A Weekend In Paris...In The Spring!

It's no secret we love a getaway. And over the years Paris has proved a popular destination for us to visit, as a couple and with others.

A few of our Paris posts:
Fun Fact Friday: Oui Oui Paris j'adore
A Weekend In Paris
A Week In Paris

Our recent trip to Paris involved taking the Eurostar from St Pancras in London to Gare Du Nord in central Paris. From Gare Du Nord we made our way on foot to our apartment in the Monmarte district, a slightly uphill 15 minute walk.

The friends we were meeting at arrived earlier that day and were already checked into our Airbnb - a great 2 bed flat just 10 minutes walk to the Sacre Coeur, an area we had fallen in love with when spending a week in Paris.

Friday evening was spent catching up and agreeing plans for the next 48 hours.

Saturday involved a 10am start and visit to the boulangerie over the road to stock up on fresh croissants and baguettes. The perfect way to start our day in Paris. Once well fed we started the day. Thankfully we had a Metro station just 4 minutes walk away so we could start the day quickly. Our first purchase was book of 10 Metro tickets for €14.90 allowing us to travel freely.

The first stop of the day was Notre Dame. On arrival the rain was pouring so we went straight to Sainte Chapelle, a gothic style royal chapel and home to Kings of France in the 14th century. It is most famous for it's 15.5m stain glass windows that tell stories from the bible.

We had hoped our time in the chapel would let the rain finish, unfortunately the rain got worse. Nevertheless we continued and headed to Pont Nerf, the bridge that now holds all the love locks. We had got our friends a lock and wanted to give them the opportunity to add theirs to the 1000's already locked in. From there we headed to the Notre Dame and then the snow started.

That was our time to head for the Metro and to lunch back nearer the Sacre Coeur. We wanted to revisit the La Taverne De Montmarte  - a must if you like raclette, warm fires and delicious food. We sat and chatted for almost 2 hours in the warmth before braving the snow.

From the Sacre Coeur we strolled to the Moulin Rouge, through quaint market squares and past building topped off with windmills. We had never walked that way before and really enjoyed the views.

By the time we reached the Moulin Rouge, quite the sight in the snow, we all agreed that we should head back to the apartment to dry off. That led to our friend offering to cook us dinner and when an Italian offers you dinner - always say yes! It was a much needed refuel and delicious.

Our stroll back also included taking in some interesting artwork - something you can find in so many places in Paris.

After dinner we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower. Even though the snow was still falling we wanted to see the tower lit up. What we did find on arrival was that security has really been stepped up, to get under the Eiffel Tower you now need to go through security checks. In addition you can't get to the tower itself as fences now guard the bases.

After that we called it a night so we could get a good night sleep and prepare for the next day.

Sunday started the same way Saturday did, with fresh treats from the bakery.

This time our destination was Arc De Triomphe. We planned to head up and enjoy the view but with clouds settling in we decided against it and instead decided to walk the Champs Elysees.

We detoured to Pont Alexandre III to enjoy the view of the Seine and take in the Eiffel Tower

And ended our walk down the Rue de Rivoli, a road packed with shops and restaurants next to the Jardin des Tuileries. We stopped in at Cafe Rivoli for a croquet monsieur and chips and then Framboise Les Moments Crepes for crepes. It was all so good. 

After being well fed we continued to Carrousel du Louvre, a shopping mall under the Lourve that is well worth a visit. From here we got the Metro back to the apartment to head back to the apartment. 

Sadly our journey back was ruined by EuroStars' terrible handling of a system failure. After arriving 90 minutes before our train we were made to queue in freezing temperatures for the 90 minutes, without the queue moving. At 5 months pregnant it was far from ideal and there was not a signal member of staff telling us what was going on. Our train was eventually delayed meaning we spent our journey stressed that we miss our connection to get home to Birmingham. 

Thanks to an epic effort by Laura, carrying our case up three escalators we were able to make it from St Pancras to Euston in 15 minutes and made our train with 2 minutes to go. 

