Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Postcards From Paris

The Little Magpie Paris
Ooh have I been excited to share this post. So, as promised, here is our big photo diary from our Paris trip! Where we stayed, what we did, where we eat... it's all in there and with a whole load of photos for you to have a little gander at. So grab a cup of tea and let's go! Or maybe... a red wine? Jus' sayin'.

WHERE WE STAYED
The Little Magpie Guide to Paris
The Little Magpie Guide to Paris

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All photos by the amazing Kirsty McLachlan who, I have to say, has completely outdone herself with these

We stayed at the beautiful Le Pavillon De La Reine which is part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group and has one of the most beautiful hotel fronts I've ever seen. It's situated just off of the bustling Place Des Vosges but you would never, ever know it; you step through a little tunnel which opens up into this big, beautiful, green courtyard that could quite easily be mistaken for a country retreat. I think both of our jaws genuinely dropped, cartoon-style, when we saw it for the first time. Once we'd stopped admiring it and had taken our obligatory 500 photos we were taken to our room which was split over two floors and had some very cool Missoni-esque decor going on. And then we spotted it. The balcony. Oh my god it was beautiful. Two big sets of double doors that opened up into a leafy, Parisian haven. If you look closely in that last photo above you can see a tiny me taking in the view from it... It's beautiful isn't it? The staff were wonderful, the breakfast was Delicious with a capital D and the hotel is so, SO well placed, right in the heart of the Marais district. It couldn't honestly have made a better home for our time there! Another little bonus was that the hotel was situated quite literally a stones throw away from Carette who, in my humble opinion, do the best hot chocolate in Paris. My Mum introduced me to it years ago and I still think about it weekly. Sometimes daily.

WHAT WE DID
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So, for such a short amount of time we actually managed to fit in a surprising amount. We spent a lot of time exploring the Marais as that's where the hotel's based and it's also where my wee Mam used to live so I know it relatively well. Ok, that's an over-exaggeration, but I can manage at least two streets before I need to look at google maps. We ate a lot of good food when we were there (if there's one thing me and Kirsty do well, it's eat) but some of the stand-outs were Breizh Cafe - another one introduced to me by my Mum. They do incredible savoury and sweet galettes which, hurrah, are gluten free. Make sure and try some of their ciders whilst you're there - and Hank, who do one of the best vegan burgers I've ever eaten. In fact, just one of the best burgers I've eaten in general. 

One thing we did do that I've never done before was go and see the Eiffel Tower at night! Me and my Mum went to go a couple of years ago and I ended up being ill that night (classic me) so we had to give it a pass. I was worried it was going to be one of those things you build up in your head and then turns out to be a bit of a let down, but it's even better than you could imagine. Me and Kirsty did a wee scream when it came on - completely involuntarily - and then got a little transfixed by it. It gives you a nice warm, fuzzy, magical feeling in your stomach, like you've stepped into an old film and anything could happen.

...Oh wow, someone just got a lot soppier than they meant to. Apart from that we just wandered; we saw The Louvre, The Tuileries and lots of lovely places in between! Le Pavillon de La Reine also have their own bikes for guests to rent so we did that one day which was such a good way to see Paris! And that, my friends, sadly brings my Paris photo diary to an end. I do actually still have one outfit to bring you (I know, I'm really dragging this out aren't I?) so that'll be with you shortly.

Amy

A big thank you to the wonderful Pavillon De La Reine and Small Luxury hotels for hosting us on this trip!