Tuesday 30 June 2015

Paris Dec'2014


Beaux-Arts architecture

This is my second time to Paris, it is indeed a fashion capital, artistic, romantic, cultural and historical city, it is one of my favorite city.

I was so happy to visit my friend who stay in Paris with her french husband, they have a cute baby now (was still pregnant that time). I just hope I can go to Paris again to see their baby now :).

MAMA SHELTER:
A must go to MAMA shelter, get some yummy pizzas, the bar is very nice as well. I love their interior design, a huge terrace stretching along the other side of the space is made to stand up to the elements. It's always perfect for a cigarette break. No lounge music but Rap and R&B. On thursdays, fridays and saturdays, artists from around the world come here to perform live at Mama.

 Mama Shelter Paris
Address:
109 Rue de Bagnolet, 75020 Paris, France


 http://www.mamashelter.com/en/paris/

I'm a wine lover, wherever bar or restaurant I go, always have a glass of wine with me. :D






MUST VISIT - Catacombs (underground cemetery)
The name of ‘Catacombs’ was given to this ossuary in reference to the Catacombs of Rome, a name originally given to an ancient cemetery situated not far from the Appian Way. The Cemetery of the Innocents (near Saint-Eustache, in the area of Les Halles) had been in use for nearly ten centuries and had become a source of infection for the inhabitants of the locality. After numerous complaints, the Council of State decided, on November 9th 1785, to prohibit further use of the Cemetery of the Innocents and to remove its contents.

Disused quarries were chosen to receive the remains; the City of Paris had in fact just completed a general inspection of the quarries, in order to strengthen the public highways undermined by them. Building work was done on the “Tombe-Issoire” quarry, using large quantities of stone, strengthening the galleries and completed by digging out a staircase, flanked by a well into which the bones could be thrown.

The transfer of the remains could begin after the blessing and consecration of the site on April 7th 1786, and it continued until 1788, always at nightfall and following a ceremony whereby a procession of priests in surplices sang the service for the dead along the route taken by the carts loaded with bones, which were covered by a black veil. Then, until 1814, the site received the remains from all the cemeteries of Paris.

Since their creation, the Catacombs have aroused curiosity. In 1787, the Count d’Artois, the future Charles X, made the descent, along with Ladies of the Court.  The following year a visit from Madame de Polignac and Madame de Guiche is mentioned. In 1814, Francis I, the Emperor of Austria living victoriously in Paris, visited them. In 1860, Napoleon III went down with his son.

The Paris Catacombs re-opened on June 14th 2005, after several months of closure for building work. The lighting has been adjusted, the vaults strengthened and the walls of bones put back.


** I felt impressive and made me think about life. We cannot find anything that is permanent. Impermanence is more than an idea. It is a practice to help us touch reality.

 FASHION CONCEPT:
 Fashion is everywhere. Parisian style is just lovely, perhaps it is a concept. I heard almost everyone has Paris dream.

Elegance is an attitude. It is not only how you dress, it is more on how you carry yourself.

You're the one who wear the dress, show the essence of the design. Time to make an impact if you dare. :) Well,
fashion is just so fun.


LA RHUMERIE : is offered to Rum lovers and Caribbean culture.


Address:  166 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris, France
 La Rhumerie, as you may well have gathered, specialises in all things rum. This historic Left Bank bar dates back to the 1930s, when it was created by Joseph Louville, and his passion for all things rum has been continued. The place still looks much as it did. It’s fairly basic but that’s part of its charm. The nice, light room has raw terracotta walls and is decked out in a lot of wicker. But it’s the rums you come here for. The collection is huge. They have a vast array to choose from, both small batch and premium brands. Tasting flights are available and they also boast a huge selection of rum-based cocktails to explore. There are mojitos of every conceivable colour and flavour, daiquiris and zombies, coladas and mai tai's, punches and warm rum drinks for cold nights. They also serve a selection of Caribbean snacks to pair with your drinks, fish patties and plantain chips, Caribbean codfish fritters and Creole platters. Their Creole brunch dishes are also worth checking out and we’re betting their rum baba will be a good one. The bar tenders are on hand to advise and guide you through the drinks list and the place has a warm and lively atmosphere.


