VENICE

We had a smooth flight from Beuavais airport in Paris to Treviso airport in Venice. Arriving at dusk, with the grey skies growing darker by the seconds, we were happy with our decision to have an accomodation booked near the airport. Mimi called the caretaker upon arrival. The caretaker's instruction was simple. Look to the right when you exit the airport and you can see the B&B accomodation. Viola! There it was, a three-storey beige-coloured building across the street. No taxis required. We rolled our bags to the apartment.

Fantastic. Apart from our threesome ocupying one room, there was only one other room occupied by a couple. So, the common bathroom posed no problem for us. The kitchenette was stocked with tea and coffee, and a simple breakfast was provided.

We brought some halal meals from Paris for our dinner, unsure of whether we could get some food on arrival. The weather was pleasant and for a change, I do not need a blanket and for once had to use the stand fan provided. We settled in very quickly.

Though waking up early as usual, we were in no hurry. We had a slow breakfast though it was tough to slow down. There were really not much for breakfast to slow us down.

The bus to Venice leaves the airport regularly, timed with the arrivals of the flights from various destinations in Europe. Tickets for the waterbus in Venice were also available at the bus ticket counter. Everything was convenient. The last bus would depart Venice for the airport at 7:30 pm and we would have a full day for sight-seeing and absorbing Venice - a first timer for the 3 of us. The return bus ticket costs Euro 10 each. The waterbus ticket in Venice costs Euro 16 each.

The bus left the airport on time and the journey took about an hour. Crowd was already building up at the main bus station in Venice as buses, taxis, private cars and motorcycles started arriving. Human traffic was everywhere. It would be a crowded day.


For those familiar with Venice, the main tourist destination is Piazzo Saint Marco, Piazzo meaning Square. One could also walk to the square through the maze of the canals which would take more than an hour to do so. The most popular option was to take the waterbus, which we did, which most other tourists did too.


We had our first sight of the gondolas at the waterfront while looking for the waterbus site. We would certainly be seeing more of these later.




The waterbus we took was pretty crowded. There were several stops along the main waterway before reaching Piazza St Marco. I noted that there were no ticket conductors and the purchase of tickets were done in good faith. I wonder whether such service can work back home! Here, I did not notice anyone going for a free ride.





Anyway it was a good feeling to catch the sea breeze as the waterbus makes its way to the various stops. It was also a different sight to see buildings hugging the sea. There was water everywhere (but not a drop to drink) and there were boats plying up and down.

The sights we saw so far was well worth this excursion.

Arriving at St Marco square, we were greeted with hordes of human traffick. We were pretty amazed that after all these years, the Europeans were still visiting Venice.

Piazza St Marco (St Mark's Square) is the central landmark and gathering place for Venice. One can find lots of tourists, photographers and pigeons. There are small alleyways, deisgner brand shops and restaurants.

We were amongst the handful of Asians in the mat salleh crowd.

The pigeons at the square were enjoying the crowd. It would mean a constant supply of food for them.

And Mimi was also enjoying her usual jump

Joining in the joy were also the souvenir stalls. There were plenty of souvenirs for the picking. I refrain from buying the familiar blue-striped t-shirt worn by the gondolier. Back home, I do not want to be mistaken for an escaped convict! And I will then end up using the striped t-shirt as my pyjama top - a rather expensive sleeping option.

There were also paintings and sketches to choose from. We were also careful not to buy for fear of being too "Venice" when we get back home.

Aha...what about the umbrella? Can use it for golf! No. It would be too exhibitive and my golfing buddy may complain for creating distraction.

What about masks? Isn't masks a feature of Venice? Well, it was, decades ago.

Here is the take on masks, copied from an internet site. The pictures are mine though.

"Unlike the vast majority of their counterparts in contemporary European nations, each citizen in Venice enjoyed a high standard of living. Everyone was part of the great economic machine that was the Republic. Venice was capitalizing on its position, on its gains, long before its contemporaries had realized the value of a market economy. With a level of social wealth unequaled since, the citizens of Venice developed a unique culture - one in which the concealing of the identity in daily life became paramount to daily activity. Part of the secrecy was pragmatic: there were things to do, people to see, and perhaps you might not want others to know what deals you were cutting. After all, the city is relatively small."

