Returning to Paris

To say that my 22nd birthday in Paris will be memorable is probably putting in mildly. I'm not usually one to complain about heat and sun (because believe me, I love it!) but 40 degree heat in the middle of a busy city is pretty hard going. That, combined with a very ill mum and horrendous delays on the Eurostar to get back to England certainly made for an eventful trip!

Nevertheless, we did enjoy ourselves. I managed to go back to many of my favourite places and I enjoyed just being able to wander around Le Marais area again. 

Photo taken on my run as the sun was coming up. One of my most memorable runs!

It got up to 38 degrees on my birthday but I went out for a run at 6.30am before it got too hot. I was absolutely determined to go because I knew that running round Paris, past the Louvre, Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame on my birthday was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I couldn't miss! Then we went to Le Pain Quotidien (I know, I know it's a chain but I just adore this place) and had their delicious Crunola with a bread basket. I'm hoping to recreate the base of the Crunola which was banana, coconut and cashew nut butter and totally creamy and scrummy - I'll keep you posted if I'm successful!

We spent the morning shopping for a little present I could take home for myself and actually didn't find anything! But that wasn't a great loss as I got to spend my birthday creating the most incredibly memories in Paris. In the afternoon, the heat began to get to mum and we needed to get out of the sun for a while. Mum took me to the patisserie in BHV in Le Marais where, after cheekily telling them it was my birthday, we chose two patisseries (mine was the most incredible vanilla layered mousse) and the waitress brought them over with a candle and chocolate birthday plaque - in French! It was such a thoughtful thing to do and really made my day special. 

We spent the evening in my favourite bar that I fell in love with on my year abroad - La Favorite. My favourite cocktails there used to be the French Kiss but since they had changed the menu I tried the Peach Margarita and my failsafe, Cosmo (they do a mean Cosmo!). I would definitely recommend the Margarita though! Strong, but really good. I'd recommend going in Happy Hour between 7pm and 9pm to benefit from half prices (otherwise it's a fairly pricey place). It was great to have the hotel so conveniently located across the road from my favourite haunt, find it here because I'd definitely recommend it!

The Peach Margarita at La Favorite

Unfortunately, getting home put a slight dampener on our time in Paris. Mum felt ill on the Wednesday we were meant to go back, and with our train in the evening, we felt it was better to get to Gare du Nord early so at least we were there and wouldn't have to worry about her being able to get there if she worsened. However, the station was absolutely sweltering and we were waiting for an hour and a half before we were supposedly meant to board. But the Eurostar was experiencing delays on a huge scale that day so by the time we actually go on the train, we were already delayed by at least an hour, and then the train ended up stopping about 20 minutes after setting off and didn't go again for almost 2 hours. As you can imagine, with the heat, a lack of water and delays, we were feeling a bit fed up. But it really could have been worse. Yes, we got stuck in London but dad had booked a lovely hotel for us which was amazing when we finally got in and slept for 4 hours before getting the train home. Like I said - certainly a memorable trip!

Has anyone else been affected by the Eurostar/Eurotunnel problems recently? How have you coped in the heat this week? Did you love it or hate it? Let me know!