The Autumn Leaves (again)

Fall....

Always be my favorite season...

Do you like fall or autumn as well?

The changing colors of those trees really lure me and put me in a soothing mood.

The bright orang pumpkins, fallen leaves, and cool temperature just make it more alluring.

I don't know exactly when I develop this habit of chasing Fall Foliage.

Yup...fall foliage.

September - October seems to be the perfect time of the year to enjoy fall foliage.
At least at this side of the world
Take a trip or two, enjoy the drive, overlooking the windows with leaf-peeping roads.
Get your photo gear ready and capture the moments.

When the changing colors wash away pain and sorrow.
When beautiful skies embrace you as hopes and prayers are solemnly whispered.
And the red hues before your eyes warm your heart.

Ah.. it feels so good to see all this beauty!

So fullfilled, so repurposed.

It somehow gives me extra energy

to go through long and winding roads...

and stay blessed...

I hope you enjoy your fall as well.

Photos were taken by me and Udi, my hubby

during our trip to Nantua, France ,  Derboronce, Switzerland and New York, New York

Join us on Skywatch Friday and stay blessed with those gorgeous skies!

Throwback Tuesday: Paris in love

It's already a new week and Throwback Tuesday is here.

I know being sentimental can be problematic sometimes, but I guess I found looking at our stories and photos in the past very relaxing and therapeutic.

Do you think so as well? 

So, anyway..this time we took you back to 2010.
I hope you don't mind :).

And Paris is where we're heading to.

To the city of lights.

Or as many have dubbed, the most romantic city in the world.

And even to make it more special, our visit to Paris  at that time was such a rare combination of Valentine's day and the Chinese New Year. 
Paris during Valentine's Day.
And Paris during the Chinese New Year.
Interesting, isn't it.
Although we didn't really celebrate Valentine's Day or Chinese New Year per se, I considered ourselves lucky to witness that colorful celebration in Paris.

cheers from Eiffel Tower.

It took us around 5-hour drive from Geneve, where we resided from 2007 - 2011, to Paris.
Bo was only 3 years old at that time and as you know traveling with young children can be full of 'drama'.
And we were lucky that both of my kids seem to have the same 'itchy feet ' and curiosity over new places, peoples and cultures. So I general, traveling with my kids were mostly enjoyable, with no particular problems.

I remember Bo pretty much loved playing with his stroller at this point.
And balloon.
So we managed to have all of these favorite toys of his ready before continuing our trip, particularly since we took public transportation most of the time.

The trip itself was made possible thanks to our dearest friends and photo mentors, Mas Hedi et Mba Cessy, who never run out of patience with us, the apprentice :).

So, off we went to Paris on the 13th of February, staying there for 2 short days only, with the aim of enjoying the Gong Xi Fat Choi and Paris in love. Lots of love.

Starting with the tour de Montparnasse, we climbed to the 59th floor of the building to enjoy the City of Lights in full-fledge. 

Not to mention our  culinary tour to Tang Frere or the china town and our search for the lost 'klenteng' or Chinese Temple have completed our journey at that time.

Before hitting Hotel de Ville where the defile du dragon started, we managed to visit the Eifell Tower, the Louvre Museum, and the surrounding.


Barely make it on time, we arrived in Hotel de Ville, where the celebration was held, right when the parade was about to start.

And what a celebration it was!

the dragon..so colorful :)

Full of characters from the famous Chinese legends, so colorful, so detailed.
Dragons, knights, emperors, princes and princesses, judges, and more...

Chinese New Year in Paris is indeed festive :)

The make-ups, the costumes, the expressions..
It was really a festive day, not only for the Chinese who celebrated the New Year, but also for us, the spectators.

the three ladies :)

Red was obviously dominating the scene, but I managed to find one wise man (at least I thought so ) with PURPLE (my favorite color) beard.

Afterwards, we hit the road again and headed to Les Champs- Elysses.
Took more pictures here and there.
Enjoying precious moments with our dear friends and families.

Well, for sure it was quite a colorful weekend.

Most photos were taken by Udi, my hubby, while the family pictures were taken by Mas Hedi or Mba Cessy.

Speaking about Paris, I have one beautiful Paris bag, with Eiffel tower on it,  made by my dearest friends, Suzie Icus. 

Icus is a loving mom of Abin, a cute baby boy, who has admiringly founded Itaco together with her students. Teaching in a vocational school, Icus has inspired many of her students to start creating various kinds of DIY and crafts, like pouches, bags, even t-shirts and pin. I even orders beautiful endek Bali pouches, t-shirt and pins for my breast cancer team's souvenirs.
You wanna see them? 

