uploaded to a new set called Benelux 4 of my flicker photo account
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622685920411/

St Pancras International with Eurostar Trains to Paris and Brussel Zuid

Brussel Zuid two Thalys ‘Trains a Grande Vitesse’

  
Landen Station
I took a train bound for Liege (Luik) from Brussel Zuid, and changed here to Bus 21a to St Truiden and Hasselt, which stops 5 minutes away from the Gurdwara in Halmaal, just south of St Truiden (Province of Limburg). My Eurostar train ticket was valid to all Belgian stations, the bus ticket was only Euro 1.60

More to Follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The misadventure continues. I missed my train AGAIN. It’s not my fault there was a change of platform and the train left something like 3 min earlier. So I hopped onto the next train without paying but in the end I had to top up (because it is Eurostar) and pay a penalty. It is actually cheaper to just fuck the accomodation in Florence and change my train to the morning intercity one. I don’t know what I was thinking… (?)

And today while randomly walking around, this guy stopped his car and borrowed a lighter from me. I wasn’t even smoking then. Anyways, he said he’d show me around so I got into the car. I knew it isn’t safe but I was bored and needed some kinda adventure. After 10m in the car, I thought something was wrong. He was almost reenacting the kiss on the lips equals to good luck thing that an Italian did to me the night before. So I asked him to stop the car and I went off. Imagine what would have happened if I didn’t. No, wait, I don’t wanna imagine. I really should stop doing stupid things. After all, Italy is not exactly one of the safest places in the world. I shouldn’t have went off with a random stranger despite 123123 warnings from the Italians. Sighs. People never learn until they fall. I have not fallen… Yet? I hope not.

I had the privilege of being taken out by Oli from smallcarBIGCITY last week for a tour in one of their mini coopers. It is a tour company set up this year by three young graduates who do tours of London in the original mini coopers.

My tour mini

I was given the Royal Tour which lasted approximately 30minutes (traffic permitting). This included such sights as Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. Oli was a very knowledgeable guide, describing all the usual things as well as throwing in a few never heard before anecdotes. He certainly knew his stuff and was most affable.

If you love minis (which are quintisentially British) then this could be the tour for you. They will pick you up from your hotel and drop you off where you wish. There are about 7 different tours to choose from but they will also tailor to your interests – with prices starting at £54 for the mini.

They also do a tour of two cities. First you get a tour of London and then they drop you off at St Pancras where you catch the Eurostar to Paris. When you arrive you are met by a guide who drives Citroen 2CVs and then taken on a tour of Paris. So if you want a flying visit to both of these great cities this could be the one for you.

Monte Carlo, the play ground of the rich and famous, nestles on the south coast of France at the base of the Alpine foothills. Its beauty in many ways is outshone by its glitz and glamour.

As a devoted car enthusiast I am an avid viewer of BBC’s Top Gear, however impolitic it is at times and imagine my intrigue when I saw Jeremy Clarkson, in an Aston Martin DB9, take on James May and Richard Hammond in the TGV train.

So I and three friends arranged to meet in a secret location in the south of England, not far from the Top Gear track and decided to race my car against the Eurostar and the TGV.

In the Nissan 350Z were I and Anders Hanson, unfortunately the budget didn’t run to a DB9 and Steffan John and Nick Radford in on the train. 

However, as we knew from the Top Gear programme that the car should beat the train, by about thirty minutes we decided to spice it up a bit.

They, whilst crossing London, had to collect a full picnic hamper from Fortnum and Mason and when in Paris had to have lunch at Maxim’s.  A difficult day I hear you say! We, in the car, had to collect Imperial Cigars and a case of Champagne from the Mercier Caves at Epernay.

So, the race was by no means a foregone conclusion.

Jumping in the car still in the dark of a March morning myself and Anders, disqualified from using the Eurotunnel train headed for Dover and the ferry, whilst Steffan and Nick set off for the local railway station.

Speeding towards the Channel on a glorious Thursday morning we encountered little traffic and apart from needing to buy a new video camera, as the batteries had run down on the one we had started with, we arrived one hour early for the ferry that we were booked on. 

Calling our comrades we discovered as we were boarding the ferry, which took just an hour to cross, they were just arriving at Fortnums to collect the hamper that they were due to carry to Monte Carlo for the picnic. 

At this point the car was well and truly ahead, with their train not leaving Waterloo, as it was then, for another two hours.

