Living the Expat life in Paris

It has been about ten years since I last went to Paris on holiday!  Some people find it odd that I don't mind revisiting places that I've been to.  I don't find it odd at all!  Big cities have so many things to see and do that you can't see them all on one trip; places change and I and my interests change too.

Anyway, this time round it was very different as my mother and I were visiting my sister and her husband, who are currently working in Paris.  It was an opportunity to experience the life of the expat in Paris.

The Arc de La Defense, from Neuilly-sur-Seine

So first of all, we were not staying in the central Paris area; the Paris planned by Baron Haussman.  We were staying in the prosperous suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, in a small one bedroom apartment within 5 minutes' walk from my sister's apartment (rented off AirBnB).

It's also a straight metro ride to the centre of Paris, and to my sister's office in the La Defense area - Paris' business district.  We paid a visit to La Defense, sat beneath the arc, visited the local Decathlon and walked around the towering, modern office blocks in the area.  It's a totally different Paris! There's also residential blocks in this area, but we were glad that my sister had chosen to stay in the quieter, more traditional Neuilly area.

Trompe L'Oeil wall, Neuilly-sur-Seine

Here, the houses are the traditional 6 to 7 floors high.  What was once an old house has now been divided up into apartments (about two per floor) typically with a caretaker staying on the ground floor.  There are typically shops on the ground floor too - a florist, or baker, or butcher.  You enter through a large front door, big enough to drive a car through. As in the old days this would be a carriage, just beyond the entrance there is a smaller yard area where you can find another building which would be the stables.  My sister's apartment is on the sixth floor, with lovely views over the area.  Our apartment was over the stables, with a view of the yard.  But very quiet, with no traffic noises.

We spent our first day in Paris mostly walking around La Defense and here in Neuilly-sur-Seine.  Whilst there are quite a few restaurants in the vicinity, we typically had nice home cooked dinners most nights.  The local supermarkets are just nearby and there's also this frozen food paradise called Picard (the ultimate in quality and convenience).  We bought our bread from the bakery, our other breakfast items and fruit from the either the supermarket or the little shop at the corner, which was open all hours (run by migrants of course).

Eglise de St Pierre

There are also a number of churches in the area - St Peter's, St John the Baptist.  Handy to get to for Sunday mass.  But we didn't go to either!  Instead we went to the English language church in Paris, St Joseph's (apologies, I forgot to take photos here). It is a smaller, intimate and more modern little church with a very diverse and cosmopolitan congregation.  Including of course all the Singaporeans!  So it was that when we went over for Sunday mass, my mum met two people she knew from our parish back in Singapore.  They too had moved over to France...

For the rest of this trip, we would be visiting many, many more churches.  My mother had decided on a "DIY Pilgrimage" and so we had listed down all the major Catholic sites to see in Paris, plus a few others to visit on day trips.  I'll be slowly covering our visit in my next few posts.

In the meantime, check out this France album for all my shots this trip.

Tokyo: Braving the Storm

Another year, another trip to Japan! 

We arrived in Tokyo on 29 Nov (Sunday) at around 7.30am.  Of course, we had to choose the very day that Tropical Storm Saola was blowing its way past Tokyo, bringing with it warm air and rain.  Lots of rain.  Pouring down, throughout the day.  Not drops, nor light drizzles, but a thorough downpour.  And our apartment would not be ready for us till afternoon.  

The storm would continue to have repercussions on the rest of our trip.  Find out why in subsequent posts.  But that is why I am beginning this account of our Tokyo stay with info about our apartment, because to be honest that was what we saw most of on Day 1.  That and the incessant rain.

Dashi Chazuke En breakfast

Anyway, since we were at Shinjuku station at 9am and no prospect of getting into our apartment till 11.30am, we ended up going for breakfast in the Lumine 1 basement food court.  Fortunately for us, there are lots of yummy Japanese food stalls there and we found this one, Dashi Chazuke En which serves a Japanese rice porridge breakfast.  Your rice comes with a little pot of dashi on the side, which you pour on top of the rice to make a porridge.  I had sea bream with sesame sauce - yummy.  Fortunately, after this comforting yet light breakfast, we managed to get a cab to our apartment.

As in my last visit to Japan, we had decided to stay in an apartment and we got AirBnB to lend us a hand.  Reading through my earlier post, I have to say that my advice to holiday apartment renters (think location, location, location; check that all the facilities you want are available - washing machine, wifi, beds vs. futon issue) remain all quite spot-on.  Our apartment is in Shinjuku, with two nearby metro stations - Shinjuku-Sanchome and Shinjuku-Gyoenmae.  At 40+sqm, it is indeed luxurious, space-wise, compared to the average hotel room in Japan and at a cheaper price too.  Theoretically with its two sofa beds and one bedroom, it can sleep 6 pax but that would be a tight squeeze.  It’s just nice for the two of us.  There are lots of supermarkets/convenience stores around, and little restaurants for a bite of dinner should we not want to wander about too much.  