Thanks to Icus for providing me this :)

Aren't they lovely!

I sincerely hope Icus and her students will continue doing their great jobs and we will have more and more entrepreneurs.

Well, what di you think?

Any memories you would like to share with us today?

Do you have the same impression of Paris in love?

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

MyItchyFeet: Petite-France at Strasbourg

Hello again....

Mind if I continue #MyItchyFeet journey hereee :)...I hope you won't..

So, we had a glimpse of Strasbourg here in my previous post :). 
And as I said there, one of lovely landmarks that will be too bad to miss is Petite France.

Sekarang mampir ke Petite France yuuuk..

Kawasan unik di kota Strasbourg ini memang menjadi salah satu magnet bagi mereka yang mengunjungi Strasbourg. Tidak heran memang karena area ini unik banget dan cantik dan terletak di Grande Ile, atau pulau utama, yang ada di kota Strasbourg.

Located in the Grand Ile or the main island, Petite France is beautifully stretched along the Ill river with bridges and canals. 

Karena letaknya dekat dengan sungai Ill, kawasan ini jadi makin terlihat cantik lewat refleksi rumah-rumah khas dengan hiasan kayu di permukaan air. Apalagi kalau hari cerah...dapet bonus langit biru :) 

The reflections of those half-timbered houses on the river are so captivating. 
I love to see the timber patterns and its sandstone bases. Pretty!

We walked to Petite France as we parked our car near the medieval square where Cathedrale Notre Dame was located. It took us around 1 hour to walk. Well, not because it was far, but simply because we stopped here and there to take pictures :). It's just too tempting :)

It's easy to find because the sign heading to Petite France were easily spotted as well.
Dan tidak perlu waktu lama juga untuk menikmati kawasan ini, karena memang tidak terlalu besar dan terlihat cantik dari agak jauh :)

But the history of Petite- France or Little France was a bit grim. 
Why? Because it was actually built as a place to cure people with syphilis! 
At that time, this disease was known as the "french disease". 
I read on Wikipedia, it was called that way because it was spread by the French troops. Ooh my...

Anyway, despite its bleak background, Petite-France is still worth a visit.

Here are some our pictures taken during the visit.
Photos were taken by my hubby, Udi :)

love the foreground :)

most of the houses are still in great condition...

the tower and its reflection..

So if you happen to be around, don't miss Petite-France. 

What do you like best from this lovely area?

MyItchyFeet: Strasbourg, France in a day...

Alohaaaaa...

Setelah melihat-lihat dan ngubek-ngubek isi external hard disk, saya sadar kalau ada banyaaaaak sekali catatan perjalanan dan foto-foto yang belum pernah saya share di blog. Hmm..sebagian perjalanan memang dilakukan sebelum saya seriusan ngeblog hehehe.

Kok sayang bangeeet ya :)...Karena banyak cerita menarik yang saya dan keluarga alami selama menyusuri tempat-tempat yang baru tadi. Jadi, walaupun perjalanannya sudah beberapa waktu yang lalu, rasanya ngga dosa kan ya kalau saya berbagi ceritanya di sini :)? Siapa tahu bermanfaat untuk teman-teman yang akan mampir di kota-kota cantik yang pernah kali datangi tadi...

So, let's continue #MyItchyFeet story then...

This time, I have Strasbourg...

the red door...in front of the Chatedrale du Notre-Dame

Such a lovely city indeed..

Our family trip to EuropaPark (will definitely be shared on one dedicated posting :D) was continued to Strasbourg, France.

Awalnya kami memang berencana untuk main ke EuropaPark yang terletak di kota Rust, Jerman, dengan Bo. Saya pernah cerita kan kalau saya tuh theme-park junkie. Alias theme-park lover..or apalaah namanya. Intinya, demen bangeeet main ke taman permainan bertema yang biasanya hebooh abis ;). Nah salah satu taman bermain paling seru di dekat Jenewa adalah EuropaPark. Yah, walaupun Bo waktu itu usianya masih imut (dan Obi belum ada :p), tapi EuropePark punya banyak wahana permainan untuk anak-anak juga. Tapi yang pasti mama dan Bapak juga bisa seru-seruan hehehe. Dan yang tidak kalah serunya, kami bisa mampir di kota cantik di perbatasan Perancis - Jerman yang juga menjadi kota tempat Parlemen Eropa resmi berkantor.

