J'taime Paris

So two weeks ago i went to visit my friend in Paris. I had just finished my internship and really needed to get away. I love to visit (new) places, just not big on flying (yes I flew to Paris). After having that experience from now on i will always take the train, it is way more relaxing and takes up less time then if you have to fly. So once in Paris, I could feel the Parisian vibe all around me. This French atmosphere is so much fun, like in the movies. Just before leaving for Paris i watched the two final episodes of Sex and the City season 6 (yes i am addicted!) to set the mood. This time I was staying with a local which made my experience completely different then if you are there as a tourist sleeping in a hotel, visiting all of the touristic places etc. The first day we walked around for quite a while in search of a biological shop, apparently they don’t really exist in Paris they have spread them out all over the city and there are not many of them. After finding the damn shop we walked back to her place. At first I was challenged with about six stairs (still carrying my heavy Celine bag, Chanel purse and my suitcase) to finally have reached her apartment. It was so cute, typically French and quite small nothing like I am used to but it really had charm, this is a great standard for Paris in the 15th district. The first night I went out to get some baguette at a very famous boulangerie, it was like buying a Rolex but instead it was a baguette, because this bakery was luxury of luxury. After I went to a small mini mart where everybody only spoke French. Seeing as how I haven’t been in Paris for about five years my French is very rusty easy to say. My Spanish on the other hand is next to great so finding myself thinking the Spanish word but wondering what the French one was again, happened quite often.  At the mini mart I got cheese and wine of course! Camembert and two bottles…I mean seriously what do you do when you are in Paris? you drink good wine and enjoy baguette with cheese. So that’s what my first night looked like, stuffing my face with French delicatessen.

The next morning I decided to go sightseeing (alone, YES ALONE) and i loved it, I left the house to take the subway to Troucadour, which is two stops from the Eiffel tower. I didn’t want to be your average tourist by visiting the Eiffel tower but I very much wanted to see the view of this amazing piece of steel. The last time I was in Paris I ate at the restaurant inside of the Eiffel tower at Le Jules Verne…WAUW that’s a whole other experience, if you can afford it then do it! So after visiting the Eiffel himself I set course to Arc de Triumph and the Champs-Elysee. It was a great walk, took mye about 30/35 minutes to get there but I saw a lot of cute little streets and typical french houses. It was kind of fun to walk around alone, seeing as how it feels completely different then if you are with somebody. I like being alone, but sometimes it is also a bit scary, humans just don’t like being alone I guess? But somehow it felt very good, I could do what I wanted, see what I wanted and follow my own path.  In the afternoon I met my uncle for lunch, he lives in Paris.  We had a great lunch at Brasserie La Lorraine on Place des Ternes 2, which is also a recommendation when in Paris. In the evening we where invited to a typical French get together. It was like a living room restaurant with a buffet, you could take food and wine and pay 34 euro’s at the end.  It was quite the experience because it was very local. On my last day I walked through all of Paris, first we set foot to ST. Germain and on to Café Fleur, which is the hotspot in Paris. All of the famous writers, directors etc. go there to work and drink coffee! My friend said she always sees Karl Lagerfield there and last time she spotted Giselle Bundchen during her last photoshoot! Poorly to say when we where there nobody famous, but we had a great tea and hot coco (8 EURO’S PER PIECE!) after we went on walking to the Grand Palais and on to Le Marais.  I think the last neighborhood is the best one, it is just adorable with all its art galleries, vintage stores, little shops, chocolatiers etc.  Worth while seeing or even to stay in that area. It felt like a mini meatpacking district to me. After walking for four hours we where completely wrecked and went home with the subway (thank god) apparently nobody walks in Paris, my friend said if she would tell her friends they would laugh at her and ask her if she is crazy? Guess we broke the French habit of taking the subway everywhere. If you want to visit Paris by yourself it is do-able! It’s great to just wander around and discover this great city, even after everything that has happened in this city it amazes me. Maybe it is better that less tourists visit now because Paris reclaimed her French identity. Don’t have doubts or be scared, it’s truly amazing and if you want to go, JUST GO!

Vlog and more pictures will be uploaded soon! 

- Love Jana-