City of Romance

As promised, here are some photos from some highlights of my recent business trip. It was my first time to Paris. The weather was extremely hot when I was there (30+dC). But that did not diminish the beauty of this city.

Dinner on the sidewalk one evening in Paris. People often sit facing the road, admiring the views while having their food/drink. The funny looking pincer tools were used for the dish we ordered as below...

Escargots... a must-eat in Paris.

Macaroons are the other must-eat item. They don't come cheap! The few that I attempted to bring home ended up mostly crushed. But hubby & my girl enjoyed them.

Eiffel Tower, the chocolate version

The city of romance. View from Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica in the background. The people were sitting on the steps enjoying the view and waiting for the summer sunset which happened around 9pm.

Outside the beautifully adorned Palace of Versailles, where the French kings resided in lavish splendor.

Ooh, gorgeous chandeliers

Magnificent interiors

Jaw-dropping grandeur.

The palace gardens were not bad either.

I lost count of the number of fountains

I have never seen so many tempting pastries as I did in Paris. Too bad we didn't have much time to sample them.

Tomatos

Huge peaches and nectarines. I can vouch for the sweetness & juiciness too!

In the city, bicycles for rent.

The symbol of this city

Before seeing this structure, I thought the Eiffel tower might be overrated. But seeing it in person, I concur it deserves to be the landmark of Paris.

The River Sienne

View from the river

Of course we had escargots more than once...

The most visited place in the Paris - The Lourve

The French really know how to do interior design.

The most famous painting in the world resides in it's own section in the Musee Lourve. To get this picture, I braved the crowds while keep a tight hold on my bag and watching out for pickpockets (the darker side of Paris).

By the way, it is true: the eyes of Mona Lisa follows you.

Many paintings & sculptures. This one is a da Vinci.

Under the pyramid.

Would have loved to catch a show but we didn't have time.

Paris is famous also as a shopping paradise. Outside each luxury store in Lafayette Gallery, there were people queuing up. It was quite an experience!

The rooms in the hotel we stayed were tiny - Hong Kong style. For breakfast each day, we had crossaints & crossaints.

Communication was a small problem at times. There were some miscommunications but we survived.

It was a good trip. I would love to go again (with hubby). And it is even better to be home :)

~ Audrey