Flashback: Paris 2011

If you have ever spoken of city breaks with me you will know that I don't particularly prefer Paris...It just doesn't do it for me. I guess if you have never traveled to other cool cities than I can see the greatness of it but its not for me.

I hadn't been since I was 14 so when a Thailand honeymoon we planned had to be cancelled we decided to do a proper Parisian break. Our honeymoon is New Years Eve so we figured Paris for New Year must be lovely. It was, it truly was. The fact that we were celebrating our first year anniversary made it all the better. I loved our time there but I still didn't change my opinion of Paris hehe. They light up all of the Champs-Elysee and there is a little holiday market lined up on the pavement. Up in Sacre Coeur they also had a christmas market. The frosty grey sky line was actually still beautiful from up there. I originally went in the summer so I have gotten to see it on a glorious clear day. 

Anyway, we stayed just off Champs-Elysee and it was a great location. Mind you, we payed pretty good money for our hotel and the rooms were tiny! Nice and clean but sooooo small. Doug and I are weird travelers. We love nice hotels because we actually spend good time in them. We dont like to do the typical touristy things. Paris however, is one of those cities that you kind of have no choice! Monuments are everywhere and when you are so used to seeing them in movies and magazines its hard to not want to enjoy them with your camera. So we spent a whole day walking all of Paris. It was a great time, the weather was so nice. we expected it to be freezing but I didnt even need a coat in the day time. Here is a few pics of our Monumental Stroll....

I cant remember what day exactly we went to see The Palace of Versailles.  I imagined it was a busy time of year so we pre-booked our tickets before going, they were around 20pounds each. We take the train ride out there and as we arrive the line smacks us in the face with horror! Doug and I do not stand in lines haha, it was almost like a mutual prenup agreement... I knew I found my soul mate when we both agreed lines are rubbish. Mind you, the line to pick up your pre-booked tickets was an hour long. Plus another hour or two for the line to get in!!!! to see the inside of a palace?! So luckily the garden is open to the public and we decided to call it a loss and a tleast enjoy the surroundings. It was absolutely glorious.It is unfathomable how a garden is kept so pristine. And the palace in the background is immense. To even comprehend that it was built in the 1600's is just beyond me. LOOK AT IT! it is simply gorgeous. Random fact about the palace: it has 2,153 windows...think about that for a second -_-

It was a nice little stroll through the gardens, and then off to the city we went. We didn't document much of our food on this trip but we did have some incredible dinners. Our first dinner night was at Pershing Hall. A gorgeous restaurant and delicious food. Paris is super expensive but one thing we came to find is that it is more expensive to eat at normal level places. Nice restaurants are actually extremely reasonable. Considering the difference in cuisine and service. Another was L'Avenue. Very chic and fabulous!!! I loved pretending to be super chic in Paris hehe.

So now for our New Years Anniversary dinner...

I loved this show called Made in Chelsea. The girls on the show went to Paris and ate at a restaurant called Konfidential. I begged Doug to take me there and he arranged our 9 course meal. They drank champagne from a glass Louboutin stiletto!

The food took forever, we had planned to be out by 11 and head to a nightclub for midnight but we were only on course number 5 by then. We made the best of the situation and brought in the new year with the 14 other people in the small cave of a restaurant. 

I loved all the lights and decorations, it was so beautiful at night!

Doug and I planned to lock our love on Lovers Bridge. I know its silly but we thought it was such a sweet idea that we coincidentally gave eachother padlocks with our names engraved on them! hehe so we have two locks of love on the bridge!

Overall it was a nice little holiday and a beautiful first anniversary. 

Aurevoir!