Five Favourites: Paris

It's pretty much a Paris-themed week on the blog due to my recent return so I thought I'd continue with this week's Five Favourites dedicated to my favourite places/things to do in Paris. So if you're planning a trip, here's five ideas for you:

1. Have a cocktail in La Favorite
Absolutely my favourite bar in Le Marais. It's been my haunt for a while, throughout my placement year and when I returned this week. It's a little pricey but Happy Hour (7pm to 9pm) solves that, plus they really are seriously good cocktails. I can also vouch for the mocktails being incredible too, and are also included in Happy Hour. Find details on their website here.

2. Eat Ladurée macarons

When people say they are the best in Paris, they're not wrong. I reckon there are a few independent patisseries that equal them but they are worth their name and, if you're going to try macarons while in France (which you should!) then they may as well be Ladurée with their many enticing flavours. If you can drag your eyes away from the pastel coloured rainbow of macarons then they also do other patisseries and bakes, as pictured above. Find the nearest shop here.

3. Cycle around Le Marais
I was persuaded by a friend to do this on my year abroad and was so pleased I did! I love Le Marais anyway but if you're brave enough to jump on one of the Velibs (find one close to Le Marais by Saint Paul metro stop) it gives a totally different view of this pretty area. The streets are far quieter too so you can worry less about traffic! 

4. Sit on one of the bridges
It almost doesn't matter which one because they all give a different but gorgeous perspective of Paris. Watch the sun go down, or come up and it'll be magical. Watching the sun go down the night before my birthday was truly memorable!



5. Visit Shakespeare and Company bookshop
If you're a Literature student, or just love books, you'll love this little bookshop. It is a bit of a tourist trap and there are other equally cute bookshops in Paris but this is easy to find, and is next to Notre Dame to just pop in. Its history and charming nooks, along with its dedicated reading spaces make it a book-lover's dream. Make sure to go as soon as it opens for a quieter experience. Click here for their website.


Hope I've given you some ideas for your trip to Paris! Do you have any favourite haunts? I'd love to hear them!

City Break: Packing for a weekend in Paris

I think it'd be pretty hard to have missed how excited I am that I'm returning. But allow me to clarify that I am UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED. It actually feels like I'm going home. Ever since I left, pretty much this same time last year, I've wanted to return and this summer finally provided me with the opportunity. What better way to spend my 22nd birthday (eeek!) in my favourite city in the world? Naturally, with such excitement came an epic planning/organisation explosion. I'm pretty sure I've driven mum insane. My packing list has been slowly finalised over the last month or so. Considering I'm going for a total of two nights, I actually do understand how ridiculous this sounds but in case you hadn't gathered - I'm excited. It's also meant to be hot when we're there. And I mean hot. Like currently an estimated 38 degrees on Wednesday, whaaaat! Amazing, but I also remember how sticky the city can be so forward outfit planning is a good idea. So here's a second post for this week (crazy, I know) about what I'll be taking along with me on my Paris summer city break...

Basics
3x tops, one of them striped (of course!)
2x skater skirt, one black, one denim
1x pair loose jeans for travelling
Comfy shoes (don't be fooled though, even Clark's can be comfy and stylish)
(I hope I don't need to say underwear here, I feel like that's a given!)

Special
Dress for the evening
Exercise clothes (if you're like me and can't resist the opportunity to go for a run while you're there!)

Extras
Sunglasses - do not forget those sunnies
1x belt to accessorise (mainly with the skater skirt)
1x scarf, also to accessorise and as a good wrap in the evenings
Across the body bag (think having it slung around your front to keep an eye on it) or one with a decent zip, I still haven't decided on the one I'm taking!

And here's some outfit ideas that I've got in mind...

By watching all the Parisians and their impeccable style for a year, I've learnt that it's good to stick to fairly neutral colours. Think blacks, whites, navies - all classics that can be mixed and matched. Also, make sure you're comfortable... You don't see Parisians wiggling about in their short shorts because they keep riding up - they just wear longer, looser, comfier clothes and exude that incredibly chic je ne sais quoi we all know and love.

Having spent time in Paris, I feel so much better prepared and have a fairly good idea about not screaming 'tourist' with my clothes! I'd like to think I'm not a tourist, but of course, in the eyes of the Parisians, I'm sure I am! If you're planning a similar city break and are struggling with packing, I hope this has helped! I'd love to know any other ideas/tips you have, comment below! :)

City Break - Amsterdam

This week has verged on the crazy, as I've jumped from dissertation hand-in to a cocktail night, to an Easter trail ride, followed by a night out and, oh yeah, flying to Amsterdam. But boy has it it been worth it!

I'm finally home for Easter, and it's never felt more like a country retreat than it does now! After my mad running around, I was shattered. It was definitely one of those good exhaustions, but having survived on little sleep for the past five days and been constantly on-the-go, coming home has provided me the wind-down I needed!

It seems totally surreal that only three days ago I was with my two best friends on our final day in Amsterdam. It was such a total whirlwind but we managed to pack everything in, and actually I think three days was the perfect amount of time. The whole trip was honestly so brilliant, and I couldn't have spent it in better company. We had such a great time together, treating ourselves to a well-deserved break after an incredibly stressful few weeks of intense dissertation work.

