Europe Trip Diary : Day 6 Part 2 (Shopping in Paris, Seine River Cruise)

Hi guyssss!!!

I'm having some exciting progress on my freelancing work, it's just getting more and more exciting for me lah (and for Indonesian beauty lovers!), i think i will be able to announce the exciting news in this space soon *finally* and maybe tell you a teeny-tiny bit about my job hahaha. But first, let's continue with my Day 6 in Paris, shall we?

Like the title suggested, we went shopping and took a cruise ride in Seine River (which was fantastico!), here's a little sneak peek first :

More about that later!

Where were we in the last entry? Oh, we were waiting for the lost aunties *LOL*. Fortunately they weren't really lost, after waiting for quite a long time they suddenly emerged at the meeting point! So we had to look for Kikie that went into the Louvre to look for them *LOL*, fortunately that didn't take too long! Phewww, can't stand any more waiting..

But! Problem's not yet over hahahaha. We walked quite a bit to get to the bus stop and this is the view we passed by (in the basement).

And then... Kikie couldn't find the bus *LOLOLOL*... we had to wait for Kikie and Eek to go and search for the bus for the longest time, until hunny ventured just a few steps further... and immediately spotted our bus WTF *___*... Then another problem arise... We couldn't find the driver! Haish! WTH. Until *again* hunny spotted him actually taking a nap inside the bus *LOLOLOL*, seriously... All those waiting for nothing... With no regards whatsoever to my screaming in huge pain feet... LOL.

After the whole debacle, we finally moved to our next destination. Next schedule : shopping at Galeries Lafayette. We were originally quite excited to go there (i have this Prada bag i had to look for my niece... Again... 13 years old with Prada.. *sigh*) until.. we actually got there. It was SUPER DUPER crowded like mad, even Mangga Dua or Pasar Atum on their peak can be considered quite deserted to this mayhem!

We immediately lost interest and developed a headache upon seeing China tourists went cray cray, grabbing every designer bag the can find and bought them like buying peanuts... I really cannot shop in such chaos, i instantly lost all desire to anyway hahaha... zzzzz...

We did checked out some stores and sections (because it's a department store afterall, but housed only branded items), went to Prada but they didn't have the bag i was looking for in stocks, L checked out Gucci because she's been coveting this Gucci bag (Gucci Shopping Bag classic) but it's no longer available, checked out other brands and was only attracted to this hot pink Marc Jacob bag but it was made of parachute and i'm not sure i want to spend millions of rupiahs on a parachute based item...

Oh, we also didn't enjoy shopping while constantly being trailed by hunny and Eek! I despise going shopping while there is a guy waiting with a very bored face around you *LOL*. That's why i ALWAYS go shopping with my gilrfriends, while the guys can go somewhere else (cafe or something) or better still, stay at home and play video games! HAHAHA!

Having said that, i did managed to squeeze in a little shopping in the short time we were there (we were given a few hours but gave up after less than 30 minutes *LOL*, it's simply didn't have a nice shopping atmosphere! I need peace and quiet while shopping, how can someone shop happily when they're constantly rushed or jostled by other shoppers, i cannot comprehend). Spotted a cute transparent See by Chloe bag on sale!  

To be honest, i've never even heard about See by Chloe before, sure i'm very familiar with Chloe, but i didn't even know they had a sub-brand targeted for younger fashionistas! While i am hardly that young anymore, my taste is still very much the same as those younger market targets *LOL*, i doubt it'll change anytime soon.. 

Now, lots of our readers asked about the stuffs i got from Europe, and while i wanted to incorporate those buys in my Europe entries with exact sequence in which i bought them, it was proven impossible since most of the stuffs i bought were from random Auto Grills or pharmacies, i can't remember where exactly! So for those random stuffs, i will do a special haul entry, while for some stuffs that i remember exactly where i got them will be featured into the diary entry. Like this one!

I googled for a picture of the bag i got since my own cannot show you how cool the bag really is hahaha.

And here's my version (spamming a little bit hahaha, coz i love the bag so much :p)

In my mind, this looks like a cute, trendy fashion bag, it didn't seem too branded-looking for me, so i'm a bit fascinated that it actually came with a authenticity card (excuse my ignorance haha).

