We went to Angelina for breakfast at about 7.45am. Expensive and atas. Experience was okay, they are quite professional and they have staff who speak English very well. But the tables are really small. Like uncomfortably small hmm.
The famous hot chocolate was deadly. It is good hot chocolate but I never liked hot chocolate sorry. Milo any day
I ordered a cake but unfortunately, it was not in my order form so I skipped it. We had a mont blanc which imo was really yummy. But too sweet so make sure you guys share ah.
The omelette mum ordered (Angelina's Omelette I think?) was really good. Overpriced omelette but still nice.
Cappucino was good
Dad ordered a mix of 3 bread. These were good also.
Would I recommend it... Er no. Most of the deli and coffee and pastries we ate randomly were good enough for us. If you need to be on a budget, Angelina wouldn't be the place to splurge. But if you'd like an extraordinary breakfast then feel free and be my guest. I think it might be money well spent. The pastries do look amazing.
After that, we took the metro to the Hotel De Ville station to find this mall called Le BHV Marias. This place was recommended by our neighbour who stayed in Paris for work. Along the way, there are also some shops we visited but not significant la, look see only.
Wah. I like this mall sia. Fashion on two floors. Stationery and tech on one floor. Home and furnishing on one floor. Everything here was just exceptionally nice to look at and more enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the stationery floor there is so much to buy here. Not super cheap of course but it is a really enjoyable shopping experience. The household items were also so pretty T_T.
Again, toilets on the fifth floor ONLY but no need pay money use as much as you like.
Here are some pics of what we saw and bought.
10/10 would recommend this mall tbh. We spent like... 4 hours here what even.
Please note that men's section is actually a separate building altogether which unfortunately dad didn't have time to go. Poor dad
Tax refund here in this particular mall is amazing we got euros back straightaway. First, we went to the refund counter, where the staff would ask for our receipts and one passport. Then we are given a piece of paper with a barcode.
There are signs located on the ground floor for you to locate this Tax Refund Self-Service Machine.
We proceeded to the floor below, at a corner of the mall where there was a machine. Scan the barcode there and out pops your money in both notes and coins.
Quite fuss free! And we got a lot back immediately compared to the stupid final tax on the last day (tell you more in another post).
We then walked 10 minutes to the Notre-Dame Cathedral and there was this long line to get in and I went oh no what have I done.
The family was starving by this time coz we took a long time to shop and food was still another 10 min walk away. So plus the time spent at the church I would be making everyone too hungry.
The queue to enter the Cathedral was constantly moving and when we went in... I know the queue is worth it. And tbh we were moving for 10 mins la so it was okay. Just hot and sunny only.
You should also take some time to admire the building itself, there is a lot of detail in the architechture and design.
Never knew but inside is like a museum with displays and explanations and stuff. The stained glass was beautiful too and wah.
I really wanna visit again just to see everything. 10/10, just queue up to go in!
We then took a 10 minute walk to this restaurant recommended by Joan (YouTube here) and it is called Chez Gladines Saint-German (44 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris).
Along the way, if you look back you can actually take a nice picture of the Cathedral as well.
The restaurant was almost empty and we were so worried it was closed for dinner prep but AYE IT WAS OPEN PHEW.
We ordered this chicken leg thing and I ordered a foie gras omelette. And two pepsi. Woohoo all our dishes tasted very good. Would recommend this restaurant for an affordable and nice meal. They have other branches in other parts of Paris City also.
I'm not the best at describing food but I'm gonna try. The sauce for this is something I would liken to an atas tomato-based sauce. The chicken leg was tender and the rice was just enough for one person to eat until they are full. Usually portions are either too big or too small but this is just alright.
My foie gras omelette came with fried potato and salad (for an additional €1 only, totally worth it) and it was enough for me and my parents to grab a few bites. There is foie gras inside but not the whole foie gras, more on bits and pieces mixed inside.
After we were done with our meal we wanted to Uber back but omy the bus lanes really messed with my mind. Taxis can enter those lanes but not Ubers. Soooo we decided to just get a cab. Ew. So expensive. €17 for a 10 min trip? Ew, and it was metered also. My subsequent 3 Uber trips were so much cheaper even with a surge price. Please use Uber as much as you can. Don't bother with official taxi stands also. I think flagging one is easy enough.
Please do make sure you get an officially licensed cab. According to the internet, it would write "Taxi Parisan" and have lights.
Rested at the hotel for a bit then went to explore Opera area. We were cheated by some recommendations for Monoprix. WHO RECOMMENDS A SUPERMARKET AS THOUGH IT WAS A MALL. WHO. WALAO EH. I should have trusted my gut feel when I saw Google map and its reviews citing it to be just a supermarket.
So wasted our time, wasted a trip to monoprix. We went up to Citadium (whose basement, occupied by <onoprix was separated from the mall Citadium above). While this small mall was interesting in terms of fashion and streetwear, we didn't get anything we want also. I saw a lot of nice converse, puma suede shoes and other colours and designs that I would see elsewhere but the prices are too steep for my liking. Address of Citadium is Citadium Caumartin - 2ème Étage, 56, Rue De Caumartin, 75009 Paris.
Can you feel my utter disappointment by the utter lack of photos.
Wandered around for food. Unsuccessful. Somehow wandering for food and seeing french food all around really doesn't entice us in any way. Sigh. So. Went back home. And cup noodles all the way.
We brought 10 cup noodles from Singapore. Finished 8 while in Paris wow guys. When I did my research for Paris somehow most people I asked couldn't recommend many places to eat save for the usual steak and fries place (see day 4) soooooo haiz. Please help me by sending some recommendations my way. Desperate le.