[Europe] Luxembourg Gardens in Summer

Summer always identic with something colorful. When you go to the garden, you will see the flowers bloom, with the beautiful colors. That's what i see in Luxembourg Gardens, Paris.

It was the last day for us in Paris. We started that day by going to Luxembourg Gardens, the beautiful garden in Paris. We went at 9 am in the morning, and we just realized the weather was really different than the other days before. It's hot and the humidity level was really high. So this is how summer in Paris feels like.

Even though the weather was scorching, i still enjoy the atmosphere here. Not just me, i also spotted some artists (the Parisian maybe), sitting on the chair, and painted the garden with the Luxembourg Palace as the background. 

If you have kids,  you can go to the playground which available there. However i didn't have much time. I had to go to another place. So we just walked around at the garden. But my daughter also happy with that.

You can visit Luxembourg Gardens in every season. However, you can get this beautiful scene only in summer. The lawns, the tree-lined promenades, and the colorful flowerbeds, everything looks amazing. We were chillin' for about an hour, and enjoyed the quite atmosphere at this garden, before we continued our trip. This is a very good place for hanging out with your family. 

Luxembourg Gardens can be reached by taking RER train, and stop at "Luxembourg" station. They open between 07.30 AM and 08.15 AM.They close between 04.30 PM and 09.30 PM, according to season. There's no entrance fees to go to this garden. 

Léon de Bruxelles , Champs-Élysées - Paris

Champs-Élysées is a must place to go in Paris, no matter how much the time do you have. Beside the iconic Arc de Triomphe, this place also known for The Best Place for Shopping. Get tired after walk and shopping?? You can take a rest at one of the restaurants /cafe which is available along this street.

Some people said that the restaurants and cafe at Champs-Élysées is a tourist trap. They serve a standard quality foods, and charge us with the high price. All they have is only a good location, and we only pay for that. But it's not true!!! I had a dinner at Léon de Bruxelles, and we really like it..

Léon de Bruxelles is a restaurant which famous for their mussels. They have a lot of branches in Paris. But we chose to eat at Champ-Élysées branch, since we were there at the right time for dinner. Otherwise, they also have a very good location, near Arc de Triomphe, and that's one of the reasons why this restaurant is always busy.

For the appetizer we chose "The Rustic Warm Goat Cheese Salad". Actually, i couldn't say it's an apppetizer. The portion was really huge. You can share this for 4 - 5 peoples. I like the bacon on the top of salad. However i didn't like the goat cheese. To be honest, that's the first time i ate goat cheese, i think there's a bad smell on it which i don't like.

The Rustic Warm Goat Cheese Salad €12,4

We also ordered their specialities, MUSSELS!!! They have various menu of mussels. We chose "Mussels with King Prawns and Calamari in a Plancha" and "Meridional Mussels Gratin".

Mussels with King Prawns and Calamari in a Plancha €18,7

Meridional Mussels Gratin €14,5

The mussels i ordered, tasted so so good. It didn't smells fishy at all. All the mussels that i ordered, cooked with tomato sauce. I chose it because I like the sour taste of the tomatoes which will make the mussels tasted fresh and delicious.

Beside the mussels, we also ordered "Burgers the Léon way". That's a minced meat burger with two potato patties prepared as the burger buns. They use mustard, ketchup, tartar sauce as the dressing and i really like it. Even though the meat was little bit dry, but the delicacy of the potato patties makes me in love with this burgers.

Burgers the Léon way (with cheese) €13,2

Overall, i really like all the foods they served. I don't know whether because of shellfish is my favorite food, but this restaurant is worth a try when you're in Paris. Yummy food, affordable price, and a good location, those are 3 things that make me Léon de Bruxelles. Do you want a different atmosphere? You can try to sit outside, and enjoy your food in the crowd of Champs-Élysées.




Léon de Bruxelles
Address : 63 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France
Phone : +33 1 42 25 96 16
Website : http://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/
Opening hours :
Sunday - Thursday : 11.45 AM - 12 AM
Friday - Saturday : 11.45 AM - 1 AM

[Europe] The Best Street for Shopping in Paris

Everybody knows, Paris is a heaven for shopaholic, especially if you are a fan of luxurious branded goods. Just say Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, these brands very popular among socialite, fashionista, even Hollywood celebrity. And those brands come from Paris.