(familia rosa reunida pra assistir o match de rugby franca X nova zelandia, na casa do jerome querido, com jantarzinho e MUITO vinho de varias regioes da franca)

quem nunca viveu num pais com invernos mais rigorosos do que o seu nao imagina o que sejam coisas como acordar sem luz do sol, ligar o aquecedor interno da casa, quebrar o leiometro do aquecedor como forma de protesto pra nao pagar mais, vestir um grosso manteau de peles falsas pra ir na padaria (ops, perdao, boulangerie) da esquina.

paris esfria. o humor das pessoas realmente muda. a mudanca climatica eh de fato uma grande novidade pra quem viveu 36 anos em eternos veroes completos. os franceses dao risada e me dizem que eu ainda nao vi nada, que o pior ainda esta por vir. eu, pessoalmente, to louca pra ver neve. eles me acham maluca. talvez eu seja mesmo.

continuo a descobrir este pais tao particular, dono de uma retorica tao rica e, paradoxalmente, de uma opacidade de comunicacao (uma nao-clareza, obrigada, didier) tao potente. eles falam muito, falam muito bonito, mas dizem muito pouco. uma lingua para filosofos e poetas.

minha compreensao do frances avanca. ja vejo filme e assisto o noticiario, entendendo quase tudo. foda eh a lingua desenrolar de vez e eu fazer o biquinho pra pronunciar direito o frances sem antes raciocinar em ingles, minha tabua de salvacao neste pais de gauleses orgulhosos.

depois de amanha, vou percorrer as entranhas deste pais de novo, em direcao a toulouse onde minha querida eddie sera operada. na volta para meu curso de frances, pego um TGV, um trem rapidissimo, pela primeira vez na vida. primeira classe, madam, que tava barato. e na sequencia pego um eurostar debaixo do canal da mancha pra londres, pra renovar o carimbo no passaporte e ganhar mais tres meses aqui neste gelo. (vanessa, meus chas!!!)

sigo agora na expectativa de receber meu primeiro conto traduzido em frances para estabelecer novos contatos profissionais. novos desafios vao se abrir para mim, eu que a partir do final de dezembro comeco a morar numa casa no 20eme arrondissement, enquanto espero a vero descolar um ape maior e melhor, pela mairie de paris. aproveitarei pra atacar mais o velib e continuar neste estranho e  bem-vindo processo de emagrecimento que vem acontecendo comigo desde que cheguei aqui.

como, bebo horrores, e emagreco. muito. que maravilha. pode ser o frio. pode ser a emocao com o novo futuro. pode ser a sensacao de liberdade. pode ser o fato de amar. pode ser a distancia de neuroses antigas. pode ser o rompimento com a terra-mater. pode ser o processo de individuacao que deriva disso tudo, que me poe em risco, mas tambem me deixa muito bem. colocar-se em risco as vezes faz bem.

vi o primeiro jogo de rugby da minha vida, pela tv, na casa do jerome, com toda a familia rosa reunida (faltando soh o serge e a querida virginie). achei bonito, chic, fashion, muito sexy e extremamente gay, aquele monte de homem gostoso se pegando muito. nao entendi nadica de nada das regras, mas torci muito pela franca.

e tive medo da danca ritual aborigene que os jogadores da nova zelandia fazem antes de comecar o match. credo.

vi um dos melhores show da minha vida num bar-galpao no norte de paris – a lydia lunch. amo. minha idola, como amo. encontrei la com a virginie, a beatriz, foi tudo uma delicia. no dia seguinte a vero finalizou seu trabalho com o novo filme da virginie (mutantes: feminismo e post-porno punk). almocamos num japones todo mundo (inclusive eddie et pepa, as bouledougas francesas mais lindas do mundo), rimos muito.aguardem. a lydia ta la no filme.

eh de gritar.

e a virginie botou meu nome nos creditos finais, como agradecimento. pelo que, deus meu? fiquei tao orgulhosa que nem consegui falar.

e essa historia maluca da vida da gente, que a gente vai fazendo, vai vivendo, vai propondo, vai sofrendo, vai inventando… e o frio…

bom, o frio a gente aguenta.

Late as usual. Rushed to St Pancras but got there in time.

We had ‘leisure select’ ticket which is a very poor excuse for business class on a train.

Starter- carpaccio of courgette with potato salad and a lemon crust

Main – chicken breast with some kind of tomatoey sauce, kale and potatoes

Pudding – chocolate bread and butter pudding

Airplane food on the ground. Which is apparently what they consider themselves as we found out when one of our group in cattle class popped in to say hello to us and the next thing we knew there were 4 Flics (Rozzers) threatening to arrest the poor little girl.

Why do they bother?

Why can’t they get it right?

It is not that hard.

I know they have to weigh up the food cost, with the warming/cooking restrictions, with the expectations of customers and keep it sexy in a cross-channel kinda way. I know that there is an art to producing this kind of mass market food and that they are probably running a loss making operation but seriously I could do better with blind diabetic mushroom as a sous chef.

Anyway after a seriously depressing food morning we were in Paris and I had high hopes for my stomach and my tongue over the next 48 hours.

What I had forgotten about Paris over the past 4 years is just how much of bunch of  Wan*&rs Parisiens are. Annoying, Rude, Unhelpful and generally Pointless! We were staying at The Grand (opera) and after the journey, before the first of the wedding celebrations and because of the Eurostar food we went down to the hotel eating lobby place and went to get a seat.

