day 2: 29 Mar 2009

The day started out with even less planning than the first. Jan told me that Paris on Sunday is shit. Nothing to do at all. But fortunately I read that there is a Marias district that is counter culture: they actually open on Sunday. Well for an area of Jewish origin which, in recent years, developed into a gay neighborhood, it seems logical.

My only navigational saving grace is my shameless attitude towards asking for directions. I started the day getting lost again. I approached this little girl who was chatting with her friend at the metro exit.

After a few minutes of gesticulation and broken english, she grabbed her friend, kissed her on her cheeks and sent her off.

'Follow me' she waved. So I followed her and she got me to my destination after a few minutes of walking accompanied by a broken conversation. We took a picture and split ways.

Everything in Paris is expensive. But if money's no object, you can get some seriously cool stuff.

this is so cool

this label might not fare so well in Singapore

le quirk!

this is some cool chiseled specs

man this is kinda creepy no?

Told you this is a Jewish area yes?

The area was cordoned off. No cars allowed. You can walk on the road to do your shopping. Window for me though.

One more thing you're notice is how they position their chairs outside their cafes. They are all faced outside. For people watching and to be watched by people?

free to walk around on this glorious morning

An interesting display. A ply wood punctuated to form a face. Kinda reminds me of T.I's album art.

i was walking around aimlessly. They even have MUJI there. Kinda strange to see the minimalistic decor of MUJI in a neighborhood full of intricate buildings.

Then it hit me. I need to use the loo. And it is a really rare commodity there really. So I soildered on. Then I passedby Picaso's house.

'why not go and use Picaso's toilet?' I thought.

And so I did.

translation: Museum of Picaso. Come use our loo

There is an interesting installation done for the building. A huge piece of reflective surface was fixed perpenticular to the facarde of the building.

time for another zipai

see? the black portion on top can be used as a reference

there is a garden at the back of the building

interesting. see the scaffolding on the right?

Sitting in the sun is suddenly a luxury. Glorious morning sunshine.

I did not take too many of Picaso's artwork. Here is an interesting one. At least something more literal. The others are too damn abstract.

death's head

the kiss

Apparently, Picaso was so raped by the french government tax laws. Most of his works were transferred to the government instead of his daughter.

Gist is, I took a dump at his place. kimochii.

I sat down for a cuppa. I had quite a few there. Good quality and relatively cheaper than gourmet coffee in Singapore. Starbucks there is the same price as Singapore. Only denominated in euros. And prolly not as good as any random cafes there.

lattes are not too popular there though

After coffee, i started wandering again. This time round, I chanced across this:

village st Paul

It is like this hidden street dotted with interesting shops selling anything ranging from vintage stuff, paintings, homemade handicrafts etc. All expensive of course.

directory

alamak! help!!!

le stereotype

I'm meeting shuyi this evening and I though of getting some flowers for her. There are quite a few shops selling beautiful flowers. But i guess when people say Paris is a city of romance, they mean that everyday is Valentine's day. That would prolly explain the crazy prices of the flowers.

I was thinking of going ghetto and picking a flower off the street for her but i is afraid of being capped by le french police who would prolly bring me in and do a couple of Zidane on me. Not fun.

bad idea.

these cafes inside mansion's yard are so cool

even wood grains looks nicer there

building that needs a shave

i was caught stalking

tubby kids in bubble coats are always funny

ohh! reflective surface!

busker with a chicken cop for a hairstyle wearing a white pants and a 'stop' sign fixed on his ass.
no homo?

so touristy

I passed by this nice window display for a shop. The entire wall is filled with old sewing machines. I couldn't get a good shot due to the reflection. A pity.

reminds me of fried potato strips garnishes

These cities have all the luck. With their arid air and cold weather, things tend to not stink. Imagine this sewage in singapore. It will be icky and smelly in no time.

A fine example of Engrish

oui! be a man! do tha right thang!

The sun was setting and soon night will fall. Shuyi is finally coming! I did a last minute search before flying to paris and printed out the map to le Meridien. what could go wrong right? Well, there are 2 le Meridien in Paris. Thats what! Shuyi called and I ran to the metro, slapping myself for my folly.

We did meet up half an hour later. We dressed up and headed out, determined not to waste the night away.

why you so lost?

a bit of cam whoring before we head out

le pretty no?

we walked to the arc de triomphe

It was dark and my fingers were getting a tad numb in the cold Parisian night. I was dissapointed that I cannot walk under the arc. Historically it is the symbol of victory to walk throught the arc. You'll most prolly get capped by the traffic before your 'trimph'.



The Champs-Élysées. Say it 10 times. Sounds so cool right? Say it! Them french loves straight things. They have this axis that stretches from the arc de triomphe, down Champs-Élysées, through the Louvre and straight towards La Défense. Everything is arrow straight: the road, the trees, everything.

We initially wanted to head towards the Eiffel Tower. But it was so late we think they switched off the lights. We would be able to see it near to the end of the road if it was lit. Besides, the streets looked mighty dangerous. So we went back and called it a day.