Patrick Ng’s Neighborhood

Second day. Second day. We had just one day for sightseeing in Paris. Because we were supposed to go to Challans for my sister's wedding on the next day. I had wondered How much we could enjoy Paris in one day.

First, We went to Saint Madeleine Cathedral and Opera Garnier which are the nearest place from the hotel.  We saw Mr, Azumi and Pinko Izumi who is Japanese famouse actress over there. They were shooting for a TV program and my parents enjoyed looking that. Then we entered Opera Garnier. The stairs and interior is baroque architecture which was very beautiful.

Next, We walked through Place de la Concorde from Opera Garnier to Louvre Museum. We'd wanted to discover the museum but we didn't have the time. So we just took a quick peek at the book sotre. I hope I will visit inside of the museum next time.

After That, We walked along the Seine.And we went to a cafe. I think it's " La Palette", I'm not sure, which is behind the mint. Actually, It's been my mother's dream to have a hot chocolat at a terrace of cafe. There was few people at terrace because of cold, but she did enjoy the time.

And then We went to Nortre Dame Cathedral. I heard that it took about 100 years to complete. There are the many sculptures on the outer wall that differ in faces and the fantastic stained glass.

 

We also We walked up to the rooftop terrace. As the building has no elevator, It took several hundred steps to reach the terrace. I could see the stone figure in the Disney’s movie “The Bells of Nortre Dame” and I had breathtaking views of Paris (it was cloudy). I felt this is what I call Paris!

After that, We wen to the Arc de Triomphe by (first time) metro. I read “The metro’s doors is no automatic” in a guidebook. But I was relieved It was automatic doors.

There was the Arc de Triomphe right in front of our eyes when we went out from the metro station. It was raining and it got dark. But the Arc de Triomphe is so beautiful that was illuminated. At that time my father said, I need to go to the restroom. He may got keyed up on his first overseas trip. We went to 3 star hotel and  “Ou sont les toilettes?” I asked at the front desk. The hotel staff said “Especially OK, It can usually use only our guets”.I wonder if it’s because I asked in French. Anyway, What a relief.

Then, We visited to the top of Arc de Triomphe in the rain. Because, My mother said “I watched Mao-chan (Japanese figure skater) went to the top of Arc de Triomphe on TV. And I also hope visited there.” We walked up the steps. to the top of 50m above. It was very hard. But the night view from the top is really beautiful. The lights of street stretching from there to outskirts of Paris in a radial fashion. Especially, Champs-Elysees featured the most flamvoyant light-up for Xmas. Hard was well-spent.

We back to Place de la Concorde on foot and metro. And We had french homestyle dinner in the restaurant Lescure.
Then we back to the hotel in the rain. I fell into a deep sleep within 10 minites after we got back. It was Cook's tour. But It was fulfilling tour too!

#This is the travel journal when I first went to France in 2005.
#The original Japanese version is here.
#If you found a mistake in English, Please let me know :-)

Last week, I visited to Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art in Chiba. The sylvan museum just reopened in this March.

if you have opportunity to visit to there, You really must see "Newman's Room". It is the room dedicated purely to viewing just one artwork by Barnett Newman. You can see part of the artwork, the ceiling and wall of the from the stairs before you enter the room. Those create an aura of mystery.

And in the room, There are big windows. And we can see some difference impression of the artwork during the day. 

I bought new video cam "Xacti CA65". Bacause The old video cam (miniDV type) broke down I borrowed it from my family.  And next day was the Boy's Festival in Japan.

I wen to the camera shop in Shinjuku. Then I found exactly the product for less more than another shops. It was about 30,000 yen. And I bought it.

The camera is very small and it can and pick up easily from a bag , It is very convenient for shoot my son. Furthermore, It is waterproof model. I'll test the function at some future date.

This is the test shoot at near my family home.

 

I got Midori's MD Notebook. It's a MD paper notebook as Traveler's Notebook. There has got plain and ruled notebooks, and three size lineup. The notebook is enveloped in a paraffin paper. Quality of the paper is really great. I can I don't hesitate to write with a fountain pen. The smallest size is the same size as Japanese paperbacks and is a little larger than Moleskine Pockets.

I chose ruled type in the lineup. The line spacing is longer than Moleskines. It is best writen for Kanji as Japanese and Chinese characters.

A few days ago, I received two little mails. They were sent as gifts from Thailand by a staff of Traveler's Notebook.  Because My photos were listed on Traveler's Cafe website. He went to Thailand for his business and he sent them to me from there. There were many original stickers of Traveler's Cafe in the mails. I'll put the stickers and the stamp from Thailand on my Traveler's Notebook.

I changed the wheels of my bike "CleanSpeed Espresso20". The new wheel is A-CLASS FOLEX 20inch. I feel I can keep pedaling lightly with them more than the old wheels. And simply-looking from wheel by loss of spokes. 

I visited France with my parents and my (soon-to-be) wife for my sister's wedding ceremony from November 23th. It was wonderful trip and the groom's family is nice. First of all, Let me write the first day in france.

First day, We arrived at Charles de Gaulle International Airport from Narita. It took 12 hours. I saw Mr, Azumi who is Japanese TV announcer at baggage claim. He seemed to have just arrived by same flight as me. We went to a hotel located in center of Paris by taxi. There were some advertisements of Japanese conpanies such as NEC and Cannon on the way to the hotel. Once we entered in Paris, we found many French traditional buildings.

We stayed at Queen Mary Hotel  which is conveniently located to go to Printemps and seeing spots. I enjoyed the stay thought our room was a little bit smaller than I expected.

It was my father's first traveling abroad, and second time for my mother. Despite their long trip, my parents were fine. Actually they were a bit tired after our flight, but as soon as we arrived in Paris, they recovered and they even proposed us to take a walk  in the city of Paris. We had dinner at a restrant which we found during strolling. ...the taste ?...it was special...

#This is the travel journal when I first went to France in 2005.
#The original Japanese version is here.

I put some stamps on my Traveler's Notebook. At first, I hesitated to glue down the stamps to the leather, but I attempted pasting them only on the back cover.  

Some of the stamps I have received from Postcrossing members around the world. And The rest of them from my sister in france. After peeling off them from the postcards, I soaked  them to coffee until browned, and they seemed archaic. Daily I added some new stamps.