We woke up early for the train to Paris. There were lots of young peeps wandering in the street, maybe after partying all night? Well they were chatting and shouting, and I felt a bit unsafe, so I walked quickly to the Gare St. Jean.
We boarded on the TGV to Paris-Montparnasse, and we always get the seat opposing the direction, which sometimes make me dizzy.
Paris is beautiful, yes, but kinda made me feel uneasy sometimes. The Metro was so freaking smelly of piss, and not that clean. Well what do you expect from an old underground tunnel? We arrived at Paris-Montparnasse and took the Metro to Gare du Nord. The Metro is also a bit dirty.
We searched and searched and searched for the hotel, but seems like nobody knows the exact location. Sometimes I just want to hit my dad so hard, 'cos he always so freaking stubborn. I told him to find the map in the hotel's website or something, download it into the phone, and voila (like I always did every time I travel alone)! But he didn't. So after maybe 15 minutes of circling around Gare du Nord, we finally found it.
In Hotel Altona, we were greeted by the receptionist a.k.a the owner a.k.a one of the twins. He welcomed us and after check in, the other twin showed us the room. My dad asked if there's any dinner cruise in the river Seine, and he booked a dinner for two of us, and instructed us on how to get there. He said from Gare du Nord, take the line 4 metro to Strasbourg St-Denis, then change to line 9 to Alma Marceau, and he kept pointing the Pont du Sevres Station, to show us where is the correct final station for the line is. The problem is, I don't know is it because our brain couldn't access his accent or what, but all we get is take the line 9 to Pont de Sevres. Haha what a beautiful mistake.
Anyway, without even realizing our mistake, we went to Arc de Triomphe, and it is so jaw-dropping breathtaking. Thank God I went to this trip ARGH! The Avenue des Champs Elysees is also full of shops, and I did some window-shopping also.
We thought we would arrive on time in 6.45 to where, of course, Pont du Sevres. We asked the station manager where to, and we showed us the receptionist's writing. To be honest both me and my dad couldn't figure out what he had written lol. But lucky the station manager understood and told us to take the metro again and this time, get off at Alma Marceau.
We boarded the train with anxiety, feared that we couldn't make it in time, and I thought the metro was going slower than usual. Finally we got off in like 6.55 or something, and my dad started running like a wild cow. I had no choice but to start running, maybe we looked like crazy tourists for the locals. We arrived in Bateaux-Mouches, and the boat would be departed at 8 pm. We were like whaaaaaat.
After we paid, we were welcomed on the boat, which is dim-lighted in a very romantic way, and the butler, well, not so well-dressed. They wore a stripped shirt which made them look like a prisoner than a sailor. There are two seats every row, on every side of the boat, and to be honest the guests all wore formal wear, and I wore a tank-top. Muahaha *I don't care!
A word of advice if you take this service, choose your window wisely. You will see all the Paris main tourist attraction in the seat, or maybe get up on deck, but it was really cold, very windy, and a lot of flying insects. Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Palais Bourbon, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, all of them. Too bad the cruise is moving a little too fast, and I couldn't get a good photos.
Okay, for the dinner, we had this complete dinner, from appetizer to wine. Because I was having a e allergy so I refused to drink the Lussac Sain Emilion 2008. I chose the beef carpaccio for the starter, and my dad ate the duck foei gras, which tasted weird, and a bit like cheese. Then I had the marinated prawns, I felt like the prawns were not very fresh though, my dad picked lamb roast with rosemary sauce. After cheese, I had iced strawberry meringue vacherin, and raspberry chocolate tart. I wonder why my dad choices are better than mine.
We docked at the same port we got on, and then back to the hotel at maybe 11 pm or more, but the night wasn't pleasant. I was hearing this crying and shouting voices all night long.
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