In Paris, you can find these brands almost in every shopping places. Galeries Lafayette and Printemps  are the famous department store in Paris, and they also have these brands at their store. However, when you're shopping, you must be need a good place, with a good atmosphere. So you can enjoy choosing the stuff that you want. For sure, you will not find this atmosphere at the crowded place, which full of tourists.

Well, at this post, i will write about the best street in Paris, which have a nice atmosphere for shopping. I write this based on my experience, during my trip in Paris.

1. Rue Saint Honoré
I started my shopping time from this street, which located right after Place Vendome. It was the first time i felt like Parisian. Hopping from 1 store to another store.  I almost didn't see any tourists at this area. Many branded shops has their own store, such as Emporio Armani, Tom Ford, Jimmy Choo, Roberto Cavalli, and many more. Even they have more than 1 floor which means they have more collections that you can choose. At this street, you also can go to Chanel Cambon, the famous store for Chanel.

2. Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Known as the largerst Hermes store location, this street become famous for Hermes lover. Even though this store has 3 floors, but it always full of people who wants to get the "Orange Box". This street still connected with Rue Saint Honoré. I could say, they at the same street. These streets only lined with the large intersection. FYI, from this intersection, you can see the beautiful L'église de La Madeleine.

Beside the Hermes store, you can find another high-end  brand at this street. Valentino, René Caovilla, Prada, Lanvin, you can find their store along this street. If you want to have more time to shopping here, i suggest you to stay at the hotel at this street. This area is really good for stay and really safe. You can walk out without worry about the pickpockets. I suggest you to stay at Buddha Bar Hotel or Hotel Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg (which located right in front of Hermes store) for luxurious stay. If you're looking for the cheaper option, you can stay at Hotel de Castiglione .

3. Avenue Montaigne
If you ask me what's the most luxurious street in Paris, i will say "Avenue Montaigne". Actually i never had a plan to go to this street. Even i didn't know about this street. But, while i was looking for Valentino Rockstud Heels at Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and they didn't have the size that i wanted. The Sales Assistant told me that Valentino store at Avenue Montaigne have the size. So we decided to go there. Otherwise, he told me that the location it's not far. We could reach it by walking.

So here we are, at the big, quite, and the most luxurious street in Paris. Peoples walk fashionably, wearing the high-end brand on their body. Sometimes we also saw the luxury car passing by. Before we reached Valentino store, we passed the most famous and beautiful hotel in Paris, Hôtel Plaza Athénée . Call me crazy, but i have to tell you this hotel is totally amazing. The building is decorated beautifully, with the red flower in every window. It made me stopped for a while to take some pictures in front of this luxury hotel.

Avenue Montaigne is the right place to go for a luxury shopping. All stores in this street are very huge. It feels more private to shop here. They also gave us a good service. We really enjoy it. For sure, this street become my favorite place for shopping in Paris.

4. Champs-Élysées
Who doesn't know this street? Champs-Élysees is a famous street in Paris. With the big pedestrian street, you can walk along this street, and shopping from one store to another. Not just the high-end brand, you can shop for a mid-range brand in here, such as Morgan, Sephora, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc. 

Beside known as a shopping area, Champs-Élysées also famous for Lido show, Arc de Triomphe (the landmark of Paris), and various restaurants or cafe along the street. So, after shopping you can take a rest at one of restaurant / cafe, and enjoy the view of Arc de Triomphe. 

~ Well, what's your favorite street? ~

Le Soufflé, Rue du Mont Thabor - Paris

Are you looking for the best soufflé in Paris? Then you should go to the Le Soufflé. Located near the Place Vendôme, this restaurant serves the most delicious soufflé in Paris. No wonder you need to make reservation a few days before, especially if you have a big party in your group.

We're going to Le Soufflé for late lunch, around 2 pm after had a nice stroll at Cours-la-Reine. First time we entered the restaurant, we felt surprised because the place was really small. However, the interior is so beautiful, simple and chic. It makes a quite atmosphere and we like it.

