La Ville de L'amour

I'm experiencing London blues. This is a very rare occurrence and is usually a product of bad weather (check) and the girls and I being buried under a ton of work (double check). 

I promise this will not last. But while it does, I thought I would share with you my second favourite city... Paris. 

Recently, with a clear weekend in all of our schedules, something which never seems to happen, three of my closest friends and I zipped off to Paris for a cultural weekend of eating (of course), drinking (obviously) and taking in the beautiful sights of the city of love. 

A visit to the Louvre is an absolute must. Even if you know nothing about art, which I absolutely don't, the architecture is truly stunning and even if just for the building itself, its an absolute must.

We even paid a visit to the Mona Lisa (looking great for her age isn't she?!

The Locks of love. You can't explain the overwhelming emotion you feel until you visit this.

After some art, we continued on our cultural adventure and headed to Le Tour Eiffel. Sadly on the day we went it was pretty windy and so we couldn't go right to the top... can you believe it sways up to 3 feet each way on a particularly windy day?! Neither could I, but I wasn't going to challenge it. Still the view we got from the second tier was still something pretty special. 

Outfit: Skirt: Miss Selfridge, Shirt: Topshop, Blazer: Vintage

So much sightseeing had left our stomach's rumbling and so we decided to head for a late brunch. And when in Rome (or Paris) where better to sample true French cuisine than Laduree. For anyone who doesn't know Laduree, it is a traditional french patisserie and confectioners and makes the greatest macaroons in the world. They have a couple of restaurants in London which I love, and promise to blog about, so going to the original on the Champs-Elysees was a real treat... and boy were we spoilt. The traditional brunch we had was a delicious selection of scrambled egg, croissants, bread rolls, fruit salad, finger sandwiches, natural yoghurt and of course their signature macaroons. 

Looking pretty pleased with our selection! Dress, Asos. Jack wears Givenchy tee. 

 While it is not essential to devour the entire menu as we did, it is well worth a visit even just to admire their beautiful confectionery!

Feeling suitably French and very full, we headed back to prepare for our evening in Paris.

Firstly, a cruise on the Seine. If you're in the city, it's the perfect way to see all the sights in one. It does get a bit cold, although I imagine in Summer it would be fine.

Heading back to base after a cruise on the Seine 

Then it was time for a late dinner. I chose frogs legs, I love trying new food and actually really enjoyed them, while the others were absolutely repulsed.  

We then headed out for an evening of dancing and cocktails in Bastille and Montmartre. I don't know if this is a French thing, but if it is, we need to start putting marshmallow's in cocktails in London too. 

Possibly the greatest apple martini I have ever tasted.

I promise I'll be back to my usual London fanatic behaviour tomorrow. In the mean time, if you have any Parisian recommendations, let me know!