LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Paris Day 3 - DISNEYLAND

(Jour 3 à Paris)

Needless to say.....this place is magique! Disneyland is where your little one's dreams comes true. Alia seemed lost in her own world, having met so many of her adorable characters - Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Mickey and frens and much more. We spent the whole day in this magical wonderland, from morning 'til late. Tak sedar masa berlalu begitu cepat because there were countless of shows, parades and activities available for everyone.

Entrance ticket was quite pricey, memang pikir 100 kali nak beli. But I would say this was money well spent. Priceless dibandingkan dengan your 'lil ones happiness and excitement. As we had Paris Visit Day Pass, we got 20% off. And aku dengan selambanya hanya beli 2 adult tickets. Lucky for us, the staff let us in easily. Adakah sebab Alia kecik aje? Atau sebab dia kesian tengok muka aku? Apa-apapun, here's the recap:

With Disney's Castle at the background

Welcome to Disneyland Park!

Dalam train lagi Alia dok buat kajian pasal Disneyland Park, tak sabar nak explore tue..

The station for Disneyland Paris, called Marne-la-Valle-Chessy

Tak kenal sangat this character berbaju hijau ni tapi she was the first one we met, right after the entrance. She was screaming, running and shrieking all at the same time. Alia was scared of her at first, thinking maybe this girl tak berapa betul. Later we realized that she was running from her rival in red dress (pic below) and they just mimicking some scenes from the fairytales.

Disney character's parade. Vibrant and colourful.

Alia kept on toleh ke belakang 'cos she wanted to see the parade but mom and dad sibuk nak amik gambar. At one point, she screamed "I don't want to take a picture, I want to see the show!".

Alia and the genie....from The Aladdin

This bear was so friendly, we got to spent some time with him.

I guessed Alia was amazed at so many characters who came alive that day. She probably wouldn't want to blink her eyes so she will not miss every single moment, hahahha.

Look at Alia's face...macam bangga semacam je dapat bergambar dengan...sapa ni? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Oh, mama tak tau le. Hanya Alia yang terer. She could name each and every character!

Look! Who's here? Si penjaga istanakah?

Having fun at the carousel. Mom and dad pun naik jugak. Tumpang sekaki.

Beautiful fantasy village

Live show from Mickey Mouse and friends. Energetic and entertaining.

Adventureland - where you feel like you're in the middle east. Ada Moroccon restaurant and all. Lots of souvenirs, too.

The mainland USA. Banyak themed shops and restaurants.

In the Disneyland Train. Great to get around between all 4 parks available.

At the Walt Disney Studios. Masa ni dah nak gelap.

We were lucky to be here during the off-peak season as there were no long queues or overcrowded area. Alia enjoyed the "Playhouse Disney Channel Live On Stage" the best. She and the other kids were dancing around, bouncing, jumping and wiggling almost all the way through the show. So exciting! The kids even jumped off their seats for bubbles and confettis catching. Siap berebut-rebut dan akhirnya all her diaper's bag were full of the glittery bits. So fun!

Alia with her friends from the Little Einstein.

With Daisy and Minnie

Winter Wonderland

The closing parade

It was almost midnight when we arrived at the hotel. Tired but happy. I truly believe that this is the right place to make your kids happy. It was worth every penny. Even my husband who was so sceptical about making a trip to Disneyland, seemed to be on the same page with me. The only regret I had was not able to capture the moment in video as I left my camera at home. To make matters worse, my hubby's camera can only capture still pictures. Nevertheless, I have no regrets coming here. A whole day full of fun. So folks, save some money and treat your kid to something special, a day where your kid will always remember.

'til we meet again...... à bientôt (see you soon)!!

Bienvenue à Paris !! (Welcome to Paris!!)

I have been to several places in Europe, and Paris so far is the best place I have ever been. Most tourist attractions are easily accessible with Metro (underground tube). Forget the car and board the train! There are lots of interesting places to explore, and halal food are easy to find. My advice to you my friend, buy the Paris Visit Travelcard. Available in 1,2,3 or 5 days. We bought the 5-day pass for zone 1-6. You can go literally anywhere in Paris and its suburbs with this pass. We went to Disneyland and Versailles as well! Not part of the plan but it was well worth it! We had unlimited access and this pass also valid for bus and cable car!

