Last day in Paris

Truly a beautiful place to visit, Paris.



This was the last day of our Paris adventure. Our plan was to see the Louvre and shop. Going to the Louvre was pretty easy since we were used to the train system already of Paris (but honestly not for me). Anyway, we reached the museum rather early. It was a bit cold and at the same time really exciting. The entrance was not that expensive compared to some of Singapore's attractions. The place is a monster and really big. We queued and got in. I forgot where we went exactly but it was like touring art pieces from different countries and time. The collection is really amazing. One which excited the group was the Mona Lisa. Well, I have read about the painting in our English literature when I was in primary school and it's one of the most beautiful painting in the world because of its mysterious smile. Going to the Mona Lisa was a long journey I mean really, it felt like we were walking from my flat to the office and back. But it was a feast for the eyes so nevertheless it's worthy of that long trek? Anyway, when we reached Mona Lisa, I was not expecting it to be small but it's still captivating. I am grateful for the opportunity of seeing the it live.

After the photos, Kay suggested that we see the Monet paintings. We were a bit lost and so we had to ask a couple of times as to where we can see his paintings. It was another mile long walk. After passing the artifacts from Africa and Egypt, we had to climb the stairs as it's the place of Claude Monet and other artists. We were not disappointed. Claude Monet's work were brilliant. According to Kay, there's another museum devoted to him. Well it was not part of the itinerary but if I will have time and resources, I'll be happy to visit his works and maybe if I will seriously have a lot of money, I'll go buy one of his masterpieces. After the tour de Louvre, we decided to shop!



Since the girls wanted to buy Longchamp and the boys were buying other things so we decided to split up and just meet somewhere. We cannot afford to lose time since we might be caught up with a lot of tourists. It was another long walk and after few times of asking we reached the shopping district which I forgot what it was called. But anyway, the mall that we went into was called Printemps. Peter bought a Louis Vuitton and I bought a Fred Perry. The girls had the Longchamp and since there were limited displays, they searched for the bags in some other store. Peter and I were a bit hungry, so we stopped at a nearby restaurant serving mainly pasta. I was looking for rice but it was raining and were hungry so I have to settle for pasta. As usual, their pasta is tasteless (I am excited for Italy). Anyway, the good thing was the serving was huge wahahahah :P

After lunch and checking for some shops, we had to wait for the girls at some corner and Peter was a bit tired already so we looked from some place to sit. It was a bit boring doing nothing plus their were smokers everywhere so I decided to check other shops. We still have some few hours actually based on the plan and so there I went for a sneak. There were lots of things to buy but I did not want to add to the bulk in my luggage. After checking stuff's here and there, I went back where Peter was, and he looked in a bad mood really. It was because of this one Caucasian guy who felt he owned the place and knowing Peter to say something so he talked back to this Caucasian guy. If I recalled they were arguing about the seat or something. Anyway, since waiting for the girls at the mall proved useless, Peter and I decided to go back to the hotel and them there. There was wifi so I enjoyed it and I was a bit tired of all the walking that we did so I took a nap at the hotel's mini waiting area.

The girls came around 4PM and we needed to catch our train going to Venice at around 7PM. We packed our stuff and off we went to the train station. We reached the station too early and it's great because I get paranoid if I'm late for this type of schedules. The feeling was relaxing and a bit lonely. In fact, for the first time, I felt sad because I am leaving Paris and I felt that there were still some things that I need to enjoy and like. Well, I promised to go back to France and explore the country for all its worth. Good luck to my bank account :))

But, I guess I have to say Bonjor no Italy ;)

Bonjour Paris !!!

For the next day, we were planning to go to Versailles and yes the ride was long and we got lost on our way but not to worry or anything because we were safe and sound :D

The train ride took us a good hour or more and the place was chilling. We stopped at a local starbucks and some of my friends were buying stuff. I did not have anything because I am not into coffees not unless necessary :)



Going to the palace of Versailles itself was not that great because it was cold, and you had to walk in cobblestones. For you to survive, you need to have a good pair of shoes and good layer of clothing if you still want to look fashionable but not bulky.

Anyway, the entrance is beautiful so it paid for that unfortunate long walk and suddenly it rained. I thought it was going to ruin everything and just hoped that castle's inner beauty will be more than that of it's entrance.

There were lot's of tourist from all over the globe and I think tourism is giving life to France.



Anyway, cam whoring is a must inside the castle of Versailles as the paintings the old clocks, chandeliers, beds, tables and chairs and whole lot of century old furnishing are a delight :D

After we toured the insides of the castle, we went outside and checkout the palace garden :D

It was a great day touring Versailles and we were so hungry after that and we had to find a place to eat. It was another long walk and we found McDonalds :) We ate a lot of real French fries :))

Kay, and some of the mates were planning to go to Monet's place but then it was drizzling a bit and so they decided to go with us going back to central Paris. The immediate plan was to actually go to the Eiffel tower.

