RP Discover Paris; Walk the landmarks

It doesn't matter whether it is your first or 100th time in Paris, whether you love the city or hate it (if you've read my other Paris posts you may have figured out that I both love and hate Paris in equal measures; it's a complicated relationship!), one thing that no one can deny is that walking its street from North to South to East to West you are never far from a breathtaking sight or stunning landmark.

Here are a few of my favourite snaps from my Easter trip to the city; taken from Instagram, my iPhone and my Lumix G5 so they are varying in quality.

A view that never gets boring, whenever I'm in town I always head straight to Pont d'Alma to see the Eiffel Tower in all its glory.

Standing on the top floor of Les Galeries Lafayettes and looking down on all the shoppers is always an impressive sight!

And the view from the roof terrace at the top ain't too shabby either (above and below)...

Although I'm not so interested in the contents inside (art is not really my thing), the outside of the Pompidou never fails to impress...

And again, the views from the top are pretty cool too!

As a passionate Crossfitter I couldn't resist this pic...

A view of the Eiffel Tower light show from my favourite cocktail bar at the top of Montparnasse Tower...

Pounding the streets...

...before taking a quiet five at the 'Jardins du Luxembourg'.

No trip to Paris is complete without a bit of indulgence from La Duree...

And I have to take a trip up to Montmartre and my favourite building in the entire world; Le Sacre Coeur...

Strolling back down the windy roads at the back of 'Le Sacre Coeur' and cutting through the cemetry, you arrive in Pigalle, the inspiration of my favourite Louboutin shoe and home to 'Le Moulin Rouge'...

If I can't afford to stay there, I can afford to indulge in one of the George V passion fruit martinis...I just make sure that I savour every drop!

A Sunday stroll along Canal St. Martin before meeting friends for brunch is a must...

And the beauty of leaving your Uber for an evening to stroll the streets at night is that you never know what you might see at the next crossroad...

The Cathedral of Notre Dame looks its best in the moonlight...

...and no trip to Paris would be complete without a flower shaped ice cream from Amorino's.

Finally if you're in the city of love with your loved one, head over to 'Le Pont des Arts' and leave yourselves binded forever to the city's spirit by locking your padlock on the bridge and throwing the key into the Seine.

Paris; at times you are tiresome, frustrating, over priced and downright difficult but you have a 'je ne sais quoi' that will forever keep me coming back for more.

A plus Paris, until the next time!

RP Eat Paris; Merci

My favourite area of Paris is 'Le Marais'; full of quirky little boutiques, vintage and arts shops as well as a number of quaint little eateries and falafel joints. Normally when I head over to Le Marais, I go on a Sunday when the quarter is bustling with people out to meet friends for brunch. As it is the Jewish area it is one of the few places in Paris where you'll find everything shut on a Saturday but open for business on a Sunday when everywhere else is closed.  On previous trips to Le Marais it is always the falafel I make the visit for but today I was bursting to try 'Merci'.  

Hopping out of our Uber, we took a seat in one of the establishment's two cafe's 'The Cinema'...

Before long a table became available outside and so we dined on the homemade, organic dishes 'al fresco'.

Tomato, spinach, pecorino and pesto pasta with a side of goats cheese on a bed of rocket, drizzled in honey and sprinkled with nuts.

...And some delicious jambon with a complimentary basket of bread and beurre!

The food was light, fresh and tasty. Definitely a must if you are looking for lunch in a city that loves its rich cuisine.

Merci is a unique concept, sandwiched between the two Cafes you'll find a shop, which sells an array of weird and wonderful items under the same roof.

As you go down the little alleyway between the cafes you are greeted with a host of livestock for sale; chickens, rabbits, hens and even goats. The prices of these are written on the cage walls; 290 Euros for a Goat, if you're interested!

Once inside there are both a vintage and menswear section selling briefcases, shoes, caps and pocket scarves to name a few of the items available.

Plant pots for those few people who have large outdoor spaces in Paris!

And a Ladies-wear section selling a number of independent and designer brands, including my favourite 'Etoile' by Isabel Marant.  

I've been home for over two months now and I'm still regretting not buying the jumper below...

More home-ware...

And in the middle of the shop, a plant section.

For those interested, I am wearing:

Dungarees - River Island

Breton Striped Top - River Island

Wedged Trainers - Isabel Marant

Sunglasses - Rayban

Très français, non?

We exited through the 'Old Bookshop Cafe' empty handed but eager to return on our next visit to Paris!

Restaurant/Shop: Merci-Merci

Address: 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris, France

Website: http://www.merci-merci.com 

RP Travel Rating: 4/5

RP Stay Paris; Hotel Banke

Trying to find a decent hotel in Paris for less than £500 a night can be quite a task and, after giving up on ever finding somewhere that I wanted to stay, I passed this challenge over to my husband who resumed the search. The aim of the game was to find a nice double room in a boutique hotel with a decent square footage for less than £250.  Satisfyingly he came up with the goods and managed to book us into a suite at this delightful four star establishment just a short five minute walk from 'Les Galeries Lafayette' - perfect for a shopaholic like me.

The view from the room was very Parisien... i.e. another building! However, what it lacked in terms of a view it more than made up for in style and comfort.

The room decor was understated and dark but it did make for an airy room which can be a nice respite from the stuffy heat that envelopes Paris in the summer months.

The bathroom was modern with a separate bath and power shower... 

...and the toiletries were restocked on a daily basis which meant I got to take a couple of these little bags home with me!

