I know I promised you words about Paris many weeks ago. If
you are still waiting, thank you for being patient. If you left long ago, I
don’t blame you. To say that settling back into ‘real’ life has been difficult
would be a bit of an understatement. But that might be for another post. And
let’s be honest, anything compared to Paris is a bit anti-climactic.
The plan for Paris was a bit of a spur of the moment thing.
My sister, Nicole, had been planning 5 weeks in Europe for over a year and she
mentioned in passing that Mum and I should head over for our 2 weeks of school
holidays. We had a bit of a joke about it and didn’t think too much of it until
Nicole called a few weeks later with accommodation and flight options. Within
45 minutes we had booked ourselves onto some super cheap flights to Paris.
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We lived as ‘local’ as possible, popping down the stairs and
out the gate to the bakery for breakfast croissants.
We wandered the streets of
Montmarte, stopping for fresh berries; some for now and some for later.
We got
caught in a crown that we thought was for Kanye, but it turned out to be for
some French reality TV stars.
We bought moccasins.
We visited the graves of
Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison.
We stayed out until midnight.
We got
caught in the rain.
We went back to Laudree 5 times to try new macaroon
flavours.
We spent hours exploring the treasures in The Shakespeare Company.
We
loved the summer sunshine that stayed until 10pm.
We took hundreds of photos of
the Paris skyline.
We got lost.
We cruised the Sienne at sunset.
We wandered
the flea markets and wished for unlimited baggage allowance and unlimited
funds.
We bought vintage dresses, ribbons and shoes.
We searched,
unsuccessfully, for a perfectly rustic bread board.
We fell in love with Versailles
and vowed to read more about French history.
We were so enchanted by the RoseBakery that we ordered the cookbook via the Book Depository while still sitting
at the breakfast table.
We picnicked in front of the Eiffel tour and then read
until the sun set.
We found that the best crepes were at the ‘tourist’ spots.
We almost missed the train to Belguim.
We sat in the sun for 6 hours to watch
Cadel for 5 seconds – it was beyond amazing.
We got completely swept up in the
joy and atmosphere of ‘le tour’.
We convinced ourselves that bread and cheese
counted as a full and balanced meal.
We left Paris 15kg heavier than we arrived
(I promise that most of this was baggage).
We believed in magic.
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p.s - it was totally awesome to get home and see hubby and puppy. if only we could all move to paris together :)
