nateniale's travels

{ Mar 2012 - Paris, France }

{ Mar 2012 - Paris, France }

{ Mar 2012 - Paris, France } That's the translation for the name of this gothic cathedral, the famous Notre-Dame de Paris. The first time I came across this name and cathedral would be the Disney's animation The Hunchback of Notre Dame! From one end of Île de la Cité , we walked by Sainte-Chappele (did not manage to get in) and La Conciergerie (where prisoners were kept during the French Revolution, including Marie Antoinette). We were met with this imposing symmetrical gothic facade. There were lots of people on the square in front admiring the facade. We were mesmerised by the front and was so excited, that we went straight in! The inside of the cathedral was as beautiful as the outside - from the nave, the apse, the organ, the alter and the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. And of course, we went up to the roof and towers to see some of the older bells and the gargoyles! They all looked different with different positions. It would definitely have been a better...

{ Mar 2012 - Paris, France } A small little island right in the middle of Paris and surrounded by the river Seine - that's Île de la Cité. It is considered the epicentre of the city, and it is where the famous Notre Dame Cathedral is on. Wanting to start our exploration of Paris on our first day , we started on the other side of the island. We reached it via Pont Neuf, where we were instantly met by the statue of Henry IV right in the middle of the bridge. Pont Neuf means "New Bridge" but it is now the oldest standing bridge in Paris. From here, we took some steps down to the River Seine, and had our first stroll along the river bank. Just a few steps from there, we walked into an open triangular square. This small, quiet and charming Place Dauphine is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city if you ever needed to wind down. Just to think that across the river bank, are all the traffic and people in the metropolitan Paris. W...

{ Mar 2012 - Paris, France} Before I started to plan the trip to Paris, I was never a Paris kind of girl. When I think of Paris, I thought of those classy Parisian ladies with their Chanel bags and stilettos. I am not one of those, and while France was in my list of country to visit, I never really yearned to go. That is, until I started seeing photos of miniature Eiffel Tower , started watching French movies (love Audrey Tautou!) and read about living and travelling in France. That probably started in late 2010, started planning the trip to Paris (and around) in late 2011 and was there in spring 2012! When I reached Paris, I probably caught the Paris syndrome. It caught me by surprised just how beautiful and mesmerising it was. I kept telling myself and my boyfriend then (now, husband), "We are in Paris!" While I expected it to be pretty, the real thing was more than I expected. There was just something about it, something that I can't really pinpoint even till n...

That was the question I asked myself and my husband. Of all the cities in the world, if we were given a chance, which city will we choose to live in? It does not have to be permanent. It could just be for a couple of years. Well, it did not take us long to both came to the same answer - Paris, the city of lights. A city so pretty and beautiful, that it is long associated with being love and romance. A city which I was so excited about while planning the trip, and I was even more excited when we were there. Everything about the city surpasses my expectations (well, except for the smell under the bridge by the Seine River). It is arty, it is beautiful, it has an air about it and yet, still friendly enough to draw me in. Of course, if we live there, we will definitely take the chance to hop on the train (or flight) and travel around Europe! Now, all I need is to figure out how get us there and to learn French.

Been busy planning for my travels to Paris, Bruges and Amsterdam, plus other places in between.  Leaving next week and everything seemed to be falling into places.  The more I read about Paris, the more (unrealistic) expectations I seemed to have about the city. Oh well, we'll see if the city is really as charming and magical as everything seemed to suggest.   Can't wait to share my stories with you!

Been reading up on Paris and planning my trip to Europe next year .  And it has been raining everyday here in Singapore.  Which makes me wonder... how will Paris look like in the rain? { Photo from weheartit }

Now, I know I previously said that we have made up our mind to go to Eastern Europe next year , and I know that it is a blessing to be having a problem to choose where we want to go for a holiday. But now, we have more or less (no promises this time!) changed our mind and decided to choose Paris over Prague. Mind you, this does not mean that we will not be going to Eastern Europe. It just means that the trip will not be in spring next year.  Could it be the movie Midnight in Paris that showed the romantic Paris in the 20s, or the amazing colour captured in the Paris Color Project , or the French movies by the beautiful French actress Audrey Tautou, or even all those miniature Eiffel Tower that I simply adore?  No matter.  Guess there is no better place than to dream of Paris. { Photos are taken from weheartit }

I'm suddenly crazy about all these miniature Eiffel Tower!  I've never been crazy about the Eiffel Tower. To me, it is just a giant iron structure in the middle of Paris. But, I have to admit that there are some beautiful photographs taken of the tower, and it seemed to be synonymous to Paris.  So, why the sudden fascination with these miniatures?  Maybe that's where I should go for my next trip? { Second last photo by  Sarah Lauren Photography , last photo by ♥Emily and the rest are from We Heart It }