“No. I have no seats – You have to go somewhere else”

“We are guests at the hotel can’t we sit in that large open area over there, in one of the 35 or so empty seats”

“No”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so, you have to go elsewhere”

So. Off we trotted to the outside to the streets of Paris laiden with Brasseries serving tasty, simple fayre.

RAIN. Arse.

We were slightly knackered and could not be bothered to go too far so we went to a big colourful brasserie on Boulevard des Capucines which was imaginatively titled – Capucines.  It was OK. It had strange plasticky/feathery light shades and everything was purple.

Onion soup was not bad, Escargots were as should be. Chicken Salad was strangely Tex-Mex? Omlette over done and too much butter (I know they are French)

Once again we all left feeling slightly unhappy…for the third time in one day.

On the walk back to the hotel we stopped off at Pierre Marcolini to buy some chocolates. Lots of chocolates in fact. That made us feel loads better.

Quick Change, Shower and Sleep.

Then off to Doobies for a spot of dinner and dancing in a pre-wedding stylee.

Food. Good.

Little Nem Rouleau – Spring Rolls to you and me – filled with prawns, sweet, hot, crispy and juicy from something no bigger than a baby plum tomato.

Starter of mozzarella and tomato – exactly what you would expect. Nothing new there.

Main course – Roast Dorade, Mash and Veg. Really succulent fish. Love Dorade.

Pud – Chocolate Soufflé. Made it for 60 people and all were perfect, very impressed.

For a bar/club the food was good.

Off to bed.

Nebbia. Ripercorro a ritroso il viaggio da pendolare, precario. Come tanti. Un viaggio iniziato questa mattina. Da Torino. Porta Susa, sotterranea, dove, a leggere su un quotidiano, fermerà Frecciarossa. Una vittoria. Per quelli che prenderanno il treno super veloce. Una tantum. Come le medicine. Come gli aumenti in busta paga di qualche decennio fa. Per i pendolari, poverini, nulla. Genericamente, per i “poveracci” neanche la Puglia. Da qualche giorno si parla dei treni tagliati verso la Puglia. Da Torino. La politica cosa fa, ho sentito dire da alcuni. Bene, proprio da Rifondazione Comunista, in regione, con Dalmasso, Bossuto, si era provveduto ad una interrogazione: perchè il declassamento da Eurostar a Eurostarcity, con prezzo similare. Ora, neanche piu’ quelli. Una tratta utilizzata da molti, ma forse, non redditizia come quella per Milano, o per Roma. Vedete come è facile tenere “le cose redditizie”? Mi domando se la scuola è redditizia. Se la sanità è redditizia. Devono essere redditizie o utili a tutti? Cosa non fa il mercato. “E’ il mercato, bellezza“, direbbe qualcuno. Il mercato, già. Negli USA, sono stati concessi 789 miliardi di dollari di aiuti pubblici all’economia: cosa è mercato? o socialismo? Un Paese dove si registra un elevato numero di senza lavoro: era dal 1983 che non capitava una cosa simile. Praticamente un cittadino su 5 è disoccupato o sottopagato.  “Perdite pubbiche, profitti privati”. E in Italia? Bhe’, in Italia, si vorrebbbe , forse, chiudere Termini Imerese. E altre realtà. Che non sono utili. E torno, come il gioco dell’oca alla casella di partenza. Cosa fa la sinistra? Domanda ricorrente. Ieri, un amico, Claudio, si congratulava del lavoro, anche di questo lavoro, capace di mettere insieme piu’ soggetti: un’aggregazione di domande che necessitano di una risposta. Sosteneva che bisogna essere piu’ “concilianti”. Ancora? Dopo tutto quello che si è perso negli anni? Io non sono d’accordo. Basterebbe leggere l’editoriale di Dino Greco su Liberazione di questa mattina. “Vogliono tornare al contratto individuale”. In un quarto di secolo i rapporti di lavoro si sono moltiplicati: 44 tipologie. Piu’ concilianti di così. Un ultimo pensiero: solidarietà ad un’amica, di Bonn: Erika.

We’ve arrived in Paris, France.. finally!!
City of love and romance. Bonjour!

Tenth Day

Alright! First thing first – we need to find our hotel. Hehe.
We stayed at the Le Meridien Montparnasse, Paris.

Le Meridien Montparnasse, Paris

http://www.lemeridien-montparnasse.com/

There’s another Le Meridien in Paris which is the Etoile but Shanky got this one which is much more better. I think? My guess would be because it’s nearer to the metro station? Anyway, I love it.

The hotel won’t allow additional person (that’s me) to check-in to a 2 persons room – so we have to pay extra. WTH? Shanky should’ve bribe the frontdesk guy instead. Or maybe I should sneak in quietly? Hm… Too late for that.

The lobby of Le Meridien Montparnasse

While waiting for our room to be ready, we went for the hotel’s buffet breakfast.
Got 50% discount! Thanks to Shanky. After convert – don’t ask me. Freakin’ expensive still. Hahaha.
Apa nak buat, all 3 of us were really hungry. Plus tired and sleepy. That stupid bus.
The food was so-so.. the usual stuffs. I missed my nasi lemak + telur mata so bad at that time.

