Photos in Paris...

For the past few days, I've been busy categorising our photos in Paris. Some were easy to recognise, others a blur. Especially all those beautiful buildings...it was so easy on the tour bus when there's a running commentary, but now I couldn't remember a thing...hehehe...here, I'd like to share some of my favourite photos...

This picture's taken in Val D'Europe city centre on our arrival day

The kids in front of Notre Dame Cathedral (Day 1)

The kids on Eiffel Tower (Day 2)

The kids in Disneyland (Day 3)

The only picture as a family (Day 6)

The journey back to Khartoum

The journey back was uneventful. We arrived in CDG airport around 1 pm, after checking in our bags, we went to the meditation room. My husband managed to join the Friday prayer. We spent our last euro buying chocolates and took off at 4.45 pm. Arrived in Cairo about 10.30 pm and went to mcdonald to have dinner. After dinner we let the kids play in the play area because our flight is not until 2.30 am.

They kids were really tired. When we reached Khartoum airport at 4.30 in the morning, Amir was really cranky and Hadi was really sleepy. We reached the apartment at 6 am and slept until 12 pm.

Thinking about Paris, all I could say is that the place, the architecture, was wonderful...but the people need to learn basic courtesy and a little English...though, I don't mind going again...hehehe...

Outlet shopping in Val D'europe...

Not far from our apartment, there was an outlet shopping village in Val D'europe. In the evenings, we would walk there to do some window shopping. There was a variety of designer shops like burberry, bodum, anne solene, guess, polo etc. It was definitely cheaper because they're the outlet stores, but still designer goods...sigh... no way we can afford things there.

Can you imagine, a handbag which normally would cost 400 euro, was only 200 euro. But when we convert it to ringgit, it's still rm1000...ouch...I could see a lot of Asians walking around with shopping bags...I'm so jealous...but what to do...sigh...anyway, being able to have a holiday in France is a luxury enough. I am truly grateful to Allah.

There was one shop which was truly interesting. It's called Espices and chocolat...(spices and chocolate), very, very nice chocolates. One was a bubbly chocolate which pops in your mouth. The ingredients were gas like in fizzy drinks and chocolate of course...hehehe...the kids preferred the eiffel tower chocolate (eiffel tower in milk chocolate), really rich in chocolate, melts in your mouth...sigh...

Fun in Disneyland...Day 2

The second day we were early and we went to the rest of disneyland park. We went to the frontierland, adventureland and discoveryland. We even went to the phantom house which was not scary at all...hehehe...the kids were scared of course...

Actually apart from fantasyland, there were not many rides for kids. So we covered everything in a day. We even went back early to Val D'europe. Luckily the kids were not so demanding, they were satisfied to go on each ride once. Thank God for that, because the parents were really tired of walking...hehehe

We spent the third day in disney studios. We went to practically all the attractions. The interactive stitch slot was entertaining but the best one of all is the stunt show...really incredible. Hadi got his wish to ride on lightning mcqueen so he was happy. Aliah managed to get the autographs of several disney characters and Amir was generally happy anyway...hehehe, so it was safe to say that we had fun in disneyland...Yippee!

Fun in Disneyland...Day 1

The kids were so excited to go to Disneyland. There's two main attractions actually, the disneyland park and also disney studios. The train ride was very swift, barely 2,3 minutes. Then, we were there...yippee! But, my husband had forgotten to bring our passports with us. The passports would enable us to get hadi's entrance fee free. So, what to do?

My husband was furious but I insisted that he went back and get it...because since we're going to get the 3 day 2 parks tickets, each would cost 129 euro. Imagine using that money for souveniers...Anyway, while waiting for my husband, I acted as a dentist for Aliah...hehehe...one of her bottom tooth was literally punched out by Amir a few days before we went to Paris and I pulled the other one infront of disneyland...just something to keep the kids occupied.

It took my husband about half an hour, but the good news was, not only we get the 3 days tickets, we get a year's pass (365 days). That means we can go to disneyland resort paris free for the next year! yippee! We also get 10% discounts on anything we buy in disneyland (including food)...hehehe...