Next time we head to Paris we may be doing it as a family of three and we can't wait to see what that trip will hold. 

A Weekend in Paris...

Bonjour!

And so to Paris….such a perfect winter getaway city and home to a romantic atmosphere that simply can’t be found anywhere else. There are so many reasons to visit Paris- the sightseeing, the food, the shopping, the atmosphere… we love it for all these reasons...BUT at Christmas there is just an extra je ne sais quoi!

We arrived in Paris at 10am Friday after an 8am flight from London Heathrow on Air France (gotta love the leg room you get on those planes). Upon arrival we were held in the baggage area for half an hour by a scary security man with a gun due to a security alert, but the time was used productively as we found a map of Paris and planned our afternoon.

Once free from the gun-wielding French police (why do all the French police carry guns? (Overcompensating?)) we went straight to the train/metro ticket office and got an €18 return ticket to the city and a book of 10 metro tickets. Within 10 minutes we were onboard a rather chilly train heading towards a moody looking Paris. A couple of train changes and a metro ride later we alighted at Dupliex and found our hotel. As we exited Dupliex station, both of us, in a rather tired and dazed state, began to think the area looked vaguely familiar, and on arrival at the hotel we realised why……this was the hotel we stayed at 2 years ago, the Eiffel Capitol Hotel! What are the chances, right? A sense of relief hit us and then excitement (much to the receptionist's amusement ('If you are happy, I am happy,' she said) – Laura even jumped for joy- it is a very nice hotel! Tiny, as most hotel rooms in Paris are, but très bien for the cost!

We love Paris!

 First stop was, of course, food! Thankfully just across from our hotel was a restaurant called the Amalfi – yep, screw French food, bring on the Italian!- the food was delicious! As with every good restaurant in France the food was plentiful, the waiter won us over with his cheeky charm (we even got nicknames -  Sarah was 'Princess' and Laura was 'Baby' - it may have been the slightest bit creepy, in retrospect) and the food itself was…delicious!!

After a 2 hour cat nap in our cosy room we showered, dressed and hit the streets of Paris. The gloomy day had melted away and left us with a crisp and fresh early evening so the first stop had to be the Eiffel Tower only a few streets away (how amazing is it to stay 5 mins walk away from the Eiffel Tower!). It doesn’t matter how many times you see this sight, in day or night, in summer or winter, it never fails to make your heart skip a beat. At Christmas, the light show that happens every hour just adds to the magic! As we strolled hand-in-hand to the foot of the tower, the full moon shone so bright - it was a magical evening. We posed, we took other people's photos for them, we stood back and admired, and after an hour or so of Eiffel Tower-gazing, we continued our walk.

Next stop was the Arc de Triumph – actually Sarah’s favourite viewing spot of Paris! It’s a lot cheaper than the entrance fee to the Eiffel Tower (Laura's girlfriend, always on the hunt for good deals haha!) and the view from the top is spectacular – with the Champs de Elysee stretching below and all the streets meeting and circling the base you feel like you are on top of the world – and the best bit is you still get photos with the Eiffel in the background! Once again we maximised the photo ops before taking on the Champs-Elysées. From end to end the stroll takes almost an hour – for us it took almost 3 – for one very important reason- le CHRISTMAS MARKET! OK so sure, we can head to Hyde Park every lunch time for a Christmas market but the Champs-Elysées Christmas Market is something completely different! Perhaps because it’s French, maybe it’s because the night was perfect and so romantic or maybe it was just that feeling you get when you don’t want to be anywhere else…whatever the reason WE LOVE THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES CHRISTMAS MARKET!

The final part of our Friday night saunter around Paris took us over the Alexandre III bridge and across the Seine. The streets were so quiet (except for a brief moment when 10’s of police cars flew by) and we stopped and admired every building (Laura photographed, Sarah stood and stared). It was just such a nice night to be out and in Paris it couldn’t have been better.

