Let me tell you all about my Easter weekend in gay Parree!
I finally made time to go on a long-overdue holiday to one of my favourite cities, Paris. All I can think about when I'm here is La Belle Epoque, the Roaring Twenties, artists and courtesans drinking absinthe in art nouveau bars, the "leg shows" at the Opera House, the New Look, Jean Paul Gaultier...
Pink hotel room! :D One thing I love about Paris is that decor- no neutrals, plain carpets or magnolia paint in sight! No-one is afraid to try and make a room special in Paris.
After a well-deserved lie-in at a little Baroque hotel I found online, where the rooms are named after glamour icons from Parisian history like Mistinguett and Coco Chanel, Boyfy and I went for brunch at Mariage Frères, an exotic tea salon from the C19th. We shared "Le Classique", but were so full, we still had to take the sakura blossom dessert away to share at the hotel later!
I love floral scents, so I purchased a box of rose and violette tea called Swan Lake, which will look really pretty brewing in my French press at home when I have the girls round ;)
We managed to sneak into Laperouse when it was closed at midday, for a little unofficial guided tour:
I also visited Notre Dame for the first time, which was as spooky and impressive as I'd imagined from Victor Hugo's book. I wanted to learn more about the history of Paris, so we visited the museum in the crypt.
One of the highlights of the trip so far has been dinner at Maxim's, an art nouveau restaurant and my favourite in Paris. The owner who made Maxim's so wildly popular at the turn of the century did so by ensuring the restaurant was always full of well-dressed women in all manner of lace, diamonds, velvets and ribbons, tactically seated in the windows facing the street. Jean Cocteau wrote that
We ordered absinthe and champagne with our meal, the drinks of choice during La Belle Epoque, and it gave me a happy little buzz to listen to the pianist play and imagine how many grand dames and dandies had enjoyed the same drinks in the very same room since the late C19th...
One of the highlights of the trip so far has been dinner at Maxim's, an art nouveau restaurant and my favourite in Paris. The owner who made Maxim's so wildly popular at the turn of the century did so by ensuring the restaurant was always full of well-dressed women in all manner of lace, diamonds, velvets and ribbons, tactically seated in the windows facing the street. Jean Cocteau wrote that
"To undress one of these women is like an outing that calls for three weeks' advance notice, it's like moving house."Hilarious!
We ordered absinthe and champagne with our meal, the drinks of choice during La Belle Epoque, and it gave me a happy little buzz to listen to the pianist play and imagine how many grand dames and dandies had enjoyed the same drinks in the very same room since the late C19th...
The Bar at Maxim's
On Sunday, we went for tea and a single Marie Antoinette macaroon to share at Ladurée (I just wanted to taste). I like the Ladurée at Harrod's, but you can't beat the real thing in Paris.
The good weather lasted just long enough for a pretty boat ride along the river, where we got our first really clear view of the Eiffel Tower. Wow! Everywhere you look in Paris, there's beauty all around.
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