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

"Ekkan", Cheesy/Eggy Spinach and More Desserts

Shah and i are very sad. Very, so very sad, as Caca/Mama, Macha/Anne and Jahir are leaving soon. No more free food (we're terrible people aren't we?). But seriously, it's sadder because there won't be family in Paris anymore.

I now wish i had taken a photo of every single dish they had given to us. Because never in our life again will we experience the same thing, that's for sure.

One day, Mama called us and asked if we would come, because he cooked fish head curry. I mean, kari kepala ikan? YUM, yeh? But unfortunately we couldn't make it that night. Usually they either give the extra food to their friends (Shah said they only started doing this after the first night i met them, when i stared in horror when a plate of leftover cheesepuffs went inside the bin) or throw them away. But Mama had insisted on us eating his fish curry, so he saved some for us to take the next night, so yay!

Comel giler Mama eja 'ikan' kan? Pretty good eh, for someone who doesn't come from or live in Malaysia. I was surprised when he said "ikan" in the first place. Or "ekkan", i guess that was what he said.

Doesn't that look YUM?

Mama never gave us just one type of rice. It's always two. Sometimes it's hard for Shah and i to decide, so we always put both on our plate.

I know this is spinach, but, i can't tell if that's cheese or egg. I was so convinced it was cheese, but Shah was like nooo way. Then we both tasted it and we just kind of looked at each other. Because we didn't know who won.

Whatever it was, it's delicious!

And they were a bunch of other lauks, but sadly i didn't bother to take photos. However i do have pics of desserts. =D

The white icing is really more like...susu pekat, i guess? Or susu pekat yang cair, which means it's susu cair lah kot. But it sticks. I think this might have been a strawberry cake, but not entirely it, either. Maybe half fig cake...? I mean, there are figs on top... I did find the icing makes the cake too sweet, so i swiped the macarons at the side more than the cake itself.

This little dessert was one we didn't take home. Coffee lover would like this thing. I found the crust to taste weird, and wayyy too sweet, but the coffee mousse-like thing on the inside was OK. But isn't that an adorable-looking dessert?

Alright, that's the food stuff.

See you in next one!

xxoo

More Edibles!

Obviously you can't expect to get gastronomically satisfied when you're living overseas, but it's when you make do that you surprise yourself and find good food that you enjoy. And if you just happen to have an Uncle who cooks professionally and provides you with mouthwatering food every weekend (and weekdays if you want), you're just luckier.

I've mentioned Lal's Cafe before in one of my earlier posts. It's a fast food joint that serves halal burgers and other meals. You have to go a little deeper in Les Quatre Temps to find it, but Lal's Cafe is always filled with people everytime i go there; non-Muslims frequent the place too. Shah and i felt like fresh air one night, so we decided to walk there for dinner. The good thing about Lal's Cafe is it closes quite late; Les Quatre closes at 8 pm everyday, except on Sunday when it closes at 7 pm. We went there around 9 something maybe, but there were people finishing their meals and more came in as we were sitting down eating.

Shah likes the biggest burger they have - his 'Big Mac', he calls it

This is the Pepper burger, which tasted quite similar to Mozza Burger, except the slice isn't crunchy

I wish the photo is clearer!

The meal comes with fries, or frites. In NZ we only get tomato sauce at the McD's; here, a mayo sachet is given as well

And soft drink, of course! Pepsi and a bunch of others, your choice

So far i've only eaten Lal's Cafe's meals twice. But it's the absolute ideal place for when i want my fast food fix.

I'm not a fan of eating rice during lunch hour usually - unless i'm at Mak's, or when i'm in Alor Setar or Penang because my mother-in-law's food is why i'm there in the first place. So here, i usually eat bread, baguette or pasta from Mama at lunch. But on one particular day, Shah and i got to sit down and enjoy the freshest, creamiest raw salmon for lunch, given to us by Mama the night before.

