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“PARIS is always a good idea.”
…even in January.
Arriving in style via Easy Jet (it’s slightly better then Ryan Air, we had seats and a trained pilot) was awesome, here we are, Paris – the ‘city of light’. La ville lumiere.
Paris, the ‘city of wine and cheese and light’ – better.
The French are a sophisticated lot and have their priorities in the right place: Wine, cheese, wine, food, wine, baguettes, wine, cafes and wine. We found the Parisians super nice and friendly and we loved hearing the chirpy “Bonjour !” in the mornings upon entering a pretty cafe for a cappuccino and croissant – “voilà!” While people gazing over our coffees and wine, we noticed that the Parisians are always carrying a baguette, at all times – it was amusing to find the stereotype is actually true! However we never heard the famous “hoh-hoh-hoh !”
One of our favourite things to do was walk and walk and walk the streets of Paris and window shop for sweets and pastries, and indulge in a crepe or a macaroon or a chocolate croissant.
It was magical…
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…Day one was reserved for the Eiffel Tower and we were pretty exited, we even contemplated taking the stairs (Matt Likes stairs, Lena doesn’t!) While in line for the elevator we read up on its history and it is interesting to know that the tower wasn’t always loved, in fact the Parisians thought of it as an eye sore and nick named it the giant asparagus! We read at one point there were plans to have it demolished had it not been an ideal radio transmitter, and so it stayed. Thank you radio!…
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…Visiting the Louvre was a must and it was overwhelming, it’s absolutely huge. We got lost in the greek age and there seemed to be no way out, then got equally lost in the 16th century religious paintings, followed by hallways and hallways of hanging carpets…
HELP!
Finally we found the Mona Lisa and seeing it was a surreal experience, the most famous painting in the world behind a throng of tourists waving their i phones in the air. For me the ‘enigmatic smile’ has been replaced with one of bemusement. We got a better look at her in the gift shop…
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…at the modern art museum…
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…We stayed in the Montmartre region of Paris which is ‘the quintessential Paris’ (Lonely Planet) This was the perfect place for us to stay, we loved it there. Montmartre is where Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s wonderful film ‘Amelie’ was shot. Our hotel was actually just up the road from the Cafe des Deux Moulins , the cafe where Amelie works. It’s a big tourist attraction now and we of course had to pay it a visit…
…The food was amazing and we wanted to try as much as possible, the highlight being snails…
…And who knows, maybe we’ll photograph a destination wedding or an engagement session in France one day, lets hope.