From Paris, With Love: Arc de Triomphe & Le Moulin Rouge
At 4am I was awakened from my slumber by the Taxi driver ringing me from outside to bring me to the airport bus. CRAP. I panicked, threw myself out of bed and blindly got dressed, grabbing my suitcase and running down the stairs. Luckily, I had booked the taxi for earlier than I needed it so we still had enough time to get to the coach station, PHEW. After a panicked start to the day/middle of the night, I collapsed onto the bus with relief and tried to rest my eyes. As dawn broke and the sun began to rise, we drove through the beautiful English countryside - made even more beautiful by the dim light of the morning sun. I felt very lucky to be able to live in such a picturesque place.
I arrived at the airport at 7am, rushed through to security and quickly found my gate. A sigh of relief was imminent as I sat down in the departure lounge - I had made it. Not long after that we boarded the plane, and took off in the direction of Paris Charles de Gaulle. The view out the window of the plane was beautiful - I just love flying in the morning time.
We landed in Charles de Gaulle in good time after a very smooth flight (I am normally a nervous flyer, especially on my own). I found my way to Arrivals Terminal 1 and waited for my Mom to arrived from Ireland. As I sat down and began to put on my face (or ‘warpaint’ as my Dad calls it), I felt at ease and content with all of my make up spread around me, knowing I had time to apply it properly (a stark contrast to my thoughts upon waking 6 hours earlier). I finished with a slick of red lipstick to add a touch of Parisian chic and soon it was time to meet Mom as her flight had landed. After a long overdue hug and lots of smiles we made our way outside to meet the Paris Shuttle that was bringing us to our hotel. I fell asleep in the car and woke just as we were entering the centre of Paris. As I blinked slowly and my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, they were greeted by the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elyseés, the beautiful cobbled streets and old buildings.
We got to the hotel and met Jackie, Jackie's Mom and Grandma. Jackie and I have been friends since we were very little, she lives in New York and when my parents lived in New York City in the 80's they worked for Jackie's grandparents, and in turn became friends with Jackie's Mom (Joni) AALLL before Jackie and I were even born. When my parents returned to Ireland after New York, they had grown very close to Jackie's family and always kept in touch over the years. There are photos of Jackie and I together as babies when they came over Ireland to visit once, I'll try insert them here if I can find them! We were pen pals for years once we knew how to write and we eventually met again in 2010 when we went to visit them in New York. We have stayed close ever since and every time we see each other it's like we've never been apart - even when it's been five years.
(I'm not going to say who's who in the photo below, I'll leave that up to you..)
We greeted Jackie, Joni and Marie in the hotel with lots of hugs, laughs and a few happy tears. We decided our plan of action for the day and Mom and I went upstairs to our room to freshen up quickly. SIDENOTE: Have any of you ever been in a lift in a Parisian hotel? It fits two people - at a push, you would literally have to send your suitcase up on it's own and run up the stairs to meet it. Hilarious.
I decided to go full on Parisian chic with my stripes, red lip and low chignon. Trying to trick the Parisians into thinking I'm one of them, you know?
Top - Primark
Ring - a Gift (Matthew Stephens)
Necklace - Tiffany & Co. (Santa Clause).
Lipstick - MAC Ruby Woo
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Paris and we set out for the Arc de Triomphe. After getting a little lost, we finally found the right Metro and hopped on it, ending up right at the base of the Arc. As it was such a beautiful day in the city, we decided to climb the 423 steps to the top of the Arc (up a spiral staircase - dizzy isn't even the word) to see the view of the city. It was truly breathtaking.
(L to R, Jackie, Joni (Jackie's Mom), Marie (Jackie's Grandma))
How chic is my Mom? (pictured below)
Coat - Topshop
Jeans - Topshop
Top - Primark
Boots -Primark
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (below).
The view from the top:
The Eiffel Tower stood out in all it's glory, almost looking as though it was sitting on top of the city, its base appearing higher up than all of the tall buildings. We could see the Champs Elyseés and all the beautiful old buildings and several roads all heading in different directions away from the Arc. It was an amazing experience and I would definitely recommend it, I bet it is even more beautiful at night time.
We strolled around the cobbled streets for a while before making our way back to our hotel to get ready for dinner and the Moulin Rouge (!!!), stopping for a Patisserie Pitstop en route. It's amazing how much better pastries taste when they're made in Paris as opposed to the bakery in Sainsbury's (not that I'm complaining about Sainsbury's - I live off their croissants).
Ladureé - Paris' famous Macaron store - right at the end of the street our hotel was on! We stayed at Hotel des Marrioners on Rue Jacob and it was just gorgeous. The decor was beautiful and the rooms were small but perfect.
In a bit of a rush, Mom and I got ready as quickly as we could and made our way back downstairs to meet the rest of the gang. Excuse the blurry photos, the lift didn't give me much manoeuvring space..
Dress - Topshop
Leather jacket - Folkster
Shoes - Nine West
Bag -DKNY
The reason we all met in Paris this particular weekend was because it was Jackie's 21st birthday so of course - the crown was 100% necessary.
After dinner, we made our way to the infamous Moulin Rouge, the signature windmill lit up with promises of an interesting evening! We were excited to see what the night had in store (yes, we went with our Mom's and Jackie's Grandmother - interesting company for a show that leaves VERY little to the imagination). We were seated right up at the front of the theatre, practically sitting on the stage. So, let's just say we got an eyeful. It was a brilliant show - I have no idea how they keep going and dancing for SO long! And they had another show starting an hour after our one finished. The theatre was packed full with people - families (with kids - slightly alarming), friends and couples alike. If you have never heard of the Moulin Rouge (which I doubt), it is basically a burlesque/cabaret show with about 100 half-naked perfectly toned women in tiny embellished outfits and men in glittery flares seductively dancing around the stage for an hour and a half. All in all, the perfect show to go and see with your MOM.. (!!) I'm so glad we went as it was a once in a lifetime experience and I've always wanted to be able to say I've been.
After the show we made our way back to the hotel, suddenly feeling the fatigue set it. We fell asleep as our heads hit the pillow, dreaming of what Parisian splendours tomorrow would bring.
I hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for the next instalments to come..
Thank you for reading!
Síofra
♡
P.s. Follow me on Instagram (@siofiee150112) for more travel photos and life updates!
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