A Parisian Valentine's Day

Valentines Day! I was surprised at breakfast with a bouquet of red roses from my boyf. I surprised him with a slab of chocolate and 'love' toast while I gave the fam each their own individually chosen, gourmet chocolates.

After our romantic family buffet breakfast we hopped aboard a very windy bus tour of Paris, showing us amazing views of the famously beautiful Parisian sites. 

We disembarked at the Notre Dame church. Inside was filled with stained glass windows, gold markings throughout and statues and paintings that reflected the religious history of the church.

We explored the streets around the Latin Quarter that had restaurants squashed together with window displays of abundant seafood for 13 Euros in an attempt to entice tourists.

Boyf showing his new Chat Noir lighter amongst the hustle and bustle of the Latin Quarter.

We wandered through the back alley cobble pathways and found a pub style restaurant for lunch. Delicious baguettes were on the menu.

We climbed back onto the bus and continued past the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees, which looked like postcards from the top of the bus. The streets were filled with people bustling in all directions.

Valentines Day was not played up by the Parisians as I had expected, so we took it upon ourselves to celebrate in Parisan style with bottle of Pink Jacquart and some gourmet chocolates, whilst the boys went to the Pub for a pint of two.

Montmartre

We started the day at the St Ouen Markets, a huge tourist market with shady men pacing down each aisle whispering to you under their breath "nice Prada bag good price'. I felt slightly uneased by the characters that lurked at this market  so we soon moved on to adventure through Montmartre.

Montmartre is a perfectly picturesque town. The cobblestone footpaths are lined with artists sitting at their easels peacefully paining. The view is astonishing from the Sacre Coeur as it overlooked beautiful Parisian townhouses and buildings amongst the mist of the cold day. 

We visited a Parisian restaurant on the side of the street to warm up. Plates of steak and frites, pasta and salads were brought to us by an entertaining French waiter. As we walked out we noticed a girl with a baby turtle on her table eating a lettuce leaf – only in Paris.

The artists were intriguing, they sat behind their propped up paintings with dipping their brush into the blobs of paint. Em bought me an amazing painting of a Parisian café street for my birthday present, it had such intricate detail and colour.

On our way walking back to find  a cab a busker had enticed a huge array of people to sit in front of him and sing along with him out the front of the Scare Coeur – they all loved it. 

First Day in Paris

Our first day in paris. We arrived to my family sitting in the hall of the hotel. It seemed so surreal seeing everyone sitting there after being in the UK for a month now. With jet lag looming for the fam, Matt, Dad and I went exploring the Madeleine area. We walked to the Louvre through a beautiful park full of stark trees and statues. 

There was a flowing fountain being used for a collection of colourful handmade boats that sailed in the wind from one side to the other. 

We managed to convince Emma to come to dinner with us as everyone else was comatosed by the jet lag. We walked the streets in an attempt to find a place for dinner but after many minutes walking down street after street we became desperate and entered the next restaurant we walked past.  It was a very quiet restaurant but we were happy to be inside with a drink in hand.

After a delcious meal we ordered dessert of course having to try a true Parisian crème brulee. It look amazing and when we tried it seemed not right. We sent it back to be slightly warmed in an attempt to enjoy a truly delicious dessert but instead were greated by a crème brulee soup. I was traumatised for an hour of the evening after realising a crème brulee most definitely should be chilled rather than hot. 

To cheer me up Matt took me to Buddha Bar for cocktails. Dimmed light, loud music, a long bar filled with bottles and bottles of alcohol all set above the restaurant below filled with tables of people. We sat with our delicious cocktails watching the people around us intently.

One Pound Drinks

Its 10pm on a Monday night and Kate calls telling me we are going out for one pound drinks. How can you pass that up? It did take some persuading as it was 10pm and i hadn't had any drinks prior to leaving for Halo. We lined up for what seemed like an hour in the cold but once we were in the one pounders were flowing. Hilarious chart music to dance to, 18 year olds a plenty and a great night was had. 

Night out in Leeds

We had our first night out on the town in Leeds this past weekend. We indulged in the uni spirit and played drinking games with cheap wine and card games. 

