A Little Tour Around Our Neighbourhood

Currently, Shah and i are staying at a serviced apartment - like a hotel, but cleaners come in only once a week - that's very near to where he works. It's very much convenient for him to stay here as it takes him literally five minutes to walk to his office, which is why he isn't considering renting our own place (sadface).

The area we are staying in is sort of the business district, according to Shah. I'm right in Paris, but obviously i'm not in the very heart of it. I don't see rows and rows of small shops or bakeries or anything sweet like that. It's all steel, shiny buildings around here.

I ventured out into the cold yesterday just to get to know the area a little better.

There is a pharmacy right around the corner of our place.

This was where Shah and i go for grocery-shopping. I quickly pop into the store to check out the makeup stuff more closely. Bourjois is there, oh my oh my. And i've also noted down L'oreal True Match in shade W7, which isn't available in Malaysia. Yippee!

Beside Monoprix is the staircase and escalator. I thought it was interesting that i've never seen an escalator in the open before. In Malaysia, all the escalators are under roofs - right? And i exclaimed in excitement when i saw the escalator steps went flat before arranging themselves into a descent again. I don't know if that makes sense, but i must take a photo someday to show you.

When you go up the stairs/escalator and walk a little further up, this is what you'll see. See what i mean by 'all steel, shiny building'?

This is Shah's office! It's super tall. And quite shiny too.

There are these weird wire-decor thingies around.

The slightly shorter shiny, steely building? That's a mall named Les Quatre Temps. I haven't been yet because i'm waiting for Shah to show me around inside. And also because i might want to do some shopping and i know i won't purchase anything without his permission. Might as well have him there straight away right?

There's a sort of oval entrance to some underground place near the mall. I think it leads to the underground train, but i can't be too sure.

People milling around the area. Our bank is somewhere here, opposite Les Quatre Temps.

Here is a side view of another smaller mall, opposite Les Quatre Temps, called Cnit. I say smaller, but it's really only smaller relative to Les Quatre Temps. I've been inside on the day i arrived; Shah and i emerged from the train station and walked straight into Cnit (pronounced 'see-knit' if i'm not mistaken). We actually had an interesting encounter in Cnit, a story that i will tell sometime soon.

Another side view of Cnit.

If you've got crazy sharp eyes, you might notice a HUMONGOUS thumb sticking out in the picture above. Here's a closer look at it.

I know. I don't know.

OK, time to head back home!

More coming soon! xxoo

Day 2

I woke up not having to worry about breakfast. Because i've got my cereals!

I really, really wanted to try the Crunch cereals (topmost photo, left) but Shah very smartly told me to take the set of 6 small boxes instead of one big box of Crunch. Very smartly, because Crunch in cereal form? Does not taste all that great

Crunch cereals. Meh. The Lion one tastes loads better though!

I'm a sucker for cereal, by the way. I'm a big, big breakfast person. Not so much a morning person, but i love morning food. Breakfast is my most favourite meal of the day, hands down.

Other things that we bought from the supermarket that are worth noting are the two Ayam brand sauces.

'Product of Malaysia'. And here they are in Paris! Bangga nya jadi rakyat Malaysia. Walaupun nama "AYAM brand". It's a brand called "Chicken", literally, if you think about it (i only got to thinking about it when Shah brougt it up) 

We had today all planned out, but Shah faced a little crisis at work and had to come home late. So i spent the whole day in the apartment, writing and reading and drinking and eating and sleeping. Honestly, i wouldn't want to switch life with anybody else. 

By the way i've finished Sophie Kinsella's I've Got Your Number. The one that i started reading on the plane on my way here. I read it real slowly, seriously. I can't help being a fast reader. It's hard to put down a good book. Although... I love love LOVE Sophie Kinsella, but does anyone else think that her latest book is not in the same league as her best ones?

Aside from lounging around, i got to do some work too. I set out to cook a proper dinner for Shah. Basmati rice, sambal udang, sup rasam and cendawan goreng. I cheated a little, because i use Brahim's instant sambal udang sauce. But i made everything else from scratch, promise. 

If you're a little surprised, of the fact that i actually do cook, it's alright. Loads of people were surprised when i cooked for them at my new house in PJ. I wasn't aware that i need to advertise my cooking everytime i do it. When i told Shah over the phone about people's general reaction, he was a little baffled. But that's probably because i've only ever cooked for him, and nobody else. Understandable lah kot.

