Krissy in Paris

May26

Since watching the Netflix series Emily in Paris, I have been desperate to visit the city again, so I talked my husband into a day trip to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary, after all there is no more romantic city in the world than Paris.

It was an early start with our train from home to London St Pancras leaving at 05:16 to make the 07:01 Eurostar but it definitely is completely possible to do a day trip – just be prepared for a long day and ideally take the next day off work to recover.

Our first stop on arrival was The Place de l’Estrapade, where Emily’s flat is in the series and a visit to Boulangerie Moderne. Now it’s this bakery where in episode one, Emily samples her first pain au chocolat. Naturally I ordered the same and I have to say I was blown away, it really was heaven on the tongue, so buttery and delicious with gooey chocolate. I don’t think I will ever eat a pain au chocolat in England again. It was lovely sitting by the fountain in the middle of the square and doing some people watching. Also in this square is Gabriel’s restaurant in the series, Les Deux Compères, which is actually an Italian restaurant called Terra Nera.

We then walked to the nearby Pantheon, which is an impressive monument and one I seemed to have missed on previous visits to the city. We didn’t go inside but did pay a visit to the Saint-Etienne-du-Mont church, located next to it and lit a candle. There is another filming location from the series here too, The Bombardier, and English style pub which Emily goes on a first date to with her British crush, Alfie.

From here, we walked down to the Seine and the iconic Notre Dame. It is heart breaking to see what the fire of 2019 did to such a magnificent piece of architecture, but it is inspiring to see the renovation well underway with plans to reopen the cathedral in December 2024. It is being restored sympathetically with many medieval building techniques being used.

The square in front of the cathedral was playing host to fete du pain, a bread festival and the aromas of freshly baked bread, drew you towards it. You could see everything being made on site and of course purchase it. We bought a baguette each for lunch and sat in the gardens to eat it, feeling very Parisian.

With Notre Dame closed to the public, we visited Sainte-Chapelle – somewhere I’d found when googling best sites to visit in Paris and certainly somewhere I hadn’t been before or even heard of. It’s a royal chapel in gothic style and was the home of the Kings of France until the 14^th Century. The lower chapel is dark and rather underwhelming but when you climb the stairs to the upper chapel, you realise just why people rave about this attraction. There are 15 stained glass windows telling stories from the bible and a rose window at the west, representing scenes of the Apocalypse. All I could say was wow, it really took your breath away.

No trip to Paris would be complete for me without a visit to Kookai, the fashion label that dominated my teenage wardrobe. My husband was less impressed with this but luckily there was a chair by the fitting rooms for him to relax in. Clearly my shape has changed somewhat over the years and so the clothes aren’t perhaps as flattering on me as they once were, but I did buy a lovely green long sleeve v neck top.

Flagging a little by now, having been up so long and covering quite a bit of Paris on foot, we headed for Café de Flore in the Saint-Germain des Pres district, another filming location from Emily in Paris, where she meets Thomas, but also legendary as once frequented by famous writers, philosophers, actors and designers including Ernest Hemingway, Jane Fonda, Brigette Bardot and Yves Saint-Laurent. It feels very luxurious and the waiters all have waistcoats and bow ties. The hot chocolate was to die for, just like liquid chocolate, if a little expensive at €9.50.

My feet had decided we needed a break from walking so we then got the metro to Chaterlet. We walked through Westfield Forum des Halles, a modern shopping centre which makes it feel more like London or the US than Paris with the usual chains such as McDonalds and Nike. We headed back down to the Seine and to Pont des Arts, also known to Parisians as Le Pont des Amoureux or Lover’s Bridge. This was a necessary pilgrimage for me as felt like I had been cheating on my first love of Sex and the City with Emily in Paris and this of course is the site where Big says the iconic line in the final episode “Carrie, you’re the one”. The bridge is one of the few pedestrian only bridges in Paris and is covered with love padlocks.

A quick stop was made at the Louvre so we could do the iconic finger on top of the pyramid shot, before it was back to Emily in Paris filming location hunting and we headed to the Palais Royal, a formal royal palace. The forecourt or Cour d’honneur, has striped pillars which look like sticks of rock and seem to be a prime location for influencers to pose. The Jardin du Palais Royal is a beautiful tree lined garden, where Emily has her lunch break in the first episode and meets her friend, Mindy. Many of the benches have quotes written on them from 20^th century writers. The one I am sitting on translates as ‘we’ll never look enough, never fair enough, never passionate enough.’