Additionally, the masks served an important social purpose of keeping every citizen on an equal playing field. Masked, a servant could be mistaken for a nobleman - or vice versa. State inquisitors and spies could question citizens without fear of their true identity being discovered (and citizens could answer without fear of retribution). The morale of the people was maintained through the use of masks - for with no faces, everyone had voices.

So, no masks either for us. Tak mahu berselindung disebalik topeng. Thus all the stalls we patronised did not get to take our Euros.

Walking through the alleys of St Marco, there were many boutique and designer shops, and more souvenir shops.

But the small canals criss-crossing St Marco was where our main focus went. Here would be where Venice is mostly featured, internationally. The aged buildings by the canals,

The curved bridge across the canals

And the gondolas

and a pose by the canal.

This is where the romance of Venice begins!

And finally my own pose at "167". It was not a romantic number, but a memorable one. You see, I was born at No. 167 Kg Dalam Ru, Tumpat 59 years ago!

Ciao!

GOODBYE PARIS - Day 3

Today is our final day in Paris. The flight to Venice from Beauvais airport leaves at 6:30 pm. We have to take the bus at Porte Maillot for Beauvais airport. We still have a half-day available. Waking up early as usual, I browsed the map of Paris. I chanced upon Paris Mosque located just outside the Place Monge metro station. Excellent, that would be where we would end our Paris trip.


Our appointment with the caretaker to return the apartment keys was at 11:00am. On the dot, the caretaker arrived. He returned our precious Euro 300 deposit in exchange for the keys, after satisfying himself that everything was intact in the apartment. Anyway, the washing machine was too big to stuff inside our travelling bag! Ha...ha


Unlike Paris where Mimi had already pre-booked the apartment, we had no accomodation booked for Venice. Somehow Mimi missed this important task in her to-do list. And we would be arriving in the evening in Venice. So first on our must do list was to get to an internet facility to book a place to stay on arrival this evening in Venice.


A 5 minutes walk from the apartment got us to an internet outlet. No French required. The outlet was manned by a Sri Lankan lass. We decided to google for “accomodation near the airport”. A few tries and presto, we got one within a reasonable budget of Euro 156. One potential headache cleared and we were soon in the metro heading for Place Monge to visit Paris Mosque.


Exiting the station, I asked a lady for direction. She was obviously French but spoke English ala French and pointed us to the direction. Crossing the street and taking the first turn, the star and crescent symbolising a mosque was in our view.

Where opportunity prevails, I do look forward to visit mosques in a foreign land. I recalled visiting several mosques in Chengdu, China. For one used to see Chinese temples, one could mistake the mosques as temples. That's the beauty of different cultures.

It would be wishful thinking to expect a mosque in France to take the architecture of medieval Europe, ala Notre Dame. So, Paris Mosque was moorish in architecture, built by the North Africans in 1922. Information on the internet recorded that it was build to honor the North African countries that had helped France during World War I. That would be some history to dig.

However, I always feel at home in a mosque, foreign or otherwise. I am sure others feel the same way as I do.

Entering the mosque, we were greeted with a small garden typical of Islamic landscape architecture. Two fountains with a 6-pointed stars at the base are flanked with plantings on both sides.

A French Muslim lady then ushered us in, into the courtyard towards the main prayer hall.

The courtyard was square in shape. In the centre stood an ablution pool. Though no longer used in the modern era, the pool would have served its purpose during its earlier years.

A lone student was in the library, rather oblivous to me taking a shot. A library in a mosque is not something we see quite often in our local mosques in Malaysia.

There were several Muslims inside the prayer hall, some reciting the Quran. A few were in supplications. We took the opportunity for sembahyang sunat. My wife told me the Muslim ladies were fascinated by the telekong she wore for prayers.

We spent roughly an hour at the Paris Mosque and also met a group of French Muslims of Algerian descent. One young man offered us coffee which we gladly accepted and struck some short conversations with Mimi and I. He had heard of Malaysia which he spoke highly of and we just let him to continue saying the good things he had heard of Malaysia.

Visit over. It was past lunch time. We had lunch and pretty soon were back in the Metro heading for Port Maillot. The bus left at 5:30 pm and we settled in for the trip to the airport, bound for Venice, with the comfort of knowing that the accomodation awaited us.

At the departure lounge, which was crowded with holiday-makers like us, I cant help noticing this very serious warning.

No Christian Dior for me!

OFF TO PARIS : DAY 2

So, what do we do on Day 2 of our stay in Paris? The options are plenty and time is limited.



