On Top of Tour Montparnasse

Our second day was a bright sunshiny day in Paris. The blue autumn sky looked promising for our day ahead and we couldn't choose a more perfect time to visit the 210-meter Tour Montparnasse. This lone skyscraper dwarfs the much shorter buildings around it, making it quite easy to spot.

We had been getting ourselves to higher elevations, to see bird's eye views of Paris, knowing we couldn't have possibly roamed Paris in a grander scale because of time constraints. If it's one way to know a bit more of this far away place then, we are in.

Walking around Montmartre

A random street in Montmartre

Having visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacré Cœur, we felt that we had enough for our first day in Paris. After all, we needed to save our energy for the rest of this 2-week trip, the longest I had so far that time ever since I jumped into employment 8 years ago. Getting back to work after that was an ordeal although, the bills had helped me to snap back to reality. haha Anyway, let's not further delve into that.

Coming down from Sacré Cœur, my cousin and I headed down towards the streets in Montmartre. You know, just being random and only an offline map to reassure our way from time to time. I am such an impulsive person that random walks, are some of the things I enjoy the most. For truth be told, it's always liberating to ditch the plans. But Breinn is not always keen on this, sadly. Am I really that strange? And I digress again.

So, we walked around Montmartre, taking in the realness of Paris and hoping we veered away from the tourist crowds as far as possible. (I tell you, it's difficult!)

Sacré Cœur de Montmartre

Basilica of  the Sacred Heart of Paris

Keeping the ground running, we went to our last agenda for the day while taking advantage of our endurance before jet lag kicks in. Sacré Cœur Basilica is located in Montmartre district in Paris. It sits on top of a hill which is the highest point in the city. So, if you want panoramic view of Paris for free, just head over to this hill in Montmartre. And for more sweeping views (because you can't just get enough), you can likewise climb the dome of the church but for a fee.

Paris has been kind to us, the neophytes for we navigated the city in a breeze. Thanks to the city's public transportation that is really convenient. One can figure it out easily even with zero French knowledge. Even though, I don't like crowds in general but this time, I was grateful because the tourist crowd had led us the way from the Metro to the church without us getting lost among the narrow Rues. We couldn't imagine mouthing Sacré Cœur to a local that we might ended up saying just Sacred Heart to save us from obvious shame. haha

To More Sunrises...

I spent three weeks back home last December. A time well spent with family, running around the city for my endless errands, cocooning at our home in the province and putting back some needed weight with my mother's home-cooked meals. Even if a three-week break seems to be long, I still wish it was longer when it ended. I guess, good times always end this way. You always end up wanting more.

While I wonder how time can fly so fast, I think that the precious moments with the ones you hold dear, are the very things that we can refute against time's mockery. Those moments that make lasting memories and those moments that you can look back blissfully. No regrets but only a smile on your face.

I might have been all over the place on this holiday but nonetheless, I was able to squeeze in a very impromptu trip to Argao, a town in Southern Cebu. It was out on a whim that Breinn and I found ourselves getting on a night bus for a 3-hour travel going south. I only packed for thirty minutes. It was delirious, to say the least. But we didn't know that the two following mornings would have us under a spell.