Buffet @ Le Meridien

Shanky tak puas hati coz they don't serve teh tarik. Hihi.

We were allowed to check-in only at 11am.
While waiting, I wondered around the hotel’s surroundings – checked the map/signboards, places to go, supermarkets etc.
Shanky and Cat took a short nap at the lobby’s sofa.
Hai.. Mana2 pun boleh tido. Hahaha. No.. I wont post their pictures here.

Just opposite of Le Meridien is SNCF HQ in Paris

This roundabout just north of the hotel is called Place de Catalogne

After that horrible bus ride, this bed feels like heaven.

When we woke up, it’s already evening.
We planned to visit the magnificent Eiffel Tower.
I wonder how it looks like at night. Huhu. Kalau couple la yang pergi sini, peh.. memang jiwang karat abis la.

Thank God, the weather is on our side today. The rain stopped right before we start our journey.

Paris view from our room. The buildings are packed right?

Took the metro to Bir Hakiem Station.
One thing I really like about Paris Metro is, most of their stations are located near to the tourist spots and attractions. It is so convenient.

The Eiffel Tower - clear blue sky!

We have to walk a bit from the station to the tower.
I think it’s approximately around 10 – 15 minutes walk which is fine by me.
Similar to Amsterdam, the weather here is cold too despite the bright sunlight. Haha.

Photo proof! - Nanti cakap aku temberang pulak.

The base of Eiffel Tower. Sunset view.

Cat, Shanky and Eiffel.

We paid 13 Euros/person to go all the way up to the tower’s summit (not bad.. considered cheap lor).
The tower got 3 levels or floors. We stopped at the 1st level. The view from there - magnificent.

The view from 1st floor. Kat bawah tu taman. Cantik wo..

View from the 2nd floor. The sun almost setting..

Church (I think?) on top of the hill. Wo...

As the sun sets..

I don’t know what’s the name of the building but I think the top is made out of gold? Wow..
Then, from here you need to climb the stairs to get to the top (3rd level) - The view from here..

I can’t even describe it in words. It’s totally out of this world. Speechless!!

Distance - Paris to KL: 10433KM. Malaisie? Heh. WTH?

Sunset view from Eiffel's top floor.

It’s really amazing to be able to stand here with the breathtaking view right in front of you.
It’s a totally different feelings altogether. It feels like you’re on top of the world.
The sunset made the feelings even better. Perfect timing!

I'm lost for words...

No wonder lah a lot of couples love to visit this tower.
The atmosphere is so romantic and I’m sure a lot of guys proposed to their girlfriend/fiancee here before.

Hm.. I wonder if anyone jumped from the tower before? 

Way... far down. Vertigo?

It’s really really cold up there.
Did I mentioned the wind? Yeah.. I hid behind one of the steel pillar just to avoid the wind.
As if it works lah.. Hehehe. Especially when it’s already dark.
Night time – my God it’s freezing to the bone!!

Glamourous Eiffel Tower at night. Vertical view.

Paris view at night

Unfortunately for me – all of sudden my camera’s battery ran out.
Yup! I forgot to recharge it. Damn it! Arghh!! Out of all the time in this world kan?
I was really looking forward to capture the sunset view from the tower.
Tapi.. apa nak buat.. I was forced to use my phone’s camera instead. So sad!!
The quality is not there at all. Well at least.. better than nothing.

The base of Eiffel Tower @ night. Notice the moon crescent?

After that, we lepak around the Eiffel Tower area for a bit.
More info: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/ 

Me with Sir Eiffel. Thank you sir!

Then we bought some souvenirs before went back to the hotel.
Try bargaining with those local people selling the keychains and stuffs at the base of the tower.
It’s very much cheaper from the gift shop.

Once in a lifetime...

Hm.. What I had for dinner?

All these for 32.47 euros.. *sigh

Eleventh Day

Got up quite early today.
The plan for today is - full day of Paris main attractions.
I doubt we can cover all of it.

Which way to go?

First stop: Louvre Museum
I recommend everyone to visit this museum.
Entrance fee is only 9 Euros. Quite cheap I would say (I anticipated higher).

The Louvre Museum @ Musée du Louvre houses 35,000 works of art drawn from 8 departments, displayed in over 60,000 square meters of exhibition space dedicated to the permanent collections.

Outside of Louvre. It's just next to the metro station.

This place is massive!! Hm.. To really enjoy every paintings, sculptures, artifacts and arts here – you actually need a full day or maybe 2.
We completed all of  it in 2 hours. Hahahaha!! Nampak sangat ke-tidak-artistiknya kitaorang ni.
Ehem! Sebenarnya time is very tight. That’s why we have to rush things a bit.

Posing tak hengat.. Hehehe.

Here are some pictures taken there.

Pyramid du Louvre

Taken partially from Wikipedia:
It was designed by a Chinese born American architect, I. M. Pei (Ieoh Ming Pei) who is responsible for the design of the Miho Museum in Japan among others.