Near here at Place de Valois is the location of the offices of Savoir where Emily works in the series. Here I bumped into other fans of the programme having their photo taken outside.

Time was now against us and we still needed to have our anniversary dinner, so we jumped on the metro to Abbesses. Just in case we needed any further exercise, we were greeted here by a 186 step spiral staircase to the street – should have definitely used the lift! It was then onto the funiculaire to take us up to the steps of the beautiful Sacre Coeur with wonderful views over the city.

We headed to La Maison Rose for dinner in Montmartre. The building is pink with green shutters and really beautiful. People were stopping to take photos all the time of this pretty restaurant. Emily and Mindy eat here in season one, episode five, which isn’t surprising as it is definitely Instagram able. We had a table outside and it was lovely that it is finally warm enough to eat al fresco. We had a lovely meal to celebrate our pottery anniversary and then headed back on the metro to Gard du Nord for the 21:13 train back to London. We arrived home about 12:20am!

I love the French language and it was great to have the opportunity to brush up on my rusty A Level French. Paris really is a beautiful city and there is still more I want to see, which gives me another excuse to return. I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated our anniversary, even if I was very tired at the end of it, having been up about 23 hours and covering about 28,000 steps! Our second celebration will be the pottery date night I bought Phil as a gift which involves air dry clay, hot chocolate and fudge. Definitely a lot less strenuous!

Wood you believe it?

Aug4

I can’t believe that five years or half a decade has passed since I married my soulmate on a beautiful hot May day in true fairytale style.

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The traditional gift associated with five years of marriage is wood. Since ancient times trees have been thought to symbolise strength and wisdom. The idea is that after five years, deep roots have been formed meaning that the relationship is strong and you are wiser in that you have learnt from early mistakes and disagreements.

I was a bit stumped (no pun intended!) on a gift for my husband but saw they had released a limited edition Formula One print to celebrate the 1000th race which I knew as an avid fan he would love so got that and a wooden frame to put it in so it fitted with the theme. He got me a wonderful wooden swing seat for the garden – something I have longed to have for many years.

We always like to do something nice to celebrate our anniversary and if possible go away somewhere. I am a devoted reader of Stylist magazine and when I saw Mollie’s Motel & Diner featured in there, I just knew that was where I wanted us to go for our anniversary, especially as we had considered doing route 66 across the USA later in the year, before ruling it out given the amount of daily driving we would have to do because annual leave would mean we could only go for two weeks.

Located in Buckland, Oxfordshire, Mollie’s as their website describes it, is a nod to 1950s America. It is a motel, diner, drive-thru and a general store which opened earlier this year.

The place still had that lovely new smell to it and the staff were so welcoming, particularly Natalie on reception who ordered us complimentary Prosecco for our room to celebrate our anniversary.

The rooms were absolutely stunning, with large beds covered with crisp white sheets against a wooden clad headboard and a shower that was to die for – easily the best shower I have ever had. Complimentary Cowshed products were also provided. It felt like a true taste of luxury at a reasonable price.

The diner didn’t disappoint that evening either. Not only was there a great 50’s American vibe but the food was delicious and American size portions too! I had an Oreo milkshake which was a little bit of heaven, cheesy nachos to start, followed by a dirty burger and finished off with a humongous chocolate brownie.

I wore a dress from Oasis which has proved to be a great transitional piece with its long sleeves and the fact it looks good with boots, shoes or sandals. I wore pink pointed buckle shoes, also from Oasis and finished it off with my Dior look-a-like saddle bag from River Island.

The following morning, not wanting to miss out on Parkrun, and needing to burn off last night’s indulgence, we went to one near the motel at Whitney. They were a really friendly bunch there, but it was a bit of a tougher course, spilt over narrow woodland, some road side and some on the grass.

After that workout, we had a well earned breakfast back at the diner which for me consisted of pancakes with mixed berries and a banana milkshake.

The t-shirt I wore that morning was from Shein – an online boutique I have recently discovered through Facebook.

Five years has flown by and while I would be lying if I said the whole five years was blissful, our marriage has grown and we have a far deeper understanding of each other now. I don’t know how he puts up with me sometimes! I never want to imagine life without him. Here’s to the next five years and then the eternity ring!