Whoever has been to Paris would have their pictures taken at the Arc de Triomphe, built in 1806 by Napoleon. Well, Napoleon did not build it himself of-course. One can google Arc de Triomphe to find vast information on this monument. (The wonders of the internet can often make one lazy to write at length!)

As tourists, pictures to indicate that "we were there" must obviously be taken! Indeed in this case, for the sake of Mimi. Later, she can show the pictures to her children that she brought her "atuks" to Paris.






The weather was a little chilly and I have to zip up full for comfort. For someone living in this condition for several years, it was just pleasant.

Then, we moved on to The Louver. I wonder why this most famous musuem is called The Louver, though pronounced with the "er" silenced.


Personally I have a hate relationship with the louvers, not the one in Paris but the one found on the window panes of the Royal Military College. Back then, amongst the daily chores in the very early mornings, when other school kids were still sleeping, we had to clean and wipe the louvres. Not a speck of dust must be on the louvres during inspection by the seniors. But these louvers have a nack of collecting dusts and we ended doing push-ups during inspection time.


So, Mimi you can do your jump at The Louvres while I wished I could break every single louvres in RMC. Ha..ha..



I guessed a rare shot of the senior love birds at The Louvre will be okay, after all we are on our senior honeymoon, with the youngest baby in tow!

One can spend days at this musuem, depending upon one's interest on old artefacts. On this visit, we did not enter the musuem as we had done so on our first visit. Then, we had seen the original "Mona Lisa" which bears no similarity to my wife, Muna! I certainly do not prefer the famous one in the musuem!!!!

Anyway, Mimi would have her chance to do a full visit on her own trip. We were just loitering within the glass pyramid and took several pics for memory.

While having coffee inside, we just have to take a shot at this kid who was playfully peeping off and on with Mimi. Children after all are the same everywhere - innocent and playful. Ever notice when babies cry? You will never know what nationality they are!

More pics along the streets of Paris while looking for halal lunch.

I took this shot of fresh sea-food but settled for kebabs in a Turkish restaurant found within the small streets.

Ah, that famous story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

We did not find any hunchbacks there but discovered as usual, loads of tourists capturing their moments at this famous spot. A Chinese couple was taking turns to touch the brass plate on the square. Its significance? I don't know.

From his attire, this tourist must have been from Tibet. He would have loads of pictures to bring home to show those who were less fortunate.

And here is a parting shot of Notre Dame, taken on the numerous bridges spanning River Seine.

We walked past stalls after stalls selling all kinds of everything - arts, souvenirs of every kind, old books, old paintings, etc. We did not buy anything.

Anything on two wheels attracts me, like this rather cute motorcycle.

Besides it was a Peugeot, but not a car. I only know of BMW motorcycles, and used to own one myself. I never know the existence of Peugeot motorbikes. I bet most of the Malaysian motorbike enthusiasts are not aware that Peugeot builds motorbikes as well.

Our final stop before we headed back to Simplon for the night has to be at Galleries La Fayette. The rather remorse pic of my wife and Mimi says it all. They bought nothing there!

Connected direct through it's own dedicated metro stop, Galleries La Fayette must be a stop for those visiting Paris. Let me re-emphasise here that it should be a must-stop, but not necessarily a must-buy!

A shot at the brands' numerous outlets will not hurt the pockets though. So you can do this lavishly.

I must add, the architecture and decor is a beauty, really worth dropping in, for a cup of coffee at its MacDonald's outlet.

That's what I did while waiting for my entourage to window-shop!

OFF TO PARIS : DAY 1 afternoon

8th October 2009



My respected elder commented that one can find love up on the Eiffel Tower or on a cruise on the River Seine. Indeed, I agree.


If one goes to Paris, then one must surely visit the Eiffel. And that was where we started our visit today. Of-course My wife and I had visited the Eiffel Tower on our first trip years ago. Like most tourists, we too went up the Eiffel. Did we find love there? Well, I went there with my better half, so I better not find love there......or else I'll be halved!





This time around, accompanied by our daughter, Mimi said she will save the trip up the Eiffel Tower for another visit. She was happy just to have the experience of the Eiffel on the ground, with her parents. I suppose she is saving that for a special trip, on a special occassion. We understand Mimi. We were once in our 20's too...sigh....soooo loooong ago!




Mimi also had this goal of doing a jump at all the places she had visited. That's fine when you can still jump around. Will I do a jump too? We shall see. For now, I will leave that to her to perform the jump.

