Bon Jour - France, Part 1

After working for a French company for 8 years, I finally "managed" to bring my better half (Jiun) to the supposedly Most Romantic City on earth. Yep... Paris. Of course Jiun was over the moon. As for me, errr... probably the 20th time. Couldn't keep track anymore.

Well, I am to be the travel & eating guide (no brainer). Plus point is after working in the company for 8 years, I do have my contacts in Paris and one fo them is a great friend and he was kind enough to host us during the non-working days of my business trip...ahem...or holiday trip :-)

The last task before we left for Paris was the hardest task. Leaving our 2 year old son with the baby sitter for the next 10 days was no easy feat. The guilt of leaving him while we were to enjoy ourselves was like a samurai sword skewering our hearts. Nevertheless, we had to do it and afterall we needed the break and time off together.

Finally, on the 15th of June and after 12 hours on the plane...forget about the food on-board. Not worth mentioning. We arrived at Charles De Gaulle Paris Airport at 6.30am. As we exited the customs, the ever smiling face of Di (his name) was there to greet us. The plan was to go straight to the north of France where he lives with his wife (he has an aprtment in Paris as well) and we are to spend the next few days there before returning to Paris.

Lille is the place where we will be going. The journey took no more than 2.5 hours. We lugged our luggage into his apartment and this was where the hospitality starts....

Breakfast was served. The spread left us amazed and kicked us into gear....French breakfast.

We had different kinds of cheese. From yummy ones to really awful blue cheese (Roquefort).

The dreaded Roquefort cheese (Blue cheese). I swore not to take a second bite after an attempt many many years ago. Jiun decided to be the braveheart and had a go at it... she nearly pengsan! Hahaha!

Different kinds of hams and sausages. All from different regions of France. As a carnivorous person, I enjoyed the savoury meats.

Bread was homemade of course. Hearty and full of nuts giving a nice nutty flavor. Jiun loved it and vowed to make her own bread once back home. Of course it never happen.

After a nice cup of team for me and an apparent amazing cup of french coffee for Jiun after the hearty breakfast, we unpacked, took a break , Di took us to a quick tour around the city of Lille.

Standy for more of Lille....