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Oh
Paris. How I’d missed you. There’s something so magical about this city that I just can’t put my finger on, every time I go back I fall in love with it even more. I’d been three times previously (see posts
here,
here, and
here), but this was the shortest period of time I’ve spent in the city. My friend Phoebe (check out
her blog here!) and I had just one night, and 1.5 days to see as much as we could. Usually I get the
Eurostar, however this time my trip was with
Air France, so we flew from
Heathrow, however they do fly from regional airports across the UK too.
After spending Friday night going through all of our outfits and last minute packing, we got up early Saturday morning (4:30am…) to get the 6:55am
flight. Check in and bag drop was very smooth, and we grabbed a croissant for breaky before boarding the flight. The plane was similar to the one I flew on last year to
Havana, it feels classy and more roomy than the likes of Easyjet, it’s more like a French version of BA (which I guess it is really).
Unfortunately our flight was delayed 45mins, so while we were sat on the tarmac we entertained ourselves with a #planeselfie. We finally got up into the air, and soon the air stewardess came round with drinks and croissants. We declined the croissants as we’d already had one, but the drinks were very welcome. The great thing about flying with
Air France is that all food and drink is included in the price of the ticket, and seeing as Phoebe’s airplane ticket cost less than £100, I think it’s far better than going with the likes of Easyjet.
We landed around 9:30am
Paris time, and then had to wait about 30mins for my bag to appear. We eventually got to our hotel, the
Fraser Suites Le Claridge on the Champs Elysees, at around 11:30am, so we freshened up, dropped off our bags, then headed out for our lunch reservation at
La Gare.
La Gare is one of the trendiest restaurants in Paris, and despite having mixed reviews online we absolutely loved our meal and experience there. I’ll have a full review up in the next coupla days as it was that good! You’ll have to wait until then to see the food 😉
We sat outside and it was so lovely to just relax after our hectic morning and start our Paris adventure with excellent French food.
After lunch we wandered over to the Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower and get some photos. Just walking to the Troacdero was lovely, all of the buildings are so beautiful, I couldn’t stop looking up at them!
|
The sun was really glarey and right in my eye… |
When we were taking these photos ^ a large woman in a very bright yellow top kept getting in the way with her selfie stick, so I turned and gave her my evil glare and she quite literally ran off as if she’d had a gun pointed at her.
If you can’t tell already, I’m completely and utterly obsessed with this dress! I’m not very good with the whole boho/gypsy vibe that’s on trend right now, it’s just not very me, but this dress is so perfect. It hints at the trend whilst staying classy…and it’s in my ‘safe’ colour…navy blue.
After getting changed into our second outfits (I wore a jumpsuit by Forever21), we then headed to the
Mandarin Oriental for a tour of the hotel and some cocktails in their garden oasis.
The hotel was absolutely stunning, but I’ll tell you all about that in a separate post, it deserves one on it’s own.
After our cocktail session at the Mandarin Oriental we stopped off at Pierre Herme on the way back to get some macarons. I chose Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate, Dark Choc & Passionfruit, and Rose, Yoghurt & Lychee. All were completely and utterly delicious!
On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at Monoprix, and as we had a kitchen and dining area in our hotel room, we bought fresh baguettes, cheeses and hams, and had a little dinner in the room. We were still pretty full from lunch so didn’t want anything massive, and we didn’t have a lot of time before we had to head to Montmartre.
After dinner we quickly changed (onto outfit #3 – I didn’t actually wear the beret, I just used it for the photo…*ahem*) and then made our way to Montmartre for sunset over the Sacre Couer.
On our way to the Metro we noticed how beautiful the Arc de Triomphe looked, so we got some snaps, then hopped on the Metro to Pigalle.
It was a breathtaking sunset, and so incredible to see the whole of Paris lit in an orange hue with storm clouds rolling in behind.