I guessed I should not be amazed at the number of visitors visiting the Eiffel Tower. But, I am still amazed that after all these years, there are still visitors by the thousands. The queue to go up the Eiffel winds like a dragon. I just wonder, how many millions have gone up the tower.

Paris was warmer than Dublin. No, wrong. I should rephrase the sentence. Paris was less cold than Dublin. Yes, that's the correct way to compare the weather.

Since the weather was quite favorable, we decided to walk along the River Seine. Several cruise boats were carrying the tourists up and down the river.

River Seine had lots of boats plying the river and yet the river is clean. Perhaps I should say, very clean. The color is that of a river too, unlike the teh tarek colors of sadly, our rivers in Malaysia.

Again, just like the Eiffel Tower, we decided not to take the cruise. Mimi said the cruise did not serve rice on their menu, so it was really worthless to bring her dad on the cruise. Fine Mimi. Do save the cruise for a special occassion again. Your mom and dad had already done the cruise on their first trip.

For this occasion, mother will be happy to pose with daughter besides the cruise boat and dad is happy photographing the occassion, minus the cruise.

Along the river bank, there was also an art exhibition. In a cool weather, it is such a joy to stroll and admire the photographic exhibitions. The exhibition was opened to "not so famous" professional photographers to display their work of art. Judging by their names, most are photographers from Asia, Central Europe and South America.


Most shots were shots I would classify under "humanities". These shots are normally those taken in the less developed countries, shots of impoverishment, the less fortunates, the hunger, the pain and the joys of the poor. These pictures usually moves most of us.

Here, Mimi mimicked the photo behind her. Not quite there, but ok la.

Anyway, how about a natural pose!

Moving along, we detoured to that famous street, Champs-Élysées. One may accidentaly knot once's tongue to pronounce this street correctly. Followers of the Tour de France, the greatest annual cycling race in the world will know that the last day of the race climaxed at this cobbled pavement. This happened every July since 1975.

From Wikipedia, I picked up this statement :

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as USD1.5 million per 1,000 square feet (92.9 square metres) of space, it remains the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe.

I can't argue more of its prestige. On its side road, one will not miss this hotel, Hotel Athenee. Even from a distance, one can feel the Euro slipping through the fingers like water.

And as I passed by the lobby, I saw this car parked right in front. I don't know the make, neither can I make out the number plate. But I do know its written in Arabic! The owner obviously have huge reserves inspite of the Euros slipping through his fingers like waterfall. Such is life.

Down by the River Seine, I recalled the exhibition and this photograph of a couple watching TV in a place the couple call home!

So I walked back to reality. And this is my reality - "when less is more"

OFF TO PARIS

8th October, 2009

Most people I knew have visited Paris. For some, several times over. For my wife and I, this was the second time, compliment of our daughter. I angled this blog for friends who planned to visit Paris for the first time, and where time is limited. Our itinerary here is for 2 and half-days. We flew early morning from Dublin on Thursday 8th October on Ryan Air, Ireland's version of AirAsia. Dublin airport was already crowded when we arrived. Elderly couples rivalled the younger groups, all looked set for various holiday destinations, Paris being one.

Just like any low-cost carriers, Ryan Air flew into the low-cost terminal at Beauvais airport, roughly 80kms from Paris. An efficient bus service provides shuttle service to Porte Maillot in Paris for Euro 13 one way. One will take the same shuttle service to return to the airport for the flight out from Paris, if one flies via Ryan Air.

First destination on arrival in Paris was to go and hunt for our rented apartment. Mimi had booked an apartment located in a place called Simplon. So, from the bus station at Port Maillot, we immediately went underground. No, we were not illegal immigrants seeking a better life in France. We are very blessed back home. We went underground to the Porte Maillot metro station. From there, we would go by the metro to Simplon. Simple!

Well, not that simple really. First task was to locate the routes within the maze of metro underground routes found at the Porte Maillot metro station.

Pressing the Simplon button on the interactive map, our first stop to change the metro line was at Barbes-Rochechouar station. I really don't know how to pronounce this station. Mimi said in her blog, one must have a lot of phlegm to do so!

From here, it was a "simple" route to Simplon. We bought a 2-day pass, each costing Euro14.40 which allowed unlimited travel within the metro stations.

Exiting Simplon, we were pleasantly greeted with these Halal signs. Immediately my gut went into overdrive mode.

