I 

 

LOVE

PARIS~!!!

Can't wait to visit Europe again~!! Perhaps for our honeymoon or something.... Want to go to Venice and Florence as well.... and Barcelona... etc. Oh well, one can dream aye?? 

Guess it's back to work for now, and buck up my surgical skills~! 

And the exciting part of hunting for my dress begins! Dates are set.... venues sorted! Just the perfect dress now! :) Wheeeee~~~

Mei *hearts* Paris

Jon and I were recently in Paris for a short holiday. Well, it wasn't too short actually. We were in Paris for a week, but one week's too short to do Europe... So we only managed to go to France and perhaps, leave the other places for some other time. Honeymoon perhaps??

 

It was a terribly longggg flight from Melbourne to Charles de Gaulle, Paris. But I guess the excitement of being there was greater than anything else, that I wasn't too tired even after 24 hours of flying! Crazy!!

We arrived in the morning, and decided to take the express train into the city for breakfast, since we couldn't check in to the hotel as yet. 

The weather was so cold and gloomy when we arrived! I guess they were right when they said Paris was having a bad winter this year! It was a mere 3 degrees when we touched down that morning, and on top of that, it was drizzling too!! Arghhh, hate bad weather!

But nothing stops me from enjoying Paree, the city of loveee...

First stop was Notre Dame Cathedral~! It was majestic! Huge, with beautiful architecture. It was really quite amazing seeing it in person. Captivating, just like in the movies... It's no wonder Paris is always featured in movies :D 

We walked around for awhile, but then the tiredness was starting to hit us, after being in the plane for more than a day! So we decided to head back to the hotel, check in and catch some snooze. 

Woke up late afternoon / evening, and got ready to explore more of beautiful Paris! We also met up with some of Jon's friend / ex-colleague who came to pick us up in his new BMW 5 Series to have dinner near Chateau Chantilly. Too bad I didn't snap any pic of the majestic piece of architecture. Plus, it was dark anyways...

We dined in a Michelin Star restaurant that night! :) Food was really yummy, but the only trouble we had, was with the menu. Everything was in French, and the waitresses only spoke French! OMG!! Thank God for Jon's friend who had to painstakingly translate the menu to us, so we could order :P Thanks, Gary!

I ordered the seared scallops as my entree. I can't tell you what the rest of the stuff are, because I couldn't read the menu. But it was good though :) Yummsss~!! 

My main was the duck (Canard in French) which was very tender, cooked just to perfection!! MmMm.... Not buttery at all, like most other French cuisine~! Loved it! 

There were ducks quacking outside the restaurant, and intermittently, they would kinda scream, and everyone on the table looked suspiciously at each other, fearing that they have captured the ducks and slaughtered them right there! 

And then Jon exclaimed "Well, at least we know it'll be really fresh". (-.-)

I can't even recall what my dessert was, partly because I didn't really know in the first place. But everyone gobbled down their food and licked their plates clean, which says quite alot I guess. 

We then wound down and chatted over cups of coffees and teas :) Check out the cutesy sugars! Sooo pretty!! :D 

Gary then drove us back to the hotel via the motorway, after coming through the scenic route, and getting lost a couple of times. Tee hee. Thought it was pretty nice of him to come down all the way from Brussels with his wife, and staying the night in Paris, to catch up. But then again, I guess they'd enjoy a little getaway too :) 

That pretty much summed up our first day in Paris. Weather was horrible, but never-the-less, I had a good time! 

NZ North Island

Wow~!! It has been a month since we went to New Zealand! Time flies when you're occupied I guess. I haven't really had time to sit down and pen down my thoughts. It's been go-go-go since the engagement, pretty much.

Came back from Hong Kong, announced our engagement. Started looking at venues for the wedding. And then it was looking for a new place to move to, move out of the old place... packing, cleaning, redirecting mails etc. Said goodbye to the wonderful colleagues in NICU and am now settling back into O&G.

But anyhow, another time for those... This post is about my NZ trip :) hehe. It was my first time in the Qantas Gold Lounge, cause Jon is now a Gold member, and travelling with him, I get a tad spoilt by having access to the lounge too! ehehehe... Sorry, a little 'jakun' cause I don't normally travel First Class :P so I guess this deserves a mention.

Anyhoo, NZ!! We arrived in Auckland on Friday night and the weather was horrible! :( It's been raining non stop for the whole day apparently. We picked up the rental car and drove ourselves to the hotel in the city, to realise that we were on the "red light district" end of Auckland!!! Which were both scary yet fun and exciting at the same time! No, we didn't go to any of the joints though.

The next day, we took a stroll looking for breakfast, and settled for a place a the corner of Auckland's main Queen St. 

We ordered the farmer's breakfast set each - only to realise that the serving is hugeeee! But so worth the money though!! hehehehe :) I love how strong the AUD is at the moment.... Guess it won't stay so good forever, so I guess we're maximising it while we can.

 

My humongous latte to start my day :)

 Walked around Auckland city and explored the surroundings while we had time in our hands in the morning. Stopped at the infamous Aotea Square for a photo. 

 

We then walked to SkyCity, the casino and entertainment complex. To be honest, it was quite disappointing. There was nothing much there, and we were out of that place probably within half an hour of entering. 

 

One of my favourite spots in Auckland - by the water. I somehow loveeee cities which are built along the harbour / waterfront! Just makes it that much nicer! :) And luckily the weather was sorta holding u for us. 

Went back to the hotel after lunch to get ready for Gary and Alice's wedding.

It started raining when we were driving there which was tremendously disappointing~! Cause it was meant to be a garden wedding!

A quick photo with Gary the groom before he gets too busy when everyone else arrives! :D

One with pretty Estine :) Long lost friend.. haven't seen this girl in like... almost 8 years! Long timee!! She still looks the same though. Or shall I say, we both do? :P I reckon we haven't really aged much. tee hee hee.

 Whee~!! More old friend reunited! <3 

Just like the good old days... except that Stephen's married now :P And Gary... and Boon. 

One with Jon, who made an effort to bring a suit and get dressed up for the day. Hehehe. 

He's not big on packing different types of clothing for the holiday. Where possible, he would travel light and wear the same things on rotation and do laundry in the hotel. 

The beautiful bride, Alice... and the ever-so-nervous, Gary. It was an almost perfect wedding day (minus the rain) for the perfect couple :)

 

Exchanging marriage vows and wedding rings. 

With the beautiful Alice :)

Group pic :) The newlyweds and the Aussie gang! 

These beautifully customised place cards were all individually handmade by Alice :) Sooo pretty right? I wish I could do creative things like that too for my own wedding :P ehehehe. 

Both of them beaming with happiness! :) 

I am very impressed with Gary's rather smooth dance moves. Apparently, he's rehearsed really hard for this special day :P teehee.

We had fun that night - sharing the couple's joy, dancing, and taking heaps of photos in the mobile photobooth! Thanks again for allowing us to be a part of your special day, Gary.

Hoping to see you guys later this year in Melbourne! :) <3 muah muah. Love you guys!

*More of NZ North Island trip soon* Need to catch some ZzZ's. Super jet lagged at the moment*