Life Through a Lens: Paris Trip

This post is very long, I won't blame you for skipping to the photos at the end of this post :) xxxx

Last Monday, I went with of my best friends, Lauren, her mum and grandma to Paris for five days. we had the best time. I've never been to Paris before (unless you count Disney) and I'm a total sucker for seeing the sights and going to really iconic places (this is someone who cried when they saw the statue of liberty) so I was super excited to get to see all the amazing sights that Paris has to offer.
We flew to Paris from Heathrow in London, and the flight when smoothly, despite Lauren coming over a little odd on the flight. Once we arrived in Paris, we had to catch the Metro to Rue Rambeteau where our apartment was situated. It was crowded, hot, and generally unpleasant but we arrived there none the less. We then had a short walk to our apartment, and we arrived and it was just the cutest apartment, very small, but in a fabulous central location. We went out to a restaurant on the road where our apartment was situated, for cocktails (I had a tequila sunrise which quite honestly tasted like Christmas Pudding) and a meal.

On Tuesday, Lauren and I walked to a nearby patisserie to get breakfast, then we walked around, until we reached the Notre Dame, which was a stunning, gothic looking church. We didn't go inside as the queue was huge, but just from outside it looked magnificent. We then headed for the Louvre, but it is closed on Tuesday's, so we just mooched around, having a look in the unusual pet shops where they actually have puppies behind glass. Odd. Some of the places weren't very nice, with weird smells, and all the puppies looking a bit docile, but one shop was lovely; clean, with a very friendly owner who let Lauren and I stroke and hold the puppies! We also visited the padlock bridge, where there are honestly millions of padlocks stuck on the bridge. We bought one, and attached it, it was quite exciting really! For dinner, we got things to prepare a salad, and went back to the apartment, where I tidied and cleaned up, whilst Lauren made dinner-teamwork!

Wednesday involved lots of walking. We went to the Louvre, and queued for a while, before entering the most beautiful building I have ever been in. The sculpture room was so beautiful, with high ceilings, large glass panes, and impressive marble statues. I am not really an arty person, but even I appreciated the sculptures! Lauren and I then got very excited as we neared to where the Mona Lisa was situated. But if I'm honest, it was a bit of a disappointment! It is very small, and although a very historical painting, and it is good to say I have seen it, the experience was far from pleasurable, as it is in a huge room with lots of other paintings, and people pushing and shoving to get closer to the painting, making it near on impossible to get a good photo! We then left the Louvre after seeing a few more rooms, because it was so hot! We then walked through some gardens, back out onto the main roads, and proceeded to make our way to the Eiffel Tower. It is really an impressive structure, and Lauren and I decided we would climb the steps to the top, which seemed like a good idea. Well, I really did not enjoy climbing it. Mainly because I am a scaredy-cat! I happily made my way up the first few flights, but I did not like the fact I could see through the tower to the ground, and my legs got really shaky and I was seriously contemplating walking back down. But we got to the first level and the sight was breath-taking. It was amazing to be able to literally see the whole of Paris, so I was totally up for climbing up the next flight, just to see more of the incredible view. But again I got quite nervous, and once at the top, I could hardly take a photo because I didn't want to have to let go of the hand rails! We then went back down, which took me ages because I was gripping to the hand rail for dear life, whilst Lauren literally hopped, skipped and jumped down them! We then went to an American style restaurant called Indiana's, where Lauren fell in love with the waiter, and we had a few cocktails.

Thursday, we went to the Sacre Coeur, a simply incredible church/cathedral (?) where I lit a candle for my nanny and granddad, and we just wondered round admiring the beauty. Unfortunately you cannot take any photos inside, but if you ever go to Paris, it is so worth going there, although the inside is a bit over commercialised. We then walked through Montmartre, where artists asked to paint you, and there are lots of shops and cafes. We continued walking to the Moulin Rouge area, where we took some photos, and then sat in a café and people watched for a while, which was fun! As it was our last night, we went for dinner and ordered a few cocktails (I had a peach champagne cocktail which was delicious, then I traded with Kelly for the second one, and had a cocktail with rose syrup, gin, vodka and champagne which was quite strong!) we then walked back home, stopping twice, once for an espresso and once for a majito. We then went back to the apartment and finished up any food or drink we had, listening to the les mis soundtrack (sophisticated evening...) before going to sleep.

On Friday, we went to the Pompidou Centre, a big modern art gallery. The exterior is really creative, and I was super excited because we were going to see the Roy Lichtenstein exhibition. I was so happy because unlike some of my best friends, I'm not very artistic and I was very happy because I knew who he was, and what's more I love love love his work. I was even more excited because apparently it will be the only exhibition where all the pieces will be in one place, because they are all privately owned. We then took a more pleasurable trip on the metro then when we arrived, and checked in at the airport...where we spent four hours just hanging around doing crosswords, eating macaroons and chatting. We had a really quick flight back, and Kelly drove us home.

I had such a wonderful time, and I'm sorry if this post is too detailed, boring, impersonal, or maybe not detailed enough, or too personal. As you may have realised I am still a bit nervous about this blog! I also apologise for how long this post has taken me to make, I've been working for my dad this week, and have been generally really busy! Anyway, some photos!