Alright, I'm now in France with my family, spending my sec 4 year-end holiday. This also means no holiday homework, ans I'm lovin' every minute of it. I've been looking forward to this holiday for months and months - I've identified all the stuff I'd like to see, all the way down to the chocolate shops. It's the loveliest holiday I've had, as far as I can remember, and I'm only into the second day! This will be a holiday I'll never forget.

But, good things tend to slip away a little too quickly, so I've decided to keep the good memories here.

We're now in Paris. It was a 13-hour flight to get here, and I had plenty of time to watch movies like Shorts, G-Force and Bandslam, which, by the way, were all found in the kids' movies section. My natural self is completely unintellectual. On the whole, though, I wouldn't recommend any of the movies. Shorts is creative (Robert Rodriguez, after all), but has a very bad plot. G-Force has a kiddy thrill (which, truthfully, I quite enjoyed) but has a very bad ending. Bandslam is the classic tweens tale, very boring (still love Lisa Kudrow though).

We arrived early yesterday morning, collected the rental car, and settled accommodation (at the Citadine). It was about 2oC, but I love cold weather. Went out in search for lunch. As you walk down the streets, the first thing that hits you is how mixed up the buildings are. You have buildings from just about every era slotted between each other - the stone buildings from 1800s, the colonial style from 1900s, the glass-and-metal futuristic style that is so fashionable today.

We passed patisseries, boulangeries, chocolatiers, bistrots and restaurants. Does French life revolve around food, or what? The food is good, that's for certain. The smells in each one of them are divine, and the atmosphere is completely relaxed. We Singaporeans briskly walk into the shop, efficiently get our take-away lunch, and rush out again. On the other side of the world, the French dawdle into the cafe/bistrot/restaurant, linger over their scrumptious food, and when that is done, they pat their full bellies and linger over talk at the table, and then they dawdle out. As such, the atmosphere in these eateries is designed to be very homely, very - well, very linger-y.

And the French, they are such interesting and fun people. They smile and they laugh. You can tell because there's a sort of twinkle in their eyes when they talk to you, as if they can appreciate a good joke anytime. Their faces in repose look happy. Singaporeans pass by life without appreciating the people around us, instead giving our full attention to the list of things to do - that, by the way, never ends. Then the wrinkles form faster and our mouths tighten into a thin, straight line, and the childish twinkle is gone. The French, though, seem to linger over every good thing in life - like food! I can see why Mom loves France so much.

Anyway, we eventually settled down at a popular century-old bistrot, and had a lovely warm lunch for - guess how much? - ~S$100! That was my first experience of how expensive things can be in France. Imagine what we'd have to pay if we'd gone to a restaurant! Being Singaporeans, though, it's difficult to linger over food, so we set off once again.

Truthfully, though, I was rather disappointed at the views. I'd expected it to be a little like Nuremberg (I went in July), with all its charming cobblestones, castles, fortresses, and simple, elegant buildings. But I suppose the sights will be more rustic as we go further away from Paris. That'll be next week. For now, I'll enjoy the museums here. There are so many! They even have one for their underground piping system. And unlike Singapore, these are unbelievably interesting.

Mom told me about the catacombs - a one-and-a-half hour walk down a dark narrow corridor lined with skeletons neatly stacked upon each other. Very Indiana Jones, or National Treasure, huh? Essential part of history, I guess, since Christians used to hide from the Romans here. But still, very creepy. Mom's been there before and she doesn't want to go again, so we'll pass.

Then there's Parc Asterix, not exactly a museum, but supposedly very fun if you've read Asterix and Obelix before. It's not open during our stay in Paris though, which is a pity.

Anyway, we passed by a patisserie and got some great dessert there (again, very expensive), and then - since it was nearby - looked for Victor Hugo's residence. It wasn't all that exciting, because I don't know very much about him or what he did, except that he wrote Notre-Dame de Paris. Most of it was in French and Mom had to translate for us. I do remember one thing: Did you know that he had a mistress? Her name was Juliette Drouet. He built a residence for her, and kept contact with her till she died. She gave up her career as an actress to be his secretary and travelling companion, wrote thousands of letters to him throughout her lifetime and accompanied him when he was exiled (by Napoleon). And she wasn't even his wife! I think that having a mistress is a very, very awful thing to do, but there's a lot to wonder about their relationship in this case. Fascinating, huh?