我写巴黎

第3次来到这个城市，都是秋天，它还是一样美丽动人。秋天的巴黎，天气渐冷，人潮却不见得冷清，旅人比起5年前更多了很多。巴黎人比10年前友善，富有人情，更愿意以英语沟通。虽然变得繁杂了，风景依旧。除了铁塔，值得留恋的应该是巴黎人的生活。关于巴黎，知道的都是两个极端的说法，一是治安败坏、罪案猖獗、街道肮脏、充满尿骚味的地方，二就是浪漫、富有浓厚文化、艺术气息的城市。所谓的浪漫之都，是好多人向往的世界名胜地。还没有机会走出优雅的巴黎，我已经遗憾当初的北法之旅没有成行，却又对南法充满憧憬。世界真的很大！

The boys on the go

This just shows how much my kids love taking planes because they get to watch movies and play games during the flight. They have so much fun flying and always look forward to going places. Our flight out of Paris back home was 2230 hour and they were supposed to sleep few hours later after we were onboard. But the boys refused until the father forced them to. Cheng was sulky because he wanted to finish his favourite movies, The Boss Baby and Lego despite they had been watching for numerous times. Before they got into their seats, we walked past the business class cabin and they were in awe with it. “Wow, wow, wow...,” was all they said and we could only smile at the passengers sitting there. They really know how to enjoy life at this young age. After our trip, they will tell me how much they miss taking planes. I just rolled my eyes when they asked me if there is in-flight entertainment on the journey to go back to Kelantan. Well, I booked an budget airline and there won’t even be any meals. 

personal shopper

I did not tell the world that I was going to Paris, the city of love or a shopping heaven for luxury stuffs. But I made offers to some close friends if they wanted to get some designer items because women just can’t resist it. Now that I have paid so much airport taxes for the tickets which I myself am not a shopping person, they are actually riding on me to get the things they want with the refund. I dread the moment when the credit card bill arrives and I have to ask for money. Some are kind that they offer me to keep the refund, again as a friend, how could I do that? It saddens me that while I value the friendship hence the offer to buy for them, some can be so calculative by paying me the exact amount downright to each single sen. Money does matter. Some thought they should just pay me by following the exchange rate they see in the internet, forgetting that transaction via credit card is higher. While I didn’t make a single sen out of the deal, I took some time off to get the things they wanted which at the same time I sacrificed my time with family to explore the cities. I spent on public transport for my family and to make things worse, my credit card got blocked so I had to make a call to ask the bank to unblock. I can’t help thinking that why some can be so hard on me. So I understand why my sis only opted to buy for her really close friends during her flying days because some people have no common sense as such.

Well just a rant!!

Paris after 5 years!!

It's a mixture of feelings coming to Paris! It has been 5 years since we last came here! Xuan was merely one year old back then and today our not-so-small family has grown to 5! We were relieved that the kids were behaved throughout the flights, even baby XY! Her first trip ever in Europe and we both agreed that we can take her out more often in future because she has been excited, although she refused to sleep. Looking at her sleeping in bassinet, hubby was beaming with joy that it felt like yesterday when Xuan was sleeping inside, then Cheng and now XY! Traveling with kids makes us become more approachable that strangers tend to start a conversation with us. So we were told to treasure these moments more when the kids want us so much, before they lock themselves in the room to play games or chat with friends. Time really flies and those parents miss those moments! Tell me about it right, I get annoyed when my kids keep asking and looking for me. But they grow up so fast. We even feel that XY has grown up overnight in this 14-15 hours of journey.

I have been sharing with my friends that the most favourable season I wished to travel in Europe was between September and October where the weather is getting chilly and we are not required to layer ourselves up. I have OCD for packing my luggage and can't seem to bring everything. But my job doesn't allow me to take leave for holiday during the period so I have never been away. This year I read that autumn came early, I thought the weather would be very cold when it was my turn to fly. So I got the kids some thermal wear prior to our departure. Surprisingly, it's not!! The weather here is just so lovely that we only put on a thin jacket when we are out. But kids being kids, Cheng thought it would snow later and hoped he got to feel the snow again. My friend who resides in Paris told us that it has got warmer these days before our arrival. I guess we are just so lucky! Xuan has been collecting dried maple leaves on the street and this reminds me of my mum. Exactly 10 years ago, she was excited to see those leaves in Frankfurt and picked some to bring home to show my younger brothers and sisters!

See, aren't we all growing older and wiser! And one of the signs of getting older is picking up a jetlag easily!

Mini reunion with friends in Paris. All are my batchmates and our children, minus XY! So kind of you guys for having us, and even called for UBER for us, what a memory since we missed the train, haha!