My long weekend in paris

Paris is one of those cities that you just have to visit in your lifetime. People come to visit the city from all over the world, and yet being just a stone throw away, us Brits just don't seem to be as intrigued or as keen to visit as opposed to those who come from across the pond or from other parts of the world. I have been to Paris before, however I was too young to remember it, I just have the one foggy memory of waiting for my dad and brothers whilst they climbed the Eiffel tower. As a very generous 21st birthday gift, my Mum decided to take me to the city. I of course brought all my own spending euros for food, travel and attractions but she sorted all the main travel, hotels and tickets out. Along with New York, Paris is the city that I had been longing to visit for many moons, and I always found it frustrating with how close it is to me, yet I had never had the time (or money) to visit. And as cliché and materialistic as it sounds, ever since Kimye started their fascination with the city, and always seemed to visit I thought if its good enough for them, then by golly its good enough for me!

Mum and myself set off at 6am on the Saturday morning, and travelled to Paris on the Eurostar, (probably the simplest and quickest way to travel into the city centre, however not the cheapest) this was unflawed, and before we knew it we were on the Parisian streets, all sunglasses and stripes ready for our adventure. We were staying in a hotel called Palm Opera, which was ironically decked out with palm trees decor and 70's style furniture. Mum picked this hotel, and I can say with confidence that I could not fault it at all. Check-in was so simple and easy, and we were greeted by a table of complimentary coffee, sweets, cakes, biscuits, fruit and cans of drink which were available any time, which was so handy as after a long day of walking all I wanted was a cold can of coke, and it was free! The hotel was overall very clean, slick and modern yet with a twist of eccentric Parisian style. Our hotel room was pristine and we had a delightful authentic Parisian balcony which looked over the street, (our hotel was fairly central, but we did have a handy tube station right by the hotel) One thing I loved about the hotel, which my mum found strange was the bathroom... it was just so modern and slick and had the power shower from heaven, and was the one thing I would look forward to arriving at the hotel after a long old day of roaming the streets of Paris.

I think its safe to say that we literally did everything on this trip, we climbed the Eiffel tower in a thunder storm, took a boat ride on the river Seine, climbed the Arc De Triomphe, drank champagne at night by the foot of the Eiffel tower, dined whilst watching the famous Moulin Rouge show, took a cycle ride along the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, visited the Louvre and stood before the Mona Lisa, visited the love lock bridge, saw the beautiful Notre-dam, dined in the famous Laudree cafe, shopped, (or browsed) through the famous designer stores such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel, ate truck loads of macaroons (when in Paris) and probably my favourite part, visited Versailles on the most beautifully autumnal day. Perfect.

We had four full days in Paris, and everyday was jam-packed, we were up at 7.00am everyday and would arrive back in the hotel at around 10pm every evening. There is just so much to see and do in this City. Even though I was exhausted every night from the walking and tube travel, you just have to make sure you do it all. There’s no point in coming to one of the richest cities in culture and saying ‘I wish I had done that’. I fully had the best time ever, and it is up there with one of my favourite holidays ever. Seeing the Eiffel tower at night is just so unbelievably magical and I can’t wait to return with my boyfriend. The city is brimming with culture and stunning architecture and I’m just so glad I had my new camera to capture it all.