So Day 2 was very much low key.

Would you like to see what i wear in the apartment to keep my feet from freezing over? I'll show you anyhow.

It's super cute right? Please refer to Rina my sister on how to say "cute", Liyana-style. You'll get the whole picture more.

Shah and i spent the night talking about French the language. Not talk in French, we talked about it. And even though neither of us are an expert on the subject, it's astounding to hear how each of us insists the other is wrong in pronunciation.

Right. Till the next days xoxox

Day 1

Not much else happened the night of Arrival Day; i was getting sleeping and lazy and everything.

I got a good night sleep and woke up around 1030am. Yes, this is normal waking up time for me, not ashamed to admit that. Isn't it great how i've adjusted to Paris time already? Of course, Shah and i did wake up for Subuh (praying together again, oh what a bliss), and we went back to sleep. Only Shah had to go to work after an hour, and i remember him kissing me byebye and i had sleepily said bye back.

The first thing i thought about when i woke up: what's for breakfast? Shah had run out of milk, cereal and bread before i came and didn't have time to replenish. So i improvised. Shah's Caca (that's what he calls his uncle) had packed this karipap-like puffs for him - along with other fancy lamb and chicken and rice - which i tried out the day before and really liked. I heated two of the puffs, added a few kurmas to that, made some tea, and ta-dah! Instant breakfast!

This was actually my second round of brekkie; i had finished my first two puffs and two kurmas in a second

My tea. Not Lipton's biggest fan, but it's still tea.

And you HAVE to have a look at what's inside the "karipap":

Yes. That is cheese oozing out of the puffs. YUM, right? So i guess they're cheesepuffs then.

All four that were left were safely digested by me. I could have eaten more, no question.

In case you're wondering, my father-in-law and mother-in-law gave the kurmas to Sheh. And Sheh also has another big load of kurma from his Caca. He's rich in kurma now. Good thing i love kurma. Give me a cup of hot tea and a plate of kurma and i'm happy as can be.

I'm not the adventurous type, as i have my own paranoias. I'm happy waiting in the apartment for Shah and not venture out myself. I've always been this way, since forever. I can just stay in, with hot tea (or any other hot drink, really) and good snacks with a good book, and be perfectly contented. I've never told anyone but Shah this, but back in NZ, i would go to Borders after class on Fridays when i finished early (or any other day when i only have morning class), order an English breakfast or a hot chocolate with scones or a muffin, and read a book quietly while munching. I didn't even have to bring my own book, as Borders let you read theirs, as long as you don't get them dirty. That was the best OK. I'm just that kind of person. Some of you might be yawning simply reading what i just described, but to me it was utter bliss.

Maybe there's something similar here. I have to find out...

I was still a bit groggy, i wasn't sure why. I went napping after lunch (Caca's food again, with Shah who came home during lunch break) and when i woke up, i had slept for about 3 hours. I probably clocked in 15 hours of sleep in Day 1.

Since we ran out of cheesepuffs, i knew it was crucial for me to get breakfast food. It's alright with Shah, who gets to eat nice morning food at his office (he talked of pain au chocolat and pain aux raisins and  i got slightly jealous). We made plans to go grocery shopping that evening before having kebab for dinner.

So off to Monoprix we went. I had made a list of things to get. Aside from breakfast things, i wanted to buy garlic, onions, veggies and other things for cooking. I tried, but i just couldn't find a normal shaped onion; all i found was this oval-shaped onion (wish i took photos, i will soon). It's fascinating really. It's similar to the purple bawang we get in Malaysia.

I asked Shah to take a photo of me picking out mushrooms. How more real can Paris get, eh?

We spent about 38 euros. And i went "Yikes. There goes more of my shopping money."

No, grocery-shopping is not under "Shopping" in my dictionary.

We then headed out to this kebab cafe. Monoprix, this kebab place and our apartment are all about 5 minutes apart, it's excellent isn't it?

I was left flustered while ordering though, as the kebab guy spoke in French. Shah was amazing, he spoke French whenever (and whatever) he can. I'm still quite tongue-tied around those who can't speak English. But i'm TRYING, that's the most important thing.