To finish the evening we strolled back towards the Eiffel Tower and home and found signs for a market taking place in the morning – perfect – Day 2 organised!

Breakfast was served (by Sarah) in bed at a leisurely 11am – croissants & jam (now, we aren’t tightasses but breakfast our way costs all of €5 total for three days - the hotel breakfast was €11 each per day! – and ours was fresh from the bakers!!!!). As we headed out to a beautiful sunny day our sense of direction seemed to guide us the right way and before we knew it we were mid-market and surrounded with antiques and delicious-smelling French food! – yummy! After wandering aimlessly, we decided to go and visit the passages in Monmarte - the 'often missed' shopping area of old Paris.

We metro'd to the area and strolled the streets until we came across the passages - so easy to miss, but so worth going to. You enter an arched walkway with shops either side containing all kinds of assortments including an autographed photo store! Walking the length of the passages we came out a few streets away from the Galeries Lafayette - identified by the incredible number of lights covering the facade. Who knew that inside the Galeries was just about every person in Paris! Apparently over 100,000 people visit per day. No kidding, we had to 'queue' our way round the store to get the centre and ooooh and ahhhh at the AMAZING Christmas tree!

After working up an appetite, we didn't get far before coming across a restaurant for dinner, Chez Clement. It started off well enough, but lets say we met the Parisian French stereotype in the waiter - rude, un-attentive, arrogant and not at all interested in making our dinner pleasurable. In fact, we had big bins being wheeled passed us, doors held open to change these bins, letting the cold air in no less than FOUR times and mopping done around our feet - Laura had to move her purse so someone could mop, while we were eating our mains! To top it all off, after Laura got her dessert, we had to wait half an hour (and remind them twice) for Sarah's ice cream to turn up....and no-one in the restaurant cared! In fact we were told 'this is usual' by the manager, who was incredibly rude, and walked away while we were talking to him - then slagged us off in French to a nearby couple (Laura's translation skills meant he didn't get away with it!). So disappointing as the food was very good, but if you come across Chez Clement in Paris, we recommend wholeheartedly you do NOT eat there!

Why was our DC served with SPOONS?

Anyway, back to the positives....after dinner we headed back to the place guaranteed to put a smile back on our faces -  the Champs-Elysées - and we showed up just in time to see Santa and the reindeers fly! Really! It doesn't matter how old you are, Santa flying never gets old! Especially with a glass of vin chaud in hand!

For our final day in Paris, there was one sight Sarah had yet to see without scaffolding - the Notre Dame! The weather was freezing - and that meant never leaving each other's side for fear of becoming a block of ice! After a photo session and admiring the art stalls we took shelter in the most Christmassy looking restaurant we could find -  after all anywhere that makes an effort for Christmas has to be a good place....and it was! For our final meal en Paris, at Le Depart Saint-Michel, Laura got beef bourguignon (and decided it is now her favourite dish), Sarah opted for carbonara and we shared a side of French Fries (when in France, after all) - the meal was delicious! We definitely ate well!

And for those of you who have read our previous blog you'll be pleased to know that this time we made it back ON TIME and without any drama or extra costs! In fact we had time to peruse the shops at the airport and spend almost an hour in the macaroon store picking our first flavours to try.....see the reactions below!

We loved romantic Paris!

More photos will follow tomorrow on our Tumblr Account!!

Please comment, follow our blog, and follow us on Twitter!

Lots of love always, Laura & Sarah xo

What We Love About London / Welcome back!

Bon soir, mes amis!!

We are back home after an incredible long weekend in Paris - we ate, we sight-seed, we Christmas market-ed, we ate some more, we cuddled & kissed, it was manifique!

We will update you all with our trip tomorrow, but in the meantime, please read our guest blog on our friend Lacey's website, Lacey In The City!! We blogged for her all our favourite things in our home city, London! Hopefully it'll give you an idea of what to do if/when you visit, or re-kindle your love for the city, if you live here too!

http://www.laceyinthecity.com/2011/11/guest-post-laura-sarah-from-sprezzatura.html

And if you haven't already, also read about our manic adventure together in Paris two years ago! Talk about trains, planes and automobiles! (Read HERE!)