It was on a 50% off sale! Paid EUR 50 (IDR 650.000) for it, super cheap! It was actually cheaper than Mango/Zara/Guess but i believe See by Chloe is slightly more high fashion than those high street brand, am i correct? I won't lie, probably the price tag was also a huge influence that encouraged me to snap it in a heart beat hahaha. It's too cheap and cute to pass up on!

I also spotted a very cute LV bag.

How CUTE!

But i'm the kind of person that mull over buying expensive designer stuffs for months on end, i don't buy them impulsively because i get bored very easily, so i like to think it over for a very long time, if i still covet them after such a long time then i know i have to buy it haha. No wonder i don't have more than 5 designer branded bags that i've bought for myself (actually hunny paid for them, but...).

That's the only thing i got for myself at Lafayette, but i got my mum some Chanel makeup.

I can't get over how cute those tiny Chanel paper bags are *LOL*. Kept one for myself *LOL*, just the paper bag not the actual stuffs :P.

I've always knows i wanted to buy my mum the lipstick, i bought it right away in fact. But i was so confused on what other thing i can add, told you my mum's super hard to buy stuffs for! My sis once bought her a Dior foundie and she gave it to me straightaway, so i couldn't buy her foundie or powders, after contemplating for a very long time i decided to buy her a nail polish because she always has her toes painted. I bought the lipstick and nail polish separately, the nail polish later when our time was up and we're at the meeting point with our group inside Lafayette.

Bought her all red colored ones since that's the safest color you can buy her *LOL*

I love how sleek and luxurious the lipstick tube is

I was so confused when i tried to open the lipstick since i never bought Chanel make up before, apparently you had to push the golden section and the tube would be injected out *LOL*. Sorry lah, i'm not a premium branded make up buyer *LOLOL* *cheap*.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet no 38 La Fascinante

So glad she approved of the color, she said "Yes yes, this is mummy's color" the minute she opened this lipstick :D.

Chanel Le Vernis in 08 Pirate

She was like "Next time just buy the lipstick for me, no need to buy me nail polish lah." I was like, you can use it on your toes (she doesn't use dark or loud colors on her hands), to which she replied "Okay, i'll bring it next time i'm having a manicure." ZZZZ. See, it's really hard to buy stuffs for her that she'd actually wear and like. FML.

The lipstick was EUR 34 and the nail polish was EUR 22. I wouldn't even consider spending IDR 700.000 on a lippie and nail polish for myself *LOL*, but don't you feel like it's okay to splurge on someone else (especially your mum) for a gift instead of on yourself?

We wanted to have a drink and some macaroons at some cafes in Lafayette, but the cafes were also super full!!! Haish! So we decided to get outta there and find an authentic Parisian cafe so we can hang out and feel like true blue Parisians! LOL.

But first, we spotted a pharmacie *LOL* so we went in to ask for more Purol ointment for the Purol auntie haha, but i ended up buying other stuffs instead (no Purol ointment found, sorry again auntie...). Hunny's mum (my mother-in-law lah!) asked for a non-branded Parisian miniature perfumes (coz once she got them from a relative), something fresh and fruity, or Rose scented. We couldn't find any miniature, but i spotted this Rose perfume in the pharmacy!

It's not expensive, about EUR 19.90, and it's an eau de parfum, not eau de toilette! So a total steal! It smells great and very strong so you'd only need to spritz very little on yourself and it would lasts. Also spotted a L'Occitane hand cream with the harmonious scent as the perfume (and with much friendlier price tag than L'Occitane in Asia, dare i say... it's CHEAP!)

I cannot recall the exact price of this hand cream, probably EUR 7.90? I gave those two Rose-scented items for mother in law and she seemed to like it (my mother in law is a bit... non-communicative, and also very hard to guess whether she's happy or not *LOL*), i made them into a mini parcel with a few other trinkets but i forgot to take a picture of the other stuffs i got her.

I am pretty pleased with the stuffs i got them, though! Given the pressing time and nature of the shops they took us to, i think i did a great job, if i may say so myself hahaha!

We stopped at the first nice looking Parisian cafe, but i think the waiter (who's quite stunning, not exactly handsome but had a very sharp features and an aura of a dangerous guy *LOLOLOL*, we kept on joking on how he must be a waiter by day and mafioso by night.), I might be mistaken, but we were pretty sure he's Italian. He wore a very thick gold chain around his neck and L kept on pointing us to a fresh scar above his eyebrow "Look look, he must be a mafia, just got into a fight the night before" hehehe, sorry la, we do have a very active imagination...

