Day 10 - Paris to London

We had to wake up early to catch the train to London. The fact that we were going to really leave Paris, leave Uncle C and ah yee upset me greatly. It had been a wonderful 4 days in Paris and it would be many more moons before we will see ah yee and Uncle C again. It is such pity that they couldn't join us in London. 

We had a simple and our last bfast in their little living room and their antique dinning table. Then was last minute preparation and we got out of the house. The kids loved ah yes and uncle C's companion this period and this picture tells all. The parents were loving it, leaving us a little time to walk hand in hand, which rarely happens when we are with the kids in Singapore. They did look like a family, don't they? Haha.

We took the tube at one of the usual stations and the tube was more crowded than usual given that it was the peak hour. I couldn't be more thankful for Uncle C to be with us to help with the luggage. We would soon part ways and be on our own for the rest of the trip. Truth be told, the thought was super daunting. It had been wonderful to be able to be free rider and had ah yee and Uncle C took perfect care of us. I had to keep reminding the kids to behave themselves. They had to start cooperating to make sure things move smoothly.

We parted ways with ah yee at the station where we would take the train to London. It was so sad that we didn't have much time to really say goodbye. We had to clear immigration and rush for our train. We had our hugs and kisses and I could barely hold back my tears. I wonder when it would be that I would see my little sister again. I hope she will come back to visit us in Singapore soon or maybe we could visit her again next year. The 13 hours flight wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Even Daddy Lim agreed on that but of course we should only speak after surviving the returning flight. Lol. Then again, the kids would be older and there's direct flight to Paris too. All things looked great. Haha.

Back to our train journey, we cleared the immigration smoothly but wasn't left with a lot of time. We visited the toilet and changed the euro that ah yee loaned us into pounds. We heard the train operators rushing the passengers to board the train and was asked to hurry given that our cabin was right in front. It was a mad rush on the platform trying to get to our cabin and our seats. We barely settled down in our seats and the train started moving. Phew. It was also great that there was an empty seat and Lil Isaac got a seat of his own.

We were trying to keep Lil Isaac awake since it was only an over hour train ride. We were puzzled when we didn't reach the station at the schedule time - the trains are supposed to be super on time.  It was then that we realised that London is one hour behind Paris and I finally tucked the fussing boy in for a nap. That nap brought us such great peace.

We reached London shortly and we glad to see wider pathways, English signs everywhere and hearing people talk in English! 

We then attempted to find our hotel given that Daddy Lim had Google map the location the night before. After like 5 mins walk, we arrived at the hotel to realise that it was not the hotel that I had booked. Zzzz. The hotel reception was really nice to Google map for us and print our the map for us. It turned out that our hotel is on the other side of the Euston station but very near to the station.

We checked in (at extra 10 pounds) upon arrival. Our hotel was no frills but nice and clean with 2 double beds. The bathtub was a bonus. Hehe. Then, we tried to decide what to do next. Daddy Lim and I aren't the best travel companion but have compromised over the years. Lol. I am the kind who loves to pack every minute with activity while he would be happy to stay in the hotel to watch MTV. For the London trip, we had some major activity nailed but pockets of time to fill. It was tough trying to agree what to do (or not to do). Eventually, we agreed to head to Covent Garden. We got ready to leave the hotel and while packing the bag, I found the chocolate bun that ah yee packed for us. These are her favorite in Paris. I couldn't hold back my tears and starting crying. The kids were a little shocked. Now that I thought about it, it seems quite funny to me. Haha.

We took the Underground and found it so much simpler as compared to the tube in Paris - maybe bcos the signs are all in English. I was also more relaxed - at least I dun have to constantly remind the kids to be quiet and the English people are definitely kinder than the French. I get some friendly smiles from people. Hehe. 

Covent Garden has some high class shopping and  also pasar malan kind of stalls. The 1st thing that we did was to stop for ice cream.

There were also many buskers and we were very entertained by this one.

We didn't buy much and walked to the Thames River.

Then we headed back to the hotel thereafter for an early night. The kids were all tired from the early morning and traveling. Lil Isaac fell asleep on the way back and slept to the next morning, leaving Lil Shauna to enjoy the bathtub alone. On the way back to the hotel, Lil Shauna told me that she was sick and tired of climbing steps. Me too. I am amazed at the numbers of stairs they have in Europe. Haha. And by the way, Lil Isaac had been sick and tired of walking since many days back and had been taking every single opportunity to ask us to carry him.  Zzzzz. 

Mummy Lim

Day 9 - Paris

Our final day in Paris was a relaxed one.
To replace the stolen bagpack, ah yee brought us to the famous shopping street in Paris. It is named the most beautiful shopping street in the world but I couldn't really fathom it's beauty despite walking it. It actually looked pretty normal, lined with famous brands. By the way, the largest LV store in the world is right there. Don't envy me, I didn't do my homework on what's cheaper to buy and the stolen $$ told me to not even go near impulsive buying. 

We visited this big arch (not sure what it is called). To reach the top, there are 280+ steps to climb and the lift is solely reserved for those wity kids, pregnant, disabled and the elderly.  I am not sure how strict they are with the rules but suddenly, our kids become very valuable so that we could take the lift. Nice view at the top greeted us. It was cold and windy though. 

