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Aug

The MINI PALAIS is a MUST!

A Monday in early August. Practically the whole of Paris has gone to the coast to escape the humid heat. More fool them because now we can get prime seats in the most popular terrace bars!

I’m the sort of person that needs to go home and relax occasionally but not very much. I prefer to be out and about. So on a Monday after work, I suggested to my flatmates that we go and do something I had always wanted to try in Paris, which was to have a posh drink on the terrace of the Mini Palais. This is a restaurant attached to the Grand Palais, an imposing art gallery just off the Champs Elysees.

We sat on the lovely wicker chairs amongst the Greek-style columns in the warmth of the evening and had a nice, quiet and sophisticated cocktail. It was just one this time, mainly because of the price tag. I had a Wineberry because I couldn’t decide between wine and cocktail and this combination of the two was the perfect solution. What more could you ask for?

If you want to go to eat at a high-end restaurant, of course, come here for food. Otherwise, come for a drink and appreciate the luxury of it all. Afterwards, we looked out onto the Seine at the Eiffel Tower and thought, it’s flipping great living amongst all this. It really is.

Posted on August 10th, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Filed under: France, Paris, Travels
Tags: #bars #thingstodo

Jul

La Coupe du Monde – Allez les bleus !

Although I did fervently believe it was coming home, those of us supporting the England lads will have to wait until the next World Cup. In my case, however, it did technically come home- France won and I live in Paris so it was a win-win!

The Bowler – an English pub where we watched all the England games along with other expats

As is tradition in Paris when France wins a big game, everybody flocks to the Champs-Elysees. For example, when they won the semi-final of this year’s World Cup, the chant ‘tout le monde aux Champs’ led fanatics, horns honking, to parade and celebrate their success in their thousands. Living close to the iconic street as we do, horns could be heard all through the night. Blue, white and red flags were strewn everywhere that was humanly possible.

This was NOTHING compared to what happened when France WON the world cup, and every single French citizen, from St Malo to Martinique, felt like they were ‘Champions du monde’. ONE MILLION people were reported to have been on the Champs Elysees to celebrate, so of course, we decided to go and join in and forget our frustrations about our boys going home early.

Can I just mention here that, probably from a lack of good football songs and/or the fact that it’s actually a really good song, the French sing their national anthem an awful lot. I mean all the time. Before the game a few times before the players are even on the pitch to sing it themselves, whenever there is a lull in the game, after the game, they just love to sing it all the time. I have to say it’s a lot better than God Save the Queen (no offence, but can we update this soon?)

Anyway, imagine one million people singing this on the Champs Elysees, holding their flares and flags and funny hats. The sun is setting orange behind the Arc de Triomphe and horns are blasting. Some numpties are trying to see how many people they can get on top of a bus stop. We are cheering and dancing and high-fiving people as they walk past.

It was great to be able to experience people coming together behind their country for a victory, it was really a once-in-a-lifetime and surreal moment. We were lucky to be living here when France won. As many colleagues have mentioned to us, we chose the right year to be here!

Recently been loving the Huji app which was used to take the photos above. It claims to make them look like they were taken in 1998 and is laid out on the screen like a disposable camera. I love it because you don’t have to edit them to give them the effect of being old, it’s all done in one click and makes each picture feel special. I think we are all going to be using it in no time!

Posted on July 16th, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Filed under: France, Life, Paris, Travels
Tags: #football, #milestones

Jul

Ticking off my bucket list

I recently looked back at my bucket list and realised I could tick off quite a few things! What a great feeling! I am achieving the things that I one day decided I wanted to do. It just goes to show that:

‘Anything’s possible, if you’ve got enough nerve’ – J.K. Rowling

I wanted to share one of the highlights- driving a golf buggy! This might be a strange ambition to have, but I have always loved the idea of whizzing around in one of these vehicles and one day owning my own. I think it comes from the child-like idea of transporting yourself round in a stop/go manner, almost like a toy. I drove us around in the buggy in one of the most picturesque locations possible, the gardens of the Palace of Versailles! It was definitely not cheap, but in the heat of the day it was the best way to get around and see as many of the acres of beautiful landscaped gardens and outbuildings as possible.

Taking the wheel!

Biggest crowd to get in I have ever seen! I had prebooked tickets so we could queue jump.

The heat of the day!

Versailles Palace is free to visit for EU citizens under 25. The gardens cost extra but I have also been in low season and got in for free.

Who knows, maybe one day I will be driving a gold buggy of my own (even though I can’t see myself playing golf or wanting grounds big enough to warrant one)!

The hot weather in Paris continues and the sweat is real.

I’ll check back in soon with some more life updates!

Posted on July 9th, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Jul

Le Petit Palais

If you fancy getting your culture on or simply relaxing in an oasis just off the Champs Elysees, the Petit Palais ticks both those boxes. It’s a beautiful building inside and out, the ‘middle child’ of the Grand Palais and the Mini Palais – and we all know that being a middle sibling is no bad thing.

Leafy plants and blue skies

I’ve visited the Petit Palais before, for a pastels exhibition, but this weekend I went for a totally different reason and discovered a whole new way to enjoy it. I went to go and see a ‘Brit Session’ gig being held to celebrate the launch of a new exhibition of impressionist art from London. This was set up in conjunction with the British Embassy and Scottish pop artist Be Charlotte was playing a chilled set in the golden light of the evening.

A stage was set up in the garden, which is right in the middle of the building and you can go in it for free. It has a great little cafe and we did not pass up on the opportunity to have some Pimm’s. All in all, it was a great way to spend a Friday evening and relax to some live music.