Anyway, we spent the first day in fantasyland and we went on all the rides. This was because all the rides in fantasyland were suitable for the kids, even for Amir. There's only one problem though, the long que everywhere. My husband and me took turns whenever possible (when Amir was sleeping). Otherwise the whole family went everywhere together. It was definitely fun for the whole family.

We even managed to see the parade of all the disney characters. My husband took lots of pictures. Hadi was the one afraid of all the characters in costume...sigh...

Sightseeing in Paris... Day 2

On Sunday the 15th of June, we were running a bit late, so our programme for the day which was to finish the tour of Paris went down the drain... We arrived in Paris about 11 am. By 12.45, we're at the Eiffel Tower, the line was so long that only at 2.30 pm, we were finally up the famous Eiffel Tower. The kids were excited but it was also freezing up there. We took lots of photos...even though it was a bit crowded, it was well worth the effort ( for a lifetime experience, I guess).

When we came down, we managed to get on the 3 o'clock river Seine cruise. We were so hungry by then, the kids devoured all the snacks and a bag of popcorn. The cruise lasted about 1 hour. Very nice actually... After that, we tried to get a taxi to Paris Mosque. I was really pissed off at the french taxi drivers, not very helpful at all. One even told us that the mosque was behind the eiffel tower and within walking distance. Crazy! We're not stupid...

Finally, as the last resort, we approached a taxi driver who was having his lunch. Alhamdulillah, he's an Algerian muslim and took us to the mosque. The taxi fare was around 12 euro but we gave him 20, well it was worth every cent to be able to pray zohor. It was a lovely mosque, built in 1922, tiled with moroccan tiles. We also found a few halal shops around the area. We had wonderful kebabs and the kids had pizza. We went on the metro at Jusseau. And it was difficult to get on the metro with a stroller...Luckily the kids were wonderful, not a sign of tantrum anywhere (and we did push them to hurry up every few seconds...hehehe)

Since we didn't manage to go to several places in Paris, we went back to Paris on Thursday. We used the metro to get around. Unlike me, my husband's sense of direction is actually quite good, so we didn't have any problem (despite the fact that we had to carry the stroller up and down stairs...sigh). We went to the Louvre, Arch de Triomphe and walked along Champ E'leysee. We didn't buy anything there because everything's so expensive. The same keychain we found in Notre Dame costs triple there. For e.g: in Notre Dame it costs 3.50 euro, it was 9 euro in Champ E'leysee... So, there ends the Paris sightseeing episodes...

Sightseeing in Paris... Day 1

The first day, we went straight to RER station Auber. We could see the Pariscityrama office from the station itself. The train ride was uneventful, and it was only about 30 minutes ride to Paris city centre. We got the two day L'Open tour tickets and off we went to the green line (there's four lines altogether, green (the famous spots), blue (bastille), orange and yellow (sacre-cour area)). With the hop on hop off tickets, we could see Paris at our leisure.

Despite the chilly wind, we went up the open top bus. The view was fantastic, the kids loved the experience. The first stop was the Louvre but we didn't get down there. We went to Notre Dame Cathedral first. There was a cue but it's a moving one, so it wasn't so bad. We spent about 1/2 hour there and afterwards went outside to the street shops to buy some souveniers. If I remember correctly, this is one of the cheapest place to buy souveniers. Since it's our first day, my husband cautioned me not to go overboard.

It was quite comforting to see the same printed paintings on display (from my college days). Each costs 2 euro. Since I am not very particular about arts, we didn't buy any. Next, we hopped on the bus for the blue line. We didn't stop anywhere, just took lots of pictures while listening to the commentary via headsets. The kids were sleeping soundly anyway. Even my husband slept, can you imagine, we were in the middle of beautiful Paris and my family slept through it...Hehehe...

Next, we hopped on the orange line (going through Champ E'Leysees area). By that time, we were getting hungry and instead of appreciating the sights, we were scouring the area for halal restaurants. We met a family of Indonesian muslims and we went together to find a halal restaurant. We saw a halal pakistani restaurant but when we went near, it was closed. I knocked on the door regardless and asked where we could eat. I was directed to go to a pizza place where we could eat the vegetarian or margharita pizza or walked a bit further to a kebab's place. We opted for the pizza while the Indonesian went to the kebab's.

