If you can, cast your minds back to the start of December. I arrived at King's Cross ready for the 8am Eurostar crossing, bundled in so many layers that I felt like the michelin man. I stepped off the Eurostar late morning to a dark, drizzly, and absolutely freezing Paris. Being far too early to check in, we left our bags in our hotel's reception (a stone's throw away from Gare du Nord station) and went exploring to build up our appetite for lunch. A long walk later, we made it all the way to Notre Dame where we sheltered from the weather a while. I could spend hours in Notre Dame.
Hunger finally caught up with us and we stopped at Le Depart de Saint Michel (1 Place Saint-Michel, 75005 Paris, France), where we enjoyed a goat's cheese salad, snails, and boeuf bourguignon all washed down with a carafe of red wine.
The cold really took it out of us so we had a relatively easy first day. That evening we walked from the Arc de Triomphe right down the Champs-Elysees which had the prettiest Christmas lights and shops with the most incredible festive decorations. We found Laduree but the store had already shut by then :(
We finished up the day at the Champs-Elysees Christmas market which has the nicest atmosphere when you go at night. It's always interesting looking at the different craft stalls but a dilemma and a half deciding what to eat / drink. We settled for chips and then hot chocolate / mulled wine to warm our numb fingers. I liked my Christmas market cup so much that I washed it up and took it back to the UK with me as a keepsake!
I was in Paris exactly a month before all the atrocities happened in Paris. It was a huge shock and it's times like these that I despair for humanity. Namely the selfish few who feel no compassion and take pleasure in the suffering of others with no thought to the friends and families of those killed. It disgusts me. My heart goes out to the people of Paris <3
Until next time... stay tuned for Paris - part deux!
* full marks to those of you who got my SATC reference in the title!
Outside, Notre Dame was looking pretty festive with it's Christmas tree and lights.
Hunger finally caught up with us and we stopped at Le Depart de Saint Michel (1 Place Saint-Michel, 75005 Paris, France), where we enjoyed a goat's cheese salad, snails, and boeuf bourguignon all washed down with a carafe of red wine.
By then our room was ready so we were able to check in and warm up for a bit.
The cold really took it out of us so we had a relatively easy first day. That evening we walked from the Arc de Triomphe right down the Champs-Elysees which had the prettiest Christmas lights and shops with the most incredible festive decorations. We found Laduree but the store had already shut by then :(
We finished up the day at the Champs-Elysees Christmas market which has the nicest atmosphere when you go at night. It's always interesting looking at the different craft stalls but a dilemma and a half deciding what to eat / drink. We settled for chips and then hot chocolate / mulled wine to warm our numb fingers. I liked my Christmas market cup so much that I washed it up and took it back to the UK with me as a keepsake!
I was in Paris exactly a month before all the atrocities happened in Paris. It was a huge shock and it's times like these that I despair for humanity. Namely the selfish few who feel no compassion and take pleasure in the suffering of others with no thought to the friends and families of those killed. It disgusts me. My heart goes out to the people of Paris <3
Until next time... stay tuned for Paris - part deux!
* full marks to those of you who got my SATC reference in the title!