Love is Louboutin

Oct11

May was our third wedding anniversary and to celebrate we decided to go away for a week. Having spent the last few years visiting various far flung places, we thought it was time we explored the treasures the UK has to offer and as such headed to Scotland.

We could have driven or flown but we opted to travel by the Caledonian Sleeper train, which booked in advance was very reasonably priced and hired a car once there. Now the sleeper train is not luxury but an experience none the less and it certainly is nice to fall asleep in London and wake up in the Scottish Highlands.

We were greeted at Fort William by horrendous rain – the main problem with staying in the UK. As we were unable to book into our accommodation before 4pm, we sought refuge at the Inverlochy Castle hotel and indulged in afternoon tea.

Highland scenery is stunning and by our bed and breakfast there was a beautiful wide expanse of lake which was ironic given that they ran out of water by the Thursday!

A walk through Nevis Gorge to Steel Falls is well worth it, if not for the faint hearted – it’s a four and a half mile round trip. The ground is rocky and rough with sheer drops but you are rewarded with a beautiful photo opportunity. Just make sure you wear appropriate footwear – my Italian leather ballerina pumps didn’t cut it!

Glencoe also provides beautiful views and has been used for films such as James Bond – Skyfall and Harry Potter – it’s where Hagrid’s hut was built.

T-Shirt Oasis, cropped jeans Oasis and ballet pumps from Milan

A great way to see some of the flatter scenery the highlands have to offer is by horseback. I have always enjoyed horse riding and really enjoyed my trek in Tain – not least as I managed to tick off my bucket list, riding on the beach.

Sweatshirt Joy, Jeans Oasis and rain jacket New Look

On our actual anniversary we boarded the Jacobite steam train for a journey from Fort William to Mallaig, crossing the Glenfinnan Viaduct – made infamous by the Harry Potter films. We celebrated with champagne and exchanged gifts. The three year wedding anniversary is leather and as such, we couldn’t have let it pass without him adding to my shoe collection. I was ecstatic to open my very own pair of classic Pigalle Louboutins in black patent! You can read more about Louboutin in my previous blog First Steps. I bought him a leather wallet with his initials embossed on it from Aspinal of London. Leather is traditionally used to protect and shelter due to its durability, so as your relationship matures, a gift of this represents those qualities.

Glenfinnan viaduct

Butter-brew cocktail

Harry Potter Charm

If castles are your thing, Scotland has some fabulous examples. We visited Urquhart castle, overlooking Loch Ness, for a great example of castle ruins which date from the 13^th to the 16^th century and Dunrobin which is a true fairytale style castle. Interestingly Dunrobin castle was used as a boarding school for seven years – imagine going to a school that looked like that!

Urquhart castle

Dunrobin castle

If you are looking for an adrenalin rush, I can highly recommend the Seaxplorer fast boat trip out on Loch Leven. We got to see seals and sea birds as well as our captain doing some elaborate fast turns like they do in lifeboats to add to the thrill.

We couldn’t visit Scotland without going to Balmoral of course. Having always been a royalist it was fabulous to see the Queen’s holiday hideaway. Balmoral castle itself is beautiful although we saw very little of the inside. The Landrover safari trip revealed how vast the grounds are, with stunning views and we got to see some majestic deer.

Balmoral

T-Shirt Zara and leather jacket New Look

Being us it was a mad rush to get from Balmoral back to Fort William to catch the sleeper train home but we made it and got a lovely view of Ben Nevis on the journey too.

Ben Nevis

KIP (Krissy is Phil’s) elephant snuggling on the Caledonian sleeper

The UK really has some great sights that shouldn’t be overlooked. We had a great anniversary and look forward to many more years happily married. I love my husband because he knows me inside out and loves me anyway.

Paperchase

Jun15

Some people celebrate their first wedding anniversary with a posh meal, others with a holiday – we chose to complete the London 2015 Moonwalk! Our team of three; my husband, his sister and I completed the 26.2 mile walk around London overnight on 16^th/17^th May to raise money for breast cancer through the charity Walk the Walk.