I had actually eaten the salmon the night before with rice, treating it like a lauk, and i loved it. The first time i ate raw salmon was in Dunedin, New Zealand, and it was a sashimi meal at a Japanese restaurant. I had always liked salmon but thought i wouldn't fancy the raw version too much, but i actually finished my sashimi meal, so it makes me happy to be able to eat good quality raw fish. Very grateful to Mama for these!

Baguettes and LOADS of cream cheese to go with these!

I found this at Auchan and got excited, but then i suddenly miss my sister Fiza, because she loves Mars bars.

Susu Mars SEDAP by the way. I know Shah said "Rasa macam any other chocolate milk je...". But i like it regardless!

OK, more soon! xxoo

Day 13: Open Market and Lunch at Mama's

It was day 13 on the 7th of October, Sunday. We were supposed to follow Mama again for his daily shopping, but we decided Shah needed the sleep more. So after Zuhur, Shah and i got ready to head out. From our window, there seemed to be some sort of bargain/flea market at the courtyard outside, but much to our surprise, the market was a WHOLE lot extensive than we thought.

It seemed like the Sunday market popped out of nowhere. Shah said this never happened in the six or so Sundays he stayed here.

Sheh snapping photos on his iPhone; the market extended to all streets, all corners, it was amazing

I'm sure they sell more than clothes, but that was all i seemed to see...I did see teapots. And shoes and handbags

It isn't me if i don't stop and try to claim something for my own, is it?

The thing is, we just happened to stop at a stall selling jackets (more me than him, come to think of it), then Shah and i happened to glance at the same blazer. The very same one at the very same time. This one is true. It was meant to be, it has to be.

One of us asked, "How much?" and the lady manning the stall answered "Quatre euro".

OK, so, just the day before, i was making use of my French audio lessons (which i use very, VERY rarely), and i just happened to learn how to say "Four euros". Four; not one, two, three or five. The audio precisely taught me "Quatre euro". I mean, i can count one to ten in French, but if i had not used the audio the day before, i wouldn't have understood what the lady said. My French is TERRIBLE, let me just stress on that. I know too little French to live here forever, let alone a year. But you just soldier on, you know?

So then Shah and i looked at each other. We heard the same thing, but FOUR EURO for a jacket? Did we hear wrong, maybe? Four euros for a jacket, that's surely wrong. And i recognized the brand too, it's Jennyfer, a store i've seen in Le Quatre Temps (now don't get Shah and i started on how to say 'Le Quatre Temps')

I looked back at the lady and asked "Combien?", which means "How much?". It's funny, we asked in English and she answered in French, but then we asked the same thing in French, she answered in English. "FOUR euro" she said while holding out four fingers. Obviously she thought we didn't understand 'quatre euro'.

So no prize for guessing what happens next.

Could i LOOK any more happier?

Unfortunately - for me - Shah insisted on making a move on as we were supposed to lunch at Mama's place. The faster we reach there and eat, the quicker Shah would get to all the fancy cars; we had decided to dedicate this Sunday to the Paris Motor Car show. I very reluctantly agreed to not lull around, after i tried arguing that "You yourself said you've never seen this market! What if we never see it again??".

Like Shah cares. He wanted to see Porsche and McLaren and FERRARI. Not hang around some market selling used things. Shah and i really do have different priorities on how to spend a Sunday don't we? How about you? Which one would you rather do? Find some bargains and goods at a cheap price or go stare at fancy cars that you might/might not be able to buy ever?

I would have chosen the first. Of course. But then i have to take my words that back. Because it turns out Motor Shows are kind of super. And there are cars that i want to buy and could actually do so in 5 years time. More on that later.

Anyway, i already got a cute 4 euro jacket, so i was happy enough. The jacket looks like something you could see on high school kids though, but maybe that's why i liked it. Preppy.

We took the Metro to Argentine and walk to Mama's place. And the lunch was ah-mayyy-zing.

As always, lunch was cooked by Anne. He made this potato dhal or something, lamb curry-like dish and omelette for us. And he also goreng some papadom and those colourful keropok that i have never eaten but couldn't stop eating. All so simple but SO delicious.

After perut dah kenyang, it was time for cars. Me and cars?! But anything for my Sheh.

More soon xxoo