The gorgeous flower markets are well worth a visit.

I have to say, I didn't really know what to expect from Amsterdam. With the infamous Red Light District and the drugs, it took some research to identify the interesting historical side of the city and other things we could do. Before we went, we booked the Heineken Experience which was absolutely worth the time and was incredible value! I don't like beer and unfortunately even Mr Heineken couldn't sway me, but the Heineken Experience was such a surprisingly fun afternoon! We turned up expecting to queue for a long time to get in, only to walk straight through which was such a relief given our numb fingers and toes. The tour took about one and a half hours, excluding the boat ride which was about another half hour. Included in the ticket price were two tokens that got you either two smaller beers, or one larger, colder one (or a pepsi, thank goodness!). Plus, another token could be exchanged for a free gift. We also got a small Heineken sample on the way round. Needless to say, my friend ended up drinking quite a bit what with me passing my beers straight to her! It was all really interactive too, and genuinely really interesting. I'd really recommend doing it if you're going to the city!

Photo credit: Sophie (thanks, girl!)

We also booked the Ice Bar. I've never been to the one in London, and I think it's probably quite different but with three drinks tokens, this also turned out to be great value and so much fun! Sounds ridiculous and I'm sorry to point on the obvious, but it was cold. It said -9 degrees and I just didn't realise that could feel so cold! The ice glasses were an awesome touch but I just felt that I needed thicker gloves that the ones supplied! We had one cocktail before entering, and then in the 20 minutes inside the ice bar, you can have another two drinks. Believe me when I say you'll need them!!

The Anne Frank museum was also brilliant. Having queued in the pouring rain for over 45 minutes with frozen fingers and soaked feet and with all of us having gone slightly hysterical, it definitely made for a memorable afternoon! When we finally got in (we couldn't book online, and no one else seemed to have booked in advance either) the museum was so well set-out and very informative. I've read the majority of Anne Frank's Diary, and intend to finish it after I graduate (one of a long list of books), and have always felt that her story is incredibly moving. Walking around the house I had read about was absolutely one of the greatest highlights of the trip and was well worth the money. I would particularly recommend staying to watch the video at the very end as well because it helps to express just what a poignant piece of history the diary is.

The city itself was beautiful, although it subverted my expectations of a city. Say capital city and I think noise, busy-ness, probably thousands of tourists, crime. Amsterdam had none of this. I don't want to betray Paris here (don't worry, I'll always love you), but I actually felt safer in Amsterdam than in Paris. Not once did I feel threatened or that I had to keep a constant eye out for pickpockets. Maybe I've trained myself to be automatically wary but there was never a sense of it being a tourist trap like Venice where there could always be a pickpocket waiting to take something. It was also so calm! We got out fairly early on Saturday morning but even by lunchtime, it had only just started to get busy! To be able to walk down streets and in and out of shops without negotiating hundreds of other people was such a serene feeling and made the trip so enjoyable.



Apparently while we'd been there the whole city had experienced a powercut, but considering we'd been out and about during this time and we were due to fly back the next day, we heard absolutely nothing. Good job everything was up and running the next day really, otherwise we wouldn't have known whether our flight was on time! It just showed how much we ended up being in our own little world while discovering the city.

They definitely know how to serve tea!

Food-wise, I found the prices and choice pretty great. I loved the variety of independent restaurants and some of them were really amazing value! The Pancake Bakery near the Anne Frank museum was a definite favourite and is worth a mention. They let us take our order back to our hotel, instead of eating in, and wrapped them all up with cutlery and plates - so lovely! My goats' cheese, sun-dried tomato, pine nuts and honey wasn't that cheap but was diviiine!

The Pancake Bakery, Amsterdam. Particularly recommend the goats' cheese pancake. Yum.

One final thing that I have to comment on is the people. I was so impressed by the generally high level of English spoken. To be honest, the whole city was fairly anglicised with a lot of shops with English names, even outside the main tourist hubs. But not once did I feel bad about not speaking the language, something that I've felt in France on numerous occasions despite the fact I can actually speak okay French. It was the total opposite! I've always been conscious of being the English person who can't be bothered to learn another language, but most people seemed to actually enjoy having the opportunity to talk to a native English speaker. Which brings me to my next point - the Dutch are so friendly!! Nothing was ever too much, and we were always greeted with smiles. What a lovely bunch.

Before we booked Amsterdam, we knew we wanted a city with culture, history, and somewhere where we could just have a bit of down time after the stress of dissertation. Amsterdam really did offer all of this and more. The architecture is so unusual but gorgeous (look up and you'll notice that most of the buildings are wonky!), the parks offered a snippet view of the daily Amsterdam life, the museums ticked our culture/history boxes and the cute cafés and people made our stay an extremely happy and relaxing one. So if you haven't been, or are thinking about going - don't hesitate! Get booking!

I had to include this photo but I feel like it's sort of been photobombed by the lady on the right... Authentic tourist right there.