Europe Travelogue Day 8: Paris

You can read my previous posts here:
Day -1, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 , Day 4, Day 5 & 6, Day 7

After spending seven days in London, it was time to set off to Paris. We bought train tickets from the Eurostar (£39 = SGD 80), which will allow us to reach Paris in 2.5hrs. However, we missed the train cus I wanted to get some snacks from Marks&Spencer to eat on the train. I was duly punished for my gluttony! Contacted the staff there about our situation and for a few minutes I was worried we had to shell out another sum of money to buy the tickets again. My worry was unfounded as they put us on the next train at no cost but we had to sit on uncomfortable seats between the carriages.

So after two hours we arrived at Gare Du Nord station, Paris! Our hotel in Paris was just across the street from the train station, so we went to drop our luggages and went to find a restaurant for lunch!

My first impression of Paris wasn't great cus I could smell stale pee whenever we walked past any small alleys and there were some people hanging around our area who seemed like they were up to no good. Furthermore, French people do not translate anything to English!!!! While we were in the random restaurant for lunch, the waitress had to explain to us what each thing on the menu was because everything was in French. I had to use Google Translate! Made me feel so stressed up whenever I see an menu.

First stop: Arc De Triomphe

The interior of the Arc. Subsequently we saw more Arcs but I guess this is the most famous one! Arcs are built to celebrate war victories and commemorate those who died.  From the building of Arcs and refusing to translate anything to English, I deduce that they must be very proud of their culture/being French.

From the Arc, we walked the underpass to Champs Elysees. The Arc is just in front of the famous shopping street. As you can see below, the Arc is at the centre, with a lot of roads converging towards it. The road was quite chaotic because there were no traffic light around the area.

 Champs Elysees. The street looks prettier than Orchard road, with the Victorian style buildings

Of course we couldn't miss out Laduree!!

MMMMM... Actually I can't remember the taste already, but I remember I liked it better than Pierre Herme.

Last shot of the Arc

We walked in the direction of the Eiffel Tower as it was nearby. The river next to us should be the Seine river.

Since we were hungry, we headed to Aud Petite Sud Ouest first! L looking at the menu.

For starters, we ordered Foie Gras with truffle sauce. I can't remember the price but it was only around SGD 20+? For three thick slabs of foie gras with truffles!! So worth it! I want to eat it now :( But I can't cause it would cost me a bomb in Singapore...

We both ordered the duck confit, it was so crisspyyy!!

After our tummy were filled, we walked to the grass patch in front of Eiffel Tower and took some photos! While I was right in front of the tower, it felt so surreal! I have seen photos of this famous structure so many times and never thought I would be to see it in the flesh

We reached the Tower at about 7pm. The sun was up for a long time during May and it only turned dark at like 9pm+

Lots of people chilling around and Middle Eastern people (not sure, but they looked Middle Eastern to me) earning a quick buck by going around selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs and wine. I was a sucker and I bought a miniature Eiffel Tower, which lights up.

We stayed till it lit up at like 9pm!! So pretty! We quickly left after that because we were worried about our safety. I felt less safe in Paris compared to London.

We walked to the nearest subway station and took the train home! I hate taking their trains!! Their trains and signs are so confusing, worse than in Japan. That day, we had to wait 30 mins for the train to come! We were so worried that the last train left already, but thank goodness it came after 30 mins. So freaking long!!! Only cool thing about their trains is some of them are double decked!

That's the end of Day 8 in Paris

"Should I buy insurance?"

Has this question ever crossed your mind? As we come of age, insurance is one of the things we have to think about.

My answer to this question is, it depends on the type of insurance. I would buy casualty insurance which would pay me when an unexpected incident strikes, but I definitely would not buy any investment-linked insurance.

I think casualty insurance is useful because the probability of the something bad happening is low but the downside is large. I am willing to pay a small amount of money a month for a peace of mind. The insurance payout can offset the trauma I'll likely feel if an unexpected incident occurs so I can sleep well at night, knowing that I won't suffer a large loss if something untoward happens to me or my property.

Then, lets move on to investment-linked insurance.

In an investment-linked insurance you pay the insurance company a fixed sum of money per month/year, then you get back a big sum of money after a long time. Basically, the insurance company will help you invest your money in the markets, then pay you the returns + principal a few years later. Most of the time, they invest in bonds and stocks.

So why don't I like investment-linked policies?

1. Do you know that insurance agents take a cut of the premiums you pay as their commissions?  I believe they take around 50% of the premium you pay for the first year, but the cut they take will slowly decrease as the years pass.

This means that the money they invest for you is lesser than what you paid for, and this will result in a lower return because of the power of compounding.

An example:

Let's say you invest $4 a year for 10 years, assuming a return of 10%, you will receive $70.12 at the end. Rate of return = 12%

If there's commission, you pay $4 a year but they'll only help you invest $2 for the 1st year , $3 for the 2nd year, then $4 for the rest of the years. You will receive $62.57. Rate of return = 10%.