The structure, which was constructed entirely with glass segments, reaches a height of 20.6 meters. It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.

Cupid and Psyche

One of my favorite marble sculptures.
It’s about a legendary love tale similar to modern day Beauty and the Beast. Hehe..
Go ahead and google it.

Potrait of Monalisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance.

Another nice painting shown there is David versus Goliath.
1 theme, 2 paintings, 2 different views.
Well done! I’m surprised with the details.

David versus Goliath - view from front.

David versus Goliath - view from the back.

All of the sculptures there are huge!!!
I think the myth that those people back then are gigantic might be true la. Macam tapak kaki Hang Tuah?

Thehehe.. Thanks Cat for the pic.

Orang KL kalau pergi muzium memang macam ni. Hehehe.

Another main attraction here is this sculpture.
Venus de Milo.
It’s believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus) – the Greek Goddes of Love and Beauty.
Its arms and original plinth have been lost.

Rasanya brand air Milo tu dapat idea dari sculpture ni? Takde kena mengena langsung!

Venus de Milo

 Next: Notre Dame

Notre Dame de Paris @ Notre Dame Cathedral

A cathedral church built as a dedication to the Virgin Mary.
We got lost a few times while trying to figure out the way here. Hehe.
I didn’t go in the church. Only Cat and Shanky went in.

Me @ Notre Dame, Paris

I just sat in front (or is it the back?) of it ~ admiring the fine architecture and gargoyles.
You can actually go all the way up to the roof of the church if you want to.

The gargoyle, sitting on edge of the building's roof. Blur la..

The church reminds me of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Hm.. Betul ke ada si bongkok tu?

Final: Champs de Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

Me in front of Lido - Champs Elysees, Paris

Hahaha!! – I don’t even know how to pronounce it correctly.
It’s actually known as the world most beautiful avenue and it’s really beautiful at night.
With all the lights and rows of luxury boutiques, cafes, cinemas etc.

According to Wikipedia – rents as high as USD1.5 million per 1,000 square feet (92.9 square metres) of space, it remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe.
Don’t know whether it’s true or not.

However, here you can see the biggest Louis Vuitton boutique ever. It’s huge!
The avenue started from the Concorde until Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe @ Arch of Triumph

To get this monument’s picture during the day without any vehicles passing by is almost impossible!

Oh! I forgot to mentioned. All 3 of us, walked all the way from Notre Dame to Champs de Elysees.
That’s one hell of a walk. Around 4 km and it took us 1 hour plus to get there. Phew!
The weather was cloudy and it drizzles once in a while.

Place de la Concorde

We passed by Place de la Concorde – one of the major public squares in Paris and the largest square in the French capital.
The monument – called Luxor Obelisk marks the beginning of the avenue.

That guy Alain Robert aka ‘French Spiderman’ climbed the monument with his bare hands, climbing shoes and no safety device in 2000 – that is really crazy.

Night falls – time to go back. Exhausted!!

Took the metro straight to Gaite station – you pronounced it as Gete. Hehe. Mace orghe Kelate pulok.

Stop by a supermarket nearby our hotel and we bought some food for dinner.
Watched Barcelona kicked Man U’s a** and won the Champions League Title.
It’s been a good day.

Twelveth Day aka Final Day

Today is our last day in Paris and also UK.
We’re taking the Eurostar from Paris to London.

Eurostar @ Paris Gare du Nord station. Our ride back to London.

Cat made the booking online and the tickets were then sent to Nurul’s address in Amsterdam.
That’s the only way since Eurostar website don’t allow online confirmation and tickets can only be sent to certain countries. Malaysia is no where to be found in the list. Bummer!

You can also walk in to their counter and buy the tix on the spot but the price will be very very expensive.

We got ours at a very cheap price for the 2 hours journey. RM311 per person I think?
That’s a one way journey and under promo okay… mahal gak tu. Guess how much will be the price if it’s normal? Around a few hundreds pounds.

From Gare du Nord International, Paris to St Pancras International, London.

How can I describe the journey?
Fast, exciting and seemless. I was asleep.

Cat caught me sleeping. It's dark outside coz we're the Channel Tunnel.

The train run at up to 300 km/h and cross under the English Channel via the Channel Tunnel.
If you ask me, how was it traveling underneath the sea via the tunnel?
It’s the same like how you travel through highway’s tunnel.

It was dark with some lights along the way and.. actually you can’t see anything.. till you get to the other side.
Silly me, thought that the tunnel will look like something in KL Aquaria. Hahaha.
Dunno where I got the idea.

St Pancras International, London. Yay!

We arrived safely in London and it’s on time as per schedule.
Took the tube and since we’re there early – I decided to go for a last minute shopping.
I went to Carnaby Street and entered this shop called Size?.
http://size.co.uk
I got myself a pair of Adidas Court Star for around RM 100 which was quite a bargain. Check out the shoes here:
http://size.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10701_11551__155592_-1_footwear
You can’t get that price anywhere in KL. Lucky me!

