Day 26: Disneyland!!! Day 1

It was a rainy morning on 20 October 2012, and i was almost as gloomy as the weather. Maybe it was the waking up early, i don't know, but even the thought of my first time ever in a Disneyland failed to cheer me up.

To go to Disneyland, we had to purchase a special ticket, named Mobilis. It costs about 30 euros per person, but you can travel anywhere you want to for an entire day on any kind of train.

We took the RER A train, all the way to the last station which is Marne-La Vallee-Disneyland Parc. This is the same kind of train i took when i first came to Paris, from the airport.

The Metro is a lot like LRT, whereas the RER resembles KTM. Some or most of the RER trains has two and a half floors. You enter and you can either stand at the small space there or move on to the top or bottom floor to sit down.

It took us approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive to Disneyland Paris. Shah planned to take the annual ticket, the one which allows you to enter Disneyland at any day of the year. If you get recommended by someone who already has an annual passport, you can get 20 EUR off, so it would be 179 EUR for each of us. Yep, Disneyland is NOT cheap.

Thankfully, Shah has a very nice colleague and friend who has agreed to do just that for us. Wong, and his wife Sin Yee, had been to Disneyland about 5 to 6 times at this point, so they were like pretty much totally tak heran about Disney already. Shah and i were very grateful, as we got to save 40 EUR.

The lines were all longgg

After buying the ticket, we headed to the Annual Passport Office to get our Passeport Annuel. Disneyland is like a country on its own eh? The line there was ve-e-ry long too. We waited in line for more than an hour.

Our main goal today was actually to utilize a special 30% off discounts on the items in Disneyland Park if you spend more than 50 EUR in one receipt. Wong and Sin Yee took us to every big shop there is for us to survey what we could buy. In between window-shopping, we checked out the scenery as well.

It was raining very softly, but that didn't dampen people's spirit. Loads of parents were totting their kids around.

As we were walking around, i spotted this tiny hut with a line forming next to it.

And i spotted the figure who was about to turn my mood upside down.

JACK SKELLINGTONNN!!!

OK, i was obsessed with The Nightmare Before Christmas, and i remember making Shah watch it when we were in New Zealand. At first Shah thought it was the weirdest movie (sure, coming from someone who loves Se7en and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) but then i made him watch Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice, and he discovered that there were weirder movies out there. So that was how Shah got to know Tim Burton too.

Naturally i just had to stay in line to meet Jack. Turned out Sin Yee was a fan as well, so we were all merrily waiting in line together.

Isn't this sign creepily funny?

This nondescript building was actually one of the attractions here, but i didn't know it yet

I mean, look at that smile. All for Jack Skellington

Jack was very good with his fans. He would make the time to talk to all of the people who came to see him.

See how he made Sin Yee laughed?

I was a complete fangirl. When it was my turn, i told Jack, "I LOVE YOU!" and then i asked for a hug before posing for photos with him.

I introduced Jack to "my husband"

Honestly. Your husband was RIGHT THERE, Liyana

And then we all acted cute with Jack Skellington

In case you're wondering, i do know that's not really Jack Skellington. It's a random man dressed as him. But if you've watched Ted, well, it's like when Mark Wahlberg's character met his childhood superhero Flash Gordon. Except that was really, really the real Flash Gordon. But Jack Skellington can't helped that he was an animated stop-motion character to begin with. And anyway the guy was really good as Jack Skellington. He obviously studied Jack's voice and movements for his job.

I've read this article saying it is no joke to work for Disney as its characters. You'd have to be prepared to go through an intensive audition. Uh-huh. And obvs you have to physically fit as well. Like this dude, he's pretty tall and thin enough to work it as Jack. And the Princesses and Princes have to be somewhat attractive but not too "defining" either.

After having a little chat with Jack Skellington about Halloween costumes and posing for photos, he suggested Phantom Manor as our next stop, pointing to the ordinary, seemingly-out-of-place house i saw while waiting in line to meet him.

The line to enter the "manor" was pretty long. I wasn't keeping track, but we had to have waited for at least half an hour. But it's a good idea to not keep track of time when you're waiting in line, because you'll just get frustrated. Just accept beforehand that you might be in line for an hour at least and do it patiently. Most rides will tell you anyway how long you will be in line for, so that's helpful. And definitely make full use of FastPass.

Phantom Manor by the way appeared a little scary at first. I was clutching Shah's arm reeeaaally hard. The crowd gathered in a room, and then the floor turned into an elevator and took us one floor below. From there, we all went for a "scenic" ride. And all the scenes are supposed to be scary. For the record, i hatehatehate horror movies. But this ride wasn't scary at all, so, yay!

