Finally we made it to Paris, after having planned to go for many years! My eurobonus points ensured cheapo tickets so we only had to fork out for the hotel and spending money. We left Mr G with mormor and set off early early on Thursday morning. It was lovely to fly from Arlanda for once, no stress and good coffee...
Paris was fairly grey but warm when we landed. We made our way to Hotel Jules on the RER-train and Metro, like true Parisians... The hotel had a lovely decor, our room was quite small, but nice and clean.
Our first stop was Rue Montorgueil, close to Les Halles. A pedestrian street with lots of lovely shops and cafés. We stopped for lunch at a place which looked like they had great food and we weren't disappointed! Smoked Salmon for Matty and Chicken for myself!
We continued to stroll around the Marais district, which is very 'Paris' with lots of cafés and small independent shops. Had a coffee and cake and watched people go by. Got back to the hotel for a quick rest and a shower, and then off out again to Restaurant Breteuil to surprise Chris on his 50th birthday!
We were excited like two small children as we sat waiting for them to arrive... Matt spotted them walking past (!) and then sitting down on a bench outside (see circled in the picture!) and we got really giggly whilst watching them, wondering why they were sitting there and not coming in, and how would we hide since the whole restaurant front is glass covered... It of course worked out fine and Chris was really surprised to find us there, and luckily very pleased too haha! Dinner was lovely and we had a great evening! On the way home, me and Matt spotted the Eiffel tower in the distance, what a lovely way to sum up our first day in Paris!
MONTMARTE, SACRE COEUR AND RESTAURANT PETRELLESecond day started with breakfast in the outskirts of the Marais district, a visit to the Merci concept store (what's all the fuss about, really?) and a great children's store next door, where we found a wicked mushroom for George! Mr Mushroom came with us for a snooze in the Jardin des Tuileries (by the Louvre), lunch at a great café in Montmarte, and a visit to Sacre Coeur, where we lit a candle for Arnfinn. It was a beautiful cathedral, absolutely massive, and the views where amazing.
In the evening, we met up with Chris and Christine again, and went to the very special restaurant Petrelle, on Rue Petrelle. What an amazing place. The decor was so special, and consideration had gone into every single little detail! The tables were set with beautiful glasses, vases and decorative items, and even books! Just to spark off conversation! The house cat made a special appearance too, which was very amusing. Food wise, it was very French, and very expensive, but on a whole it was so worth it! A great evening, again!
PALAIS DE TOKYO, EIFFEL TOWER AND ST GERMAINDay three we set off to Palais de Tokyo, which was shut when we arrived... Luckily, the most amazing market was on, so we strolled down it, and continued over to the Eiffel Tower. It is truly a magnificent structure, but all the tourists sort of take the edge of somehow... Walked over to the St Germain area and it took a while before we found the 'nice spots'. Said hello to Chris and Christine who had crepes before heading back home to Ampthill on the Eurostar, and we continued back to Palais de Tokyo for a nice bit of lunch in the beautiful sunshine!
RESTAURANT DERRIEREFinal dinner was eaten at Derriere, on 69 Rue des Gravilliers. What a great choice! We started off with a drink in their lovely court yard, followed by another pre-dinner-drink (raspberry mojito!) at the table. The restaurant decor is a mix of different styles and furniture, and the owner's desk (at which he was sat when we booked our table) had been turned into one of the restaurant tables. We had a lovely waitress who was really helpful when my mushroom risotto turned out to be too salty (yes, I know it is hard to believe that I would think anything being to salt...) and had to change it to another dish instead. Matt really enjoyed his beef cheeks and the wine was yum! A great end to a very nice weekend!
On Sunday, we left the hotel around eight in the morning, and made our way back to the airport. We had to stop in Oslo before finally landing in Stockholm at four in the afternoon. Mum came to pick us up, it was so so lovely to see George! We'd missed him so much! It was lovely to be away just the two of us, but there was always this feeling that something was missing... little Mr G... And you know, I think he'd grown in the three days we were gone!
