Paris Through the Eyes of Birds

One of the best places to see the panoramic view of Paris is the dome of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur according to my Lonely Planet travel guidebook. It is said that the view can extend as far as 30 km on a clear day, as the Basilica is standing on the summit of Butte de Montmarte, the highest point in Paris.

So, I paid €5 to enter the dome via the Dôme Crypte. There were 300 steps for me to climb, so I did. In fact I have seen the panoramic view of Paris from Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, but I still climbed the steps to see it again.

The viewing platform of the dome has a series of arches supporting the main dome, making them quite an architectural feature.

The first and nearest thing to see was the bell tower of the Basilica.

This was followed by a 360º view of the city when I walked circling around the dome.

The view of the Eiffel Tower cannot be missed. Without it, Paris is just not Paris.

Notre Dame can be seen from here as well, if you look carefully.

The weather wasn't good on that day, so I didn't stay for too long on the dome. It rained at the time when I was about to leave the place.

A Touch of Italian in Sin City

Singapore can be considered as one of the largest international food centre in Asia as you can find almost any type of food here. For the food that you can't find it here, it is probably that Asians have not acquire the taste bud for it.

According to my 8-year old nephew, Casa Verde at the Singapore Botanical Gardens serves the second best pasta in Singapore. Then I asked him where I can find the best. He told me that it's from his dad's kitchen but the chef didn't feel like cooking that day. So, we had to settle for the second best.

The first thing that was served was the pizza with prosciutto crudo (raw ham), and mozzarella cheese. The prosciutto crudo was as good as the one that I have tasted in an Italian restaurant in Japan.

The Italian sausages were quite scrumptious as well. They were very juicy and tender.

Then came the second-best pastas in Singapore! They were quite good indeed. The pastas were chewy and moist, particularly the linguine; and the sauce was not too sweet nor sour, just nice.

On another evening, my brother's family brought me to a cafe operated by a Singaporean sweets institution called Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie. This double dark chocolate cake is Caraibe, made from 66% dark chocolate and crushed nuts.

The Tarte Citron is a lemon tart in layman's term, but it tasted much better than an ordinary lemon tart, especially with the burnt cream on top.

We also had a Fondant Chocolat which is a chocolate lava cake served with creme chantilly.

The cakes and sweets served here should be considered as gâteaux grade. They are not only delicately done, but extremely scrumptious! You shouldn't miss Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie in Singapore if you like cakes and sweets. They have outlets at Robertson Walk, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Shaw Centre and Paragon.