Private Diary

This is a private diary of Kwan and Philip's 2007 Paris adventure.

Meet up with Erica from the agent who rented us the apartment. She shows us another 3 bedroom in the 6th. A little bit smaller but modern which is also very nice.

We then walk to rue Grand Augustin to have lunch at Les Bouquinistes which is a cheaper eatery by Guy Savoy. Very nice food and good service.

We take a metro to the 16th and see the Baccarat Museum. They have a very nice restaurant and a small display of the beautiful crystal. We try the Musée de la Mode again but this time they have a special exhibition and the permanent one is not open. We decide to walk home and stop by the Musée of Modern Art near the Eiffel Tower. It is a very big gallery with some interesting display of some famous (Matisse, Picasso, Degas) and some not so famous artists. More photos of Eiffel Tower and we have a little nap before dinner at Chez Ami Jean. Final packing before checking out of the apartment tomorrow. 15k

Photography and Perfume

Kwan goes back to Lafayette and Printemps to get her tax refund forms. The custom officer is going to have a fit when he sees all the forms he has to stamp for her. In the meantime, Philip has an appointment to see the HSBC bank manager to sort out some banking issues.

We meet up at around 11 am at the Musee Perfumerie, not much of a museum but more of a gimmick to go to the boutique. We then proceed to Musee de Decorative Arts at 107 Rue Rivoli, part of the Lourve really.

Metro to the 6th and lunch at Relais XIII. Very nice food. Kwan is going to miss the strawberries desserts one she goes home. The French chefs certainly do know how to make fabulous desserts.

We lazily walk along the Seine to reach Musee Photography. Philip loves photography and we spend quite some time here. Some of the exhibitions ok other great.

We get out of the metro at 6.30 pm only to be greeted by pouring rain. Shouldn't be complaining because we’ve had a sunny day all day. Dinner fried rice with snow peas.


14k

Eurostar London and back

Wed 30 May
Philip catches the 6.20 am Eurostar to London for meetings. Kwan takes the opportunity to contribute to the French economy by first heading to Carita for a hair makeover, then a quick stroll around Rue St Honore area; lunch at Rue Sainte-Anne with lots of Japanese eateries. Lafayette department store for the rest of the afternoon.

Philip comes home around 10 pm. Kwan is commencing her preliminary packing - a real headache.


14k

Petit Palais et plus

Tue 29 May 7.47 am train back to Paris. The train is quite full but we manage to find two seats and Kwan sleeps most of the way back.
A little rest and we walk to the 8th arr. to have lunch at Ledoyen.

A very old restaurant right next to the Petit Palais with a garden outlook. The food is absolutely delicious and special. We decide it is one of the top restaurants we would like to return to in future.



We check out Petit Palais which is supposed to be free but part of the exhibition needs a ticket. We proceed to the free entry area in the basement. When we enquire how to get to the garden, we are directed to use the elevator up to the ground floor only to find that we are in the middle of the paid section of the exhibition without a ticket.

Talking about bureaucracy.Petit Palais is really beautiful and well worth a visit. This is somewhere we would highly recommend. A beautiful space and wonderfully presented museum. After quite some time at the Petit Palais we walk to Avenue George V to look at some shops before moving on to the 16th andthe Yves St Laurent Foundation Museum at 5.30 pm. YSL is a dissapointment and we wouldnot recommend. Home by 6.30 pm. 12k

Joigny

8.36 am train from Bercy station to Joigny. Arrived at 9.55 pm. No hassle this time. The train is pretty empty. The day has been ever changing from rain one minute and sun the next. We walk briefly from the station to our hotel at Cote St Jacques, a Relais & Chateau group hotel. We are lucky to be upgraded to a larger room with a view of the river. We visit the church, the town centre with little streets like St Paul de Vence.

The whole town is very quiet since it is the Pentecost public holiday. We can’t find a restaurant that is open and end up getting a baguette with ham and cheese for lunch by the river. We return to the hotel by 3.30 pm and a little nap before our dinner at 7.30 pm.

A cocktail by the lounge area where we place our dinner order and move to the restaurant at 8 pm. We decide to have the chef's surprise selection dinner. A little piece of snapper as appetizer, fois gras to follow, langoustine, fish, riz de veau (sweet bread), baby lamb cutlets and assortment of desserts. Food and everything is specular. We do not leave the restaurant till 11 pm. When we collect our room key we are presented with the menu of the evening signed by the chef with our names printed on it. A very special touch by the chef. 12k