We then returned to Sheraton to pick up our bags which we left before we went to Amsterdam.
Went to see Shanky’s friend for a last time, hang out in her convertible VW Beetle and then headed straight to Heathrow to catch our bus to Stansted Airport.

Our luggage.. this is ridiculous! Hahaha.

The return flight was okay.. I slept most of the time.
Overall.. I would say this trip is one of the best trip that I’ve ever had and I will remember it for the rest of my life. Surely.

Special thanks to Shanky and Cat for all the planning, reservations, organizing all the stuffs and being my travel buddy. We’re so muhibbah. Hehe. We shall do this again. Maybe?
Thanks to Nurul for Amsterdam’s accomodation and food yang you belanja. Mintak halal dunia akhirat.
Thanks to Jason who sent us to the airport. You’re late.. as usual. Hehe.
Thanks to my boss, David who are flexible for my annual leaves arrangement.
Last but not least.. thanks to all who made this possible. God bless you all.

Will I go again? Maybe. Hopefully. Insyallah.
Which city will I vote as my favorite? Definitely London.

Buhbye!

Till then.
Sayonara ~

By Cara Sulieman

THE CHIEF Constable of the British Transport Police said that public transport in Scotland should always be policed by his force – even if the debate on a single Scottish constabulary results in change.

He spoke of being able to “police across boundaries” when he met Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill in Edinburgh today (Tues) to talk about the ongoing partnership between the BTP and the Scottish Government.

Andy Trotter’s comments come just a week after Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson backed calls for radical reform of forces across the country.

And in Scotland there has been a long-running debate on the future of the country’s policing, with ex-Chief Inspector of Constabulary Paddy Tomkins calling for one massive force to be created.

“Strong partnership”

Mr Trotter took over as the Chief Constable in September this year after five years as Deputy of the organisation.

And he hopes to continue what he calls a “strong partnership” between the BTP and local forces in Scotland – saying a combination of local knowledge and sizable resources were needed to effectively tackle crime.

Mr Trotter emphasised the BTP’s ability to chase criminals around the country without having to go through reams of paperwork.

He said: “The work that we do knows no boundaries, we chase criminals across boundaries. As well as working with local police forces in the UK, we work with authorities in France and Belgium as part of policing Eurostar.

“Criminals don’t respect boundaries, and victims of crime don’t understand these boundaries either. You can get a lot of debate between police forces about whose ground a crime happened on.

“The victims don’t want to know about this debate, they don’t care. People do things at the start of their journey, they do them at the end, and they do things in between. It is important that we are able to get them wherever their crime took place and wherever they go.”

Local knowledge

He went on to say that it isn’t just this ability to “cross boundaries” that makes up effective policing, but local knowledge plays a large part as well.

And he thinks that Scotland has a good balance of local knowledge and co-operation between forces.

Mr. Trotter added: “I have found that in Scotland there is a much more corporate approach to policing. The very small forces get help when they need it from the big forces.

“What the community wants is a local force they can talk to, and they get that too.”

And that “local knowledge” is so important to Mr Trotter that he has given his area commander Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley free reign to run the force in Scotland.

Anti-social behaviour

He said: “I give my area commander in Scotland a lot of freedom. He has targets to meet but apart from that he runs the force up here as he sees fit.

“These are local solutions to local problems. This is a very Scottish approach.”

The pair discussed the newly introduced fixed penalty notices to tackle anti-social behaviour on the rail network.

Since they were introduced in April, 162 fixed penalties have been handed out for offences such as breach of the peace and drinking in public.

And the justice secretary said that he had recently experienced how safe the railway was after dropping off a friend at Waverley train station on Saturday night.

“Good atmosphere”

He said: “I was down in this (Waverley) station on Saturday night where I was showing a friend back to a town along the road from here where we both come from and it was a remarkably good atmosphere.

“The rugby fans were going home and station was safe, secure and well policed.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

According to sales reports of Eurostar it now appears that there is some recovery in the earnings of Eurostar. In comparison to the 2.4 million passengers last year, 2.6 million passengers have recorded to travel by Eurostar this quarter. This shows a clear growth in leisure market in UK.

According to some expert this increase in Eurostar sales may be due to the fire in shuttle in Channel Tunnel last September. This caused a decrease in sales that time and now it appears higher due to regain in the ticket sales. Eurostar have sold a total of £504.9 million tickets this year from January to September. This year around 6.9 million passengers have travelled with Eurostar.

Eurostar’s chief executive says that these sales figures is an indication that people have realized that traveling with Eurostar is much beneficial than other contemporary travel sources. He calls these peoples “Eurostar Generation”. These are travelers who, over the past decade and a half, have experienced significant changes to their lives thanks to the growth of high speed rails.

