Just arrived in South Africa. OMG my Gran is a DIVA - I know where my Mummy and I get it from. Three generations under the same roof… it’s wonderful. And did I mention I haven’t seen my Nanna in 9 years…
Ok… enough of the sentimental… how about a recap?!?
The Last 4 days have felt like weeks. Mummy and I arrived into Paris on the 10th… a little tired but ready to explore the city of amour.
When exiting the terminal at Paris International Mum and I were greeted by a dodgy cab driver whom tried to charge us 1000 euros to get downtown… and for those who don’t know the conversion that is approx. $1500.00 Canadian… Needless to say we said no way tried to give him the benefit of the doubt later…. by saying maybe his fare also included a tour of the city – but we weren’t willing to find out!
Than it was off to our little Parisian hotel. I need to clarify when I mention “little”, yes the hotel only had 50+ rooms but the reference was to our closet of a room. The shower was as big as me. The boutique hotel is located in the gay-bourhood, also known as the Marais (Mer-eh) district on Rue du Temple! How cool is that…. well at least I thought it was. : )
From there Mum and I went out to see the sites:
DAY 1:
1. Pompidou Centre, the museum of modern art – just a walk by to check out the very cool architecture.
2. We than walked the streets of Marais and shopped a little. Where we found a cute cafe and snacked on french baguette and cheese and sipped our cappuccinos while watching the people pass by.
3. Than it was off to the Picasso Museum – whom by the way is one of my fav. artists.
4. We than strolled over to the Place des Vosges… one of the most romntic spots and home to some of the very first town homes….
5. Than the Mummy and I jumped in a cab to the Champs-Elysees… for a little more site seeing… Arc de Triomphe, Louis Vitton – which was incredible, floors and floors of shopping bliss, etc. I almost forgot… Mum and I toasted our trip to Paris with cchampagne at a cafe in front of the Arc de T.! Something I will never forget…
6. Than it was off to visit Miss Mona – at Le Louvre which we made just in time for closing and unfortunately missed seeing the Mona Lisa – Next time!
And a lovely dinner at a very local restaurant just off the Place des Vosges. A great ending to a fabulous day! Vive le France!
DAY 2:
After breakfast Mum and I headed out on day 2 of sites:
1. Notre Dame – probably the most amazing church I have been into yet! Unfortunately did not spot QuasiMotto (?)!
2. Walked the streets of St-Germain-des-Pres briefly.
3. Than mom and I headed to the Sorbonne and a ticket agent where we purchased out train tickets to AMSTERDAM!!!
4. We than jumped into a cab and headed for the Eiffel Tower…
*Note:Parisians do not take cabs normally…they walk! However, we wanted to cover more ground, quickly… which would have occurred if we hadn’t realized until the night before we left that one must stand at a “taxis” stand when wanting to hail a cabby otherwise they will NOT pick you up!
5. Than it was off to Place Vendome – where the Ritz is located – “where all girls go when they break up!”
6. Than it was off to St-Honore the home of retailers such as, Chole, Hermes, YSL, Prada and so on. There Mum and I became very Parisian…. we found a divine sandwich shop and sat on the steps of a church watching the people walk by.
7. Than there were more beautiful garments to explore at the Galeries Lafayette! Where we bought nothing…
8. The girls were on a mission back to St-Germain-des-Pres to visit my new and dear friend Christian Louboutin. P.S. I can proudly say others can see red when I am walking!
Dins was at a tres fancy, 15th century restaurant where Kings of France have dinned. We drank divine champagne and wine and ate superb cuisine. I can honestly say I felt like Julia Roberts in “Pretty Women” when she throws food across the room… not that bad but close.
To end the night the girls met up at Buddha Bar – yes! and it is as cool as one would think…. there we had a drink and left….
DAY 3:
The Mum and I catch a train to Amsterdam at 6:55 in the morning! Hence, the short rendezvous at Buddha Bar. We sleep the entire train ride… which is only 4 hours….
We arrive at our Hotel, Hotel Dylan, which is beautiful…. and we find out later that Paris Hilton – Yuck! had stayed there literally days before us.
That night Mum and I have a champagne and cheese party in our room before meeting up with family friends. Who show us a fantastic time. We dine at a little local Thai place near their home and after take a stroll down to the RED LIGHT DISTRICT. XXX is all I can say! And before heading back to our beautiful hotel room which I have failed to mention was at least 5 times larger than our Parisian closet, we strolled the canals.
DAY 4:
We sleep in!!! We almost miss our private canal boat tour with our very knowledgeable very eccentric skipper.
Than it is off the Van Gogh museum where we see very beautiful and very dark works of art and where Caroline is harassed by a museum security guard! – not a joke the guy was a jerk!
To regain my strength we head to the streets for some shopping!
We end a very lovely and very relaxing day in Amsterdam with another Thai dinner – not a typo we had Thai two nights in a row!
I went to bed very content with my European Adventure dreaming of the flight ahead… and the wonders of Africa!!!
