Alas, a few moments to spare to share some updates on the happenings on the previous few months... It's been so long since I last update the page. A lot has happened and I am gagging to spill them all out. I think it was in December that I last wrote on my blog. Not that I have shied away from this scene, it's just that I have been away at the beginning of the year and since I came back, there is just not enough time in the day to spare a few moments to indulge and share with everyone about my one true passion.
On Friday the 24th of March, myself and a few friends had embark on a journey on the Eurostar to magnifique Paris... This is not the first time that I have been to Paris, but this is definitely the first time that I am enthused and excited about Paris. The first time that I was there was in 1996 - the first destination on our European backpacking trip. We had started off from Victoria bus station on the Euroline and vividly remembered that the journey had taken on forever!!! From Victoria to Dover, and then a ferry to Calais, and on the bus again to Paris. 8 hours after we started our journey from London, we finally reached our destination. To be honest, I was not very impressed with the city at all. Nobody speaks English and my French is not enough to even save my life! All in all, I thought the people were arrogant and everything about the place is sooooo over rated.
The next few times that I was there, was in the capacity of a tour guide. Once again, all the touristy things were done, climbing up the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Notre Dame, watching Eiffel Tower from the bank of River Seine, watching the grandeur of the Palais Royal and the Musee de Louvre... Don't get me wrong, these places are gorgeous! I can't even begin to describe how fabulous it was to see them all for the first time... But to see them again, and again and again is getting a bit too predictable and boring to an extent. So, why is it different this time? Why am I more excited than I've ever been before? Well, let me indulge you with my I hope not so lengthy explanation.
The main reason we were there is for a surprise birthday celebration for a good friend of ours. He turned 36 in March (which is beyond the half way mark to 40) and his wife wanted to do something special for him and came up with this idea - Invite a few close friends to Paris for the weekend and arrange for a surprise dinner at his favourite restaurant! I thought it was fabulous and jumped on the band wagon when the invite came through... Also, I was celebrating another special occassion which is not known to everyone else - afterall, why should I steal the thunder from the birthday boy?? We're there for his party and it should be that way.
The train gets into Gare Du Nord at approximately 10.30pm. We then catch the Metro (Paris's equivalent of the London underground) to our hotel. When we booked the hotel, I had absolutely no idea which district it will be in. To this day I am still at a lost with Paris's districts or Arrondissement as they're called. Anyway, when we came out of the metro station, we were standing right smack in the middle of Paris's red light district! As far as the eyes can see, there were flashing red lights oozing from every inch of the rows of shops adorning the street and a cornucopia of anything sexual imaginable... Hmmmm...interesting I thought... At this point I was dreading to imagine about the hotel that we were going to be in... Is it going to be dinghy and seedy with a big fat Madame manning the reception? God, I hope not...
To our delight the hotel is just literally a few steps away from the metro station, and to add to that, the hotel looks absolutely charming from the outside. When we were buzzed in, I had to stop myself from screaming with sheer joy...Desert music was playing in the background and for a split moment I thought I was in Marakech rather than Paris and whaddaya know, the receptionist was of a North African origin (Algerian most likely...) and that my friend, completes the whole theme!!!! This wasn't bad at all, I thought!!! The first thing that cathches my eye was the decor - pure indulgence... Opulence was the word that came to mind. Lots of gold, deep red and russet, chaise longues, chandelier, huge antique mirror and console table and luscious fabric replaces wallpaper adorning the walls. The hotel lobby is such a small area, but this decor actually works, It didnt swallow up the whole space and made it look small. It was pure indulgence....
Now, the rooms - aptly named according to the many superstars that France had produced. Ours was called Brigitte Bardot, the one opposite was Jean Paul Gaultier! How cool was that??? Nothing could prepare me for what I was about to experience... The room was gorgeous... Once again the theme in the lobby is carried on to the rooms... Lots of gorgeous fabrics, vibrant colours and antique furniture. I wouldnt dream of painting my bed room red, but that was what it was... Red walls... And it was very cosy... Once again this decor worked in such a small space. It did not feel claustrophobic at all... From that moment on, I knew I was going to have a fabulous weekend!!!
I must say that the low point about the whole trip was the weather. It was tipping down continuously the whole time we were there. And I wasnt going to let a little bit of rain spoil this trip for me. On Saturday, we set off to Paris's Avenue Montaigne - designer shops haven... I must say that Parisians do very well in the discrete, classic chic to the tee. The street looked like any residential street until you looked further closely. Getting off at Franlin D Roosevelt metro station, we were greeted by the House of Gucci... Walking slightly further, there was Chanel, Ferragamo, Celine, Hermes, Jimmy Choo and the ultimate Louis Vuitton... Now, tell me how do you keep yourself together when all that your heart's desire is tantalising from every shop's window? Somehow, Avenue Montaigne does not have the same kind of buzz that Bond St has... It is very subtle, classy and so so discreet.. It is as if that everyone that was there were there because they were invited. The ladies were immaculately dressed looking every inch the part of what French women should be in everyone's mind. It's probably not a fair assumption, since the sample only came from a very small selection of Paris's elite. Nevertheless, it fed my imagination and I'm sticking with it..
Next stop - Galeries LaFayette. OK, I love to shop but I hate it when there are millions of people and that you have to wiggle yourself through. It makes shopping such a chore and no longer therapeutic, which was what it was suppose to be. We decided to have lunch on the 6th floor at the LaFayette Cafe. This place, brings self serving eateries up a notch in my book. Everything about it exudes Paris - from the food it serves, right to the setting of the whole place. To an extent it reminds me of the cafe at the top of Tate Modern. It didnt have the view of St Paul's cathedral and the River Thames but it gave a view of the Opera district. Too bad the weather was a bit dark and gloomy - it would have been a spectacular view otherwise.
That was day 1 in Paris, I have not yet let on what happened in the evening. I think I have written a fair bit for a welcome back piece. Will continue again some time for Part Deux of day 1 in Paris!!! Good to be back y'all and we'll indulge again soon...
1 comment:
welcome back!!!
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