The hotel is situated in the Opera district, down the road from the impressive Opera House itself and its central location and easy access to the metro line is useful for those wanting to explore the length and breadth of the city. If you like to walk, we walked to a fair number of famous landmarks including Madeleine, Place Vendome, Jardins Luxembourg, Les Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame and L'Arc de Triomphe. 

Would I return to this hotel? Not if the budget ever allows me to lodge in the George V which is my number 1 bucket list hotel in the whole world, but it did tick all the boxes as an adequate place to rest one's head in one of the world's most overpriced cities.

Hotel Rating: 4*

Price: 3/5

RP Rating: 3/5

A larger hotel room than your average Parisian fare with easy access to a number of famous Parisian tourist attractions.

RP Stay Paris; Trianon Palace, Versailles

Just a short RER ride from Paris lies the famous suburb of Versailles; home to the beautiful Palace of Versailles and historical landmark of where the Treaty was signed on that fateful day on November 11th at 11.00 am in 1918 to mark the end of the First World War.  As something of a history geek with a particular interest in old Royal Families (I absolutely LOVE all things Tudor and love to walk around Renaissance palaces) I have been itching to visit Versailles for years but have never ventured out of the city centre in any of my previous trips to Paris.

In order to really make the most of our time there we booked The Waldorf-Astoria Trianon Palace Hotel and purchased a two day pass so that we could really explore every nook and cranny of the main palace and its beautiful grounds as well as the buildings of the Petit and Grand Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet.

The hotel is a reasonably priced and good quality 4* set in beautiful grounds just outside the gate to the entrance of the gardens.  The rooms are large and spacious but could do with a little TLC and I imagine it is a lack of the 'finishing touches' to both room standards and service that prevent it from being upgraded to a 5* hotel despite it having a Guerlain Spa and a Michelin Star restaurant.

Now I like to judge a hotel on the quality of the bathroom products available to use and these Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries won the hotel extra bonus points (although I was a little puzzled as to why they do not use a French brand such as Clarins or Occitane, which just so happen to be two of my favourites)!

I didn't try the Spa but it looked very inviting and advertised using Guerlain products so was not exactly cheap.  Instead we took a little wander around the grounds and went for a dip in the swimming pool which was small but nice enough.

The hotel has two restaurants; The Michelin Star Gordon Ramsey and The Veranda, both of which have terraces in front of the hotel where diners can lounge in the sun and sip a pre-dinner apero or two.

We chose to eat in The Veranda restaurant on account of it being half the price of The Gordon Ramsey (and still wasn't that cheap) and we were not disappointed.  I had the most amazing Tuna Tartare, which is fast becoming one of my favourite dishes on a restaurant menu, followed by Pollock, Langoustine and roasted vegetable stack whilst Mr RP tucked into a risotto followed by veal which he said he enjoyed very much.  It looked to me like the food came out of the same kitchen as the Gordon Ramsey restaurant and was very well presented and of a high quality. I would recommend it without hesitation if you find yourself out in Versailles and want to avoid the equally extortionately priced touristy cafes.

Check out the website for Trianon Palace here although you can get a better deal by looking on Trivago.  For a more in depth look at Versailles Palace and its grounds, take a look at my other Versailles Post in the Paris section of the site.

Hotel Rating: 4*

Price: 3/5

RP Rating: 4/5 - 

A reasonably priced and nice quality 4* hotel with a good choice of dining options and a great location.

RP Transport; Uber Cabs

Uber cabs is one of the best discoveries if you are travelling in any major city and cannot face the stresses of public transport to get you from A to B. Originally launched as a luxury chauffeur service, allowing you to be driven around town in a sleek, black Lexus, Audi, BMW or Merc., Uber has now launched UberX, a more 'affordable' service with cars like Skoda Octavia, Vauxhall Insignia and Volkswagen Passats.

Aside from being driven in luxury brand cars with tinted windows, leather seats and complimentary bottles of Evian and sweets, Uber is super easy to use.  Simply download the App., choose your Uber (UberX / Exec. / Lux) and watch as your car makes its way from wherever it currently is to the address you are waiting at.  You do not need to input any details as the app uses your location from your smart phone and sends a car straight to you. 

Once you've ordered your car, you can see a picture of the driver and the car details including car make, colour and number plate as well as how many minutes it will take them to arrive.  It is fun watching the car approaching on the app's map and, if you are in a tricky location, the driver will call you as he approaches to take further details.

The best thing for me about Uber is that it links straight to your bank account and so you don't have to worry about having cash on you to pay.  You simply arrive at your destination and the fare is automatically taken from the card you have linked to the account! Uber are quick to act on any fare discrepencies; whilst in Paris, I thought I'd been over charged on account of the driver getting lost and so made a comment to this effect when I was asked to 'rate the ride' when I next logged onto the app. Within 2 hours, I had received an email saying that Uber had looked into this and had credit my card with the 5 euros I was over charged.

Upon arriving at St Pancras on Easter Sunday morning, neither the husband or I could be bothered traipsing our luggage across numerous tube/trains in the pouring rain and so sent for an Uber.  Having had a delightful experience in using Uber to jump a ride all over Paris, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to receive my bill this morning and discover that I still had £20 credit on my account resulting in a £5 chauffeur driven taxi ride all the way from St. Pancras out to Richmond! What an Easter bonus!

If you wish to sign up to Uber, download the app and then enter my promotion code: uberpip to receive a £10 credit for your first ride.  Trust me, once you have Uber you won't go back to any other mode of transport!