By giving your insurance agent a commission, the return of your investments fell by 2%.

2. Insurance companies take your money and invest it in the bond and stock market. Do you know you can do the same? Why should you pay them to invest your money when you can do it yourself. Just set up an account with any local brokerage and you can invest in the same securities as they do!

Insurance companies are usually very conservative. To mimick their returns, you can build a conservative portfolio as well. Invest your money in blue chips like banks (OCBC, DBS, UOB), SPH, Singpost, SIA... These companies are very stable and they pay out dividends every year. Take the dividends and reinvest. You will likely get a higher return when you DIY compared to the insurance company. This is because they need to pay their employees to run the investments. If you invest in the market on your own, all the dividends GO TO YOU. And naturally you get a higher return. Simple as that.

In view of the two points above, I would definitely recommend you to DIY! You might think that you don't know the stock market enough to invest. Then my advice to you: it's time to read up! Investing in stocks and bonds is a good way to prepare for your retirement. If you just keep putting your money in bank accounts, the bank's interest rates never fight inflation & you will slowly watch your money erode away.

Of course, I am not saying there are no downside risks in investing in the stock market. Two ways to minimize the risk in my opinion are to to invest in blue chips (which have a very low probability of collapsing) and diversify. In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket!

Steaks & jogging

Steaks & jogging, the two things I am obsessed with this week.

Out of the blue, my siblings and I talked about eating steaks over dinner. I eat beef, but I've never fancied steaks cus I got the impression that they were very tough and bloody. Furthermore, I hate food that requires a lot of chewing! Out of curiosity, I went to google how to cook steaks and I chanced upon these two videos!

WATCH!



Even though Gordon Ramsay is really mean in real life, I love his videos! The pace is fast and catchy. & he makes it seems like every dish is easy to cook! I don't think it's so easy to cook steaks because it has to be cooked just right for it to be juicy.



Jamie Oliver gave more details.

After watching these two videos, I was raring to cook and eat some steaks myself. I even went to Cold Storage to see the steaks on sale (lol, I know, why am I so 无聊?) and each slab of steak only cost like $5?! So tempted to buy! However, my father does not allow the consumption of any beef products in our house because he worships 观音 at home. Sighhh :(

Since I can't bring anything beef home, I went to google for restaurants to get my steak fix. In the end L and I went to <Aston's Steaks & Salads> for dinner after work one day.

I ordered a ribeye steak done medium rare, which includes a salad buffet ($31.90).

 Yummy!! Love the juiciness and it was chewy in a nice way!

Looked ugly here so I put a strong filter and post it up anyway lol.

L with his steak

Below are photos of the salad buffet line. I like their sauteed mushrooms & potato salad!

Drinks and dessert were free flow too. It was a good meal but we could probably go for the cheaper option without the salad buffet.

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Now about jogging, my second obsession since last week. I felt like my lifestyle was unhealthy after I started working. I would eat lunch and just sit at my seat all day long afterwards. I don't know why but I would still feel hungry at 4+ and I would eat a digestive biscuit so that my stomach doesn't growl. All in but no out.

So last last weekend, I went to get a new pair of running shoes at Queensway. I love it!!! Took me one hour + to decide on this pair of shoes.

Afterwards, I set a routine of jogging around my house at least twice a week. My speed is still pretty slow. When I ran for the first time in like 12345 years last Monday, I took 23.30 to run 3 km. I'll hit the 2.4 km mark at 18 mins, then I would slow down because I always feel like shit by then but I'll force myself to hit 3 km at least. I managed to shave 1 min off my running time after four sessions. Hoping to continue to increase my speed, then I'll try to improve the distance.

There's just so much inertia to go running after work. I normally feel very sleepy, I would even fall asleep on the bus back if I got a seat. To make myself feel better, I'll take a short nap before heading for a jog. Two things that motivate me to run are: the opportunity to wear my pretty jogging shoes & how my face looks after the run. 

Because I almost look pale all the time unless I eat something spicy. I still remembered a classmate commented that I looked like a drug abuser cus I looked very pale and had very dark eye circles while I was in secondary school :(

At least after a run, I feel and look good! (or so I think)

How long will this obsession last? I'm hoping at least two months because previously I have tried to set routines but I always give it up in less than 1-2 months. 

Europe Travelogue Day 7: Harry Potter Studio Tour

You can read my previous posts here:
Day -1, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 , Day 4, Day 5 & 6

For the last day in London, we headed to the Harry Potter Studio on the outskirts of London, at Watford. L booked the tickets online for a fixed time. However, we took the wrong train and ended being late but they said it was okay so we just went in. I thought the studio tour was quite pricey, £31 (SGD 62) for a 2-3 hour tour.

Let the pictures speak for themselves

Us trying out the butter better! It was nice, a bit like the black tea macchiato Koi has.