Wong and Sin Yee and a feisty Halloween background

Shah spied the Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery earlier on and had been itching to try it out. You need a 2 EUR coin for a round though.

Shah did REALLY good! He shot down a few things!

Go to The Lucky Nuggets for specialities Tex-Mex

This is the entrance to Frontierland, by the way, where we were hanging out.

My mood did a 180 degrees turn, obvs, by now

Shah felt like pizza and pasta, so we had to leave Frontierland.

But first, a photo with the enchanted castle of Sleeping Beauty!

The nice thing about going to Disneyland with another couple is you get to help take each other's photo!

I think this ride is called Main Street Vehicles. Eh. Too slow

Our first option was Buzz Lightyear's Pizza Planet Restaurant in Discoveryland.

I made a hilarious geology joke upon seeing these. Heh. Hehhehheh

Discoveryland is definitely a boy's park, you know what i mean? Like a 5-year-old boy would be twice as excited to be here than a 5-year-old girl. Girls would be excited too, totally, but Toy Story is such a boy thing, you know? For adults, it really doesn't matter. Both Shah and i were giddy inside and out.

Gloomy day but see how so many people don't care?

 Unfortunately Buzz Lightyear's restaurant was closed that day. All the better maybe, because we initially didn't notice it was a buffet place. Think of all the money we saved for my future shopping.

There are always other options at Disneyland, for vegetarians, and Muslims too of course. We just turned around and headed to another pizza/pasta place.

I made them took this picture with me, ha ha ha

WHY does this logo remind me of Wonder Woman? What's this supposed to represent anyway? Anyone care to educate me?

There is a shop that is pretty much dedicated to Star Wars in Discoveryland. I sure do hope Hisham dropped by when he came to Disneyland with Mak!

Pizzeria Bella Notte is situated in Fantasyland. It's the most adorable pizzeria ever!

And absolutely beautiful.

It was such a relief to be inside a warmer place too.

Shah and i got the four cheese pizza and the vegetarian pasta.

The price for a set is about 11-13 EUR, which is a little steep, but you get a drink and maybe a bread and dessert in the set.

I especially love the decor inside. Disneyland has done a great job at exciting kids everywhere they step into!

And adults too. Ehem. Of course.

It's even romantic too. Sighhh

By then it was time for Shah and i to find a place for prayers. We got to glimpse a few of Disney celebs upon exiting - SO exciting! Seriously, i went squealing and everything. They walked really fast though so i'm sure they either had somewhere important to go to. or maybe their shift is done.

Apologies for the crap photos. All i have is my trusty old-age digital camera.

Maleficent!

Cruella de Vil!

The Shadow Man!

Tsk. "Old age digital camera"? How ironic eh.

Back to the prayers issue.

Shah and i had lugged our sejadah and my telekung to Disneyland even though we don't know if they provide a place for Muslims to perform prayers. Shah approached two Disney staff (who for some reason were setting up roped barriers around a random place) and asked if they knew of such a place. The guy, who was the less friendly of the two, shook his head and said "No, no". The girl on the other hand was sure such place exists and kindly suggested Shah to head to the City Hall for information.

So we were like "Yes!!!" and said byebye to Sin Yee and Wong for the time being.

And more on our quest soon!

xxoo

Day 20: A trip to the Louvre

We hopped on the trusty Metro line 1 to get to the Palais Royal - Musee du Louvre station.

On a side note, i got super excited on the train when i saw this kid reading Conan. A fellow Conan lover!

I went inside Virgin Megastore in Les Quatre Temps the other day and was surprised to see a 'Manga' section. All in French, of course. I didn't occur to me that people in France read manga. Shah made the observation that the French has a thing for anime. Since i came here, i've seen a couple of ads for anime movies as well. I don't need to tell you that they're all in French, right?

Anyway.

We arrived at the station and immediately searched for the direction to the ticket counter and entrance to Louvre. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were right in Carrousel du Louvre. And i just found out that it's a mall right then too. 

During Paris Fashion Week, i looked at online schedule (for fun, what else?) and noticed that some shows took place in Carrousel du Louvre, and i remember wondering what the place was as it sounded so familiar. If i had known Carrousel du Louvre was so accessible to where we lived (i didn't bother to check, typical me), i would've totally went there during Paris Fashion Week. You know, to stalk celebs.

And of course it sounds familiar, because this thing was right smack in it. Hello, Da Vinci Code!

OK, i had NO idea this thing was in a mall space. Honestly, you would've think that i would've done some research before coming to Paris. After all, one of the reasons i was so excited to come to Louvre is because of Da Vinci Code, after all. Not just to Louvre, to Paris itself! But i had no idea this upside down pyramid was here. In a MALL. I had this idea that it was in the museum. Not a mall OK. And i kept saying mall. Because i was like, whattt, there's a mall here? I was so confused, as you can tell from the way i'm writing all this nonsense. Did Dan Brown mentioned Carrousel du Louvre in the book? He must have, right? And if he did, did he say it was a mall? Hmmmmmmm. Puzzler...

