Paris, je t'aime
Paris is magical. Oh, you've heard this before? Sorry to be the typical tourist, remarkably fascinated by this city, but i can't help it, i´m here to write the truth, and only the truth ;)
In September i visited it for the third time, but now it was totally different, because i saw it through the eyes of an instagramer. It changes everything, that i can tell you! And even better was being with husband, who's a new instagramer @me_and_mango. He used to wait for me while i was taking hundred of pictures, but now we were like crazy (cool crazy, not too desperate :D) looking for doors, hidden alleys, fancy people passing by, coffee places and beautiful buildings.
We stayed at this cute "Le petit nid du Sacré Coeur" Airbnb apartment, only 1 minute away from Sacré Coeur. See here. It has a blue wall, great coffee, an excellent view and a very photogenic staircase inside the building. The owners are also very friendly.
Now, as i´ve mentioned in a previous post, we´re not the typical tourists. Our Paris getaway is more like an Instagram meet or walk. You just discover the city with curious eyes!
So here is a little summary of our trip.
We started with Sacré Coer, of course. We didn´t stay longer, because we´ve seen it before. Where we did stay for half an hour was at Place du Tertre, the well known painters square from Montmartre. I still remember i almost cried when i saw it for the first time. Despite the thousands of travelers and the touristy crowd, i could stare at them for hours. I like to talk to them and watch them paint. How talented are these people?
For the rest of the day we wandered the Parisian streets. Plenty of grandiose buildings, lots of fancy locals just perfect for a #strideby picture, colorful doors and little cafés. I´ve never seen so many teeny puny coffee places as in Paris. I´ve seen some pictures of them on Instagram, but you wouldn´t imagine how tiny they are!
You might ask me about the locals now, yes, yes, i know, many people say Parisians are arrogant, i didn´t see that at all, only the opposite. The baristas were friendly and so those 3-4 persons that gave us some guidance when we were lost. And all of them were speaking English! (it is also said they only speak French, because they don´t want to talk to you in English, not true! ;)
There is a lot to say about Paris, but i´ll encapsulate it in 2 groups, what i loved and what i didn´t. Hmmm, somehow this Paris blogpost turns out to be about me, haha! A little bit only, because after all, i´m writing from my point of view, true? ;)
7 things i loved about Paris..
- the sweets. The eclairs are pretty expensive, but they´re good, really, really good. And there are the macarons, of course. I actually didn´t have any, because there was no time left, but next time i'll make sure to go.
- the doors. Old, colorful, engraved, massive and prodigious. (I`ll soon write a blogpost only about them)
- the hidden courtyards
- the way the cafés point their chairs looking at the street. You suddenly become a bystander, a curious observer of the city life
- the people, so fancy! Now i understand why there are so many fashion designers there. I still mistake Chanel for Dior, but that´s another story ;)
- and talking about people, i got the chance to meet these lovely Parisians, 3 ladies i´ve been following for so long on Instagram.
- Cécile..a gorgeous Parisian mom, who met us at Café de Flore, this place with a view to Notre Dame. We talked about us, Instagram, Paris and its beautiful places, bought eclairs, so happy we met! @cecilemoli is also a member of @seemyparis. She gave me great tips for my next visit.
- Aurélie @o_reilly_s, another great instagramer and blogger, who strolls through beautiful secret places and courtyards in Paris.
- Jasmine @jasminetartine, this absolutely charming lady smiling all the time, You can also ask her a lot about Paris, cafés, flower shops.. She still has this paper map of the city and i love that.
Actually, i`m sure the 3 of them would cover the entire city with all their local tips ;)
We met Aurélie, her boyfriend @youngmanandsea, Jasmine, her husband and their friend, Lauren @a50lbwardrobe, an American harpist in love with Paris. We joined them for dinner. It was a very nice and funny evening, i´ve always wanted to meet the Parisians, hear them speak with that beautiful accent and see where they spend a normal evening.. i´d gladly repeat
7. some #fromwhereistand
3 things i hated about Paris..
- i go to Maison Rose, i look everywhere for it, and then guess what?! It turns out it was no longer pink, someone decided to renovate it and it was all whiteeeeeee!! (insert desperate emoji here)
2. i eventually survive the shock (kidding not kidding) and i go to see the Tour Eiffel, cuz, you know, who can leave Paris without saying "hi" to that guy? ;) No, they weren`t renovating it, neither was it white, but the light was bad! The sun just behind it. Now i have to use all those filters to make the pictures look better..this bad luck.. ;)
3. now, seriously, the only thing i disliked about Paris was that it was pretty dirty, well, more dirty that pretty, haha. But beside that, i was like a kid in Wonderland. So going back soon!! ;)
oui, c' est tout..this is pretty much it. Of course i´ll write another post about the cafés and the Parisian doors, as i mentioned before. Meanwhile, take a look at the video and pictures below and say hi.
love, i ;)
