Never been so happy to see a sign. Hearing Australian accents is like a cool breeze on a warm day, refreshing beyond belief. For the first time in a long time both Juanita and I can speak freely to people, and not worry about them not understanding the term ‘A bottle of water’ (true story).
The hard part now is to get our sleep patterns back to normal, and re-integrate into society. Oh, and unpack all of the swag we have collected on our casino journeys.
As amazing as Singapore is, sadly it really was just a stopover place so we didn’t get up to much at all. We enjoyed how beautiful it was, how clean it was – but really we stayed there to break up the amount of stupidly long trips we needed to make on the way home.
Here’s hoping we get back there in the future for a proper exploration session.
This place is more like a mall than an airport. As soon as you have your boarding passes and enter the airport proper – you have access to all manner of freebie stuff. Koi fish pond, Snooze Lounge, Butterfly Garden, and a Cinema that you can just walk into and watch whats playing (seems most people use it as an extra Snooze lounge). Quite entertaining, considering we had to spend 12 HOURS in the place, we were lucky it was as interesting as it was.
NO CHEWING GUM ALLOWED.
No really, the forms you are handed on the plane prior to landing say very clearly that they will take it from you. And it shows – the place is unbelievably clean. Surfaces are immaculate, the toilets are free of graffiti and have REAL plants in them – as you exit, they have a touchscreen giving you the option to ‘Rate our Toilets!’ and after reading that the screens are disinfected every half hour, I simply HAD to give them a 10. Even as we sat in the cab, tired after our 12 hour flight from Frankfurt, we saw countless workers along the roadside, groundskeeping council land by pruning dead fronds off palm trees, making sure the hedges are perfectly boxed – you name it, they were maintaining it. Even the skyline seemed to gleam, theA�architectureA�was just unreal. Buildings with all manner of incredible curves – and then Juanita pointed out to me, ‘Look – Those skyscrapers have a cruise ship on top of them.‘ No, seriously – THEY DO.A�Just click the link if you don’t believe me.
Well Juanita and I had a classy evening. Classy clothes were put on, to which we took a classy subway to the classy tour place. Some of it was classier than others – but the Parisian subway was very clean compared to NewA�York’s. The evening was structured as so – We would board a bus to take us to the river, where we would board a barge ship that was converted into a classy restaurant. We would enjoy a three course meal as we cruised both up and down the river, getting views of the Eiffel Tower and the Sister statue to the Statue of Liberty. We would then re-board the bus, and be taken to the Eiffel tower to watch the sun go down (with express passes to go up the elevator, no waiting for 2/3 hours) and FINALLY, we would be taken to the Moulin Rouge, for a 3+ hour show with no intermission and champagne. Hell of a night we were in for.
Click ‘Continue Reading’ for images and a recap oh the nights events, including just how many breasts I saw at the Moulin Rouge.
Bon Jour, Merci, Parlez-vous anglais? The only three French words/phrases I’ve attempted to say. For the novice French language of you, like me, here is why Ia��m using these;
BonJour is Good Morning/Day
Merci is Thankyou
Parlez-vous anglais? is Do you speak English?
The language has been one of the most daunting things about visitingParis; however I am glad to see and know many shops have bi-lingual staff, including the Hotels, Shuttle bus driver and Restaurants. However, that is no excuse to not attempt to speak French, even if it is to ask, do you speak English?
Imagine how annoying it would be for someone asked you in French or another language a question? Would you be offended or less likely to assist them? But if they attempted to ask the question in English or ask if you speak their language, that would be polite.
My pronunciation is a little off – but they understand Ia��m not a local.
Bonjour!
We have arrived in Paris for our Europe stay of our holiday. Short stay of only 3 nights that I know will not be long enough to take in theA�majesticA�city.A�Our arrival began with a connecting flight through Frankfurt, Germany- then a short flight to Paris. Unfortunately no stamp in the passport, as there were no checks or customs (but I still wanted the stamp). We arrived at our beautiful hotel – The Franklin Roosevelt hotel, located nearA�the Champs-A�lysA�esA�- where they finish the Tour de France. We slept for a couple of hours, as sleeping on planes does not exist. We then went for a wander around our hotel, to find at the end of our street, a view of the top of the Eiffel Tower and what appears to be the 5th ave/Rodeo Drive of Paris.A�I’mA�talking Armani, Versaci, Dior and of course Chanel! So the #1 thing I wanted to buy in Paris, a newA�bottleA�of Chanel No. 5 was closer then I thought, and easier as the sale lady was from Sydney.
Click ‘Continue Reading’ to …well, continue reading – and see a short gallery of Paris so far (and a video of what happens to the Eiffel Tower at night)
We arrived. Things just got a whole lot more French up in here. Armed with a meager knowledge of conversational french, I am ready to cross breadsticks with even the most hardened denizen of Paris.
A stop over in Germany. How did I know? The airport had a bratwurst stand where I would expect a Starbucks (this isn’t a joke)
Also, Nick handles blat quite well.