Love always, Laura & Sarah xo

Sarah's Fun Fact Fridays! - Oui Oui Paris j'adore!

Si vous lisez, le vendredi nous sommes a Paris! 

2 years ago we had our first joint trip to Paris – separately we have both been to Paris numerous times for school trips, days out and family holidays but never before had we been to Paris at Christmas time. 

Normally holidays should be spent in the sun (well so Sarah thought) but there is something magical about Paris at Christmas. 

On our first trip we arrived in Paris after a trip on the Eurostar to find our hotel room had a view of the Eiffel Tower. After embracing the romantic atmosphere and testing the bed we set about finding our way to Champs de Elysees. 

Strolling hand in hand dressed in warm winter coats we posed for photos and found an amazing restaurant to have dinner. The best thing about the Avenue des Champs-Élysées at this time of year is the fact that it has a Christmas market or village (19th November - 24th December 2011) - in fact Paris has plenty of markets around in the 6th arondissement at Saint Germain des Prés (Santa's village, from early December), and at St. Sulpice (from around 10th December - crafts and traditions). Others can be found at in the Trocadero Gardens (mid to end December 2011) Montparnasse, the Gare de l'Est and the Place de la Nation (from Dec. 1st).  

Of course we did the usual Eiffel Tower admiring and enjoyed the view from the Arc de Triumph (after all a view of Paris has to include the Eiffel Tower and if you are up it, it defeats the point). We then found an antiques market and got lost in sampling food!

In fact it was a perfect trip......until the end! Have you ever heard of the film 'Planes, trains and automobiles'? Film synopsis = 2 guys trying to get home for Christmas, transport trouble and weather forces them to use all modes of transport! What has this got to do with our trip to Paris? OK well we were enjoying our food when we realised the time- we had an hour to get across Paris to the airport - not good! So we got on the metro and arrived at the airport with 30 minutes to spare. Except we were in the wrong terminal - our terminal was a 20 minute walk away- I tried to convince an airport worker that Laura had broken her ankle and could they let our flight know that we were in the airport and on our way (whether it got lost in translation or we weren't convincing enough the answer was NO - and yup we missed the flight! Plan B = book new flights.....ohno not that simple, it turns out that as I am a few years older than Laura, and was over 25, I had to pay £700 for my flight while Laura paid £200! Now we don't have that kind of money so that plan was ruled out. Stuck in the airport, unable to get a flight & without any more metro tickets (oh and needing to be back to deliver a training course the next morning) panic set in. First tears, then more panic, then steadfast determination to get home! Plan C = get the EuroStar.....so we 'illegally' jumped back on to the metro and made it back to the Gard de Nore and to the EuroStar....this time £200 each for 1st class tickets on a train that left in an hour. Once on the train we realised a slight problem - my car was at Heathrow Airport and the EuroStar gets into St Pancreas. (Are you seeing the link to the film?) Once back in the UK we had to get a tube to Heathrow, then a bus to our car AND THEN we drove home! 2 lessons here - DON'T FORGET TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE TIME and DON'T MISS YOUR FLIGHT! Lets hope that we have learnt our lessons this time!

And as this is Fun Fact Friday here are a few French facts for you before we go…..

Paris is the capital city of France, the largest country of Europe with 550 000 km2.

Paris, with 2 million inhabitants, is the center of Ile de France, a 12 million people region. 

Each year, 44 million tourists visit Paris and the surrounding Ile de France region. Paris is year after year the most visited city in the world.

The top attractions are Disneyland (15 million visitors a year), the Louvre Museum (8), the Eiffel Tower (7), Centre Pompidou (5), Versailles Palace (5) and Cite des Sciences(3).

We will be adding to our top spots to visit over the next few days so for now Au Revoir.....