They had run out of most of their meals, so Shah and i got the same thing. And i can't say i remember the name of it. Whatever it was, the beef was tender and juicy and yummm.

And the fries! And the sauce. Ntah kenapa sangat sedap? Not a big fan of the roti though

Shah and his Coke. Nakal

Of course i got myself a hot drink. Turkish tea in the cutest glass cup

And Shah's colourful Coke in the cutest glass

We went home cold but full afterwards. I'm warming up to Paris already (not literally, my feet freeze over all the time here)!

More soon xxx

Off to the bank!

It's great to have everything so nearby to where we live. I would say the bank is about 15 minutes of brisk walk away. Sheh and i accidentally walked into a next-door door; we were trying to avoid the rain quickly that we overlooked this. The man at the counter looked up as Shah informed, "I have a 10 o'clock appointment?"

Now let me just let you all know early on, Shah and my knowledge of French is, oooh, i don't know, about 0.05%? No, Shah's is 0.09% and mine is 0.05%. So this man replied in French quizzically (well, it sounded quizzical), and Shah tried again by repeating the same thing. The man then asked, "Do you speak French?", and Shah said, "No" and then the man looked at me in slight frustration (don't they encounter this everyday? "Idiots" not knowing French?) and asked me the same question. "Um, no, sorry." Suddenly i realized we were not in the right place, and i said to Shah, "Shah, i rasa kita bukan dalam bank...". He looked around and inquired "Is this not the bank?" to the man. And i have to give the guy credit; he actually politely got out of his seat and opened the door for us, pointing to where the bank entrance is. We said "Thank you" (me in English, Shah in French. Merci. i knew that, i just wasn't ready to suddenly start speaking French).

Shah had an appointment with a "personal banker". Thankfully everyone at the bank seemed to know how to speak English. We were sitting, waiting for the lady to come. Suddenly this jovial-looking lady appeared and went "Bonjour! Hello!" to us. We said hello back and were ready to get up and follow her when she got distracted by another customer. Shah and i just looked at each other, almost not sure of what is happening, when suddenly a non-smiling, slim blond woman came out of nowhere and said, "Mr Shahrizal?". Turns out this was our "personal banker".

I raised my eyebrows at Shah behind her back as she led us to her room. Night and day, i tell you, these two women. One chirpy, one moody. As we sat down in her room, she started talking to Shah, without a hint of smile. I liked her English, though, it's quite lovely to hear a French speaking in English. At one point, she asked him while looking at me, "Is this your...friend? Your wife?" I gave her a winning smile (or so i'd hoped) and said, "Yes, i'm his wife."

So they continued doing business (still without a smile; hopefully it's because Shah forgot to bring the important documents to the meeting. and also because he was late). She gave Sheh her card with her email and numbers on it, which he passed on to me, for me to stuff in my huge bag.

She was typing away on her computer when she said, "Sorry, can i have the card back please?" and i handed it to her. The lady took it fro my hand and swivelled back to her computer, but after a beat, she turned to me and then suddenly this brilliant smile came out of nowhere. "Thank you!" she said to me. Then on to more typing.

I was nearly giggling when i looked at Shah. For some reason the lady seemed to like me a whole lot more than Shah, which i found totes weird. EVERYONE loves Shah OK? But not this lady. She seemed to respond to me a lot better. So i took the opportunity to ask her about Paris Fashion Week, which is supposedly happening this very week.

She gave me a most interesting insight. Basically, nobody here who is not in the industry directly gives a damn about fashion week, OK? She went on and on about how fashion is what it is only because of "marketing" and then she moved on to her speech on how crap Louis Vuitton is for its price. Turned out she's hilarious. Some French people also have a kind of lingo and hand movements when they speak, which i find mesmerizing. They have sound effects and stuff, it makes me want to copy them. 

Shah and i were laughing by the time we were about to leave. I also got to ask her on where should i go if i want a really nice handbag that's not too expensive. Basically her advice is "Stay AWAY from LV, get Hermes if you can afford it (no way in the world can we afford it), have a look in the small boutiques and check out young Paris designers". LOVES it. Hopefully Shah will take me to the places she named this very weekend.

