Day 13 - Paris - 04.06.2013

In the morning, we left the hotel at 930am. We went to Avignon TGV to catch a 3-hour train ride to Paris, the last destination of our trip. We boarded the train at 1015am and arrived at Paris at about 1pm. After changing to a metro line, we walked for about 15min before reaching ResidHotel, a serviced apartment where we would be staying for the next two days. It was about 2pm then.

We waited for another hour before we got our room. While waiting, we went to a nearby patisserie shop to get some light sandwiches for lunch.

We wanted to thank God that we were able to check in at 3pm, despite the wait for almost an hour. We saw that the reception office was supposed to be closed at the time where we arrived, which meant that we shouldn't be expecting anyone to even attend to us. The appointed time for us to check in was at 4pm. However, this very kind man helped us with the checking-in process and even brought us up to the room to ensure that everything was fine. It would be a horror having to drag the luggages on the streets of Paris if we weren't able to check in. Praise God for His help.

Our first stop of the day was at Sacre-Coeur. We had wanted to visit there the last time when we were in Paris but because we were in a tour group, we couldn't do it. When we first arrived, it was quite a daunting task having to climb many steps as it was up a slope. Thankfully, there was a cable car that took us up and saved us the energy to climb all the way up. When we arrived at the church, we went in for a walk but it was all solemn and with Benji with us (who almost cried), we hurriedly left the place. We took some pictures around there and because it was located at the summit, the view was simply awesome.

Next, we went to the famous street of Paris - Champs-Elysees. We roamed along the street and adjacent to it, there were many pretty shops. Emma recalled having to help a friend to get a gift and so we went in search of it. When we were done, we walked towards River Seine and from our spot, we saw the symbol of Paris - Eiffel Tower. Without fail, we took pictures with Benji with the quintessential icon as our backdrop. We had wanted to catch a cruise along River Seine but as the timing was not exactly in our favour, we decided to do it another day.

Next, it was food hunting. We meandered along the streets, hoping for inspiration to be at work for the pleasant surprise. Indeed, it did and we chanced upon this one-Michelin starred restaurant by the name of Le Chiberta restaurant avec Guy Savoy. Apparently, Guy Savoy is a world-renowned French chef and back in Singapore, we have a Guy Savoy's restaurant at MBS but it cost a bomb to dine in it. It was indeed our honour to have the opportunity to savour his culinary skills here in Paris.

After the most satisfying dinner, we walked back to the hotel. We almost couldn't lock the door as the key was a little stiff. Finally, after several strenuous attempts, we managed to lock it. This episode also sparked a minor quarrel between us but we were able to talk it over and resolve it pretty soon (after about 15min of not wanting to talk to each other).

All in all, I enjoyed myself today. I must make the most of every opportunity for the remaining days to really spend good time with my family before this holiday ends (usually too soon).