Paris When It Sizzles

With my boudoir adorned with París from canvas' on the wall to the smallest of details such as the baroque on my dressing table to my Tour Eiffel doorstop, my love for París is one that far outweighs any other... even more than London! And for those who know me well, you know that London is my never ending love affair.

“London is a riddle. Paris is an explanation.”

With Paris Fashion week having just wrapped up and seeing all the wonderful snapchats and instagrams of París I knew that it was time to breathe some parisian air and as we all know, "Paris is always a good idea!" We arrived in parís in the late evening, which was perfect seeing that we were in a city that never sleeps, thats what I love most about Paris, it can be 9am, 3pm or even 4am and you can never be overdressed, afterall it is the global fashion capital for Haute Couture...

With our boutique hotel being in prime location on Rue d'Artois, moments away from Champs-Élysées, we knew exactly where we were headed that evening. With Arc De Triomph to our left and Häagen-Dazs opposite us we were entirely spoilt for choice, after all it is not often you get Häagen-Dazs ice cream with a view. 🍨

Well as they say, "when in rome do as the romans do"... we decided to experience Paris in a true parisian manner. With a late start to the morning we headed to Ladurée for brunch. Now if you wanted an 8,000 word rant on why I abslutely adore Ladurée it would be a piece of cake... Simply everything about the Parisian tea room fascinates me, not only is Ladurée known for it's superb quality and perfect texture of macarons, alongside its french baroque architechture of the houses but the entire thought process and intelligence that lead to Ladurée becoming elegant, unique and representative of the French dream.

"In 1871, Baron Haussmann was giving Paris a new face, a fire in the Ladurée bakery opened the opportunity to transform it into a pastry shop which was decorated by Jules Cheret, a famous turn-of-the-century painter and poster artist. The beginning of this century found Paris wrapped up in an effervescent and buzzing atmosphere. Women were changing, they wanted to go out and make new acquaintances. Literary salons and literature circles were outmoded. Jeanne Souchard succeeded in combining the style of Parisian cafés and the delicacies of French patisserie, giving birth to one of the first of the capital"

Next stop... Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

Alongside the outstanding predominantly French Gothic building standing before us, stood a queue of equal significance behind us to enter the quirky combination of Renaissance and Naturalism construction of a cathedral LOL. With only a couple of days in Paris, we decided to make our time worthwhile and skipped ahead to the iconic feature of Paris (my favourite feature) - La Tour Eiffel.

One could not possibly leave París without seeing 'Paris when it sizzles', and rightly so, there was no way I was boarding a plane back to London without seeing La Tour Eiffel illuminate before me! Our evening could have not been more spectacular as we made our way up the Eiffel Tower in the glass lifts which offer you a panoramic view over the extraordinary example of audacious architecture that the monument is. We stood two hundred and seventy six metres closer to the skies above us and were rewarded with a simply stunning and breathtaking view of Paris and its monuments, as they glistened and lit up the city with such elegance and simplicity that even the glimmers of street lamps and car lights in the distance held their own extravagance.