paul

some time ago someone told me about this newly opened french bakery and restaurant in takashimaya that she is dying to go to. while i'm skeptical about the dying part - we are, after all, in singapore where people always queue til they die whenever there's a new store in town - i'm usually in orchard so it wouldn't be a problem to take a peek.

when i finally saw what it was, i had to smile. it is PAUL. and inevitably, the memories of my first time in paris.

***

we signed up for a group tour to italy, switzerland and paris. unfortunately, the package only allows us to stay in paris for a day. and we had only about six hours to explore the city. while most of our tour groupmates spent the day at lafayette, we decided to walk around and see paris. as we did, we learned a very important lesson that day: never underestimate the cold.

eiffel tower's disappearing act

after perhaps an hour of walking around the cold was finally unbearable. yet we didn't want to give up on our sight-seeing. and then we saw PAUL - salvation! that panini and tea was a lifesaver! i was instantly defrosted :D  

looking a little too asian in paris

we managed to spend the full six hours walking, stopping for tea or something to warm us up, sitting and people watching. paris for a day is truly not enough, but it was a good preview i suppose. i'd want to see it again, hopefully this august.

***

and today, after a few attempts to dine at that outlet in singapore, it was a surprise to find the queue really short in the early afternoon. my good friend and i stopped to buy a chocolate croissant and eclair. it was sooo good that we decided to come back and have some tea, macarons and a cake.

today was a lovely day :)

fitness pal

So after i quit my job in December I traveled to the States for five weeks, been in and out of the Philippines and visited someone in South Korea. There is but only one BIG regret that i have - i did not watch what i ate. And so some time in March i found myself looking at me in the mirror to realize that i have gotten fat. Sure, you might think i am exaggerating - after all i'm only at 52kg, but since my framework is petite i don't look big and yet i am, well, fleshy :(

And after months of procrastination i finally had the courage this week to get started! Been hitting the gym in the morning and though my body hurts so much afterwards i actually feel much better now than in the days when i wake up and do nothing (but worry about life). I suppose it's really true that a good workout is not only for the physique but for mental wellness too. The other thing i discovered is this app in iphone called fitness pal. See, i am a big snacker and i know that totally cutting off snacks is not going to work, hence a smarter way of controlling it is to quantify how much calories those snacks have and how i could pick the right ones that will not add any more fatties to my tummy. The app also serves as a "diary" for you to store what you ate and how much calories you have consumed in a day. Based on my weight loss goal, i should stick to 1200 calories a day. And so, by all means, i must stick to that.

This is going to be very useful in my travels too! Because Lord knows just how much calories are in that chicken briyani or baked brie. And usually when you travel, trying local food is a must do - or your experience is not complete. So now i can indulge, but know when to stop (ah, an extremely important lesson in life ;)

Let's see how i fare in a month! I do hope i can pursue this (among other things) because there is no way i'm gonna look like jabba the hut in the future :D