Shah and i were totally agog over it. The name is La Pyramide Inversee, by the way.

My excitement at that point was nowhere near when i saw the kid reading Conan. I loved The Da Vinci Code, so it was amazing to be there and see the famous skylight.

Admiring it up close

My supercomel Sheh

And right beside La Pyramide Inversee was Laduree! I first heard about Laduree from Marlena of Makeup Geek, in her personal website Simply Marlena. When she went to Paris, loads of people recommended her to try out macarons from Laduree. Shaheera had also asked me to check out a famous macaron place in Paris when i first arrived here, and when i asked her what the name of the shop was, it was indeed Laduree. So i just had to try them out. Of course.

That's me walking inside

And that's me with the macarons. Har har

 OK, so, they're not exactly cheap...

Since we just wanted to know what the fuss was all about, Shah got me the box of 6, priced at almost 15 euro. Just try not to convert. Because it just won't. Make. Sense.

Shah thinks macarons are all dainty and "girlie", but that didn't stop him from taking the first bite. So did they live up to their hype? Well, i guess. They're alright. For their price, they'd better be... But i probably will not purchase again. There are still loads of places here that sell macarons, and i love some other pastries a lot more than that box of 6. Some would argue that Laduree does not make the best macarons, so why stick to one shop. But then again Laduree is so famous with tourists too. Besides, their shops look all glamorous and lavish, so i understand the attraction.

And it's true what loads of people said, most macarons in Malaysia are too sweet. The Laduree ones are pleasantly sweet, but then again, they're not out-of-this-world or anything. To me, at least. I do like macarons, but i guess the true macaron-lover would have a lot more nice thing to say about these adorable sweets. And Shaheera would appreciate them more than i would too, i'm sure.

The shop itself is all fancy and very nicely done. There were three women working in the shop; one at the cash register, one who's such a sweet courteous brunette and one was almost unbearably sullen. Almost snobbish, maybe. If i have to make a theory, mine is she's sick of attending to all these "silly" tourists.

Obviously there would be loads of tourists there, and a few people were taking photos. When Shah was paying for the macarons, i took out my camera to take photos, and after a few snaps, Sullen Lady looked at me with that extra-annoyed expression she's had since we walked into the shop and sullenly announced, "No photos". I was like, "Oh, no photos? OK. Sorry". You know, very nicely, because i'm a nice person. But inside i was like, hello lady, tak payah eksyen OK, bukan ada sign "No Photos Allowed" pun. If there were one obviously you wouldn't have tourists doing what you don't want them to do.

Even if there were a sign, serious tak nampak. So out of respect, i'm not going to put up any photos of the inside of the shop. Even if the lady was kind of rude.

Shah was like, "No photos? Ye ke? Tapi i nak ambik gambar pyramid tu dari dalam Laduree jugak" which he totally did (i had already ran out of the store, in case Sullen Lady saw me with Shah and got the idea that i tak reti bahasa or something). Then the cashier lady told him (nicely, though) "No photos". But he got the photo anyway, nyeh nyeh. Which i'm also not going to put up here.

So, it was a Sunday, and we actually got to Louvre reeeaaally late, so the ticket counter was already closed. We just decided to stick around and have a look around. There weren't many people, so it was the perfect time to take some jakun touristy photos.

Shah checking out some leaflets

We went to the center part where the Pyramid was.

This glass pyramid was built at the entrance of the main court and was inaugurated in 1988. La Pyramide Inversee was then built as the second phase for Louvre, completing in 1993 (thanks Wiki!).

We just went around, enjoying the sights, climbing up the spiralling staircase, and before we knew it, it was night time.

I have no clue as to what this...monument?...is. It's certainly nice to look at though. And really tall.

That's Shah there

The museum was closing, so we exited through the pyramid.

Shah and i in front of the main court entrance

Comelnyaaa dia

Another pyramid; there are 3 or maybe 4 of this smaller one around the main one. Obvs i didn't bother to count

 OK, so i guess Shah and i would have to go to Louvre again next time. This time for realll.

I just loveee how Paris is full of beautiful buildings. They're probably nondescript to Parisians, and they're probably just random shops and apartments, but look at how cute they all are!

Does anyone know what this place is? We stumbled upon it on our way back to the station. Loads of people were standing on top of the funny-looking cyclinders and taking photos.

So we did too, har har! Don't those cylinders remind you of Beetlejuice?

Until next!
xxoo