Paris Escape - Paris recommendations
For the first time since we heard that ‘c’ word - covid - we left the UK last month for a short break in Paris. It had been booked since before the pandemic but for all the reasons you know only too well, it kept being cancelled. It was originally booked as a Eurostar trip to Amsterdam but as we sat indoors through the very harsh first lockdown of 2020 and it was cancelled, we rebooked it for Paris on the basis that Amsterdam is interesting and we’d only been there once before, but we love Paris and that was the city we dreamed about when we couldn’t go anywhere. Another couple of cancellations and re-bookings followed until last month, December 2021, it looked as if we were finally going to get away.
Not so quick though! First we started to hear about the dreaded Omicron variant, should we risk exposure to it? Next, a new restriction was enforced by the UK government. We had to test and isolate on our return until we got a negative result. We also had to have a negative antigen test to leave the country. We struggled with that because the risks and costs were both mounting at this point. We decided to push through though until - my husband George was on his way home from work just a few days away from our departure date and he got an email saying our Eurostar train had been cancelled. He was so upset/annoyed/irritated by this that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was walking and tripped on the kerb. Boof! Now he had a badly swollen, painful, bruised hand and side. Worse, the blow to his side now seemed to have given him a cough. Who wants to be the one going around coughing out in public at this time?
Good news though! Just as he was getting to terms with his injuries and the fact that it looked as though the trip was now well and truly scuppered, another email popped up to say that the first one had been a mistake and the train wasn’t cancelled after all! What the heck! It’s all back on again.
The only other blip after that was finding out while we were in Paris that we needed to do another test there to allow us to get on the train to come back home again. Oh well, by this time we had done so much testing and filled in so much paperwork and apps that it was a minor hiccup.
So, that’s the story of getting abroad for the first time since 2019. It turned out to be a fabulous trip. We absolutely loved walking around as much as we could, seeing all the Christmas decorations and markets and eating and drinking delicious food and wine.
I came back with four photos I really like and I’ll show these here along with a few others to give a flavour of our visit.
The first is of the clock window in the restaurant in the Musée d’Orsay. In the distance is Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. I’ve been to this museum many times and never yet been to the Louvre but it just keeps drawing me back. Each time something different grabs my attention. This time it was the Van Gogh painting “Starry Night” often known as “Starry Night over the Rhone”. I’d heard a lot about this painting during the Van Gogh Experience in London earlier this year and from reading about it, so it was really enjoyable to see the beauty of it close up and in real life. It says a lot about this museum that the architecture of the building can compete with some of the amazing paintings.
THROUGH THE CLOCK WINDOW - The beautiful Paris skyline seen through the vast clock window in the Musee d'Orsay. On the horizon is the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre and just on the other side of the Seine is the ferris wheel in the Jardins des Tuileries.
My second comes from a walk in the Jardin des Tuileries. I love the effect of these tall trees trimmed into giant hedges. They’re spectacular in every season. I waited to catch a lone walker who was framed by them. I like the fact that we can’t see the path ahead which gives it an air of mystery.
WALKING AWAY - A lone person walks down a path we cannot see. The hedges are formal on each side drawing our eye to the distance which is a mystery.
It wouldn’t be Paris without indulging in a bit of cafe culture. The winter sun was shining on this tropical themed cafe with street facing tables and chairs. Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder but everyone was very pleasant to us - not always the case in Parisian cafes! I always want to practise my French in France but I sometimes find that if waiters hear your accent they either want to practise their English or they don’t have patience to listen. This time they were either more patient or my French has improved so much over lockdown (I have been practising daily for over a year now) that I’ve overcome that obstacle. I have to say as well that the quality of wine we drank everywhere was really high and not expensive either.
Paris in the winter sunshine
The traditional Triadou Haussmann restaurant cafe on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. With smart frenchman passing by on the street crossing. Typical, traditional Paris restaurant.
This is my third favourite which I’ve titled Moody Lamplight for its sultry atmosphere.
