A different environment

Coming from a city univerisity, such spectacular views right behind your campus is really rare

Had my visit to HEC today courtesy of Ms Marion HEC Ambassador. haha. Looked at the dorms, study rooms, used the 'gym', ate at the Restaurant Univérsité, hung out at Julien's room. Was great :D

Was also my last night with my couch surfing hosts Sebastian & Xavier and I would just want to say that I enjoyed myself at their place so much. Couldn't find better hosts!

-jho

Two lonely days

Sometimes it can be lonely in Paris, yet sometimes it can be beautiful being alone.

Kind of under/overestimated (depends on how you view it) the effectiveness of french bureaucracy. Completed all the administrative crap i could have, the rest has to wait for when I have a real address & bank account in france.

So spent most of my time in cafés close to Le Marais and taking long walks, around le Louvre, around the Bastille area and today found a gem!

A string of pet shops between M Pont Neuf and M Châtelet! All the puppies reminded me of Poppy. Aww i miss him soo much :(

-jho

People of Paris in January

Finally moved in with my couchsurfing hosts. A lovely lovely couple in a beautiful parisian apartment!

And of course, met my two beautiful good french friends Audrey & Marion! Had a gorgeous simple pizza dinner at a small corner restaurant recommended by Marion's aunt :D I love this small unfounded eateries.. So warm & understated. Reminiscing through the dinner and having lots of ideas for future travels and gatherings.. Yay! So much to look forward to. Hope it can all come through.

I will refrain from bitching about my now broken (and thrown away) hard plastic suitcase and having to scour (again) the closed streets of Sunday Paris for ONE suitcase. All I have to say is, thank god for hardworking Asian people!!

Travel Tip: Always buy soft cases, those with zips. Never buy hard travel suitcases, even if they are from samsonite. Ever heard the expression/idea that water is hard to destroy than rock? ;)

A tout à l'heure

-jho

First few nights in Paris

Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But damn you metro stairs!!! Made the grave error of packing too much.. grrr. (that's the hogger in me i guess) and packing all my stuff into a suitcase. Should have gone with the big ugly backpack instead. Lugging that thing up and down flights and flights of stairs is just NOT FUN! :(

And now the bloody thing broke. Going to scour for a backpack tomorrow. I totally forgot shops close in Paris on sundays! Hopefully globalisation and tourist revenue will be my saving grace tomorrow - going to the Champs-élysées (pronounced "shawnce-eelizay").

Had dinner with my couch surfing hosts last night. A very nice gay couple. Interesting dynamic :) Let's see how my first CS experience goes.

Going to have dinner with Marion, Julien & (hopefully) Audrey (good friends from two SMU semesters ago) tomorrow night! :D:D:D Miss all of them very much.. Too bad can't bring durian for them to reminisce. Hehe. Looking forward to that too.

And as I mentioned on facebook: Ice-skating à Hôtel de ville. Mixed reactions. The feeling is lovely (to be in an outdoor rink and the parisian sky & sights), downside: Tourists, rental skates that bite you when you do anything except skate forward and little kids that seem to like your crotch or butt.

Very excited to reside in the Résidence Concordia also. The street and the street next to it, albeit a little touristy, is amazing! Everyone, even the staff handling the accommodation registration at Dauphine, said it's a beautiful street and that I am really lucky! Mmmm... Can't wait to cook up a storm in my little studio kitchenette. Fresh produce ftw.

First Post: Wanderlust

First post. It's 4am. Didn't catch a minute of sleep since this morning. Terribly anxious about my move to Paris - a mix of extreme excitement and already missing Singapore.

All packed. Stuffed luggage (i now learn it's not easy to pack for a long period of time!)

I have been literally dreaming of this day. To be able to traverse the streets, countryside, culture of Europe. Surrounding myself with the Parisian city beat. Living by myself for the first time in my life (a big thing for Singaporean students - most of us live at home with our parents since the day we were born).

This blog is to document my journey. So that I will never forget that I have had such an experience in my undergraduate years (probably would be the best years of my young life).

Though I have travelled quite a fair bit previously, I feel the urge to start a travel blog now simply because it would be such a waste to not record key moments throughout my exchange programme. And to encourage myself to write more often, I will keep my posts succinct :)

2 more hours till I head to the airport. Goodbye Singapore, I am sure I will return to you with fresh eyes and a refreshed perspective. Meanwhile, Hello Paris & Europe, looking forward to meet you. I hope you will show me a good time, be a good host and embrace me with open arms.

So here's to 2011. The year of Wanderlust.

Donc, à plus.

-jho