They have a variety of menus to choose, and the waitress well explained to us about the food. We ordered a main course, and soufflé (of course!!). Unlike another restaurants who only serve sweet soufflé as a dessert, Le Soufflé also serves savory soufflé as appetizer and main course. I was curious about the taste of savory soufflé. That's the reason why I want to eat here.

Salade Verte de Saison (Green Salad) €7

Côtelettes Agneau (Lamb Chops)  €25

Even though the lamb chops has a small cut, but it tasted good. The meat was juicy and tender. I like to eat that especially with the sauce. Yummm.

Soufflé Henri IV Sauce Volaille aux Champignons €16

My choice for the savory soufflé was the cheese soufflé with sliced chicken and mushroom sauce. It was the first time i ate savory soufflé and i totally like it!!! Cheesy flavor inside the soufflé, mixed with the creamy mushroom sauce, that's a perfect combination. The sliced chicken also cooked perfectly. It's so tender and really match with the sauce. It's amazing...

Another recommend menu is Soufflé Pistachio with Chocolate sauce (€11) I ordered this soufflé as a dessert. It has a fluffy texture and the right consistency. When i ate that, it's just like melting inside my mouth. Pistachio flavor on the souffle (which not too strong), mixed with the chocolate sauce, it's a perfect combination. It's not too sweet as i was thinking before. Everything in this soufflé, make it become the best soufflé i ever ate.

I was really satisfied with all the foods they served. Just for infomation, their soufflé has a very big portion. If you're not in hungry mood, I strongly recommend you to order the soufflé for share. The price little bit too pricey, but it's all worth with the taste.

Le Soufflé
Address : 36 rue Mont Thabor , 75001 Paris
Phone : 01 42 60 27 19
Email : restaurant.lesouffle@gmail.com
Website : www.lesouffle.fr

Skin Care for Winter Trip

December, always be my favorite month. Christmas, continued with New Year Celebration, we will have a long holiday at this month. Usually, i didn't travel abroad at this season. Why? Because this is a peak season and everything will be more expensive. However, this time we will go to Japan for celebrate Christmas and New Year ^^

I haven't been to Japan before, so this is the first time for me. I searched about the weather in Japan in December, and find out that it will be cold in Japan. As an Indonesian, i never had an experience with the winter season because we don't have it here. So i find out about what to bring and what to use in winter, so we'll feel comfortable during our trip.

At this post, i will write about the skin care that you need for winter season. While the weather was cold, your skin will getting dry. It also happen with your lips. That's why, we need a "special" skin care to hydrate our skin, and i trust Laneige with its Water Bank series.

Laneige Water Bank series is a moisturizing line that delivers intensive moisture to dry and rough skin for a smooth and supple appearance. It contains mineral water for skin generation and Water Pump System for moisture circulation for safeguard skin moisture and hold it in to leaved the skin moisturized and smooth. It also contains chestnut extracts and seaweed extracts to enchance keratin turnover to fight roughness and energizes the skin for a smooth and healthy texture.

I bought the travel size of Laneige Water Bank series which called Water Bank Kit. This Water Bank Kit contains :
1. Laneige Water Bank Essence_EX (10 ml)
2. Laneige Water Bank Gel Cream_EX (10 ml)
3. Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream_EX (10ml)
4. Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel (3ml)

However, since i have a dry skin type, i asked the Sales Assistant to change the Gel Cream with the Moisture Cream. So i have 2 Moisture Cream and i think it will be enough for 10 days trip ^^

Beside this basic skincare, i also bring Shea Butter from L'occitane. It's recommended from my friend who has been to Japan before. She told me it's really helpful to moisture the dry skin in winter. It also contains organic ingredients, so it can be used for kids. You can use this shea butter on your face, lips, and any part of your body. The price is IDR 167k for 10ml size, and i think it's worth with the quality of this product.

Well, that's all i bring for my winter trip in Japan. I hope it's enough for my skin, and it won't get crack. Anyway, if you have another recommendation product for winter, you can leave the comment below.