City hopping: Paris

Getting the Eurostar from St. Pancras was so convenient and working in travel, I was fortunate enough to get an upgrade to Standard Premier, meaning more space and a meal – bonus! The journey really didn’t seem that long at all and as we arrived into France, the scenery was really beautiful. It honestly seemed like less than an hour – before I knew it, I was en Paris à la Gare du Nord!

I saw the Arctic Monkeys on my first evening at Le Zenith. The venue was pretty big and the capacity was something like 6,000. Alex Turner and the boys put on a really good show and I was pleased with the set list – I think they played almost every song I wanted or expected. There was seating but we stood. I know it sounds really bad but there were far too many substances being taken and shoving going on, which spoilt my enjoyment. I think I would rather have been seated (definitely getting old).

Of course no trip to Paris is complete without ascending the Eiffel Tower for blistering views of the city and despite the torrential rain and wind, it surpassed all my expectations.  It was just an incredible experience and one I’d love to re-live. It’s not until you’re actually outside it that you realise its sheer magnitude and I would never have known it isn’t actually silver. I’m so glad I can finally tick it off my bucket list but I think had it been a nicer day, I could have spent hours just gazing out over the city.

I also visited the Louvre and could quite easily have pottered about and spent a good six hours there! I feel like I barely saw any of the exhibits as there were so many rooms I didn’t venture into. The courtyard was really beautiful and had it not been pouring with rain, would have been a lovely serene spot to relax. The pyramids were spectacular too and it’s hard to believe the main one is the entrance to the museum – it doesn’t look nearly big enough!

A city tour isn’t complete without seeing the local football team in action and so I head to Parc des Princes to see Paris Saint-Germain in action. There were over 45,000 people in the crowd and despite the metro being absolutely packed, it really didn’t seem like that many once I’d taken my seat. It was absolutely freezing and suddenly wearing pumps and a blazer in November seemed like a really bad idea!

I ate so much – and tried to eat as much ‘French’ food as possible. From croissants at breakfast, to grabbing a poulet baguette for lunch and a croque-monsieur (post mojito) in the evening – I even had steak for lunch (it was definitely horse – the French love it). I was so pleased to get my moules et frites fix too. I can’t stand it when people go on holiday and just eat the same stuff they do at home, or actively seek out burger and pizza places; what’s the point of going away if you’re not going to try new or different things? I wish I had tried snails or something really random though...