We then raced to the Nouvelle Eve to watch my old schoolfriend Rachel do her thang and dance in a cabaret show! She’s a professional dancer, but it’s always been her dream to do a season in Paris as a showgirl, and after two years of auditioning (the auditions sound hard you guys!), she’s finally doing it! You weren’t supposed to take photos inside, but I got a sneaky couple… *shhhhh*
It was a fantastic couple of hours, and so entertaining. There was a mix of dance and comedy/acrobatic acts, and Rachel nailed it. She was absolutely amazing, and it was so good to finally see her dance after all our years of friendship!
|
Rachel is the one standing right underneath the ‘Eve’ sign against the black backdrop! |
After the show we met her at the stage door and went for drinks in the Amelie cafe aka Cafe des 2 Moulins, where I ate
last time I went to Montmartre. We were enjoying our drinks when we all suddenly squealed and shrieked as there was a mouse running around our feet!
On the way back to the Metro I had to stop off for a photo in front of the Lux Bar…I mean, they could have told me they’d named a bar after me, ya know, tch…
Phoebe and I eventually crawled into our beds at 2:30am, absolutely exhausted from such a busy day! I may have had a sneaky macaron before I fell asleep though…*shhh*
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My flight to Paris was kindly given to me complimentary in return for posts about my time in the city. Air France offers over 50 weekly flights from London Heathrow to Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Return fares in economy start from £76, including all taxes and fees. For more information and to book, visit their website.
AHHH Catherine, Paris will always have a piece of my heart! I can't believe you managed to pack so much into your short trip – you must have been exhausted when you got home. It must have been amazing to watch your friend dance. Can't wait to hear about La Gare!
Lauren xx | The Lifestyle Diaries
This sounds like such a fun (busy) visit! I love your dress and the sunset pics. *swoon*
Congrats to your friend for making it in the end. That'll definitely be an experience to remember!
I absolutely love all of these outfits!! Especially the first you! Hope you had an amazing time in Paris 🙂 x
Abi | abistreetx
This sounds like the perfect day in Paris! Always love a good foreign resty recommendation and absolutely LOVE your FCUK dress, can see why you're obsessed 😉 Also deffoes going to watch the sunset next time I'm there, so beaut! Lots of love, Andrea xxx
Andrea's Passions
I'm in love with that French Connection dress!
Paris is always a good idea, non? x
Honey x The Girl Next Shore
Ohhhhhh! I'm sooooo jelaous that you went to Paris! Love it soooo much :))) And love the colourful macarons as well :)))))!!!!
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All the best!!!
How cool that your friend was dancing in the cabaret, I've never been to Nouvelle Eve despite having lived in Paris, As for that French Connection dress, one word – stunning!
Suze | LuxuryColumnist
Loving the Parisian chic outfits! So much #macaronporn here 🙂 Looking forward to the other restaurant reviews.
Lots of love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
Oooo all the macarons! You look gorgeous too, your outfits really suit you 🙂
Mehreen A | wrapyourlipsaroundthis.com
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Seeing as you only had a day and a half there I think the 3 outfit changes were perfectly acceptable. And I love the first dress! Despite it being so close I haven't been to Paris in 11 years now boohoo! I think it's time I organised a trip back as your photos have reminded me just how beautiful a city it is 🙂
Looks like you had a wonderful time! You've given me city break AND dress envy with this post – I love that French Connection number
♡ Emily from Trendpill x
I totally fell in love with Paris – it's got my heart and I can't wait to go back! We queued for Laduree macarons and my favs were rose & earl grey tea x
The more I read posts like this about Paris, the more I think I need to go back and revisit. I wasn't too keen on it when I visited a few years ago but it looks like you had an amazing time! And the colours of that sunset are gorgeous 🙂 Even if I don't like Paris if I visit again I'm sure I'd love the macarons 🙂
You looked amazing, I am in love with that first dress it's absolutely gorgeous.
Zeynab x
The Beauty Load
Beautiful photography, loved the ones in and around the Eiffel Tower – so gorgeous! Paris is certainly on my bucket list, can't believe I haven't been yet!