The Louvre Museum
Two weeks ago my friend Sandi and I spent a chill out weekend in Paris. We'd been expecting it to be cold and wet, and had braced ourselves for endless hours in department stores and museums. Instead, we woke up on Saturday morning to bright sunshine which lasted until mid afternoon, so we bought tickets for the open top tour bus and decided to leave the museums for another time.
As it happens we managed to see quite a lot of the city in one day: the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, the Latin Quarter, the Champs-Elysées, Saint Germain des Pres and everything in between.
Place de la Concorde
Parisian driving :-)
Buskers at the Ile de la Cité
Notre Dame cathedral
The Eiffel Tower at sunset
Parisian driving :-)
Buskers at the Ile de la Cité
Notre Dame cathedral
The Eiffel Tower at sunsetWe wandered round Saint Germain and the Champs-Elysées and even caught a "just married" couple being photographed in front of the Arc de Triomphe. How special was that?
Congratulations, whoever you are!
Between sightseeing tours, we managed to fit in quick trips to Sephora and Fnac for supplies of cosmetics and DVDs, although we were unsuccessful in finding a LV bag for Sandi (apparently out of stock!!) and Diptyque candles for me (couldn't find the shop). We didn't have much luck with the cake shops either - Ladurée was busy at the time we visited and we never made it to Stohrer. Maybe next time.
TRAGEDY
We did have some yummy food though. Friday night dinner at L'Avenue (118 € for two risottos, two small glasses of wine and two giant desserts, but *so* worth it), Saturday lunch overlooking the Louvre courtyard at Café Marly, scrummy Berthillon ice-cream at the trendy Ile Saint-Louis, and Saturday dinner with friends at Le Relais de l'Entrecôte followed by drinks till late. It was gone 3 AM by the time we got back to the hotel and 7 hours later I was meeting another friend for hot chocolate at the Hotel Meurice. Life's tough in the fast lane.
The chocolate eclair was clearly happy to see Sandi
Club sandwich and croque-madame at Café Marly
Scrummy Berthillon ice-cream
Steak and fries at Le Relais de l'Entrecôte
Anyone for seconds?
All in all, a very relaxing weekend of good food, good shops and good company, and the sightseeing wasn't bad either ;-)
Sandi, we must do it again soon xxx
12 comments:
Hi Tinsie, I'm so envious... ;))
You surely had great fun! LV, Marly, Relais de L'Entrecôte (Marbeuf or St.Germain?) and, the sherry on the top, Meurice...
Where were you staying? The Ritz or the Plaza Athenée?
Thanks for your comments at Blogtrotter, where you may now see the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. Hope you enjoy it!
Have a great weekend!
Gil
OH WOW Tinsie! What a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing the photos with us, I would love to be there!
What a great weekend! I was in Paris for work on Wednesday, but those one day jaunts just fly by. But next week I'm going for five days for fun! Well, I'll have three teenage girls with me, but it will be fun nonetheless!
Very awesome. And I am very jealous. I wish I were in Europe. :(
God how I'd love to have gone as well. Maybe this summer. Any recommendations on where to stay? I can't wait for summer actually. I am in dire need of some R and R combined with some culture and socialising with adults. A chance to brush up on my rusty french(actually it's beyond rusty, it's more like the final stages of deterioration)Merci and Au revoir.
@ GMG: We stayed at a small hotel off the Champs-Elysées, it was nice but nothing like the Ritz or the Plaza! The Relais de l'Entrecôte we went to was the one in St Germain. It was a fun weekend and I can't wait to return to Paris.
@ Palmtreefanatic: Glad you liked the photos! Paris is very photogenic :-)
@ Betty: Five days, wow! I've never been to Paris for longer than a couple of days. I'd love to go for a proper break, even if I had to take 3 teenage girls with me!
@ Cheryl: The old continent has its advantages for sure ;-)
@ Indie: You book the tix, I'll sort out the accommodation :-)
Yo my friend, what a wonderful weekend get-away...I wanna go again ya!!
Yo..that's a huge chocolate elcair ya hehehe...
I tell you, that was a happy eclair if I've ever seen one ;-)
Oh, Tinsie! I'm green with envy, especially after the week I've had! We did the open air tour bus, too. I took a brilliant picture on the bus of the Monkey's head, complete with goofy face, with the Louvre in the background. I wish I'd had some tips on where to eat, your food looks/sounds amazing. Come to think of it, everything I've ever eaten anywhere in France has been wonderful. Hard to go wrong with French cuisine, I guess.
Glad you had fun!
Thank you for sharing your photos and trip. I am totally jealous, but seeing those lovely pics and hearing about your good time made me feel a little happier. If only I could have a weekend in Paris...it is a bit of a haul from Durham, North Carolina, USA!
What beautiful pictures Tinsie!! Paris is a great place - for someone who has only ever experienced La Defence on boring work trips, to see the "real" Paris was amazing. Thanks so much for being a faultless tour guide and to your friends for taking us to a great restaurant/bar. We must do it again indeed ;) xx
What a neat thing to do! Wonderful pictures, too! Wow! :)
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