Switzerland here we come!

Day 5 - 11th October 2006

We're off to Switzerland today! Got up really early to take Easyjet which was the local budget airline to Basel. I was still groggy with the flu and Caleb was nursing the remnants of a bad migraine of the night before.

But it was a pleasant flight nonetheless...

With who else but barney to keep the gals in their seats?

The girls got fixated on a kiddy ride at the Basel airport and begged to go on it immediately.

Pic 1 (top L): You're my best friend Kara!

Pic 2 (top R) : But lemme drive ok?

Pic 3 (bottom L) : Hey sit down will ya??

Pic 4 (bottom R) : I said sit doooown!! Arrrrgh!

As soon as we reached Uncle Yuen's house, the girls had a whale of a time playing with the 3 dogs there! They laughed, squealed and giggled happily as they patted and tickled the dogs relentlessly.

The grown up had yummy noodles (yay!! Chinese food), while the tots played with Aunty Eliane's old toys.

Oh wow...scraps of tao gey for me...

Terelle: Hee hah!! Toys toys toys!!!

Kara: Eh dont be so unglam leh...Relax!

After a satisfying lunch of hot noodles (no more bread and croissants!!), we set off for the farmhouse that Uncle Yuen promised us, up in the rolling hills of the outskirts of Bern.

Views from the car as we drove up to the mountains

Mummies and babes, squashed with the overflowing suitcases!

Finally the farmhouse which we called home for the next 5 days!

How could a farmhouse not come with its resident cow?

We were delighted with the cow bells as they made charming music in the day, but trust me...they become incessant clanging when you are trying to grasp the last vestiges of elusive sleep as dawn is breaking...

And what more, our room was directly facing the field in which they roamed freely, so we had the honor of hearing the bells clang furiously at full volume every single morning. Arrrrgh!

My darling daughter and hubby had no problems sleeping through the din though, they can sleep through an earthquake. It was just me, desperately covering my ears with the pillow and willing the cows to spontaneously combust every morning. Sigh...

Unwell but undeterred...

Day 4 - 10th October 2006
Woke up nursing a bad flu today, probably caught a chill from running around the whole of Paris yesterday. Nevertheless, we were determined to make up for yesterday by trying to cram as many sights as we could today.

1st up was the gothic Notre Dame Cathedral. Being monument starved Singaporeans, we oohed and aahed over its intricate architecture.

The girls were happy to be let loose into the open after the stuffy confines of the centuries old cathedral

While the Liew family went to check out a quaint little town nearby, we forged ahead to the Conciergerie, where famous names like Queen Marie Antionette were imprisoned.

Poo Poo princess was at it again, so mummy here had no choice but to change her in the gallery where the prisoners were kept. Hope we didnt offend the sensibilities of any century old ghost lurking around!

After her satisfying poo, princess had to eat. So what else but to feed her, albeit surreptitiously, near Marie Antionette's prison cell? No pictures here...cos was busy trying to keep out of sight of the suspicious guard, who must definitely be wondering why this chinese family was so fascinated by Marie Antionette that they hovered near her cell for close to half an hour!

We met up with the rest at 2pm at the Deportation Memorial, a place modeled after the actual camp where the nazi prisoners were kept before they were executed.

A tempting view of the river and just a small expanse of sky were all that the prisoners could see of the outside world

I was particularly choked up by a poignant message that was carved on the walls of the exit. "Pardon, pas oublier" which meant "Forgive but never forget". But that's just me...sentimental fool...

Next stop was the Saint Chapelle cathedral with its stunning stained glass windows. It was supposed to take your breath away as "time stood still as light danced in the shimmering glass" vividly described by the guide book which we carted everywhere with us.

If u ask me i was a little disappointed that the cathedral was so small. In my mind's eye, i had the impression that it was huge and so ostentatiously opulent that it takes your breath away. Still it was a pretty sight and definitely worth the visit.

The dazzling stained glass...

...and the pretentious tourists!

By then it was evening time and i was ready to collapse; my whole body was aching from the flu and i was coughing so hard my lungs felt like bursting. We decided to head back to the hotel while the Liews went on with their adventures; but not before some pics in front of the Palais du Justice.

Terelle is still struggling to be let loose...

The brave parents and the oblivious tots!

On our way back to the hotel, we decided on the spur of the moment to drop off at the Saint Sulpice church, which would ring a bell to fans of the "Da Vinci Code". Although i was dying to lie down, the visit was pretty interesting.

It was an unassuming church, without any fancy architecture. But the interesting stuff were within its walls...

In front of Saint Sulpice, a nondescript church in the middle of a shopping district

There was a notice in the church which informed visitors that the "Rose Line" is actually a meridien line that was part of a scientific instrument built here in the 18th century. It was never a vestige of pagan temple and that the letters P and S in the small rounded windows refer to "Peter" and "Sulpice", the patron saints of the church and not the fictional "Priory of Sion".

We had a good laugh at this revelation but at the same time agreeing that Dan Brown had one helluva imagination!

Clockwise from top left: Exterior of the church, the "Rose Line", the sanctuary and its immense organ

Dinner was settled at a Chinese take out and we carted the food back to our room to eat. We knocked out soon after, including Terelle. Guess everyone was really shacked out!

Holiday or Marathon?

