The Paris Chronicles : Day 1

We arrived at Orly airport at a few minutes before 9AM on Good Friday. From there, we rode the Orly Bus to Denfert-Rochereau station. There we bought tickets for the metro and got on the M6 line to Charles De Gaulle Etoile station. From there, we rode the M2 to Courcelles. :D It's surprising that I remember these things since I'm the type of person who can get lost in my own backyard (exaggerating of course). Oh well, the metro map/metro system is really very, very efficient and travel-friendly.

Oh, and what's amazing about the metro is that every single time, without fail, there was always a person/persons playing an instrument, singing, dancing, performing... I saw all kinds of instruments, from the common guitar to a harpsichord! It was entertaining every time. Check out the pic of Ria and me on the metro with a musician in the background.
My first view of the Eiffel Tower came while riding the metro, we passed Bir Haiken station ond on my right was the Eiffel Tower... wow. However brief it was, it was then that I realized that I was really in Paris.

We stayed at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe, courtesy of Ria and Eisel who used their Hilton Rewards and exchanged them for extremely low rates. We made a quick check in before heading out. We had brunch at Le Murillo before exploring the city.

Our first stop? Montmarte, where we could find the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur. As much as I wanted to enter Moulin Rouge, I didn't have 100+ Euros to spare, so we settled for some picture taking outside. It was so windy...so cold... and it even rained, which is why we had very limited pictures at this area, although it was just outside the Blanche metro stop.

Afterwards, we went back into the station to warm ourselves a bit. It was really, really cold, I'm telling you. I bought a black beret, because I felt I was going to get sick because of the cold. And of course, when in France, don a black beret right? :)

On our way to Sacre Coeur, we passed by a church... I'm not sure what it's called something like the Lady of Montmarte, I'm not really sure.. .below are the pictures I took of the church.

Then, we continued on our way to Sacre Coeur. I was just following Jess and Marbi because I really had no idea where we were going... navigating the metro is one thing, making our way on foot around all the rues and tiny streets with the bad weather was another. Anyway, we finally made it at the foot of the hill that led up to Sacre Coeur. There was a funicular that we could ride that will take us to the top, but we opted (for some reason) to climb the two hundred and thirty-five steps on foot. When we got to the top, we were all out of breath, but believe me, it was worth it.

Inside the church were several images, like the La Pieta, we even saw an image of St. John Baptiste de La Salle, and we Lasallians took a pic with our school saint. Thanks to Fe Ann for these pics. :)

Then, we saw the Place de la Bastille....

The Seine River....

St Gervais...


Hotel de Ville...

Place du Chatelet...

And then finally... our last stop for the day... the Louvre. :) Already, I was suffering from a bad migraine... probably caused by the cold, the rain, and just plain exhaustion. But no matter how bad I was feeling, I couldn't help but marvel at the amazing works of art that were on display. Of course, before anything else, we had to take pictures with the famous Louvre pyramids right?

The grand gallery... walking through this hall reminded me so much of the Da Vinci Code. I took a pic of Madonna on the Rocks painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. :) And of course, the Mona Lisa...probably the most recognized painting in the world.

After the Louvre, we just had dinner and then went home. A very tiring, but worthwhile first day in Paris... I wish I could have explored the Louvre more, but we just didn't have the time or the energy to do so. Tip, entrance to the Louvre is free for those under 26, every Friday from 6PM onwards, just bring your passport.

I'll continue my Paris chronicles tomorrow... it's already past midnight and I really need to sleep. :) Bonne Nuit!

Paris, Je t'aime!

I just came back from the most amazing weekend in one of most beautiful cities in the world... Paris!

All I can say is...wow.

I can't wait to go back, 4 days is simply not enough..

Pics and a more detailed post to follow. :) Bonne Nuit everyone!

Palm Sunday in Bratislava

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week, when Jesus entered Jerusalem amidst a crowd of people waving palms in welcome... In the Philippines, we would buy palms, decorated with flowers, and ribbons and wave them as the priest walks down the aisle during the entrance procession... here, it's different.

Before the mass started, we all gathered outside where they gave out pussywillows. Here, pussywillows (see pic below) are used because palms are not available. Then, the priest gave his blessing, using holy water and then incense. And then, the choir started singing, playing the guitar and then we all followed the priest into the church.
Unlike in the Philippines, where we normally listen to 'shortened' version of the Passion of Christ during the Gospel, here it is read in its entirety. Jay even read during the mass, which earned us another 'point' with Father because he knows how special the week is for Filipinos. During the homily, he even mentioned it to the rest of the congregation, pointing out to the crowd that we were from the Philippines, and in the Philippines there were special celebrations during this week. I thought he would be telling everyone about the crucifixion and penitence rites that were being done during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but he didn't elaborate.

Also, our commentator mentioned how we should pray the Divine Mercy novena on Good Friday, I'm pasting a copy of the novena here and I'm also encouraging everyone to pray it on Good Friday. This novena is for all, especially for us sinners.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Have a blessed Holy Week everyone!

Vienna Sightseeing in under 12 hours

Ok, so I still don't have enough time to sort through the 2,000+ pictures taken during our trip to Vienna, so here are a couple of 'teaser' pics, if you will... hopefully, I'll be able to sort them out this weekend, and publish a more comprehensive post. :)

Innere Stadt/Vienna Center

Upper Belvedere

Pestsäule/(Plague Column) Graben

Haas Haus/Stephansplatz

Stephansdom/St. Stephen's

Peterskirche/St. Peter's Church

Kaisergruft/Imperial Crypts

Hofburg Theater/Imperial Court Theaer

Rathaus - City Hall

Parlament

Hundertwasserhaus/Hundertwasser House Vienna

Whew! That's a lot of places to go to in around 12 hours, so you can imagine how exhausted we all were. Nevertheless, I can't wait to go back in spring! I can just imagine Belvederegarten and the Gardens of Schönbrunn in the spring. :) Until then, I have Paris to look forward to... 10 days and counting!

Erste Dinner

Last Friday, Marta took all 19 of us out to dinner at this restaurant near Slovanet. I forgot the name, but it was German-inspired. :D

For appetizers, we had a cheese plate and some bread.


Then, some steak tartare... If you don't know this dish, let me sum it up for you, its raw meat with lots of garlic. You read that right... raw...meat. :D It wasn't bad though... but I couldn't eat more than half a piece of bread, it just didn't seem right somehow...
By this time, we were really very very hungry... you see after each course was put down, we had to wait around 30 minutes for the next course. After this, bowls of brocolli flowers was served...and then, the main course. There were four of these gigantic platters served filled with ribs, beef, chicken, potatoes, sauerkraut, liver... We were overwhelmed.
And of course...what's a dinner thrown by Marta without Tequila?! We were served with Tequila Gold, with orange wedges and cinnamon. Four shots which seemed like 8 because of the tall shotglasses they used...

And in between shots, we had dessert... some ice cream Romanov, Palacinky (Slovak crepes filed with fruit jam), and some hot love (ice cream, with liqueur and fresh berries).

Yum! Of course, we couldn't stay long, as most of us had a trip to Vienna the next day, which I think was a good thing, I couldn't take another tequila shot. At around 1130, we were all headed back home. Warmed by the tequila, we walked back to our hotel, stomachs full, alcohol levels high and sugar cravings satisfied.

Thanks Marta! I miss your Sinigang, but this was a wonderful treat. :)