We ventured to a club called 'The Cockpit' where the boys to girls ratio was somewhat out of whack. They played UK music we had never heard before but we still danced.

We finished up at a bar with a name that had something to do with a cactus but after Kate tried to make to boys kiss and failed we jumped in a cab home. 

Matt became buddies with the cab driver. 

Vintage Bus

One evening we were walking back from town and there was an outrageous colourful bus out the front of the apartments. It was a bus full of vintage clothes. It was the coolest thing I had seen in a while. 

Broadway Market.

Markets are my favourite place to stroll and people watch. It is where all the quirks come from. On Saturday we had our very own tourist guide Mr Pete Jones taking us around East London. Broadway Market was filled with amazing produce, I just wished I lived close by so i could take some home.  

This stall had barrels of olives, sundried tomatoes and tepenade. 

After alot of walking and fingers begining to freeze we ducked into a Pub for lunch. Boar burgers were on the menu and two were ordered for the MEN of the table. I had a vegetarian burger!

Camden Markets

Sunday was spent strolling through the tacky and touristy Camden Markets. 

There were back to back alley ways filled with every asian cuisine you could think of. I soon learnt the only way to get through unscathed was to avoid eye contact whilst they yell and throw their hands at you to get your attention.  More appealing to me was the doughnut stand with hundreds of differing doughnut flavours, we chose belgium chocolate filled and flake topped with raspberry filling.    

There was this fantastic line of scooter chairs for people to eat their greasy yet delicious food, whilst looking onto the river. 

The Best Ever Chips!

The night we discovered a Nation of Shopkeepers was a good night. We discovered the hidden doors, sussed out the scene as we walked across the room and immediately knew it would be a favourite hang out spot. Comfy couches to laze on, dimmed lights, quirky decor and great music. It was not until our meals arrived that we realised it is also the home of the best chips you will ever experience even better than Buderim Meadows Foodworks chips (no joke). They are called Homemade Double-Cooked Maris Piper Chips and you should definitely come to Leeds for these chips. 

http://anationofshopkeepers.com

Leeds

Our first impression of Leeds was made on a Sunday afternoon, hardly any cars on the road and only dodgy run down take away stores to be seen lining the streets. Although after exploring the city we found a whole lot more. The city is beautiful with old world buildings lined with shops, cafes and people!

A pub with a cat in the window! Can you really get more English than that?

We soon discovered Leeds is a few degrees colder than London so many coffee breaks are necessary.

And then the final discovery that gave us a shiver of excitement at first sight, Jamie Oliver's Restaurant. Only in the UK can you dine in a restaurant that JAMIE OWNS!

Portobello Markets

Portobello Road Markets have been my most favourite market of all time. They are fabulous! An amazing array of locals and tourists, vintage goodies, arts and crafts. So much to see including this man with his dog standing on his shoulder. 

The markets are lined with cafes and pubs, not to mention the street food on offer. I had to try the German Sausage Man's Bratwurst as it is all the rage. Im not much of a sausage eater but it was fairly delicious for a market binge. 

Then there were the Churros...

And the pizza... 

This is what i will indulge in next time!

Sights

We decided there was a need for a tourist day. We started at St Paul's Cathedral (where Lady Di was married) laden with beautiful stained glass windows and a gold interior. Of course no photos allowed inside. 

They gave us a headset tour guide but we soon lost interest in that. We climbed the thousands of stairs, with a few pitstops, to the rooftop where we looked over London. 

We then visited Trafalgar Square which had beautiful water fountains but the icy wind forced us onto a rooftop bus tour. This took us through all the city streets which are made up of astounding buildings and stark winter trees whilst people walk past in their London rush. 

Soho

Our first few days in London were spent sussing out Soho. Every shop has levels going up and down filled with clothes, shoes and bags. I was overwhelmed which in turn limited my purchasing ability. It took a day to soak in the enormity of the city, the amazing people walking by and the stacks of side streets tucked away.

The city itself is hectic. Huge double-decker buses just making it around corners. Black cabs making abrupt turns, sporadically changing their direction. Our first ride in a black cab was a 20 minute ride from Soho to Bow and we felt like we could crash at any moment. He was in and out of his lane, turning at full speed and these are the drivers that have trained for four years and cost 30 pounds!