We reached the station nearest to the Eiffel and it was another long walk - good thing not in cobblestones. Cobblestones are a good sight, so don't get me wrong but they can be painful on your feet if you are not used to it.

Eiffel tower is a man-made marvel I should say.

We decided to buy the tickets and off we went to the highest observation deck in Paris. The queue going to the tower was long but the sight once you are on top is magnificent. That moment on, I was thinking of going back to Paris in the near future ;)



After the Eiffel tower, we decided to go on a river cruise at Siene. We were waiting for Karen so we decided to stroll a bit and took some pictures again and again :D

We bought the tickets for the river cruise but before that, we went to the souvenir shops and I bought a cap which says Paris for my dad. He loves caps so I bought two for him already. I also have a nice notebook for my brother.

Going back, we were queuing at the river cruise terminal. Since the folks were waiting for Karen, some of us had to go in first and reserve some seats and the other waited for Karen. Before the cruise started, Karen and the rest came and the cruise began.



Everything in Paris has a lot of stories to tell. Great men and women in the olden times who contributed to France's rich history. It was interesting to listen to some histories which honestly I forgot but then the sight was beautiful and that river cruise is a must for any traveler in Paris. The cruise took us around 45 minutes and it was great. When we went back to where we started with the cruise, the Eiffel tower was in gold lights flickering and dancing like a star in the night. Karen told us that it's scheduled every hour starting 7PM until 9PM if I am not mistaken.



We were hungry, and the stall selling some sandwich was quite expensive. I did not buy or anything. Our next stop was to go to the Arc de Triomphe. We arrived there and took some pictures then off we went to their shopping districts. Some of my friends wanted to checkout the Luis Vuitton store but unfortunately it was close.



We just decided to buy some snacks at the mall and called it a night after that.

Here We Come Paris !

From Munich, David, Mai and Glenn went with us going to the train station bound for Paris. It is my very first time to ride a sleeper train or for better term, couchette. We just had our dinner at the station eating Burger King meals :D Mai and Glenn has something to do the next day so they bade their good byes or, we bade our good-byes :) David was still there with us sharing some 30 good minutes of his time. When it was time for boarding, he accompanied us to our caboose - we got the class B I think and in one room there were 6 of us. Anyway, it was time to say our good byes and we were thankful for David for all the nice tour. Good luck to his Masters in Munich Technical University.


It was time for boarding for real and so we had to look for our rooms inside the train and our luggage were heavy. I mean I already have 20 kilos I think. I had to have a hand carry. Inside our train room we met Sophie. She is German and she's going to Paris for her studies. She was a good company and in fact really friendly.

It was getting late and so we decided to call it a night. I was not used to sleeping a train so it was not the best sleep I had. I am not sure if it was the same for the rest of the folks.




We arrived early in Paris and the station looked really old and lots of graffiti on their walls, much the same as Barcelona. It was not that bad actually because inside the station it was more peaceful. The first thing we did was to get our tickets for the train rides we will be taking around the city.

Our hotel was a bit far from central Paris but the city's train system is fine so it was pretty much easy to locate. We were staying at hotel Coypel - small 2 star hotel but really clean. Our plan for the day was to just tour Paris by train and on foot. Honestly I was still sleepy but we were there for only three days and I don't want to just sleep :) Since we did not have our breakfast yet, we decided to checkout the restaurant beside the hotel. It was a bit challenging because their menu was in French and the staff was refusing in speaking English to us. But we we've been warned actually about this so we knew what we were getting at. Elaine studied some French at Alliance de Cebu so it was a help on deciding what to eat. It was an interesting meal actually just right for the day. After the meal we had to prepare for our Paris excursion....

After taking a quick bath and all, we had to meet at the mini lobby of the hotel and off we went to our excursion.

A highlight for the evening was we watched a show at the Moulin Rouge with Karen - she's a Cebuana colleague in Gemalto, Singapore whose now based in Paris :)




To be continued ....

Business Trip to France and UFO Catcher, again ?

My project lead buzzed me and since I was on my earphones, listening Jason Mraz's album, he went to my seat and called my attention. I then took out the earphones. He asked me if I have read the email and I simply replied, "No", to him. I then checked what was on the email.

The email said that my trip to France has been cancelled and according to the scripts, it will be moved on some other date. The trip was actually scheduled three weeks ago and my flight would be this coming Sunday, 21st of June. I felt a bit relieved. I did not know who to talk to other than my project lead. I told him that it's okay. He just said that we have prepared a lot already. I told him that it's fine with me. So my project lead just went to his seat.