The theme was "Coffee at Paris" but L totally screwed it by ordering a mocktail WTF *LOL*

Well, actually i was the only one that had coffee that time zzz

My frothy cappucino, yum...

Look at Eek's tummy and keep it in mind, i need to bitch about it later *LOL*

Hunny's tea

I'm still obsessed with their cute sugar cubes...

L wanted to seat outside, at the sidewalk like how most Parisian likes to do *we kept on ogling them from our bus hahaha*, but unfortunately the seat outside was full when we come in *but it was cleared out very fast once we settle down FHL hahaha* so we just sat at the next best thing, at the table directly next to the huge window, actually i'm not sure if it was a window or it was just an open space...? It was all opened up so we're halfway outside lah okay L...

Hahahaha dunno why i looked lke a fugly gnome in this picture FML

Eek also ordered a nutella crepes but i forgot to take a picture of it haha. After hanging out at the cafe (not long enough :(...) we had to start going back to the Lafayette (because the meeting point was there), and it was only then we discovered that there was nice stores like H&M and all just on the oter side of Lafayette FOL zzz, but i don't regret not going there, we wouldn't experience a Parisian cafe if we went shopping instead!

Snapped a picture on the way there..

Yes, flaunting my shopping bag a little bit hahaha

Oh, we saw a travel agent offering a tour to Bali! So proud hahaha!

No idea why they put on a picture of Candi Borobudur on a Bali tour pamphlet...

Had to wait for a bit more *hence buying the Chanel nail polish...* because some of the tour member's still halfway queuing to get the tax return form, the line was obviously insane...

Finally we were ready to move on, and next in line was... dinner!

Dinner was still Asian cuisine, but thankfully it wasn't Chinese food! We're having Thai food instead, and it was yummy! I totally embraced the change of menu! *LOL*. You must noticed that i didn't really take pictures of our Chinese food meals, but i did for this Thai dinner! Everything was yummy! I dunno the names of the food lah hahaha cannot remember Thai names :p plus we didn't order them (tour meals already ordered by the travel agency right...)

L got photo-bombed by Kikie..

Dunno what this is but it's a lot like Indonesian gado-gado haha

I'm pretty sure this is called pad thai...

Eek wasn't feeling well at that point, but he was very thrilled they served fried chickens *LOL*, i made him pose like this.

To show how happy he was hahaha

Tom yam kung! Oh, i'm salivating a bit now hahaha

Always the HUGE hit, omelette hahaha

Yummy fried fish

Nice meal, so we were pretty happy when we stepped out from the restaurant hahaha. Earlier in the day Kikie asked us if we wanted to ride the Seine river cruise, it was not included in the tour package, but it sounded great so all of us readily agreed. I can't remember how much it cost us, but it was slightly more expensive than how it was stated in the ticket because Kikie said he had to buy the tickets from a... errr... non-legal seller (dunno the right English word!) because it'd already be sold out in the counter.

The ferry station was super duper full and crowded (again, haish, that's the theme of today i guess...), it was really hard to even stand because people would crowd against you zzzz. Somehow while we were waiting for the ferry to arrive, L and i got separated from the rest. Hunny was busy entertaining his fans (those aunties lah hahahahaha) who kept on telling him he looked like Bae Yong Jun OMG zzz, they squealed every time he puts on a blazer or jacket *LOLOLOL*. I mentioned this before, but i'm serious, they kept on doing it in the whole trip hahahaha. I personally don't see the resemblance, but we do hear that a lot, so...

This is Bae Yong Jun

And this is Bae Yong Jun kw 3 HUAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry hunny, i couldn't stop myself... *LOL*. Anyway, L and i got sick of waiting so we slipped into the souvenir shop, saw lots of cute trinkets but before we had a chance to buy anything, the ferry arrived :( so sad... Twice in one day... Was already in the spot to shop but couldn't zzz...

It was really hard getting into the ferry, everybody's pushing and shoving each other, trying to cut the line, i don't understand why because there were like... hundreds of seats available! Why can't everybody be a little more patient and walk in a more civilized way, i can never understand zzz.

But my annoyance was wiped away quickly once the ferry began moving and we were presented with beautiful views from all sides... I must say that the Seine river cruise was an experience that i would remember forever, it's a must do activity for first time tourists in Paris! I think it was the best and most memorable thing that we did in Paris!