People often relates the Parisians (the people in Paris, as oppose to French) as sombong bongkak. Well, they proved us wrong as they were actually quite helpful. They just don't understand English very well but they were always willing to help. Learn a word or two of French language like bonjour, merci, pardon and excuse-moi will be handy.

The famous Eiffel Tower

Leaving for Paris on Eurostar, at St Pancrass International

The ice sculpture at the station - they changed colours!

As soon as we arrived at Paris Gare du Nord Eurostar station, we were picked up by my French friend, Henri (de Parseval). He was my labmate a year ago and now is back in his hometown. After checking in at the hotel, he took us to Eiffel Tower and his house was only 15 minutes walk from the tower! As we sit for dinner at his house, we can see the sparkly and glittering lights of the tower. Amazing.

Henri's mom cooked us a nice meals - tagliatelle with roasted chicken (gerenti halal punyer) and ratatouille! Remember the tiny little mouse animation called Ratatouille? That's the one! That's what we had for our dinner. Don't get me wrong, it was not the mouse we swallowed down but Ratatouille is actually a combination of aubergines, courgettes, yellow and green peppers, tomatoes and onions - a classic French vegetarian dish. It was yummy!

Image taken from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2903/ratatouille
The delicious ratatouille

The really lovely family, thank you ever so much

We had 3-course meal that night. A French tradition - to have a snack before dinner. We were having a small talk while munching the pistachios and peanuts, washed down with a selection of tomato juice, orange and apple juice. Dinner started with main meal followed by cheese course. We were introduced to different types of cheese, produced from different regions of France. It's all so typical...French and cheese....they are just part of each other. Dessert was a traditional tart tartin, the upside down apple tart, made from freshly picked apple from de Parseval's own apple farm.

Image taken from www.bellemaisoninc.com
Tart tartin

One for the album...............

After dinner, Henri's dad took us for a small tour around Paris. The view was breathtaking! So lively even at the midnight hour, with tourists overflowed the Champs-Elysees and along the Seine river. Beautiful.

Paris - City of Light

With Henri and his father

On Day 2, we went to see the ever so famous Eiffel Tower. I can't believe my eyes....it was really tall with massive structure. Tourists flocked the area and ramai penjual kaki jalan selling all sorts of souvenirs. We also menyibukkan diri at the Champs-Elysees, menjamu mata with the designer's fashion house. Nak beli tak mampu, tengok pun jadi le.

The National Opera Gallery? Lupa la nama tempat ni

The famous Champs-Elysees, with lots of designer premises

Di kaki Eiffel Tower

Alia with her giant cotton candy

Paris, along the river

Here's Paris for you. Wait for the next travelogue in Paris very soon. The journey continues 'til Day 5. Tunggu.......

So for now, au revoir!!

A Journey Down South

Image taken from http://www.wemburymarinecentre.org/

This trip was made partly to visit a relative who resides in Plymouth, partly to celebrate my success. Alhamdulillah kerana dengan kebesaranNya aku lulus tanpa sebarang kerumitan. The upgrade session was held a day before Raya Haji. I was so nervous but thankfully everything run smoothly, even the examiners a.k.a the advisors were really nice that day. Semoga jalanku sentiasa dipermudahkan oleh Yang Maha Berkuasa. Amin.

The journey to Plymouth (in Devon), took us more than 5 hours due to slow traffic and showers. It was freezing cold down here. Albeit the killing weather, we enjoyed our trip at the Wembury's rockpools seaside.

The surfers

A National Trust site

2 manusia yang kesejukan!

We spent our weekends wandering around Devon - at Marjon College, Torquay seaside area and Paignton Zoo. Alia has never set foot in a zoo and I was eager for her to see the many animals there. We spent more than 3 hours at the zoo and I think Alia did enjoyed the trip we made, as she kept talking about animals on our way back home.