I still do not know what to do so I sent a message to Jax about the cancellation. I would have told Agnes first but her status on her messenger was away. I then sent the message to Jax. He then called me if I was just joking or something else. I told him I was not joking.

Instead of going to the gym after the office hours, I went to church and just thank God and entrusted to Him the things I have no control over with. I went with Jax at a church in Bukit Timah. After that we ate dinner at Chua Cho Kang. This time we did not play UFO Catcher but instead just watched people playing. We hop from one machine to another. We actually saw the lady who we saw the last time we were there. She even recognized Jax and had a bit of fun talk with her. She was actually holding a stitch stuff toy which she won.
Jax and I were in control as we were not able to play UFO Catcher at that time. But wait, we have actually planned to go to Yishun to play there.... hehehehe.

Anyway, we arrived home a bit late as Chua Chu Kang is a bit far. I was at peace already and that fear and excitement all wrapped into one, in going to France was gone. But it was not totally cancelled so I will still be sent there probably next month. By that time, I will be more prepared, hopefully.

Tomorrow is a weeked and there lots and lots of things to do. It's a super blessing in disguise as my friends from the Manila and Cebu Philippines will be coming here in Singapore for a vacation. I'm actually glad that my business trip was cancelled as I will be able to join Gemalto's team building. Hehehehe. Thank God you are so kind to me... hehehehe.... Hmmm see you my great friends these coming few days :)

My Schengen Visa to France has been approved

Monday, June 15, I went to the French embassy to submit my passport. I brought with me the summary of my insurance policy which was what they wanted from me. The one I have submitted the first time I went there did not contain the complete information they needed. It was a quick processing as it took me just 30 - 45 minutes. I took a bus and I went home directly instead of going to the office as it was 11:30 when I got near Buona Vista. When I arrived at the office, I told my PL what happened.

Wednesday, June 17, I went back to the French embassy to get my visa. I arrived there around 9:20 as I again took a bus. The first time I went there was I rode a cab. I was a bit sweaty because I had to walk 300 meters or more from the bus stop going to the embassy itself. Anyway, I arrived just on time and I got my queue number. The visa section was not crowded and my queue number is one. So when the officer saw me, she then called me and I just gave her my claim slip and then she gave me my passport. There it was, the Schengen visa pasted on a page of my passport. It's validity is 3 months.

Everything just came flowing in my head. There was literally traffic jam in my head. I was like riding the bus and don't exactly know what to feel, how to say it, how to react. I was excited, afraid, a bit numb and clueless. When I arrived home, since same thing, I did not go to the office immediately, I opened the television just to make sense of the world. I then watched the news about the AH1N1 pandemic then this nuclear threat from Korea and this election frenzy in Iran. At that moment, I was a bit relieved.

I went to the office and simply told my PL that the visa is ready and approved. He then prepared some things that I needed for the trip. I also studied some slides and some technical papers.

Actually, I still don't know. The business trip to France is really so big for me. I should be thankful right? And yes I am but, I feel that it's too much. How I wish it were a vacation and I should rejoice it all the more, but it's work. Since I don't know what to really do because aside from the fact that there are other reasons why (real reasons and speculative ones), I decided to go to church yesterday to have enlightenment and guidance from the Great Divine.

I think I am going to Paris, France

My company is going to send me to Meudon which is south of Paris, France. Should I be excited or not?

I love to go to different places for vacation but not work. I don't like to mix things up. I like things sorted.

Anyway, I woke up today a bit earlier, like 7:30AM. Since my housemates were to go to their jobs early, I had to let them go first. I finished all the preparations at around 9AM. Since we were due for the house rental today, I had to go to the bank first and deposited the money to our landlady's savings account. I was able to transact everything at the bank around 9:10AM. I had to go back to a bus stop near our block because it was more convenient there. I did not know what bus to ride so I had go for an expensive taxi. I had written the address of the French embassy on this piece of paper which I torn from my office notebook. Anyway, the driver was a Malaysian man in his late 40's I think and he noticed that I was a Filipino. He was a very pleasant person and interacted to me by saying some of the words I knew which happens to have the same meaning in Bahasa. I told him a bit of our history that there were 10 Sultans from the Malay Islands who came to the Philippines and establish Sultanates. Then we were colonized and stuff and we were converted to Christianity. The good man then asked me of my age, what I do here in Singapore. So to show courtesy, I answered him very honestly.... He also talked about his desire of growing old in Malaysia for his retirement. I asked him if how many years he has been working here and he said it has been 15 years - quite a long one actually. As for me, it has been 6 months only and I don't feel liking it much. Anyway, since he knew that our thank you in the Philippines is, "salamat", he said that to me and I replied back to him "salamat".