Kami menempuh perjalanan dengan mobil. Jenewa - Rust, Jerman, tempat EuropaPark, kami tempuh dalam waktu 4 jam, kurang lebih sekitar 350 km dan melalui Basel serta Freibourg. Dari Rust menuju Strasbourg, perjalanan dengan menggunakan mobil tidak sampai satu jam, karena memang hanya 56 km. Dekat kan :).

So...Strasbourg...what do you have in mind when you hear about this city?
Or does it ring a bell?

I don't know why it takes some times to get me and Udi to visit Strasbourg while we were living in Geneve, Switzerland.
Romantically beautiful, this city can certainly boast its magnet ranging from UNESCO world heritage site to delicious spatziel which is sooo Alsatian. Yuuup, Strasbourg is the capital city of France in the Alsace Region. 

Wilayah ini terletak di bagian timur Perancis, yang berbatasan dengan Jerman. Tidak heran kalau kota-kota di daerah ini benar-benar menjadi contoh perpaduan unik antara budaya Perancis dan Jerman, termasuk untuk urusan makanan dan bahkan bahasa. Lucu rasanya mendengar orang-orang di sini berbahasa Perancis dengan aksen Jerman. Tapi justru ini yang membuat daerah ini menjadi  lain daripada yang lain.

Finishing our one crazy day at Europa Park, we stayed overnight in Strasbourg..not far from the famous Petite France. I will again share the lovely Petite France in another post :).

Well, no doubt we left the hotel early in the morning just to ensure we got enough time to visit all those interesting spots.
So, we started our day wandering around the Rhone, stopping here and there for more pics. 




Lucky enough, we got the parking spot right at the Notredame, under the shade of its magical tower :D. 

At the place de la Chatedrale, I can't stop wondering the shopisticated-yet-heavily-gothic Chatedral with lace-like concrete. 

Waktu pertama kali melihatnya, memang banyak yang tercengang. Begitu penuh dengan details yang rumit. Seperti melihat selembar renda, yang penuh dengan pola. Tapi kali ini dalam bentuk bangunan. 

Details from the church...stunning!

The chatedral was built from 1015 to 1439. They really took their time in building this masterpiece. And you can see it from the astonishing result. True labour of love. And since I'm not a building expert, but I guess it's a Gothic one.  

The Facade is filled with many sculpture. Starting from the tiny one, to the human-size one. All beautifully assembled to create a stunning building. 



We didn't get inside as it was closed during Easter. I knew we missed a lot, as the church has been very well famous for its facade, stained glass window, the monumental organ and the astronomical clock. 

What you can't miss is the red door. And you will see why...

sorry..it's me again :)

We took many pictures here :)...It was very captivating..

Bo and his poses..in front of the red door :)

Then we continued to explore the medieval square, being so absorbed in its ancient time. It's very classic and we loved it. A lot to see and to enjoy. Including the famous Kammerzell House or Maison Kammerzell, standing right on the corner...

Ooh, don't forget the street buskers ...who were ready to serenade for you :D...

posing in fron of the Kammerzell House...

From here, we walked to Musee Alsacien, 

heading to Petite France ....

otw to Petite France...

it was a sunny day indeed...

and had lunch in one of the restaurants by the river there..yummy yummy indeed..

lunch special...Alcasian menu..fresh pasta and turkey with special mushroom sauce..

in front of the maison des tanneurs....famous for its choucroute :)

Then we continued our journey and passed the famous Ponts Couvert and stopped to see the Mozart's organ at Saint Thomas Church. 

This church is indeed part of the historical monument of the city. 

St.Thomas Church originally founded by Irish monk, was built between 12th and 15th centuries. Quite old, rite...

The interior layout is a "Hall church", characterized by the equal height of nave and side-aisle. 

Come and take a look...

And I guess, the first reason why people come and visit this church is probably the classic organ once played by Mozart himself.  You wanna know how it looks like?

the famous Silbermann Organ...once played by Amadeus Mozart...

After exploring the organ, we went  shopping for some lovely souvenirs at rue de Merciers and visiting Palais Rohan...

cheers....

Pont de la Fonderie...

Then we had a wonderful tea time at the Jardin au fond and continued our little journey with little Bo to the European Quarter and Place de la Republique..

like mother, like son :)...

So..that's our itinerary in Strasbourg for a day :). A lot to see...
Worth another visit for sure...

Btw, all photos were taken by my hubby, Rudi Frakarsa :)

What do you think about this city? What do you like to see most?