JALAN JALAN - PARIS

On the third day, we moved from Bruges to Brussels where we took the Thalys Express to Paris.

The were only a few passengers on board the local train to Brussels.

It's 4 seats for me and my suitcase!

Changed to this deluxe high speed Thayls train at Brussels.  

Lunch was served as the train was zooming across the countryside.

Arriving Paris' Nord Train Station in the late afternoon.

Jalan jalan in Paris

The Arc de Triomphe, 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.

According to the Paris' guide book, the Champs-Elysees, a wide avenue lined with horse-chestnut trees running for 2 km from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe is the world's most famous shopping street.

 

It was a good place to enjoy some window shopping. Along the street, there are luxury boutiques, cafés and cinemas. I believed it is the most beautiful avenue in Paris!

 

 

We bought some "French pancakes" by the roadside. The combination of banana slices and Nutella was delicious !

The Petit Palais, a museum, a 1900 Charles Girault's designs.

The Esplanade des Invalides area.

The "Alexandre III" bridge, a symbol of the past alliance between France and Russia in 1900. Across the bridge is the "Les invalides", a famous palace, where Napoleon's grave is. There is also a  WW1 and WW2 Army museum.

From the bridge we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Air France building

The "Les invalides", the famous palace.

We passed the British Embassy, on our way back to our rented apartment.

We have not eaten Asian food since we left London, so, I selected this Japanese restaurant. My expectation for Japanese restaurant has always been high but I was very disappointed when I realized that this restaurant was operated by Chinese. The waiters, and waitresses including the chefs were all Chinese!  

 

 Very mild and plain "Miso soup"

 Japanese style salad in French dressing?

Meat balls, salmon, chicken, beef and cheese chicken rolls in Yaki mono (BBQ items)  - they looked OK but nothing close to Japanese taste.

 Main course was the "duck breast Teppanyaki"  - like Chinese cooking! 

 Fried rice was OK.

So far, Paris was interesting because of the historical environment. I found that the people in the streets were not friendly even those working in the service sectors. The weather had been bad since our arrival - rain on and off with an unusual cold temperature between 6C to 12C.