I arrived at the French embassy on time and it was 9:30-ish something already. The place was not that big actually but it looked secured and neat. When I got inside, the security officer gave me my queue number and it was 20. When I got inside, there were two windows but the one at the right was the only section in service. The number being served was number 11. I the average serving time would be 5-10 minutes depending on the applicant's papers and type of visa and in between, the visa officer had to call on for those who were there for collection since it was a priority. All the seats were occupied so I had to stand at a corner near the glass door. The place was a bit quiet actually when there came a girl then came two white guys and they started talking which made the place a bit noisy. I did not have any book with me nor anything in particular which interested me to do just to kill the waiting time or to make a bit of fun.... When the woman with badge 13 had her turn and left her seat, I decided to occupy her place. There was this Singaporean who smiled and I smiled back. She then asked me if what I will be doing in France and I told her about it. And then I asked her about hers. After that short conversation, I stood up to stretch my legs and then transferred to another seat. The officer was now serving number 16. I would have enjoyed eavesdropping conversations of the three people as I have told from above but then they were talking in Spanish - so didn't understand them. The kid on my right was playing need for speed in his PSP. The woman beside me was eating something crunchy because I was able to hear everytime she chew the food. I was slowly getting drained and tired and you know what it means, I am sleepy. I then realized I did not take my medication. I then planned what to do next after the French embassy thing. After some few minutes, it was already number 18. Then the service became too fast and when the clock struck at 11 AM it was my number being called upon. I then went to the visa officer. I gestured a smile and then gave my papers. She then checked everything. Since, I only photocopied my pass book transactions, she asked me if I have it, so I gave it to her. The she checked and noted something in my application form. I was actually applying for a multiple entry Schengen Visa even if I am only going to France not really on any other EU member country. Good thing I had a photocopy of my Singapore E-pass as she was trying to verify it as well. Then everything went smoothly and returned some of the documents and ofcourse, my passport and passbook. She told me that I needed to pay 120SGD. She then explained to me that my visa will be processed or verified for 10 days and it would take another two days for them to give me the visa. She also added that I need to bring my insurance policy coverage and info the original one as the one I submitted to them was something photocopied and did not have complete information. The officer then gave me the receipt and she wrote there what I needed to bring on the day that I will be claiming my visa.

I was surprised as there was no interview and so I thought maybe it will be on the day I come back together with my insurance policy. It was 11:30 when I got out of the embassy.

I don't really know if I will be approved of the Schengen visa or anything. As I have asked myself, I am not sure. I know it's going to be exciting but then it's going to be work. The pressure would be on me. I know that they are sending me there because they don't have a choice. I am so negative on this because of the fact that I am not really into this project. If I had a choice, I would have wanted someone to be in my place. But then, it's here already, I need to be back to the B.S. robotics mode and function to my intended programming. And besides that, the paranoid in me is yelling about this AH1N1 because it's just lurking around the corner.

I am busy but not really.

I have been quite a busy bee for the past few days. This morning, I arrived in the office at around 9:59AM. I directly started what I have to do which was to install programs on the high tech cards that we have. The one we used in contactless transactions similar to that of the EZLink card here in Singapore. After trying things out and calling someone from the office who has an idea of how to do it, still there were failures in the installation. I was actually trying my best to find ways on getting the tasks done but there are so many things that I can't control. And instead of trying to bring the world upside down, I just relaxed ?

Well after lunch I was still trying out somethings. At around 2:30PM, I had nothing to do. In short, I am in severe stagnation. Most of the questions and clarifications that I have can only be answered by the people in France which for heaven's sake is in a different time zone. The thing is, I have been lectured by my manager about emails that it's the source of all evil or something. So I have learned. The France counterparts are usually starting to work at 5PM here in Singapore. So when I noticed that my contact is online already, I summarized what I had been doing and formulated questions and clarifications. After that, I tried calling my contact but I am always put into this answering machine - a leave a message automation. So all, I could do obviously is just leave a message. Since that contact appeared online, I also left a message there. Hopefully I will get answers the next morning.

Anyway, my team lead approached me and asked me some updates. I narrated to him all the the things that I have been doing. Then the million dollar question was popped, "What are you doing right now?". Then I replied, "nothing". Actually, I was just reading some Java stuff totally not related to the C++ and VB languages I am using in this project. He was not specific so that was my answer. I could have told him that I am reading this and that but totally unrelated to my current task. Well, I just needed a breather from a bit of pressure to have an output on this project. But let me continue. He then said that he needs to know if I am doing nothing because he will be assigning me other tasks from different projects. So I told him that if my contact from France won't reply this day, then I will have nothing to do as I am stuck. So I said that tomorrow it's okay to have a new set of tasks.

The long hours of waiting was like making me so damn weak. I wish time would go offshoot like a comet. I was so in a hurry that when the clock struck at exactly 6:55PM, I packed my stuff and went out of the office. I then went to Guess at Takashimaya to get my new pair of denim.