This is the only group picture that we had bcos one of us was usually the photographer. In France, it is difficult to entrust your camera/ hp to a stranger without worrying that he might run off with it. In this case, we figured out that we were 280ish steps above ground and it wouldn't be too tough to give chase. Lol.

Buskers also lined the street. There was this particular one dressed in gold with this egyptian mask. Lil Isaac got a little to close to it and  he scared the life out of our scady cat when the "statue" moved to change into a more comfortable position. Lil Isaac was seen crying and yelling and running for cover. It was actually quite a funny sight. Lol. The little boy promptly "took cover" when we had to pass the statue again. Haha.

We had lunch at a French fast food joint before finally heading to the big sports shop and bought a bagpack and new jackets for the kids.

After shopping was this big park. 

At the park, we saw that it was actually sponsored by LV. 

The park has many kids amusement rides, playgrounds, cafes and resturant. Given that it was sponsored by LV, there was no reason to doubt why it was so nicely maintained. See how happy the camel is!

We posted for silly pictures.

The kids took many rides.

Had plenty of fun at the playground.

The park was not crowded given that it is autumn but we had perfect weather for the day. Like the previous day at Disneyland, it was cool and cloudy with sunshine at times, the temperature was properly about low 10s. It was very comfortable. I think the park must be very crowded in summer. 

We took a mini train ride to the middle of the park.

And ended the day posing in front of funny mirrors. 

The trip left us all very tired.

We took tube back to ah yee's place for home cooked dinner of pasta and pizza. Yummy. We watched a movie before turning in. A great last day in Paris.

We were heading to London the next day. Uncle C and ah yee sent us to the train station and helped the with luggage. It was really sad that we had to part ways soon. We had a very pleasant stay in Paris. It was so nice for ah yee to offer their place. Ah yee and uncle C took fantastic care of us during the our stay and they hosted really well. I was so touched to see ah yee, whom is the youngest in the family and was usually taken care of to a fine lady of the house and took great care of us all. I also had the chance to peek into and experience her "new" life, from the flight of stairs that she had to climb everyday, the cosy little home that she shared with Uncle C, the things that she does daily, her cooking, the supermarket that she did her grocery, the complicated public transport that she has to take, the efforts that she made to fit into the French culture and many more.

It was a pity that Uncle C had to work and rest early. We were all tired too. Otherwise, a late night beer would have been fantastic. Thinking back, it would have been great if the adults could spent more time together after the kids turned in but that basically meant tired adults and active kids everyday. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Day 8 - Paris (Disneyland)

This was the Disneyland day and the kids and I had been looking forward excitedly to it. I love theme parks like the kids and think that holidays are incomplete without theme parks. Haha.

We had to wake up super early so that we will be at Disneyland at 10 am when the doors opened but none of the kids mind waking up early.

Everybody was so excited and were already in the train when ah yee jokingly asked if I brought the entrance tickets. To our horror, I really did left the tickets at home. I must have had been a free rider for too long and presumed that ah yee would prepare everything, including the tickets. Shame on me. 

The train tickets were too expensive and it didn't make sense for all of us to turn back. Ah yee still had the tickets in her email and the plan was to go to Disneyland and try to plead with the officer to help us to print the tickets. Apparently, the Frenchs aren't the nicest and there was a high possibility that they wouldn't do so for us. Boo. Fortunately we met a nice and helpful staff and we were on our way to adventure. Muahaha. 

We bought a 1 day ticket for 2 parks. Lil Shauna had been bugging me to let her wear her Frozen dress and was so eager to show off. She started posing with everything in sight.

The DL is so much bigger than the one in HKG. They do not have double buggy so we rented a single one but for 2 pax use at time and it was sheer labour work.

Some of the rides are similar to the one in HKG but there are definitely many more rides. 

Lil Shauna and my personal favourite has to be the thrilling Nemo ride. It is somewhat like the space mountain ride - a roller coaster in the dark. Each car can seat 4 and the car rotates freely 360 degrees while on the moving on the track. Woohoo! Lil Isaac isnt tall enough for the ride and he went on the flying carpet with Daddy Lim while the rest of us screamed our lungs out on the thrilling ride. I would have gone for a few more times if not for the 30 mins q.

We also tried the new ratatouille ride that was just opened last month and it has a long q. I think we were in the q for at least 45 mins. The ride wasn't ready that worth the wait. It was like a milder version of the transformer with the 4D effect. The 3D effect was great but the moving animation at close range made me dizzy and I had to close my eyes for most of the ride. I didn't quite know what really happened. Lol. 

We caught the parade too.

We didn't catch the fire works and headed back at almost 8pm after dinner and buying gifts in Disneyland. 

The kids slept very early that night given the long day. The adults had supper - the food at Disneyland was super expensive and we were still hungry. Lol. After supper, it was a heartache struggling to retrieve our air ticket. The flight itinerary was in the bag that was stolen and I couldnt retrieve my email with the booking reference. We tried to call the hotline, which cost us 30 cents per minute and I was on the phone for 10 mins before the lousy customer service officer told me that he couldn't help. He told us to bring the passports to the airport to "try". In other words, there was no guarantee, which made me worried that we have to pay for new tickets at the airport. Boo.

I whatsapped auntie S and auntie H to help call the lufthansa hot line in Singapore and had plans for Daddy Lim and Uncle C to head to the Paris airport to "try". Shoo bad luck.

Mummy Lim