Spectacular France

Paris is the City of Lights so make sure to wait for the sun to set (even if it goes down so late like past 10pm on the weekend we went there last year). The best way to see the city at night is to go on a cruise at River Seine (about 10 euros or P650). Plus, the Eiffel Tower, with its dancing lights at night, is a marvel to watch. But you have to see the Eiffel and go up the tower during the day too for a spectacular view of Paris.

Museum entrance fees are usually free every first Sunday of the month (lucky us when we visited the Louvre!). But whether entrance fees are free or not, the queue at the main entrance of the Louvre is always long. Try using the Carrousel du Louvre entrance - it's the same entrance which Silas took when he killed the museum curator in Da Vinci Code.

We were able to visit the Museo de Orangerie and saw paintings of Monet, Renoir, Matisse and Picasso. Paintings that I also liked were that of Utrillo and Derain -artists whom I only discovered there. We also strolled along the Tuileries Garden and I enjoyed watching people enjoy life!:)

BTW, when boarding a cab, the front passenger seat isn’t for occupancy. So if you’ll occupy it, drivers will charge extra. But it’s really expensive to take a cab – just within the city, to & from our hotel, the cost was approximately P1700!

Meals cost about 10-20 euros (P650-1,300). For a universal benchmark, a McDo value meal costs about 8 euros (P520). Bottled water and canned softdrinks in restaurants & tourist places is about 2.50 euros (P160!). The best place to buy bottled water is in supermarkets – it’s only 0.25 euros:)

We were also able to visit Lourdes. Just like Fatima, it was place where you will be moved by the pilgrims' unwavering faith. During the procession, people in wheelchairs, crutches, stretchers and even hospital beds participated. A sight that I couldn't also forget was that of a boy pushing his sister's wheelchair while his dad carried 2 gallons of Lourdes water. When they reached the uphill climb going to the basilica and the boy couldn't push, the dad had to push the wheelchair and carry the gallons of water at the same time. I felt my petitions were nothing compared to everyone else's. 

We were also able to visit the house of St. Therese the Little Flower (one of my favorite saints) in Lisieux:)