Paris avec mon ami

Went to Paris with my sweetie, just for 2 nights and 3 days but it was very romantic and we enjoyed it a lot! It was my 4th time visiting the city of love but the first 2 times, I was still a child and my brother and I were more interested in Disneyland Paris than the city itself. ;-P

Paris is really such a beautiful city! It has so many stunning old buildings, the architectures there are grand and gorgeous, everything is artsy, poetic, charming and romantic...

Breakfast is served when you travel 1st class with TGV, the French high speed train. :) Thanks to a special offer of SNCF we got upgraded to 1st class for one way without extra charge!

Pont de l'Archevêché and Notre Dame

Couples engrave their initials on the padlocks, fasten it to the railings and toss the keys into the Seine as a symbol of their undying love

Ahhh, the beautiful Notre Dame...

Pyramide du Louvre - it reminds me of The Da Vinci Code. ;)

Le mur des je t'aime - the I love you wall ♥
The sentence features 311 times in 250 languages!

La basilique du Sacré-Cœur

La basilique du Sacré-Cœur at night

The Eiffel Tower of course :)

L'église de la Madeleine

 

    So monumental...                                                                            The guardian angel

The modern part of Paris: La Défence and the iconic Grande Arche.

On the very far end (on the center of the picture), you can see the Arc de Triomphe!

Too bad I forgot how to speak French...  I learned the language for 9 years (!) at elementary, secondary school and state college of higher education and used to be quite fluent but now... I forgot so many words and the grammar!

Maybe I should take some brush-up lessons; being able to speak French is a huge advantage in Switzerland - especially when you are applying for jobs and it's even one of our four national language...

I have to come back to Paris again and stay longer!

Restaurant Al Muntaha in Burj al Arab

When we were visiting Dubai, we thought it's a "must" to dine at least once inside the iconic hotel and symbol of Dubai - Burj al Arab. All it's three restaurants "Al Iwan", "Al Muntaha" and "Al Mahara" looked amazing but we decided to go to "Al Muntaha", meaning "The Ultimate" or "The Top" in Arabic, which is located on the 27th floor, to enjoy the view from the above.
When our hotel concierge called to make a reservation on the same evening, we were told that the tables were only available from 10PM! Wow, it wasn't even a weekend so the restaurant must be really popular!

To get to the Burj al Arab, you need to be a hotel guest there or have a reservation at the restaurant otherwise you won't be able to pass the gate before the bridge that leads to the island where the hotel stands.

Luxury cars were parked at the gateway of the hotel, one after another.

The stunning lobby of the hotel Burj al Arab:

with the highest atrium of the world and nice staircase fountain...

...and even an aquarium!

Another fountain on the upper floor.

The Al Muntaha restaurant on the 27th floor... To be honest, I didn't like the interior at all... Green and blue lights and very old fashioned carpet...

We all ordered an appetizer, a main course and a side dish each, a bottle of water, 2 glasses of wine and a grappa and paid over CHF 800.- (USD 900)!!! The food was good but not that special and definitely not value for money...

To be honest, I was quite disappointed. I expected so much of the restaurant but it wasn't that special... The service was excellent, though. When we arrived, we didn't get the table at the window but since some of the tables were vacant we asked if we could change the table and the waiters were very friendly and courteous, they said "of course" and we got seated at the window side. :) The view was very nice but I don't think we will come back here again. Not for dinner, that's for sure. It's just way too expensive... Maybe for brunch or afternoon tea...? The view during the day must also be nice.

Restaurant Al Muntaha at Burj al Arab

Jumeirah 3

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 4 301 7777

E-Mail: baainfo@jumeirah.com

                                      Service:   ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩                  Value for money:   ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩

                                      Food:       ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩                  Atmosphere:          ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩

NENI Restaurant at the 25hours Hotel

I had a lovely brunch yesterday with my friends. "NENI" is a restaurant with mediterranean cuisine located inside the hotel "25hours" in Zurich West. I read about this restaurant a few months ago somewhere in the internet and wanted to try the continental breakfast buffet ever since. It's actually not a brunch buffet but the buffet is open until 2PM on weekends and has a good selection of cold and warm dishes. It costs only CHF 30.- and the drinks and even a sparkling wine is included!

The entrance of the 25hours hotel :)

The lobby of the hotel

                                                                      

This is the buffet with various drinks: sparkling wine, fresh juices, Kombucha tea, various selection of leaf teas, hot chocolate, filter coffee and Nespresso coffees! They have everything!!!

They have croissants, toasts, brown breads, white breads, pastries,...

and here you can chose from your favorite cheese, ham and smoked salmon.

The warm buffet provides sausages, bacons, fluffy scrambled eggs and french toasts!

The healthy buffet: muesli, jogurt, fruits salad and Israeli salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.

This cool and modern hotel combines work by Alfredo Häberli, the Zurich-based designer's work with creative art.

We really enjoyed the buffet, the friendly service, the atmosphere in the restaurant - it wasn't crowded at all - I guess not many people know about this lovely breakfast buffet place. We only saw hotel guests sitting at the tables. I will definitely come back again for breakfast!!! 

Very recommendable!

NENI Restaurant

25hours Hotel Zurich

Pfingstweidstrasse 102

8005 Zurich, Switzerland

Tel: +41 44 57 72 22 2, neni.zuerichwest@25hours-hotels.com

Mon - Fri:

Breakfast Buffet	06:30 - 10:30
Hot kitchen	11:30 - 23:00
Snacks	14:00 - 18:00

Sat - Sun:

breakfast buffet	07:30 - 14:00
hot kitchen	11:30 - 23:00
snacks	11:30 - 18:00

      Service:   ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩                        Value for money:   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
      Food:       ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩                        Atmosphere:          ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My Private Boutique - Michael Kors Kiera Pumps

Do you know the Swiss online shop MyPrivateBoutique? They sell branded clothes, accessories, fragrances, cosmetics, home designs and even champagne up to 50%! On limited and exclusive private sale sessions you can even get up to 80% off!!! XD 

When you become a member, you'll receive e-mails with all the ongoing and upcoming hot sales - so don't hesitate and subscribe now! ;) 

 

Last week I saw a pair of really pretty pumps and couldn't resist ordering them...

...and a few days later... woohoo, the package from Private Boutique arrived!

A pair of Michael Kors "Kiera" pumps in beige. :D

The gold-colored part of the bow makes these pumps look elegant and not too sweet. 

Pretty, aren't they?! :)

This week, the "Crazy Deals Fashion" is going on on MyPrivateBoutique and the prices are really crazy! For example: a D&G blazer CHF 139.- instead of CHF 520.- !!! 

Diesel Jeans CHF 84.90 instead of CHF 220.- and a Burberry winter coat for men for CHF 699.- instead of CHF 1'540.-...

Marc Jacobs' accessories are up to 30% off....

The thin gold "Letterpress" bangle and the leather wristband below are my favorites - ahhh I want them!!!

As you can imagine, it can be dangerous to become a member of My Private Boutique! Resisting the temptation is not easy! ;-)