Two nights in Paris...

Last night at two am I finally got back from a weekend in Paris.

Don't get me wrong I loved it, however, we only had three days in the City of Love but seemed to cram a lot in.

Me, Denis and his two friends left at 6am on Saturday arriving in Paris at 9am. The main reason we went to Paris was due to the boys taking part in the Paris marathon on the Sunday.

Saturday was spent getting the boys registered at the marathon expo and catching up on some much needed sleep.

We took the metro quite a few times and I will say it was really good. The map was a little confusing as at times the lines cross over. So a couple of times we got on the wrong line thinking we were going the right way.
The door were a little scary you open your by pulling a handle upwards. It flings back and makes a racket and they open it as the tube is still moving.

What is good is that the drivers can see down the platform so if they can see that no one has got off or on they carry on. It makes the journey go so quickly.

I have been to Paris a few times, with school doing a couple of touristy things, and then about six years ago my boyfriend took me for my birthday. Again we did some touristy things.

This time I did get to see the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, this time however, I came back as a bit of a foodie. The patisseries in Paris are full of colour and food. It is just a feast for the eyes. It does make you wonder how they keep so skinny. So many cakes, pastries and tarts, full of fruit and cream...

I tried a pan au chocolat, the pastry was buttery and crispy and the chocolate was bitter but melt in the mouth.

Another one of the delectable treats I decided to try were macaroons, something I have always wanted to try but never had the chance to so I thought 'When in Paris'. We had vanilla, pistachio, chocolate and strawberry.

They weren't really what I was expecting, they were crunchy with a soft centre with an almond filling and a cream centre - a delicious filling and only bite sized. They were heaven, small and perfect, I loved them.


On marathon day the boys set off at 8.45am so we had to be there for 8am, it was freezing but I will say I love watching marathons it may seem boring but you get caught up in the moment. I saw my boyfriend at 18 mile mark as well which was really good, getting to cheer him up.

He found it hard. This was his fourth marathon, his first in Paris, the other three were in Stockholm.


Now I haved watched the boys in the three other marathons in Stockholm. In comparison I found watching in Stockholm better then Paris. The atmosphere was just not there. In Stockholm the people of the city came out to celebrate, in Paris the shops were all shut and the only people watching seemed to be the ones who had people competing and once they saw their person they left.

Another thing the Stockholm marathon ends in the Olympic stadium so you get to see your person running through the stadium and after it is so much easier to find them after. I never got to see the boys finish, and it was hard after trying to find them.

I was a little disappointed and I know the boys were. My boyfriend said the two parks and lack of sights made it harder to run round.

We found out later as well that two of the French President candidates were holding rallys at the same time.

Nicolas Sarkozy at the Concorde and Francois Hollande in East Paris, we saw on the news they had a big turn out if this had an impact on the marathon crowds, especially as Paris is one of the big ones to do.



At the end of the weekend I fell in love with Paris, it isn't quite up there with Rome and New York but I can't wait to go back again and get to have a foodie experience.

I Heart New York

Today is the tenth anniversary of the awful 9/11 attacks.




I remember it quite clearly, walking home from school hearing that a plane had hit the World Trade Centre, not quite knowing what building it was, I had heard of the twin towers but I suppose I never knew their 'official' name.


When I got home I turned on the TV to be greeted with the Twin Towers smoking and a ablaze. I also saw the second plane hit, it was just.... you can't describe it, seeing something like that unfold in front of you. Just chaos and debris. Loss of innocent life, people jumping out of the building thinking that is the best way, their way.


Anyway, I don't want to dwell on this but talk about my love for one of the best cities in the world.


I visited New York in 2004 with my mum. The flight was ok, and we got a mini bus thing to the hotel with a bunch of German people.


The hotel we were staying at was next to the Empire State Building, so every morning when I opened the curtains I could see the magnificent Empire State Building.


Walking through Central Park and Times Square was like walking through a film set, they are sights that you have seen in your favourite TV shows and films but are unbelievable when you see them in real life.


I will admit that most of it was little smaller that I was expecting but still amazing. On our first day after being awake for over 14 hours me and my mum went up the Empire State, barely talking to each other but we were told by the hotel receptionist that it was going to rain so it would be better to go up there that day. We got into a lift crammed full up to the observation deck made famous by King Kong, but although we were tired and grouchy when we got there and our first proper view of the city from above and I was not disappointed.


We did the usual touristy things, saw the Statue of Liberty, went on a carriage around Central Park, had dinner in Ellen's Stardust Diner (http://ellensstardustdiner.com/) where they sing while you eat, I got Mack the Knife...it was ok a little embarrassing as you try to eat your burger. One of the funniest things though is going in to the Art Deco beauty that is the Chrysler building, we didn't know you couldn't go up so literally walked around the lobby and back out.


We also caught a Broadway show, we saw 42nd Street, a proper New York musical from the 30s, and it was amazing.


There were also visits to the brilliant Macy's, Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdales. Didn't take advantage of the good dollar-pound ratio back then, wish we had. We bought socks in Bloomingdales just so we could get a little brown bag.


I would love to go back to New York at Christmas; films like Elf, set in New York make me feel warm and fuzzy during my favourite time of year. I have only been once but that was enough to truly captivate me and make me fall head over heels in love with it.


So on this day, we should all remember those lost and the fantastic city they loved as well.