We named our team Paper Chase in honour of our wedding anniversary being that paper is the gift most commonly associated with the first. The celebration of wedding anniversaries finds its origins back in the Roman Empire when wives were crowned by their husbands with a silver wreath to denote 25 years of marriage or gold for 50. In the modern day, different gifts are now associated with each anniversary. The origins of this appear to date back to 1922 with the publication of Etiquette by Emily Post in which symbolic gifts were identified for 8 milestone anniversaries. Mainly due to commercialism, there are now gifts associated with years 1-15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 60 of marriage. The meaning of the first being paper, is believed to relate to the fact that the marriage is fragile like paper and also a new beginning – a blank sheet of paper on which history is to be written. American jewellers in 1937 also published a list of gemstones associated with each anniversary rather than just the later ones and flowers have also been associated with each anniversary – the first one being a pansy.

The first London moonwalk took place in 1998 but its founder Nina Barough began the idea with a New York power walk in decorated bras back in 1996. All participants raise money for Walk the Walk which then grants money to different charities to help the fight against breast cancer. Our team raised a whopping £1800 which feels like a fabulous achievement, with me personally raising just over £730. My company are good enough to match the amount I raised and give it to their charity of choice which is CLIC Sargent this year; so I will also be helping children and young people with cancer. Anyone who has ever raised money for any charity will understand just how difficult it can be to get money out of people. You have to become a thorn in people’s side. Other than simply asking for sponsorship, I made cupcakes which my husband sold at work to raise money.

Each year the Moon walk has a theme around which bras should be decorated. This year’s theme was ‘Night at the Movies’. There were some fantastic takes on the theme including people dressed as popcorn sellers complete with trays of popcorn attached to their bras and those with film reels on theirs. As a team we decided to go with Grease and my sister in law and I wore pink ladies jackets, as well as dying our bras pink and decorating with Grease badges. My husband wore a T Birds jacket and gelled his hair like John Travolta. It appeared the pink ladies was one of the most common ideas, however I don’t think I saw any other T Birds and it was funny at one point when my husband and I were walking arm in arm willing each other on and a volunteer cycled past and said “Oh look, there’s Danny and Sandy!”

I don’t think any of us were prepared for just how tough 26.2 miles pounding the pavements of London would be, especially overnight. We had all put in hours of training although admittedly my sister in law was far more dedicated than my husband and I – our longest training walk was just over 17 miles. Walking during the day however is very different to doing it when your body is battling the natural urge to sleep. The first couple of miles passed relatively quickly despite the crowds (over 15000 people took part). There was lots of encouragement on the way round and it was interesting doing a tour of London’s tourist spots when much of it is deserted. Walking past my office at 1am on a Sunday morning is certainly something I won’t ever be doing again! About mile 18 it really got tough though and we all felt like we had hit a wall. There was some serious doubt amongst us as to whether we could finish. The thought of the money we had raised though, coupled with the terrible suffering those with breast cancer endure spurred us on through and we eventually completed it in about 9 ½ hours excluding lengthy toilet queuing time!

As the medal was put round our necks – it all felt worth it. I had previously done the half moonwalk in 2013, see previous blog and was determined to prove to myself that I could do the whole one. I don’t think any of us will be rushing to sign up again but I would recommend anyone to do it at least once – it certainly is an experience and it really does make a difference.

As many of you would naturally assume, most of Sunday (our anniversary) was spent sleeping and recovering and instead of a celebratory dinner out, my husband and I enjoyed Prosecco and a Chinese take away. His gift to me for our anniversary was a photobook of our honeymoon and mine to him was some Formula One books and a message in a bottle.

My friend suggested I reward my efforts on the walk with a pedicure and a pair of Louboutin’s! As a shoe addict I really should pay more attention to my feet so I took her advice and went to Amazing Space in Rochester the following weekend. An hour’s signature pedicure was £32 and included a hard skin removal, soak, exfoliating scrub, massage, cuticle and nail tidy and a polish all whilst sitting in a body massage chair with soothing music in the background. It was pure indulgence. Unfortunately my pocket can’t stretch to Louboutin’s but I did feel a new pair of shoes may be in order so bought a couple in New Look which I will feature on future blogs.

My pedicure – sandals Oasis

Anyone who has done the correct training can do the Moonwalk so why not sign up for 2016 and challenge yourself – people with breast cancer will be thanking you.

blahnikgirl

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Krissy in Paris

Wood you believe it?

Love is Louboutin

Paperchase