I have to mention though, as much as i like her and her views (i'm not LV's biggest fan either), Shah had to ruin it by saying, "Come on lah Liyana, you dengan dia tak sama OK. Dia kata dia ada SATU handbag je. You ada berapa?" SO not the point, Shah. True-ish, though, fineee. And i also don't like leather (the smell! yelch), whereas funny-non-smiling lady loves a good leather. But still.

Then we headed home as Shah needed to go back to his office. By then, the rain had pretty much stopped, nasib baik. The bank, by the way, overlook a hugeee mall, which i can't wait to check out with Shah soon!

Before Shah headed back out, we had a quick lunch. I WISH i had taken photos of my lunch, as it was grand! Shah's uncle, whom he met for the very first time in his life when he first came to Paris, is a personal head chef working for a VIP, and he gives Shah food every weekend. Saying "food" doesn't justify it, really. It's like gourmet meals with superb desserts. Shah is CRAZY LUCKY. I'll try to remember to write about the food next week (with photos!), as i'm seeing him this weekend. Sadly Shah said his uncle is leaving soon, so we definitely need to appreciate his food and cooking while he's still here.

OK, more soon! xoxox

Arrival Day

I debated on whether i should consider the day i arrived as "Day 1" or not. It felt wrong, somewhat; i feel like 'Day 1' should be the day that i first wake up from my first night here. Hence, i'm calling it 'Arrival Day'.

My flight arrived slightly late, so i was expecting Shah to wait for me at the arrival gate. Alas, he was late as he took the wrong train (and afterwards admitted he woke up at the exact time my flight was due to arrive). I asked myself, hm, do i want to be upset or not? I answered to myself, nah. How much of a total drama queen would i be to get upset at my husband the first moment i lay my eyes on him after a month apart? So i took upon myself to get busy with other activities, namely listening to music on my handphone (no, i don't own an ipod. yes, i know it's sad) while people-watching.

It was SO GOOD seeing Shah again. You know, it's weird, everytime we stay apart for a long time - like the time when he came to visit me in NZ after a few months and that time we met at KLCC after he came back for good from NZ and spent two months or so in Kedah - and when i see him again, i would ask myself questions like, "Goodness, is this man my husband?" and "Has he always been this handsome??". Like i said, weird.

We lugged my small but very heavy luggage, my laptop bag (which is very heavy too since my laptop is the ancient kind) and my very heavy oversized leopard-print bag to take the train to the other terminal to take another train back to Shah's apartment. All the while he was talking exasperatedly on how confusing the train system here is. I don't blame him, because aside from the obvious language barrier, the signboards here aren't as clear as they should be. In MY opinion. I know i had only been here for like one hour, but Shah still hasn't fully figured out the train and bus routes after one month being here. Not as much as he would like to.

Thankfully we arrived safely to the right station. While walking to his apartment - well, OUR apartment, now - we passed his office and a small departmental store, named Monoprix. It's amazing how supremely close his office is to our apartment. Just amazing.

Shah had an appointment with a bank to open an account, so we had little time to dump my bags. I did get a quick tour of the apartment. It's like a studio apartment, with a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and a toilet. So cute and almost cosy. I say "almost" cosy because my feet are freezing at this very moment. Central heating is only turned on after 15 October, apparently. Dang.

I insisted on following Shah to the bank. I simply wanted to feel the air of Paris. Very unfortunately, it started raining a little by then. And then it started to REALLY rain. Shah made a quick decision to pop into Monoprix to get an umbrella, saying frantically, "How come Paris never rained like this since i arrived???" and i proudly said, "Paris is welcoming me. Also, orang kata hujan tu macam rezeki!".

Now, Monoprix is kind of like Marks & Spencer. They have clothes and a small supermarket and THEY SELL MAKEUP. I squeaked "OMG, i carik ni online masa kat Malaysia!!!" when i saw Revlon Colorstay in Rich Tan. But i didn't have much time to peruse the makeup section, as we had to pick out an umbrella. My priority in choosing an umbrella: it has to be "cute". So we ended up with a small navy blue umbrella with purple polka dots all over it (not before Shah exclaimed, "It's so GIRLIE, Liyana.")