They had a comprehensive souvenir store but I couldn't bring myself to buy anything cus everything was so pricey! Usual for Harry Potter merchandise I guess. L paid extra for the butter beer cup so he brought that back.

After the tour, we headed back to London to visit their Natural History Museum. We mainly looked at dinosaur stuffs

For our last dinner in London, we picked a restaurant we liked for a second taste & we chose Burger and Lobster!!

L looks so happy with his lobster claws.

Me with mine

I wanna Burger and Lobster again!!

With that, we concluded our London trip and headed to Paris the next day.

Europe Travelogue Day 5 & 6: London, Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge

You can read my previous posts here:
Day -1, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3  & Day 4

For day 5, we went to another market called Camden market. I realized I didn't have a photo of it anywhere... The market was pretty average, but I bought some souvenirs for my friends there.

After that we headed to Tate Modern, which is an art gallery in front of the famous bridge in Harry Potter. Sad to say I don't appreciate art very much, but at least there are some explanations on the wall which helped a bit.

An interesting exhibit (must be, cus that's my only photo of the musuem lol)

The modern looking bridge!

A photo I took while on the bridge. You can see the tower bridge from this photo if you look carefully!

After that we went to watch Jerseyboys... which I didn't really enjoy. I should have known at first glance because almost everyone in the audience was >50 years old. I don't even know the group "The Four Seasons", who was really famous in the 1960s, much less their songs. We should have spent the money on Wicked or Lion King instead! But oh well...

That was the end of Day 5. It was a meh kind of day.

On Day 6, we signed up for the Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge (all of which were at the outskirts of London) tour using Viator. I thoroughly enjoyed myself because we just sat on the coach and waited to arrive at our destination instead of looking for directions everywhere. The tour was quite pricey though, as with all Viator tours, but I would say it's worth it because they managed to cover so many attractions in a day. Downside is we couldn't spend more time in each place because we had a tight schedule to adhere to.

Our first stop was Windsor castle:

Windsor castle is the Queen's weekend home. It's a good alternative to visit given that the Buckingham Palace is out of bounds unless you're a VIP of the royal family. The weather was perfect that day with a blue sky. Picturesque.

 

We were able to enter the State Apartments (where the royal family entertain their guests) and the St George's Chapel. All the rooms in the State Apartments were beautifully adorned by paintings, chandeliers and tapestries. It was all very royal looking.

We were quite lucky to chance upon the changing of the guards ceremony as well. In the Windsor 

castle, we can take photos with the guards. Meanwhile in London, it was not allowed after some tourist tried to assault one of the guards and to protect himself, the guard knocked the tourist unconscious.  

After Windsor, we headed to Bath. This town has the only natural hot spring in the UK.

Some church nearby

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Roman baths. It was built when London was under Romans' rule

Other than the roman bath we visited, we walked around in the quaint little town.

Then it was time to visit the highlight of the trip, Stonehenge! I was so excited!!!

Stonehenge stood somewhere out of nowhere. Our bus stopped nearby and we took another bus up to look at the Stonehenge up close.

Photo taken from my iPhone, enhanced by VSCOcam.

It's pretty cool isn't it. Some ancient people built this massive structure and now nobody knows what is it for. Some people it is to worship the gods, others say it's to tell time. But no one really knows... How did they even build such a massive structure in ancient times??

On the other side, there were sheeps grazing on the grass. The grass looks so green! Can I live there pls?

 The wind was extraordinarily strong at the site, so our hair were perpetually flying everywhere.

With that, we headed back to London...

I'm damn old

For my birthday last week, L and I headed to Pasarbella for lunch.

Pasarbella is located at Turf city and I always thought it was very far away for me cus I stay in the North-East. Apparently not! I met L at Toa Payoh and there was a free shuttle bus to Turf city. I think the bus took like 10 mins max to reach. The concept of Pasarbella is like Marche so you can buy different food from different vendors to try.

We tried out the Paella and something like "Three types of meat" dish, cant remember the name. The paella was awesome!!! The steak in the other dish was nice and succulent as well. Overall, the place gave me a very good impression and I would love to go again.

L got me a Kindle for my birthday present and I am v happy with it! I've revived my book reading habit recently, cus I've got plenty of time to myself on the weekends even if I go out for one of the days. So far I'm able to find the books I wanna read on the web, then load it in my Kindle. The loading process made me feel like I'm using iPod again cus I can choose whatever type of book covers I like!

At night we headed to Kushi Bar. It's a Japanese buffet place and I was really looking forward to it as it has been awhile since I had Japanese food.

Sashimi platter

Oysters!

The spread.

Second round of sashimi, which I loveeeee.

Us at the restaurant! Realized we don't take much photos nowadays. Will try to take more photos of ourselves instead of food lol.

So, this was how I spent my birthday. Like any other weekend...