Indeed, we were not inclined to wander too much that first day.  Our apartment was still being cleaned when we got there so we left our bags and tried to explore the area.  But the rain continued to pour down so heavily that even our short visit to scout out the nearby convenience stores ended up with our shoes getting thoroughly soaked.  We ended up buying food in the convenience store and bringing it back to our apartment for lunch!  How sad for our first lunch in Japan!  Of course, with the rain continuing to pelter down, we ended up staying in all afternoon and only went out for dinner.  But it was still raining, so we ended up walking around Shinjuku Station and doing some shopping in the departmental stores and shopping centres in the area.

Not a very exciting first day in Japan.  But at least we managed to settle down in our cosy little apartment.

Going Local: Holiday Apartment Living

What we did quite differently this trip to Japan was to try some apartment living (interspersed by a night in a ryokan).  This was prompted partly by the high hotel rates (thanks to the autumn leaves) and partly because they are so much more spacious than the tiny hotel rooms you get in Japan!

Home away from home

In Kyoto, we stayed in a small house in the Gion neighbourhood (the quieter, southern part of Gion) with a sitting/dining/kitchenette area downstairs and two bedrooms (one western style i.e. With beds and one Japanese style ie with futons!) upstairs.  It is not a traditional machiya but it is a snug cosy place (thanks to the gas heater) and we liked it very much.  It is not that easy to find, being at the end of a small alleyway tucked in between two buildings on the main road.  But thanks to the excellent directions given, we were able to find it.    Our "travel angel" let us into the house - we were so early getting there that the house was still being cleaned from the last tenant (cleaner is an elderly Japanese man), so he first proceeded to give us a little tour of the area, and showed us where the local supermarket was, and gave us little tips about the eateries around us.

We took one of his suggestions later that evening, and went to eat at the local Okonomiyaki restaurant around the corner.  The shop was a one-woman-operation.  She was a bit abrupt but then we didn't speak the language.  Tried to order the grilled tofu the guy next to us was having but she pulled out her English menu and got us to order from it.  Looks as though she has her own way of dealing with the foreign tourists who turn up, as opposed to her "regulars".  Halfway through our meal a Malaysian couple arrived.  We were able to guide them through the ordering process.  And also to explain what "Okonomiyaki" was. (They were hoping for teppanyaki, I can tell).

A tea house or ochaya near our house

Another night, we wanted to have dinner at a restaurant near our place.  We wandered around the area but must have made a wrong turn, as the street we ended up in was a row of tea houses or ochaya - the sort where the geisha entertain in!  We heard music and clapping coming from one teahouse, and some samisen music from another.  Admission, clearly, was by invitation only.  We finally found the row of restaurants, but one was closing (at 8pm!) and the other was selling hamburger..... so we picked up dinner at the supermarket and went back to our little home away from home and ate it off our breakfast bar.  How pleasant it was to be able to kick off one's shoes and rest on our comfy low sofa and table, before eating sashimi and potato croquets.  We finished our meal with the persimmons and sweet pancakes we bought from the stalls at the subway station.

In Osaka, we had an apartment also but quite clearly we were only supposed to sleep there and not

My bed, and bed companion

Much more.  The entrance lobby opens up on one side into the laundry area and shower, and on the other side into the room for the WC.  Another door leads you to the main apartment, which is divided by Japanese-style screen walls into a main kitchen-cum-sleeping area, another sleeping area and a third Japanese style room with futons stacked up on the side.  So this little apartment, with one shower and one WC, can sleep SEVEN people in total!  Dormitory style accommodation indeed.  (Our Kyoto apartment at most can host four).   There was no eating area per se, you are not really meant to sit and eat in the apartment unless in the Japanese room where there was a low coffee table.  It was not as clean as our Kyoto residence and the kitchen was not as well equipped.  But it was nice and roomy, and I really liked the company of the Snoopy stuffed toy.  

There are, I realised, a few things to look out for when renting apartments in Japan.  First, the standard rule where it comes to properties - location, location, location.  Where exactly do you want to stay?  Near lots of eateries, shopping, or in a quiet neighbourhood where you can feel like a local?  Do you intend to make lots of day trips, in which case being next to the station could be very useful and important to get that early start to the day?  

Second, check on how the house is furnished and equipped.  Does it have wifi, for example, or a washing machine?  Another tip, relevant perhaps especially for Japan - to check on the type of beds.  In particular, if the apartment has western style beds or Japanese futons.  Futons are all very well for a single night but for multiple nights, give me a proper bed!  

Third, whether you want to be met or not.  Both our apartments were accessed off a small little alleyway (not a side road, an alleyway) and you can't take for granted that the directions given are correct.  So it is very reassuring to have a person to call in case of need.  It was also good for someone to tell us how to use the equipment, advise on when and where to dispose of rubbish and so on.  For example our Kyoto travel angel told us which rubbish bag was for our glass/plastic/ aluminium containers and which was for the other items.  And if there is, say, defective equipment, it can be rectified quickly or at least it is quite clear that you didn't break it.

One last point.  We went through a company, Japan Experience (google "Japan Experience Kyoto holiday apartment" and you should be able to find it) for our Kyoto apartment and for Osaka, got the booking off Agoda, where it was rented by an individual.  May be better to deal with a company, just for the more consistent service and better backup it provides.

Anyway, the more I travel around the Japan, the more I realise how convenient everything is and how easy it is to get around even for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language.  And that from a complaint-prone Singaporean, is saying something indeed!

More photos on this trip (in general) can be found on my Flickr album.