Parisian Dining:


Escargot (French for snail) and steak with wine are my all-time favourites! and Champagne, of course! :p


MERRY XMAS!


Always love this festive season, full of joy and peace, and I was blessed to celebrate this season during winter, it is so much different from celebrating in Singapore.

Champagne and wines are very common in France, how I wish we have this price in Singapore. :) As a champagne and wine lover, nothing can compare with  some good glasses of wines, especially with the food.

And compare to beer or liquor, wine has less calories. In general, white wines tend to be lower in alcohol and calories than reds. While light whites have around 140 calories or less per six-ounce glass, a light red has between 135 to 165 calories, while a higher-alcohol red like Pinot Noir or Shiraz can have up to 200 in a glass.








Arc de Triomphe
Champs-Élysées

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.





 LA GRANDE ROUE DE PARIS FERRIS WHEELS


La Grande Roue: located at Place de la Concorde, at the entrance to the Tuilerie Gardens, you can enjoy a ride with a breathtaking view at 60-meters-high, Paris lying at your feet.

The history of the big wheel goes back to the beginning of the last century. Back then, the Eiffel tower wasn’t the only attraction of the World’s fair, l’exposition universelle. A huge Ferris wheel of 100 meters was erected and stayed until 1920. It’s said that its passenger cars were so large that, once they were removed from the Wheel, they were used as homes for French families in the regions devastated by World War II.

PALAIS GARNIER

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera.

A symbol of Paris, is an architectural masterpiece. 









JARDIN DU LUXEMBOURG


 Situated on the border between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter, the Luxembourg Gardens, inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence, were created upon the initiative of Queen Marie de Medici in 1612. The gardens, which cover 25 hectares of land, are split into French gardens and English gardens. Between the two, lies a geometric forest and a large pond. There is also an orchard with a variety of old and forgotten apples, an apiary for you to learn about bee-keeping and greenhouses with a collection of breathtaking orchids and a rose garden.


yummy kebab for lunch







CATHEDRALE NOTRE DAME DE PARIS


always super long queue, but it is one of the symbol of Paris, must visit, I came here 3 years ago, so this round I would just skip.











 It was quite crazy to drink beer outside a bar, during winter. But I quite like it. :p




 Super yummy steak with wine again, as usual, my all time favourite.

NIGHT LIFE



 Party is definitely happening in PARIS. Great music!


 PALACE OF VERSAILLES
























The Château de Versailles, which has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for 30 years, is one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The site began as Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son Louis XIV transformed and expanded it, moving the court and government of France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three French kings who lived there until the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful. 

The château lost its standing as the official seat of power in 1789 but acquired a new role in the 19th century as the Museum of the History of France, which was founded at the behest of Louis-Philippe, who ascended to the throne in 1830. That is when many of the château’s rooms were taken over to house the new collections, which were added to until the early 20th century, tracing milestones in French history.


 Gardens and Park of the Château



 
From the central window of the Hall of mirrors the visitor look down on the grand perspective that leads the gaze from the Water Parterre to the horizon. This original perspective, which preceded the reign of Louis XIV, was developed and prolonged by the gardener André Le Nôtre by widening the Royal Path and digging the Grand Canal. This vast perspective stretches from the façade of the Château de Versailles to the railings of the park.

Since 1992, the gardens have been gradually replanted, and after the devastating storm of December 1999, the work speeded up to such an extent that quite a few sections have already been restored to their original appearance.







Last night in Paris. We might have some unexpected experience in every trip we have. We might meet new friends, new things that we have never seen before, new food, etc.

But the most important is - find ourselves. Open our hearts and eyes, breathe deeply, live deeply, enjoy the moments, every single moment...

You will realize, nothing is more precious than being in the present moment, fully alive and fully aware.


 

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Yomeishu & Me


On 15th May 2015, Yomeishu officially launch their ''#Yomeishu & Me" campaign in reaching out to and engaging the younger generation. Many people may have misunderstood that Yomeishu is only meant for older generation and they aim to bring the right message about healthy living to young people. 

