1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #397 - Champs Elysees & Princess Diana's Memorial, Paris

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #397

- Champs Elysees & Princess Diana's Memorial, Paris

 

(Is this done here at Champs Elysees every New Year's Day - no cars allowed, pedestrians only? We couldn't help but jumped for joy - literally. With the Xmas market along both sides of the road having wound down, the width of this most famous of boulevards seems wider than I initially thought. We took the opportunity to also visit Princess Diana's memorial, atop the very tunnel that the accident took place. We thought this is an actual memorial built for her - turns out, this Flame of Liberty became the de-facto memorial by virtue of its position at the Place de l'Alma)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #396 - Place de la Concorde and Grand Palais, Paris

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #396

- Place de la Concorde and Grand Palais, Paris

 

(Walking out from our hotel towards Champs Elysees on New Year's Day in -2C temperature was a pleasure. Paris was experiencing a cold blast, which gave this famous Fountain of Commerce Navigation at Place de la Concorde a very arctic look - icicles all along this fountain! This large public square saw many executions in the 1700s, including King Louis XVI and Marie Annoinette, the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. We had to stop too at the Grand Palais - venue for Victoria Secret's first Paris show. Imagine walking inside this beautiful glass-domed palace on the runway, if you are a model - 51 angels did just that last month)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #395 - Mercure Opera Garnier, Paris

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #395

- Mercure Opera Garnier, Paris

 

(Paris in the winter has such a warm cozy feel for us - the croissant, the Xmas window displays - but this time, we felt like next-door residents here when we realised that our hotel - Mecure Opera Garnier - was a mere stone's throw away from Printemps and Galeries! What a pleasant surprise, especially since we woke up to my special day 31Dec - and yes, we made full use of our neighbourly Galeries alright. When the LV saleslady realised that it is my  birthday, we couldn't say no to their glass of champagne to toast to my day - who cares if it is 11am in the morning. Our lovely lunch at Angelina's added to the atmosphere. Many happy returns, indeed! As for the best Xmas window displays, Jimmy Choo's takes the cake this year - see video below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #394 - Courmayeur, Italy

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #394

- Courmayeur, Italy

 

(Our 3rd leg, after seeing France and Switzerland, is now Italy - the enchanting little town of Courmayeur. After the rush to get the bus tickets, we were off in a coach full of skiers, heading into what must be the longest 11km of tunnel in the Alps. At the other end, after a passport check by the Italian cops, we are right in the middle of Courmayeur, the highest Italian town at 1224m. Just look at the surrounding views - a little piece of Italian paradise. Topping off our day trip was an excellent authentic Italian seafood pasta dish, washed down by their minestrone soup. People talking French there, people talking Italian here the next minute - a bit of a cultural disorientation)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #393 - Annecy, France

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #393

- Annecy, France

 

(The train ride to this southeastern French town was eerily foggy but upon arrival, Annecy opened up as a charming French town at the tip of Lake Annecy. It's been called the Venice of the Alps, and now we can see why, with its canals coursing through the old town. It is full of character, and with Xmas just passed, the foodstalls were still lining along the cobbled-stone side streets. We must have had the best pork, sausage and froglegs combo ever from these streets - and the guy who sold it even spoke Malay, how's that for coincidence. It took about almost 2hrs on the train to get here from Chamonix, but it's worth every minute of it)