After that we went back to Val D'europe and did some more grocery shopping. My husband managed to find a halal section where he went crazy and buy lasagne, burgers etc...Hehehe...We ate rice and brahim's...so nice even though the rice was a bit watery...

The journey to Paris

The journey to Paris wasn't too bad, despite the fact that Amir had to sit on my lap. We went to Khartoum airport at 3 in the morning. I was actually worried that we couldn't make it because 2 days before there was a burned airplane at Khartoum airport. Luckily for us, it didn't affect our holiday plans.

Even at 3 am, the airport was bustling with people. The cue (or lack of one) was long because people kept on cutting cue. I was a bit frustrated, but we managed to get into the departure hall by 5, just in time for subuh prayer. We took off at 6.30 am and landed in Cairo at 8.30 (it was only a 2 hour flight...yippee!). We went to have breakfast in McDonald, but since the kids didn't like the big breakfast, we went to have cake and muffin in the next cafe.

At 11.30, we took off for Paris. Since we're in economy class, the arm rest in between seats could be lifted, so I didn't have to carry Amir all the time...yippee! Plus the fact that it was only a 5 hour flight to Paris. There was practically no time difference (only an hour)... so there's no jet lag to worry about. We arrived at 3.30 local time, everything went smoothly. The only thing was we had to wait for our stroller because it was the last item to be brought down.

Anyway, managed to get a taxi to Val D'europe despite the language barrier. The price was a bit steep, more than 70 euro, but as long as we arrived safely...Residence Rive Gauche is a bit small, 2 twin beds and a double sofa bed, but it was just nice for our family. At least it was clean and new and more importantly, it was quite cheap at 85 euro per night.

We went to the supermarket nearby to get our supply, milk n bread etc. The only thing that we didn't anticipate was the prayer times...hehehe...we have conveniently forgotten that subuh is at 3 am, zohor at 2 pm, asar at 6 pm, maghrib at 10 pm and isyak at 12 am. Waiting for isyak the first night was really terrible, we were so sleepy while the kids zonked out at 9 pm.

Another thing that we didn't aticipate was the weather. When we reached Paris, it was only 15 degrees. Luckily I packed sweaters and jackets for the kids, the parents have to suffer a little bit of cold...hehehe...we have enough fat to help us survive...

I need another holiday...

I definitely need another holiday...to get over the Paris holiday...sigh... It was so tiring, I think I walked more in Paris than the 2 months I was in Sudan. But it was really wonderful to be in Europe again. So many nostalgic memories...

The kids enjoyed it, especially eurodisney. The decision to stay in Val D'europe for the whole duration was a good one as it was easily accessible to Paris and Eurodisney. I'll write more about the vacation some other time. I'll just need a good rest as I am not feeling so well after the holiday.

News for the Move...

Yesterday, my husband came back with the news of our move to the new Petronas Complex. Finally...

Actually, the complex should be ready end of year 2007. But being in Sudan, we have to learn to be very patient. That is one of the reasons why we decided to come here in April, so that we don't have to move twice. But well, that is exactly what is going to happen now. After countless setbacks, the complex is finally ready to be occupied.

The rational of the move is that all Petronas staff and family could be easily 'evacuated' because everyone is staying in one place. I've seen the complex from afar. It has a big compound and situated near the Nile river, quite beatiful really. But actually, it is more expensive to stay at the complex than the present accommodation.

I actually like staying in blocks. I am in block G, with 3 other families and several single status engineers. We are more isolated and quite free to do what we like basically. I dread the 'politics' of being in a large group...sigh... Plus the fact that we have a bigger apartment now. The new apartment is definitely smaller, but the complex has lifts and 3 bathrooms (as if we are going to use them all at one time...). I do not know where to put all our stuff...

The move is scheduled throughout July and August. Ours will be in the middle of August. sigh...packing and repacking again...that is basically what I have to look forward to after Paris...sigh...

The preparation intensifies

The preparation to Paris is well under way. I have packed two suitcases, pink (my daughter's choice actually)...but it does help to identify it on the carousel. Well, one suitcase is for the kids clothes and the other one for me and my husband plus all the 'ration'. We are just bringing enough clothes for 4 days because we are going to find a laudromat when we are there.