I am honored to be their first brand representative for this online campaign. I started to drink Yomeishu since March 2015, drink every night before bedtime helps me to boost my energy despite my hectic lifestyle. I only sleep 5-6 hours every night, but after drinking Yomeishu, I hardly feel sleepy or tired the next day, this is one of my healthy way to stay fresh and energetic. 





Like Yomeishu Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yomeishusingapore

 

Saturday 20 June 2015

Amsterdam

I started my winter holiday from Amsterdam, a city known for its artistic heritage, red light district, amazing nightlife, beautiful scenery..


When there's sun during winter, I found that it was just amazing and I love this kind of weather so much, perhaps there is always so hot in Singapore (or south east asia), so I really enjoyed my winter time in Europe. First time in Amsterdam, and I love this city.


For beer lovers, must try their local beer, visit Brouwerij 't ij (The IJ Brewery), with the cute logo of an ostrich and en egg, was founded in 1985 by musician and songwriter Kasper Peterson, who traveled often to neighboring Belgium, with his band Drukwerk.  Taking the opportunity while there to taste the special Belgian brews, he came up with the idea of brewing his own.

 visit their website: http://www.brouwerijhetij.nl




Vincent Van Gogh is my favourite  artist, he is one of the most well-known post-impressionist artists, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland on March 30, 1853.
The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional, lacked self-confidence and struggled with his identity and with direction. He believed that his true calling was to preach the gospel; however, it took years for him to discover his calling as an artist. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had already experienced two unsuitable and unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium) where he was dismissed for overzealousness.
He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. The works of his early Dutch period are somber-toned, sharply lit, genre paintings of which the most famous is "The potato eaters".
 The Potato Eaters (1885)

In 1886, he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon. Having met the new Impressionist painters, he tried to imitate their techniques; he began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists’ style. Unable to successfully copy the style, he developed his own more bold and unconventional style.
van Gogh hoped like-minded artists could create together. Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. Van Gogh’s nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to ultimately leave Arles. Van Gogh pursued him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.
In May of 1890, after a couple of years at the asylum, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later, he died from what is believed to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound "for the good of all." During his brief career, he did not experience much success, he sold only one painting, lived in poverty, malnourished and overworked. The money he had was supplied by his brother, Theo, and was used primarily for art supplies, coffee and cigarettes. 

 Starry night (1889)

 
 The song - starry night by Don Mclean

one of my favourite art piece from Van Gogh - Sunflowers (1887)

Sorrowing Old Man ('At Eternity's Gate')(1890), it was quite sad that he suffered from some form of mental illness.

 Museums are very common in Europe, this is one of the reason I love Europe so much as I am an arts lover.
We tend to think of art today as something that is found in a museum and appreciated in a disinterested manner. People who are able to appreciate "fine art" in this way are regarded as having "taste" which differentiates them from others.
However, the concept of art as it is understood today may not be found in the past. "Artists" were "craftsman" who engages in the processes of making "artistic" objects, often in the company of and with the co-operation of others.
Also, the concept of art as it is found in non-western countries may also be very different. Some cultures, for instance, saw art as having a ritual function primarily, with little or nothing to do with either "taste" or "craft".
This suggests that art is very much a culture-specific thing, and that we must understand the society and culture to fully appreciate the artworks.


The Rijksmuseum (Netherlands national museum), I was just enjoying my time there to appreciate every art collection.

 I love this violin so much, hoped I could bring it back, used to play violin and cello before.

   
My favourite music - Canon in D major


Cafe De Klos, The best spare ribs I've ever tried! super delicious. 

 Famous red light district

 I really love cheese and those ham/salami.

nice steakhouse, steak with wine - heaven!

 Cycling around the city, is such an enjoyment.


Amsterdam is really a beautiful and interesting city.


 One of the best of my trip was the awesome breakfast from the hotel, love their bread, fresh home made organic yoghurt, coffee!


Bye Amsterdam! heading to Paris by train. wine and food in the train. Life is great. :D