Eurostar has really done a great job in providing amazing services to travelers which shows in the stats. Eurostar is serving many top Eurostar Destinations such as Lille, Paris, Disneyland, Brussels and many more. Eurostar also provides cheap eurostar tickets for train travel. This is a major reason that peoples prefer Eurostar over other travel options for a time saving journey.

To celebrate their 15^th Anniversary, Eurostar were doing a promotion with The Times to Paris, Brussels or Lille.  I received an e-mail with two passwords and only needed to purchase a copy of The Times for the third.  I thought the deal was too good to pass up and as Amor’s birthday was imminent, I thought it would be lovely to take him away for a couple of days.  It would also do me the world of good to get away from the madness that was taking place with regard to the sale of my house.

We decided on Lille as neither of us had ever been there.   I purchased a copy of The Times (it came with a free book!  Bonus!), got my third password, and booked our mini-break.  I originally tried to book for a weekend, but all of the Friday trains were completely booked as many people had taken advantage of the great offer to go to Disneyland!  I was advised that there were plenty of seats during the week and decided that was a better option, thus avoiding masses of noisy children and equally noisy parents.  I also booked a hotel through Eurostar as the rate was reasonable.  Breakfast was included, and the hotel was fairly central.   As the booking was fairly short notice, and there had been postal strikes, I opted to collect my tickets and vouchers from the station.

On the 11^th of November (Remembrance Day), we left Eastbourne Station early in the morning to Ashford International, where we were to pick up the Eurostar.  The journey took an hour.  We had plenty of time for coffee, collecting the tickets, and acquiring some Euros before boarding our train at 10:30.  Fortunately, there weren’t many people with children going to Disneyland that morning.  While waiting for the train to arrive, I found a map of Lille.  One of the men working for Eurostar was French and knew the town.  He showed me on the map the best way to get from the station to our hotel.  Luckily enough, it was within walking distance.   I asked him if it was necessary purchase a City Pass, but he didn’t think we would need one as the metro was small and Lille was not a big city.  In any event, we could always get one from the Information Centre if we thought we needed one.

Our train arrived and we found our seats and settled in.  Now that I had an idea of where we were staying, I pulled out the guidebooks to get more information on the area.  I like to be prepared, and I like to know where I am, or at least have a general idea of where I am.  During the journey between Ashford and Lille, we were asked to observe 11 minutes of silence to show respect for the soldiers who had died.  I was a bit peeved that there were a couple of young women talking behind me while the rest of the train carriage was quiet.  I restrained myself from saying anything and eventually dozed off.

Our journey to Lille was only an hour from Ashford International, plus we needed to add an hour for the time difference.  That made it lunchtime!  Our first stop was our hotel, then off to find some lunch.  As Amor assured me that he was a terrible navigator, I was responsible for the map!  Once we pinpointed where we were, we happily worked our way to the hotel.  I had a difficult time keeping my eyes ahead of me as I was looking upward all of the time.  Most of the buildings are quite beautiful, with French windows, balconies, and gorgeous details.  We arrived at our hotel within 15-20 minutes.  Check-in was easy and the staff were friendly.  The room was small, but it was very clean, as was the bathroom.  We freshened up, put away some clothes and went off to explore, and find some food!

Getting There:

Eastbourne to Ashford International: http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Eurostar: http://www.eurostar.com

Lille Tourist Office:  http://www.lilletourism.com

Guide Books

Lille – Everyman MapGuides, by Clemence Jacquinet, Shelley Wanger, £5.99  - “No more struggling against the wind to fold back the extra large city map you picked up at the tourist office. The unique “Everyman MapGuide” series cleverly combines maps and text in an easy-to-use format, listing the best sights, restaurants and shops alongside fold-out maps of exceptional clarity. Each guide divides the city into sections and devotes two double pages to each of them. Sections are colour coded, and a small area map at the bottom of the page tells you where you are within the city, and within the guide. There are also 4 pages of useful information about the city at the front of the book, and a 4-page city-wide hotel section at the back; plus a street index and thematic index. Stylish, clever, practical, a MapGuide is the indispensable pocket companion to your week end or short break away.”

Lille – The AA Essential Guide, by Lawrence Philips, £5.99 – “Make the most of your trip to Lille with “AA Essential Lille”. As well as handy atlas and maps sections the guide is divided into five easy-to-use colour coded sections: the authors introduction to the destination, including the ten ‘must do’s’; the author’s Top Ten places to visit; alphabetical listings of places to visit; detailed listings guiding you where to eat, stay and shop; and quick reference travel information.”

There’s not a lot of incentive for me to get out of bed at 5am on a Tuesday morning, especially in the Northern Hemisphere winter. But when I heard that Australian blogger, Razzbuffnik, and his wife, Engogirl, would be travelling around Europe for a few months, I found that rising at five to go and meet them in Paris wasn’t so bad after all.

Razz and Engo met me at the Gare du Nord and we hugged and fell immediately into easy chatter as if reunited schoolfriends rather than bloggers who’d never before met in person. In spite of the grey skies and drizzle, we forewent museums in favour of a leisurely stroll through le Marais, heading for the Seine.