We then headed on to the bank, by foot. After about 5 minutes, the wind started to really, REALLY pick up and by then, we had to brave the rain without the umbrella. Have you ever been in a raging wind which threaten to fold your umbrella in half or take it away? I've experienced this in NZ, and to experience it again here, let me tell you, it was not a pleasant experience. Nonetheless, my spirits were up. It was still fun to walk in the rain and wind with my Sheh.

And off to the bank we went. More on that soon! <3

The Journey To: 13 Hours. THIRTEEN.

Now, i completely understand if some of you are going, "Nyeh. 13 hours? Big deal. My flight to (insert a location nobody from Malaysia really needs to go to) was ** (number 14 onwards) hours!"

But, you know. Good for you.

My flight to Paris took off from tanah tumpahnya darahku around 1150pm. You see, i reeeaaallyyyyy do not like taking flights. I really don't. Especially by myself. The reason why i was so cool about about it is because i travelled back and forth to New Zealand from Malaysia for four and a half years, so i'm totally used to it. Had to. Only the flight to Christchurch was about 11 hours. And i have been to the UK but i was 11 and had no recollection of counting the hours i spent on the plane (by the way, how many hours is it to fly to UK?).

The journey was alright, Alhamdulillah. We did hit some turbulence, and towards the end the plane plunged a teeny weensy bit, but that was not the worst plunge i've experienced (the word 'plunge' might be overdoing it. i don't know what else to call that thing that planes do that causes you to abnormally feel like your heart just jumps up towards your throat).

I sat in seat E, on MAS. This is the second seat from left in the middle. When i bought my ticket online, MAS asked if i would like to reserve a seat, but you better have an extra RM 50 lying around (or RM 100, since it's a return ticket) because that's what it's going to cost you. So i chose not to choose and take my chances. My seat stank, alright, but thank God, the two seats next to me were empty. So i moved to the middle seat. The furthermost left was this kind old pakcik (French and spoke really good English), who helped me get meals and drinks and stuff.

Shah advised me to get as much sleep as possible. Resulted in me not watching any movie even though i was itching to watch 50/50 (Joseph Gordon Levitt!). When i couldn't sleep, i listened to my 'Jukebox'; i had spent half an hour going through the songs available and add my favourite ones to my 'Jukebox'. I did get loads of sleep though, about 6 hours maybe.

One thing about me: i look forward to eating airplane food. It's a habit i developed since i started flying with Shah. It's the best, to share airplane food with him. Now, even when i travel without him, i decide carefully which meal to eat and try to enjoy it as much as i could. The first meal on my flight was pretty good! Lamb or chicken? I picked lamb, and it was surprisingly really good. I loved the appetizer, which was this salad with raw salmon in it. The single cherry tomato in it was what really made it delish. It sounds weird, i know, but that was probably the most delicious cherry tomato i've ever had in my life. Just the perfect amount of sweet and sour to it.

My second meal was not as fantastic. I heard "Would you like nasi lemak or ---?" and i didn't bother asking her "Sorry, what was the second thing you offered just now?". In Malaysia, when i was packing, Shah asked me, "Sayang, can you make nasi lemak for me here?". Bunyi macam mengidam kan. So i knew that would be the last nasi lemak i would eat in a while. Only the sambal was super pedas. Overall still good, but i was left dreaming about the raw salmon salad.

We landed safely - albeit in a super senget way, honest, the landing was weird - and i discovered what Shah had told me was indeed true. Paris is SUPER cool about receiving visitors. No filling up forms, no declaring things, i don't even remember if i passed security, and no questions from the immigration officer. Seriously, the guy just took my passport, scanned it for a nanosecond, then "Chop!". Welcome to PARIS!!!

On another note, unlike me, Shah got asked about 5 questions before he got the stamp. So i was quite lucky!

Bapak did warn me about Paris' airport. He was all, "Don't be surprised to see their airport. Incomparable to KLIA!". I saw what he meant. KLIA is the best airport i've ever seen, of course. But Paris' wasn't THAT bad. Maybe a tad gloomier than Auckland's airport. To be fair, i arrived in Paris at 7am.

For the record, my dad has been to Paris at least twice, and he's travelled all over the world, including NZ. So he knows what he's talking about.

And that was my uneventful journey (Alhamdulillah!) to Paris.

Yes, i'm in PARIS!!!