Reading time | 7 min 38 sec
One day in June, the weather was terrible, the rain was pouring almost all day long, and yet we eventually meet again. I spent most of my time growing up with them, my young brother and youngest sister. I could say that we're probably the most intimate siblings around the complex, and we understand each other pretty well. We nearly like a close friend, not just sibling.
We planned to meet in Paris, and somehow it went well, we all surprised. At first, my dad thought of visiting me in the UK, but I said I think they'll love Europe more and dad would like to visit Swiss, so I told him it was better to choose Euro Trip tour instead of England.
Husband and I dropped by my family's accommodation in Paris; it was quite far from the centre. I think they stayed at the Mercure Hotel (if I'm not wrong). We went there to visit them on our third day in Paris, we took the metro, and it was quite late at night.
My brother picked me up on the lobby, and we went straight to their room, we were all so loud when we met, and everyone wanted to talk about almost everything! We laughed and shared our stories, they shared about Belgia, Swiss, Germany and Austria, and I shared about my life in the UK. 😂
They gave us so many things! From warm clothes to jacket and chocolates, my parents even gave me money (as a gift). It feels odd to receive money again from them, but I'll take it as a blessing because I know they'd be sad if I rejected them. The feeling of the capability to make sure that all their children are living well is what makes them proud.
Then on the date of eleven, we joined their tour because my parents insisted that they wanted us to have the experience together. I know this kind of thing makes my parents feel that they've worked hard enough so they can bring all their children along on holiday. We couldn't reject it if it were their happiness.
At some point, my husband felt warm for being there together with my parents. He said that he never experienced this kind of feeling before. I felt relieved.
First, we met at the Gallery Lafayette, surprisingly, it was near our flat, just 15 minutes walk. Their tour leader brought them for shopping, it was indeed a one-sided choice to choose despite many other activities they could actually select, in Paris.
My dad was bored to death when we met, he was not in a good mood for sure, and I thought I know why.
My brother was bewildered, he said he was looking for a souvenir store because one of his friends was asking him to get something. I was blindfolded to think that his beautiful day is going to be wasted by looking for a thing that he didn't actually need. But because he seemed so anxious, I escorted him.
Meanwhile, I got myself some croissant because I was bored, and no one can stop me.
My dad waited for my brother outside the store until he decided to join him. They window-shopped through all the souvenir inside for a while. Guess what? The store owner is Indonesian. He shared his story to dad, about how he began his job as a souvenir seller on the road near Eiffel. Then he owned a store now. What an inspiring story!
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On the other hand, my sister and my mom were strolling around the shops and didn't come to join us right away.
After my brother got all the stuff for his friend, he contacted my sis and mom for lunch. Suddenly my bro said that they found a pretty place at the rooftop for lunch and asked us to join them.
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| Inside Galerry Lafayette |
And so my father, my brother, my husband and I, we walked to the new fancy restaurant at the rooftop of Gallery Lafayette and guess what? It's a vegetarian restaurant named Créatures. I didn't bother to look at my dad's face because he looked faceless at that time.
Lol, poor dad, 🤣 I can't imagine him eating french vegetarian food, it must be hard for him.
My dad is the typical Asian dad who prefers Chinese food above anything on the earth, and he doesn't care if the other food is good, he just wants Chinese food. :>
OK, back to the restaurant, my brother, my husband and I happily exploring the space while my mom and sister were busy looking at the menu. My dad didn't even care, I think in his mind, he imagined the Nasi Hainan he saw at a random restaurant downstairs.
But at least he can enjoy the view from the rooftop, I guess it wasn't that lame right, Papa?
The menu is all vegan and vegetarian, they all specially created by the chef with the french cooking style, we couldn't wait for that, except my dad ofc.
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| I have to stick the stickers or else they might kill me because they don't like me posting their picture on social media. LOL |
My dad didn't truly enjoy his food, I felt sorry for him because I think the meal was too little for him, he didn't feel full, but he didn't want to order more because he lost his appetite. I thought I'd buy him a baguette, but I was sure that he wouldn't like my idea.
After our lovely lunch, everyone was happy except my dad, he looked uncomfortable, and I believe it was because he still felt hungry at that time. But we didn't have time left for another lunch, and I thought he wouldn't want to be late. My dad was really tense when it's about time, he never late.