Now i'm gonna spam you with pictures i snapped from the ferry!

Hmm, yeah, we obviously cam-whored like mad when we spotted Eiffel Tower hahaha.

Lots of Parisian was out and about, especially the young ones! They were hanging out along the river bank, drinking and chatting or even dancing! They were very friendly (or too friendly???) too, they kept on waving and calling to us hahaha, it was super hilarious lah, felt a bit like a celebrity or something *ROFL*. I waved back when cute guys waved at us *LOLOLOL*.

Snapped this but hunny captured it better so here's his version below

The weather suddenly became super chilly by then! It was quite warm before so L confidently left her jacket in the bus even though we'd been warned about the cold wind before hahaha, so i tried to wrap her up a bit to make her a little warmer.

Actually there were audio guides in the cruise with several different languages, but we were so busy snapping pictures and chit chatting to ourselves (not to mention laughing and waving back to cute guys, oops... oh, and ogling at couple kissing and fondling a little bit hahaha), we didn't hear a single thing from the audio guide *LOL*.

Spotted another ferry that must've been hired for a private party.

Spot the guy toasting us! Hahaha..

Then we passed by the Love Locks Bridge!

Hunny and i want to return there and leave our own love lock there

I thought there was only one padlock bridge in Seine, apparently there were many!

Lovers on another padlock bridge :)

We spot Titanic!!! *LOL* Are Jack and Rose inside?

In short, we had the best time there! Totally memorable! The ride felt super short even though it clearly wasn't, i think it was more than one hour long, but you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun!

Of course, there isn't going to be a perfect ending when you're traveling with Eek, he had to totally ruined my high mood by stupid and ridiculous remarks. At one point L was being lovey dovey and hugged him from behind, and then L said "OMG, i can't put my arms around your tummy, it's getting so huge!", at which he retaliated by telling her to put her arms around MINE. We were all puzzled but L complied, and then he asked her whose waist is bigger.

WTF dude? FYI, i may not be stick-thin, but i have a 28 inches waist, how could you compared it to your, i dunno, 40 inches one??? (Coz hunny's waist's 34 and it's super small compared to his) Told you i'm not just being sensitive or delusional, he really does lash out to other people (in this case, ME!) whenever someone pushed his insecurity buttons. And yeah, i've been watching and he's actually quite sensitive about his weight. But lashing out on other people, especially a woman, and make them feel horrible about their bodies just because YOU are insecure with yourself is never right. It's sick and disgusting. 

Sorry, i cannot control my emotions when i talk about this kind of issues, it just makes me MAD. WTF. Okay, screw him *deep breath* *inhale exhale*, let's not ruin my perfectly good entry with that kind of ending, shall we *raise eyebrow*.

Anyway, we went back to the hotel afterward and i took a few more shots with my purchases *LOL*.

I seriously can't get over how cute those tiny Chanel paper bags are hahaha

AAA, so happy. See hunny, your wife so good, bought her EUR 50 bag only she already so happy. Of course i never said i will only buy this bag on this trip...

Retail teraphy never fails...

Oh, like i said, i'm going to show you this amazing pimple treatment i found in Paris, i used it and in one or two days my pimple dried out and fell off! Miracle worker! Now i regret not buying more! Anyone knows if this brand's available in any Asian country?

This thing is AWESOME, i tell you!

Oh, hunny said he couldn't deal with liquid soaps without shower puff (yes, we checked every store and pharmacy we could find, no shower puffs were sold there! Don't European use shower puffs??? Oh, we did found one in the end, in Italy, a day before our flight back home so of course we didn't get it!!! But, L bought some, she said it was as good as The Body Shop's...) so he got us this solid soap in the same pharmacy where we got the stuffs for his mum.

an IDR 75.000 solid soap FML *LOL*

He also claimed that Parisian soaps suits his skin very well *LOL*, he went further and said even those tiny hotels amenities ones were very good and none drying (unlike the ones in Asian hotels where you used it once and your skin dies *LOLOLOL*), dunno if it's the power of suggestion (Parisian creams, soap and fragrances... must be good for you... LOL) or whatever lah but this soap is very nice, in case anyone's interested to buy something like this next time they're in France, it's quite recommended.

With that i'm wrapping up Day 6 in Europe, will be back with Day 7 where we're leaving France for Switzerland!

Toodle doo!

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