We popped into a couple of markets, which were disappointing, really, and le Marais was like a ghost town, lacking in its usual buzz. But by the time we reached the Ile Saint Louis, we had decided that spending the afternoon together, eating and talking, was the way forward.

I’d heard about a restaurant called l’Ilôt Vache, filled with cow trinkets from faithful patrons, and we certainly found it, but it was closed. Perhaps that was fortuitous because when Razz spotted a modern-looking frontage with a French-Italian-Spanish fusion menu, we decided to give it a whirl, and how lucky we were that we did.

The restaurant is called Sorza and in spite of it being barely 12.30pm, we were greeted by a warm waitress and took a table in the window. Thus began the longest lunch I’ve had in a while. We were the first to arrive for lunch and the last to leave almost five hours later. Somehow, it didn’t surprise me that Razz, Engo and I could eat and talk for so long – we’ve all come to know each other quite well through Razz’s blog and mine and various e-mails in between posts, so the conversation flowed, just as well as the 2005 Côtes du Rhône that we ordered to see us through the afternoon.

Soon a group of Americans arrived to take tables behind us (Razz thinks that our being in the otherwise empty restaurant must have lured them in) and some locals later joined the fray. As dull as it was outside, we were warm in Sorza’s red interior. Now we just had to get down to the serious business at hand: eating.

Engo and I chose the parmesan soufflé to start. Small and rich, it was served warm and small mouthfuls of the cheesy creaminess lingered. This was not to be rushed; this dish demanded to be savoured. It was served with a long plate of leaves with a pesto dressing, shavings of parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic. The freshness of the salad tempered the rich soufflé and the tang of basil married well with the taste of parmesan.

Between bites, Engogirl practised her food photography with hubby, Razzbuffnik’s smart wide-angle lensed-up camera, as we discussed topics as disparate as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and how much you can tell about a country’s climate from its style of guttering.

Amidst all the talking, it’s a miracle we managed to eat as much as we did. Razzbuffnik’s starter was grilled aubergine with parmesan shavings artfully placed at the centre of the plate, and a sprinkling of pine nuts, olives, sunblushed vine tomatoes and a swirl of pesto completed the dish. We, the small Antipodean triumvirate, out to lunch in the French capital, were thus far impressed.

The mains only convinced us that we had stumbled into a very good establishment indeed.

Razz and I chose the Dorade, or sea bream, with creamy polenta and a small herb garnish. The polenta was the creamiest I’ve ever eaten in my life. When it arrived, it bore a gentle foam, and the bloggers’ consensus was that the texture was reminiscent of the softest scrambled eggs. The fish had been grilled to gently crisp its skin, whilst the fleshy underside remained tender, flaking off the fork as it should. And the bonus? No bones.

By this point, we were all sticking our forks into each other’s plates like old muckers, comparing each dish and making all sorts of lipsmacking sounds of gastronomic satisfaction. Engogirl’s risotto with coquilles Saint Jacques, was particularly good. Razz and I agreed that had we the opportunity to return, we’d definitely have to order it for ourselves because one small taste was definitely not enough.

Hours had passed by this point and it was beginning to get dark outside, but we still had to try the desserts. Engogirl tried the pannacotta with two coulis, Razz whizzed through a house tiramisu, and I had the chocolate mousse with crème de menthe. The mousse option arrived in a glass showing its three tidy layers. There was white cream at the bottom, a substantial amount of mousse in the middle, and a glossy cover of  chocolate sauce. The surprise was the white cream. It was quite literally delicately sweetened cream with finely chopped fresh mint throughout.

After a digestif or two it was time to thank our lovely waitress, who’d suffered our foreigners’ French with great patience, and hit the road.

Opposite Sorza we checked out the gallery windows, photographing this modern take on Gustav Klimt’s women, and learning glare-avoidance techniques from Razz. Then I looked at my watch. It said 5.20pm. No. It couldn’t be. I thought it was about 4.30pm. Now I had less than an hour to get back to the Gare du Nord and catch my train. Could it be done?

In the end, we caught a metro, got lost changing at Châtelet, found the right line headed north and screeched onto a train bound for the Gare du Nord. Thankfully, when we reached the Eurostar terminal, there were hardly any queues. That, in itself, is truly miraculous.

With a sadly hurried farewell to my two Australian friends, I typically found myself in the slowest-moving customs queues, threw my bags through the x-ray machine and hoofed it down to the platform. I made it into my seat with 4 minutes to spare. Now that’s what I call timing.

Razzbuffnik and Engogirl are my kinda company. They’re feet-on-the ground with a great repertoire of anecdotes, and a love of things that rate highly on my list of passions – namely, food and travel. I wish we lived closer so that Razz could cook for me with that extra-special Weber barbecue of his and so that Engogirl could show me her dams (Engo is an dam-building engineer). For the moment, we’ll just have to be thankful for the wonderful day we shared in Paris, and for the biggest blessing we’ve discovered through blogging: new and international friends.