It turned out that the one who late is the other families in our group, we waited for more than 30 minutes. It happens all the time on our other trips as well. So did we care? Nope, because we were busy talking about Paris. But we've lost 30 minutes standing uselessly.
After that, we travelled to the Louvre by bus. The view of the city of Paris was excellent, it was disappointing that my family barely enjoy that inside the bus. Paris is beautiful, you need to walk to see its beauty.
We reached the Louvre shortly, everyone was busy taking pictures, and of course, we've done the same.
The weather was surprisingly unfriendly that day, it was different from the day before. The clouds started to flock upside the Louvre, made the area suddenly gloomy.
We tried to enjoy the time as much as we could because, again, the time was restricted for us.
Then we walked hurriedly to the bus because the wind was getting stronger, we wouldn't want to get wet for sure. The tour leader was going to bring us to the highest building in Paris; it's Montparnasse.
My dad was sneakily taking out money from his wallet, and he gave some euros to the guide, and whispered, "please buy two more tickets for my daughter and her husband, thank you for your help". And he thought we didn't notice, lol.
But my husband was sitting beside him, so of course, he noticed! We previously talked about this one day before, and I was sure that my dad would want us to go up with him. My husband asked me how he should react. I told him that he would feel sorry later if he rejects my dad so just say 'thank you' and enjoy the ride.
It was magical to see Paris from Montparnasse, I'll never forget this moment. I've never imagined that I could be there with my whole family and my husband, it was heart-warming.
Paris from above is like looking at a tiny toy city, amazingly detailed and mind-blowing. I spent some times wandering around while thinking about life. :>
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| Real colours, Paris is so damn pretty. |
And so, we continued our journey to the Eiffel Tower! It was raining quite heavily, aww, I felt sorry for my family because they couldn't see the lady iron at her best. If only they arrived one day earlier, the weather was so much better.
My husband and I quickly helped them to save some spaces for pictures, and we brought them to the prettiest spot with the lady iron in the background. But still, the bad weather affected everyone's mood.
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| AND YES BEFORE LEAVING WE MANAGED TO TAKE ONE, lol. |
The tour leader called us for leaving, and he recommended us a crepe stall beside the road. The crepe maker is an Indonesian student living in Paris. I asked my mom and my sister whether they want one or not, I ordered 3 crepes from the stall. Two Banana Nutella and one Jambon Fromage.
It was good, but I like the one near Les Invalides more.
After the rain washed our sins in Eiffel, we went to Arc de Triomphe, but because the rain was still heavy, everyone stayed inside McD except our family.
While the pouring rain hit our hair, we could see a line of children walking to the Arc. They brought flowers, and there was a marching band, I didn't know what happened, but it was cool. It seemed like something important was going on, but I wasn't sure what was it.
Then we took a boat ride to see the town from Seine river. It's a tour cruise on the Seine to see all the most famous monuments of Paris. The tour leader arranged it, but yes we need to pay more for that.
My dad kindly said, "after this, you two join us to the boat, ok?", we only followed what my dad wished that day, but we didn't expect it'd be this fun. My husband and I feel grateful for that. Thanks, Papa. ♡
We went to the upper deck to enjoy the scenery, despite the strong wind and cold weather, we enjoyed the ride very much. We saw Eiffel Tour and Notre Dame from the boat, it was fascinating. The sky has cleared up as well, so we could enjoy the Paris sky after the rain. It was lovely.
Most of the people in our group stayed inside the boat, including my mom, dad and sister. My brother, husband and I, we remained outside for a while even though it made us freezing. You can't buy the moment twice.
After the boat ride, it was time for us to go. I saw my dad looked sad and worried, my mom and my brother hugged me tightly and said until we meet again. My sister and I cooly gave each other a bro-fist, and said, "bye". LOL
I calmly smile and laugh like the usual, even though it wasn't easy, but I think I did it well. If there's one reason why I want to go back to my hometown, it's because of my family (and my dogs). They are my best friends!
As an introvert, it's unpleasant for me to join a new community because I always avoid people. It doesn't work that way every time, it depends on the person tho.
My anxiety is worst enough to put me in jail, I guess. I can socialise well (that's what people around me saying), but I choose to be a hermit.
A family is truly a treasure for me, I want to appreciate their existence as long as I could. Though I can't do much for them, I try to be there when there is something I can help. My family is not perfect, but at least there is always a place where I can casually state 'home'.