Day 3 - 9th October 2006

We woke up bright and early with an idealistic agenda; visit the Arc de Triomph, stroll down Champs-Elysees, take a boat ride and drop off at several monuments around Paris and end off at the legendary Louvre.
Never did we expect that this would be equivalent to scuba diving without an oxygen tank, in other words, impossible...

Terelle singing and keeping herself busy while we goggled at the tantalising spread of pastries, all daintily decorated and prettily presented in a whimsical little box

Last pic: Sigh...Are u guys ready yet? *oops my hat*

1st stop: The fabled Arc de Triomph. Everyone was still bright and cheery!

Je t'aime, mon cherie!

Tomb of the unknown soldier and several views of the Arc's amazing architecture

Terelle trying to read the inscription on the floor

Errr mummy? Think i need you to translate it to me after all...

Terelle (inspired) : Kara, are u ready to liberate France with me?

Kara: Errrr...someone has already done that u noe...

The never ending journey up the 285 steps of the Arc was compounded by fact that we had to lug a 10kg tot up with us; mind you, not a well behaved, angelic tot, oh no siree! But one who just couldnt keep still and kept squealing to be let down to "walk!! stairs!!" while we were trying our darndest to climb.

Whatever happened to the fighting fit couple who ran the Vertical Marathon at Suntec a couple of years ago? Sans baby of course...Sigh...

Finally at the top!

And Terelle is still wriggling to be let loose...

While we were enjoying the 360degree views of opulent Paris, my dear daughter was either "recruiting" new members to join in her Mafia activities...

Come on, ill show you where the guard keeps his stash of snacks!

...or entertaining the scores of tourists by gesticulating wildly to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it"!

Everyone together now! *If you're happy and you know it...*

Next activity on the agenda: A stroll down the Avenue of the Rich and Famous aka the Champs-Elysees, where people come out to see and be seen. Because we were behind schedule, the leisurely stroll became a flustered walk and lunch was hastily gobbled down on the move.

Trying to look as glam as possible...but to no avail...

There's always time to pose in front of Louis Vuitton!

After going on a wild goose chase for our boat ride as promised by our hotel manager, we finally realised that the tickets he had sold us did not cover it at all. Utterly disappointed, feeling lousy for having been ripped off and extremely exhausted from dealing with cranky tots and walking a good 10km lugging bursting backpacks, we finally collapsed at the foot of the Eiffel Tower for a breather.

Under that shiny, happy veneer were tired, tired souls...

Since we could no longer have the leisurely and scenic option of taking the boat around Paris, we raced to the nearest Metro to catch the train to the Louvre before it closed for the day.

Time check: 345pm. The Louvre closes at 5pm. No worries, we figured, we can get there by 415 and just head for the Mona Lisa. That would be all our limited artisan knowledge allowed us to identify anyway.

How wrong we were! We forgot that with babies, our travelling time actually triples. By the time we arrived at the Louvre, it was 450pm and they were closed for the day.

So how did the girls keep themselves busy while the grown ups were tearing their hair out over the lost opportunities of the day?

Our princess, in true princess fashion, chose at this moment to do a poo poo in this priceless museum. And being the non baby friendly country that France is, there were no nurseries nor changing stations in the whole of the precious, precious museum. So what was the next best thing that mummy could do?

Let's just say one particular Louvre ticket booth attendant is going to wonder why his counter has faint brown stains and a pungent odour the next day.

Tired to the bone, we all trooped back to the good old neighborhood near our hotel to seek solace in a warm chinese dinner. Luckily the girls were there to cheer us up with their antics.

We will live to fight another day, tomorrow!

Paris, on y va!

Day 1 - 7th October 2006

The much anticipated holiday to Europe has finally arrived! We set off from Changi Airport at 7pm in the evening and arrived at KL for a 3hr stopover before the long haul flight of 13 hrs to Paris.

The tots having fun stretching their legs before being cooped up!

No pictures of the flight to Paris as the tots were super cranky as they had no space to turn in the bassinet and couldnt get comfy to sleep. And it didnt help that whenever Terelle wailed, she sounds like a siren. The mummies were trying ways n means to stem the mayhem, before the surrounding passengers decided they had had enough and booted us off the plane!

Ironically during the "before baby" years, whenever we took long haul flights and a squawling baby was on board, we never failed to wonder what in the world were his/her parents doing and that they obviously weren't doing enough. It couldnt be that difficult to calm an agitated baby right?

Well, i guess this is pay back time for all those venomous thoughts that we had towards these hapless parents. It was so bad that at one point, i saw passengers in the row behind us actually cover their ears in frustration.

Day 2 - 8th October 2006

After a harrowing ride, we finally arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris in one piece. When we reached the hotel, it was only about 7am in the morning but the babies were up and ready to rumble!

All bundled up and checking their reflections in the mirror!

Good to go!

I was fascinated by the countless smoke tracks made by the planes in the beautiful Parisian sky

Our rooms were not ready yet so we took the chance to explore the Clichy neighborhood surrounding the hotel. Most of the shops were not opened yet but there was a flea market going on in the town square.

Hey Terelle dont fall asleep! We've got lotsa exploring to do!

Checking out the flea market, especially the dazzling array of brightly colored fruits and vegetables...

...which sadly were not as yummy as they looked!

We headed out to the Eiffel Tower in the evening despite still being jet lagged and sleepy. We were not disappointed by the fantastic views!

Terelle had great fun riding on an authentic, vintage carousel, definitely unlike those rickety ones we have at the pasar malams back home.

Ahhh...the splendors of Paris!