I can imagine myself going back with a book and sitting outside on the terrace, then having a wander around and peering at some statues, even a when a music session isn’t being held. I recommend it for tourists and locals alike!

#thingstodoinparis

#britsessions

Posted on July 1st, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Filed under: France, Life, Travels
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Jun

A Festival in Three Outfits

If you are in Paris in the summer, try and go to one of the many festivals taking place around the city. There is something for everyone and when the sun is shining, they are a great way to enjoy the outdoors.

See a list here. Another great way to experience music here is the Fete de la Musique, a day where music of all genres takes over Paris- in its streets, its buildings and museums- on 21st June every year.

We recently went to Solidays festival. Admittedly, I didn’t know most of the bands, but I love a festival so was very up for it anyway. My highlight was Two Door Cinema Club who I had never seen live before. We didn’t camp because we live not too far away from the site in the Bois du Boulogne, so this meant we could really go for it where festival fashion and feeling fresh were concerned. Nothing better than your own bed and a proper shower to kick off a day of dancing to the tunes of the summer!

So here we are, Ann and I, in our three outfits for the three evenings we spent at Solidays.

FRIDAY

Getting glam and raring to go!

SATURDAY

POP of colour

SUNDAY

Cute and coordinating

The glitter will be taken to the NEXT LEVEL for my second festival of the season – JoeFest!

#thingstodoinParis #music #festival #fashion

Posted on June 29th, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Filed under: Fashion, France, Life
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Jun

Cool stuff in Paris?

I have been living in Paris, one of the best cities in the world, since October last year. I love it and always get asked what my recommendations for things to do and cool bars are.

So, although I am already 8 months into my crazy life here, I’ve decided to share what I get up to a bit more on this blog. Looking back, I have barely done any posts on my adventures here, and with summer about to burst into the life of Paris, there is a lot going on!

Hopefully, my posts will be helpful for visitors or people living in Paris who want to be inspired, get out there and see what the capital has to offer!

Rule #1 for living here is GET OUT OF THE FLAT!

___________________________________________________

Let’s start with some rooftop bar vibes:

One of the best rooftops in Paris for drinking, dancing and chilling is the Cité de la Mode et du Design. It’s really big, feels very Shoreditch and has several bars and eating outlets.

What I drank there: Rosé wine and bottles of cider.

What I paid: 5 EUR to get up to the rooftop but it’s free before 8pm. Drinks around 6 to 9 euros each.

Website:https://www.citemodedesign.fr/

On my most recent visit, I saw the band Patawawa play (for the second time in two days) and they are the most fun, dancy live group I have seen in a long time. I am looking forward to seeing them again at JoeFest, a Lincolnshire-based festival run by my family, in August, not least because they are really nice people!

This is a good spot for early evening evening drinks with a view, or a good old boogie through the night. Try it on any vaguely sunny day!

Posted on June 20th, 2018
Posted by Hannah
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Filed under: France, Life, Paris, Travels
Tags: #bars #thingstodo

Jan

January – Do Something Different

Me exploring in my beloved giant ‘duvet coat’. Paris v rainy at the moment.

Reads of the month-

‘The trouble with Goats and Sheep’ – Joanna Cannon

‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ – Truman Capote

I have been out of the habit of reading for years so two books a month is a good start for me.

Inspiring words of the month- ‘You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.’

See my Pinterest Account (where I found the quote)

This resonated with me this month because I felt inspired to add more things I love into my daily routine: reading a good book on the Metro (I live in Paris now); taking back up an old hobby; remembering to do the things that make me happy like getting off at a different stop on the way home and seeing a new part of this city. I even began to think about my website again which is why I am writing this post. I enjoy making content and maybe doing more of it could help take me somewhere in the future. A few people have encouraged me to get back into it and I hope I can get back into the routine.

It really can be the small changes that can make a difference to how you feel. They can also help lead you to success- just deciding you want to do something and doing it.

Highlight of the month-

The old hobby I brought back into my life this month is knitting. I finally finished perhaps the longest cushion cover in the history of cushion cover production. I decided I wanted to make it in September 2016 when I moved to London. After nipping into my new office to meet my new managers, I headed to John Lewis on Oxford Street, full of excitement to buy some wool. I chose a lovely but not cheap grey chunky number and some fat needles and that was all I needed.

I think I felt inspired by these cushions in Waitrose

As the nights grew longer and darker, I knitted row after row using YouTube tutorials along the way. If anyone’s interested, I alternated rows of knitting and purling.

That’s when my progress slowed and I basically stopped after I had knitted a long rectangle. The reason I didn’t spend my time knitting anymore was because I went out drinking a lot with friends and summer came along and there was far too much socialising to do. For me I suppose it’s a winter hobby.

I ended up leaving the lovely, long, warm strip in its John Lewis bag and it went back home when I moved out of the flat.

The second of January 2018 came along and there were a few hours to go until I got the Eurostar back to Paris after a Christmas break at home. For some reason I suddenly had the motivation to finish the cushion cover! (I think it was the time pressure, there’s nothing like a deadline to make you do something.)

Mum showed me how to cast off (the act of finishing a piece of knitting so you can take it off the needle) and I sewed it up onto the cushion. Here is the finished result:

Perfectly imperfect.

It feels great that I created something that is unique and also looks like something I would definitely buy, even if it did take me 16 months! I have always loved crafting and sewing, and now i can add knitting to the list. Next project is slightly confused as I am knitting without totally knowing what it is going to be.

January brought me my first ever five star hotel experience. I also did some pastel painting and work and went to a pastels exhibition at the Petit Palais. Let’s see what February brings!