Why I Miss Paris...

It feels like an eternity ago since I've been to Paris... 

The Louvre

Paris to me is memorable for so many reasons. It was the first city I visited in the EU outside of Dublin and was meant to be a treat for my 28th birthday. This is also where I started my first foray into designer handbags. PIC gave me my first LV handbag and I bought my first pair of LV sunglasses in this city. 

As a birthday gift, PIC gave me the limited edition Marc Jacobs design Manhattan GM which to this day still lies in pretty good condition wrapped in the depths of my closet. I eventually realized it was too heavy for everyday use, and has become more of a memorabilia than anything else. Funnily enough, the same fate was bestowed on that pair of sunglasses which to date still lies in its barely used state, ensconced in its neat little box. Practicality aside, these two purchases set me up for that dangerously steep slope of designer shopping. Needless to say, on several occasions, PIC has made it abundantly clear how much he misses our simpler times past. But I digress...

I think Paris is pompous, decadent, refined, elite, and an absolute feast for the senses. If I could give you one thing this city brings to mind, I'd probably say fairy lights. Not the multi colored ones, or those with fancy bulbs or attachments, just the classic soft, white fairy lights that don't blink, but accentuate whatever they're draped on. I say this because Paris is so much like Chanel, it is beauty without over embellishment. It shines with a light all of its own.

Our hotel was within walking distance to the Eiffel tower and many other sights. Now this was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because everything was easily within reach, a curse because this was the worst way to stick to a budget! I cannot count the number of times I went back to Sephora (quite possibly my most favorite beauty store ever!) for one thing or another. I swear, this store was like walking into a make-up artist's secret stash or a star's closet. They had absolutely everything you'd find in the pages of a beauty spread, behind-the-scenes coverages, and then some! Then there was also the number of times we've gone up and down the row of high street and designer labels looking for exceptional finds. Champs Elysees was a gold mine for stores. It was like reading off a list of labels and brands from the EU designers and high street list. Plus this is also where I first noticed the rows upon rows of coffee shops and delis where a portion of the tables and chairs where set on the uber wide sidewalk. Then it hit me, this is a land where they recognize my favorite pastime as a social reality & one of the little pleasures in life -- People Watching. Aaahh, leave it to the French.

On this little weekend getaway, we made sure to visit the infamous Eiffel Tower. In the harsh light of day, or a cloudy afternoon, it certainly wasn't as romantic as I thought it would be. First off, it wasn't as tall as I thought. I can easily see it shorter than most skyscrapers I've seen in this lifetime. Also, it was brown! But see it at night, and it was magic. Again, fairy lights. We had wanted to climb up and have lunch at Le 58 at least, but alas it was not meant to be. Being a travel newbie, I hadn't realized the queue to the platform would be miles long. Literally, the line of people snaked from the platform to another 500m queue on solid ground and the lines weren't even moving! I seriously cannot imagine wasting a day in line to either just go up one of the two platforms to see Paris from the tower, or dine at one of the two restaurants up top. I am too impatient for that kind of drama on a short trip. I had bigger fish to fry than that. 

What fish you say? Why Disney Paris of course! As you might have noticed from previous posts, I am possibly one of the biggest kids about and its truly a travesty to reach adulthood without having seen Disneyland. So this was definitely high up on my to-do list. As soon as we got off the train, up the escalators and spied the two entertainment parks that made up Disney Paris, I was in a trance. Less than 5 seconds later my travel companion smirks that its not as big as the one in LA and I find myself valiantly trying to resist the urge to smack him on the side of his head! In all honesty though, it was probably one and a half times the size of Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna (Philippines) so it really wasn't that big, but seriously, who cared??? All that mattered to me was that I was in Disneyland, the land where dreams come true...

My favorite ride of all was the Hollywood Tower Hotel where you are ushered into this creepy 50s (or 60s) styled hotel and shown to the lifts. The ride is the lift itself which takes you up to high floors, opens to show you varying scenes of ghosts, ghouls, and poltergeists, and eventually opens to show you the gray skies then proceeds to drop in hurtling speeds to the bottom. This is where the open air tortures you with the knowledge of how far up you are and how far below you can drop. It was smashtastic!

My next favorite would be the Finding Nemo ride, where you get to ride on a sea turtle that goes on a route that simulates the East Australian Current - it was pretty cool as it was pretty fast and you had no way of knowing which way it'll go next (it was dark inside the room) and to top all of that, your sea turtle spins counter clockwise while he's riding the wave. Next awesome activity? How they had little sets of their movies everywhere and you can stand in any one of them and have your picture taken. It was awesome! Yes, they were inanimate, but I felt like I was truly part of the Disney world with every shot we took. Day over, souvenir shop raided, all rides exhausted, we went home like all the other tired little kiddies and recall we didn't even have time for dinner, imagine that.

With Disney and shopping off our list, you'd think that would be pretty hard to beat but truly, the joys of Paris don't end there. We spent our third day seeing more sites, taking a full city tour, and soaking it all up. But the highlight of our last evening in Paris was dinner at Le Petite Prince.

Don't ask me how PIC found this place but it was a hidden gem. Le Petite Prince wasn't on the main roads and it wasn't the biggest or flashiest of restaurants but the experience was one of a kind. One that I still look back to with a smile on my face. When you enter its doors, the decor is dark and slightly eclectic, filled with rich deep reds and browns. The setting is intimate given the size of the restaurant but still enough space between tables that you don't bump elbows with your neighbors. Just be careful when you stand up to leave. The service was great and very enthusiastic, they had the most gorgeous male servers on earth -- like Adonis in different shapes and colors. They were flirty as hell too! Take note though, they weren't flirting with me or any of the ladies, the gorgeous men were flirting with all the male patrons of the restaurant, and we were to find out later that they were notorious for this too. Even so, we didn't mind at all. They weren't pushy, in fact, I thought the flirting, banter, and attentiveness were part of their charm and what made them even more endearing. What about the food you say?? It was as gorgeous as the men serving them. Apart from the other dishes we ordered, we made it a point to order escargot and foie gras as well just to try the delicacies and I was glad we did. All the fuss about how much of a challenge they are and how they are only for the advanced palate is all hooey. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of with these dishes, they are as good as the people who know them make them sound and not at all as intimidating as the people who haven't really tried them make them to be. Just think mussel meat and liver pate / liver spread and you're fine. If I ever find myself back in Paris, this is certainly one stop I'd make a point to revisit.

After dinner, we capped the night with a ferry tour of the River Seine. To anyone travelling to Paris soon, this is a must. Even if you have seen the city on foot or by bus in broad daylight or done the ferry tour in daylight, you have to, have to, make sure you do the tour by ferry at night. Think fairy lights people! Paris at night is like a lady in her evening finery, she is just a different lady altogether. And if you take this tour, you'll see why people think Paris is the most romantic city on earth.

Also Visit:

http://www.disneylandparis.com/
http://www.lepetitprincedeparis.fr/menu-25-anglais.php
http://www.sephora.com/

Hello Momma!

The Leaning Notre Dame :P

Arc de Triomphe