SWEETIESAL

It's official. I am hopelessly obsessed and in love with Paris!

Me and my friend Steph literally did a 24 hour whistle stop tour of gay Paris which kicked off with a pre-dawn flight to Charles-De-Gaulle at 6am on Saturday morning (this meant a 3am wakeup to get showered and ready for the day ahead!!) we arrived in Paris very early and decided to get the train into Gare Du Nord to experience a little authentic Parisien travelling and to save on the Euros it would cost to get a taxi!

It was so easy to do this, cost 9.50 Euros each and was hilarious. Hilarious because a busker got on the train with his accordion and then treated us to some tunes and broke into singing towards the end of his performance. He had some serious pipes on him so I wasn't too irritated when he did the rounds with his cup to ask for change!

We then got a taxi to our hotel once we were in Paris Centre which caused us some confusion as we tried to figure out what the 'I'm free' sign was! We got to our hotel around 9.30am and then went out to have some breakfast which was lovely. We knew that we had several sights in mind we wanted to see (including Laduree and Sephora.. lol) so we headed to the Champs Elysees where we found some of the most lovely shops, restaurants and views!

It was pretty icy/cold which made walking around a bit annoying as we feared for a head over heels incident so when we spotted a bus tour we thought we would invest in it! At 27 Euros per person it wasn't cheap but it was a good way to get round the city to see everything in our limited time. Because of the snow we couldn't sit up stairs which I think probably ruined it slightly for us, but we did get to see alot and I think I would do it again if I went and get the 2 day ticket at 29 Euros as for a hop on, hop off service I think it would be much more worth it!

We went to the Eiffel Tower and my god I just love it! I can't wait to have some of my photos developed as I have always wanted a sepia print of the Tower and it makes it so much more special that it will be my picture. I have taken so many photos of it, it borders on embarrassing!

We were flagging a bit by this point so a nap time in the hotel was VERY much needed so that we could manage to stay up to go out in the evening! Word of warning however.. Paris Hotel rooms are notoriously small and ours didn't break that tradition. Don't get me wrong the hotel was lovely - we stayed at a Holiday Inn Grands Boulevards which was brand new inside, just a very small room which had the smallest double bed I have EVER seen! To the point where we didn't have normal sized pillows which was just odd! So one recommendation would be to get twin rooms if you are there with friends as otherwise you will have to get up close and personal!

After a nap we headed out for some dinner around our hotel, as we were very close to Montmartre so we thought that it would be nice and lively, which it was! We had a slight detour via a French Pharmacie (Blog Post to come!) and then headed to Hard Rock Cafe for a pre-dinner cocktail! Because we wanted an authentic French evening meal, we ate at a little restaurant whose speciality was Fondue and Raclette, I ended up having Steak Frites but it was seriously delicious! We then had a wander back to the hotel, enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and picked up a nutella crepe just to sample the local delights fully... ;o)

We had a fairly early night as we needed to be up and out of the hotel room for our taxi at 6.45am to get to the airport and I can genuinely say I was sorry to be leaving. The snow had got worse over night however so how pleasant our day would have been if we had had longer I don't know, but one thing is for sure - I 100% want to go back! Everything was so pretty, the people watching was incredible and admiring the style was really good fun.

I think I would love to go back in the summer as I can imagine it would be easier to wander around when it is warm and all the cafes would be so lovely to sit outside and people watch! Also, whoever said the French can be rude are COMPLETELY wrong. We encountered really lovely people wherever we went and also people telling you that they don't like it if you don't at least attempt to speak French are exaggerating massively! We threw in the odd merci and je voudrais which was as much as our GCSE Francais would afford us but still I think the preconceptions that I had were completely false.

So there is part 1 of my Paris Adventure! Check back as I will soon be popping up a post of my French Pharmacie purchases and a spotlight on Laduree who make the most heavenly Macaroons!

Au Revoir!