Merci

Rather than try to cram everything from Tuesday in Paris into this post I figured I would just share a highlight. Both Fran and I are huge fans of The Londoner and it was on her blog that we discovered our treat for the day.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself though, we started the morning with a wonder around Place des Vosges and Le Marais which is such a lovely part of the city and not as busy as the centre and full of cute little shops, perfect for a morning stroll and to kill some time before the main event.

By that I mean Merci. This used book cafe is joined onto their shop which is full of loads of wonderful trinkets and treasures.

I don't think I've ever seen match boxes in so many different colours or bed spreads for that matter.

After a good snoop around it was time for the main event, we sat down ordered our coffees and les tartines grillées (crème chocolate maison).

It was delicious! The water flavoured with mint was a great thirst quencher too, but that melted chocolate.... it was like 5 star toast with nutella!

One wall of the cafe is lined with books from floor to ceiling, feel free to read one while you sit and sip on your coffee or buy one and take it home with you.

We were so thrilled with our trip to Merci, it was definitely worth the slight detour from the regular museum trail.

The most incredible opera house?

Our first full day in Paris we had planned a trip to the Louvre, but that didn't happen. Instead we found ourselves inside the Palais Garnier, never have I been so in awe of a building. The intricacy of the detailing was just incredible, this is one that I will let some pictures do the talking.

Who doesn't want a staircase like this in their house?

And by far the most impressive room I have ever seen...

I don't think I will ever get bored of re-visiting these photos!

However it was time for a wee pit stop and re-fuel, normally I'd go for a coffee but when I heard about Angelina and its famous hot chocolate 'l'africain' there was no other option.

We sat chatted about what we had seen and everything we still wanted to do while taking in the surroundings of this bustling little tearoom.

I had intended on leaving you with mouths watering but I just have to slip in one last photo from our afternoon. We spent some time at the Musée de l'Orangerie which was possibly my favourite museum of the trip. There were 2 large rooms of Monet's Water lillies; if you are planning a trip to Paris these are a must see!

Return to Paris

As I write this I am sitting in Charles de Gaulle airport wishing I didn't have to head back home! My first trip to Paris was probably 8 years ago and I was rather underwhelmed. I just didn't understand why everyone thought it was so wonderful. After my second trip in 2011 I started to change my mind, and now I would stay here at least another week if I could!

Arriving mid Sunday afternoon I had to get myself to Gare du Nord to meet Fran who had travelled over on the train. Armed with some rusty french and directions from our host we took on the task of finding our apartment for the next few days.

We had booked our apartment through airbnb, a first for both of us, and lets just say we will both be doing it again! It was so great to have a place that gave us that authentic Parisian lifestyle even if it was only for a few days.

We dumped our stuff and decided to head out for some exploring.

We took a walk along the Seine up to Notre Dame, which is just stunning! Even though it was starting to get late there were still hundreds of tourists looking up at the grand cathedral in awe. We joined them for a bit but our stomachs soon reminded us we hadn't had anything to eat.

We stopped at pretty much the first restaurant we came across and sat down for a beef foundue. It came with a heaps of chips, salad and some red wine of course.  After stuffing ourselves full of fondue  the waiter managed to convince us that creme brûlée was a good idea...and boy was he right!

After finishing off the wine and some coffee we headed back to the apartment so we could get some well needed rest in the hope we would wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed for a full day of exploring the next day.