So we ate "tanpa was-was".

I am sure there are other areas within Paris that have Halal outlets. For us, Simplon was simply the place. The apartment we stayed in was about 5 mins from the metro station. We would recommend friends to consider Simplon for their stay. You will get a hang of the metro lines quite easily to move from place to place.

The apartment we rented had 1 double bed and 1 living area which converts into a 1 bed. It had a kitchen. It was perfect for a 3-some, though it was a walk-up to our 4th floor apartment. Damage (to Mimi of-course) was Euro 156 for the 2 nights.

We decided to take a short rest before going back underground, this time to the city for some sight-seeing.

A LITTLE OF DUBLIN

Cold is never my strong point. I had to quit my Everest Base Camp trek in Nepal years ago because of biting cold. My fellow trekker joked I should acclimatised in the freezer at home before I left for Kathmandu.

It's 10 degree C here in Dublin. I have been here for the last 4 days. I was hoping for a warmer weather. A 20 degree C is just wishful thinking, so I had to keep warm as much as possible. Donning up a few layers of clothes is a little bother but necessary.

Shamimi, our youngest daughter has moved three times since she came to Dublin. Her current apartment is located in Dublin 1, pretty much where the major shopping malls are located and where halal foods are also easily available. Just across the apartment where she lived, there is a bicycle shop, well-stocked with bikes and accessories. She obviously had the right strategy to get her dad to re-visit Dublin!

On my first trip in the winter of Jan 2007, she lived a stone's throw away from Dublin Business School where she completed her degree in Finance. Now that she is working while completing her ACCA, she can now afford a bigger apartment. That is an acceptable progression.

We are also here to check out on Mimi's elder sister, Shakira who came to complete her degree in Cinema and TV. Shakira (Ila) arrived Dublin during Ramadan to enrol in her third year of study. Unlike her other siblings, Ila chose to gain working experience first after her diploma studies. This she did for 3 years. It is our hope that her working experience will bode well in her degree program and that she will be able to acquire further working experience here before returning home.

Dublin is a cycling-friendly city with dedicated bike lanes, taking space on the roads in the cities. Another pleasant addition now to the city is Dublin Bikes.



The city provides bicycles for rent, conveniently located at major sections around the city. Recently launched in September this year, 450 bikes are now made available and follows the same system as that currently working in Paris. One can check out the relevant websites for further info on this new scheme. I have yet to rent one.



On our third day here on Sunday, Mimi brought us to Kildare, to visit a factory outlet for branded products. A visit is the right word. We bought nothing. At this twilight age, there is really nothing that we are short of, unless one is never short on desires. The trip was more for makan angin - makan angin sejuk....





and a little family bonding amongst the ladies in the family.





Apart from the trip to Kildare, we had not moved around very much except to the streets and malls neighbouring the apartments.

A band from the Red Indians of America gave a splendid reverbating performance on their giant-sized bamboo flutes.

And the Palestinians were there on the streets too, wanting to get the attention of the Irish shoppers to boycott Israel products.

We did, a long time ago.

FROM SUBANG JAYA TO DUBLIN

Tomorrow 1st Oct, my wife and I will have a long flight with 3 stopovers to Dublin. A 2-hour transit in Dubai on Emirates and a 3-hour wait at Heathrow for connecting flight to Dublin. We will be in Dublin and do a little of Europe for the 3 weeks that we will be there. Thank you Mimi, for your invitation! Mimi is our youngest baby!


Mimi's elder sister, Shakira joined her in Dublin 2 weeks ago and they had celebrated the Hari Raya Puasa together. Shakira will be there for at least 2 years to pursue her degree in Cinema and TV. I hope she will remain there for couple of years to gain working experience before returning home, just like what Mimi is currently doing there.

2 years ago we stayed in Dublin for a month. Have we not have enough of Dublin? In a way yes. But we will never have enough of our children! To me, they remained my little kids...ha..ha...




My respected elder Pak Chik Hassan expects me to cycle there, together with my kids. Sorry Pak Chik, this is a cycle-less trip. When I do Europe on my own, Insyallah, then that will be a different story.

Anyway, Dublin is a cyclist haven with dedicated cycling lanes in the city. If only, and if only....we have this in Malaysia!






Mimi told me Dublin recently introduced a park-and-cycle facilities, just like in Paris. Will I try out the facility? It goes without saying.


So Mimi and Ila, here we come!