As I said earlier, we will be staying in Val D'europe, which is at the outskirt of Paris, but very near to Eurodisney. We have to commute to Paris by train, it'll take about 40 minutes. We are playing it by ear, actually. We do have a loose plan on what to do in Paris. We definitely want to join the L'Open Tour bus, because then we do not have to struggle with the undeground. There were so many stories about our friends who missed certain stations because all the instructions are in French. At least, if we are on the bus, we can see where we are going.

We will be going to the main tourist attractions, plus Paris Mosque. Travelling with kids is not going to be easy...I am just praying that they wouldn't have one of their tantrums. Aliah's anticipated problem would be walking long distances, but I hope travelling in a foreign city would alleviate some of the tiredness...heheh. I am only worried about Hadi and Amir. They are too young to appreciate the sights. I am not sure if we are going to the Lafayette Centre or not because shopping is definitely not our main concern in Paris. We'll just see how it goes.

Since we are not very sure about the 'eating arrangement' in Paris, meaning the availability of halal restaurants, we are bringing along some maggie mee, brahim's (to be eaten with french bread) and some cereals for the kids (at least, they will have a filling breakfast. We are also bringing along some sweets and chipsmore for snacks. I am not sure how much is enough, though by looking at my husband's face, I've packed enough to feed an army...heheh. Better be prepared than sorry, eh?

3 more days to Paris...

Yes, we are going to Paris in another 3 days. Everyone is so looking forward to it. We have even started sleeping earlier, the kids especially. Today, they are supposed to sleep at 9 pm. Knowing my kids, it's practically impossible but because they were so excited, they were asleep by 10. Not too bad for the first night...

We planned the trip because we came to Khartoum at a bad time, the schools were closing for the summer holidays and they have to wait until August to start their schooling again. And the fact that most Malaysian families went back to Malaysia in May, to enjoy their holidays...they have no friends... Pity the kids, to have me as company for 5 solid months.

At first we wanted to go somewhere nearer, the most likely was Egypt. But after realising that we are just going to swap one hot country for another, we decided somewhere in Europe would be better. I wanted to go to Spain but I don't think my kids would enjoy all those beautiful sights. We ended up with Paris because they have Eurodisney and they are currently in the midst of their 15th anniversary celebration, and kids under 7 could stay and play free...Yippee...

After two weeks of intense netsurfing, we decided to stay in Val D'europe for the whole duration. Instead of spending a lot of money for an apartment in Paris, we'll use that money to commute. I agree with my friend Nora that the French is a bunch of stuck up people, they think they're better than other people. I've been there twice actually (during my student days), but I could not forget the beauty of the city. It's the essence of Europe actually, and I remembered the street performers...they were so wonderful.

Aliah had seen my photos in Eurodisney and she was quite jealous actually. I think Aliah and Hadi would appreciate the experience. My husband had been to Paris too, but it was when he was as small as Amir. This will be an experience for him too...Anyway, I hope we would have a wonderful time.

I would like to go to the top of Eiffel Tower because believe it or not, I've never been to the top. There is a story behind this actually... When I was a student, my friend, Azhar and I actually climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower (stupid huh?), but it was on a dare and a way to save money...hehehe...We thought that on the second tier, we could buy a ticket for the lift to the top. We were very unlucky because on that particular day, the lift decided to have some technical problems and we could not buy tickets to go to the top. The climb of hundreds of stairs was horrible, we nearly vomitted for the sheer vertigo and the tiredness...oh the tiredness...I could still remember the disbelief when we realised that we were not going to the top of the Eiffel Tower...the horror...Now, I could remember with some amusement the journey down, how dejected we were...heheh

I couldn't wait to go to Paris, again. I want to walk on the cobbled streets, and sit at the sidewalk cafes and look at how well dressed the Parisians are...We are going on Friday morning, the flight is at 5.45 am from Khartoum to Cairo (3 hours journey) and 11.30 am from Cairo to Paris. We will be arriving in Paris at 3.30 pm, Friday. I hope everything goes well, insyaallah.