MOODY LAMPLIGHT - Distilling the essence of twilight Paris into a lampshade, a gilt reflection and a glimpse of the buildings beyond.
Moving on to the shops and we first of all visited Au Printemps with its beautiful window displays. My favourite was this one with Christmas elves working in a Chanel factory. They were so cute and stylish. The children were enchanted by them. What a great way to market to your future buyers and to create the feelgood factor!
The Au Printemps Chanel Christmas window display in Paris. Elves dressed in blue velvet are making and packing the perfumes. Taken through glass, so including reflections.
Next door, Galeries Lafayette had pulled out all the stops on their Christmas tree display. They already have the perfect setting with their vast painted and stained glass dome set above the many floors of gold arched galleries. With their small quartet and singer entertaining with Christmas songs and carols and sparkly lights and super stylish decorations everywhere this truly was the most magical atmosphere you could hope for. Galeries Lafayette are my top tip for enjoying a commercial Christmas with fabulous shopping thrown in. I also recommend the self service restaurant, with food cooked to order, and the rooftop open air viewing terrace, of course with fabulous views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur. The next image is my fourth favourite and might even be the Christmas card I send next year.
LUCKY STAR - Centre stage is the star atop the Christmas tree in Galeries Lafayette, Parisian department store extraordinaire. The dome of the building wraps around, festooned with Christmas lights, making the decorated and backlit glass shimmer. The details of the stained glass are beautiful in their delicacy next to the brash pop of the modern neon decorations.
Looking up to the star on top of the Christmas tree in Galeries Lafayette, the Parisian department store. The dome of the building is festooned with Christmas lights making the decorated and backlit glass shimmer. A giant Santa with space helmet is next to the tree.
My top spot for views of Paris isn’t the Eiffel Tower because to be honest the most beautiful view of the city has to include it. It’s the Tour Montparnasse. From the top (59th) floor you get an open air 360 degree view which is just stunning at night. You can lounge around as much as you like - no drinks allowed though - and they play really cool music. The photo below was taken from there and I’ve experimented with adding some decoration to it. I didn’t have a tripod with me on the first visit so I had to improvise to steady the camera. I checked with the security guard and he said I could bring my tripod next time. So we paid extra to come back for a second visit. I wanted to retake this shot and get a lot more detail in it. That was my plan anyway but it never came to fruition because my little wallet with cash and bank card got pickpocketed on the Metro the next day. It was so swiftly done that I never knew it was missing until I went to pay for something at the other end of the journey. I spent so long in the police station waiting to file a report that it was too late by the time I got free. I probably spent more time in that police station that the thief will. I hope not anyway! So, the Montparnasse Tower is going to be top of my list for my next visit and I really recommend it to you. When you’re in the main inside viewing area in the tower you have to look for a sign to the upper level. Then you walk up a graffiti covered stairway to the top. The moon was shining ahead of us when we came up and it’s Paris at its most romantic.
The Paris skyline shimmers by night. Behind the Eiffel Tower are the high rise skyscrapers of La Defense, the financial district. On the right is the building and gilded dome of Les Invalides.
My last moody shot of Paris is of the Champs Elysees. We stayed very close to the Arc de Triomphe and my final recommendation is the hotel we stayed in. It’s the Hotel Balmoral on Rue du General Lanrezac. It’s a small hotel in the perfect location for walking and sightseeing but also for access to the Metro. We went there as part of a package with Eurostar but we found our initial allocation of room to be too small, not enough storage. For a very reasonable supplement we moved into a much bigger room which was really quiet (overlooking the courtyard) and very comfortable. The breakfast was a substantial and delicious buffet. Lots of smoked salmon is always a winner with me!
Looking along the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe on a cloudy winter's day.
Our four day stay was all the sweeter for it being our first in what seemed like a very long time but also because just a few days after we returned, Macron closed the borders to visitors from the UK so we had only just managed to fit it in.
If you’re still with me at this point, I hope you enjoyed the tips and the photos.
I hope you’re managing to dodge covid and if you haven’t, that you manage to shake if off relatively easily.
Loren x