Paris, je t'aime - and other clichés!

The last time Trev and I went to Paris, we hardly knew each other. Both of us wanted to go there to visit friends, and we decided to keep each other company on the train. The weekend was funny. The way back was lifechanging. And after I arrived home, I was most definitely in love.

So going to Paris again was quite special for us and we had been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. We visited Trev's old workmate and good friend Dule and his boyfriend. We brought Paddington with us, a little stuffed toy of a friend of ours who had missed his chance to go to Krakow by being left at our place after a visit.

We met Dule in the sweetest little café where we had cider and shared news. If you are around Notre Dame, drop by the 'fourmi ailée' for a cup of tea!

After dropping off our baggage we proceeded to an equally cute wineshop for wine and cheese as starters. For dinner, we ended up in an Asian/French fusion place which I think is a great combination.
You might see a pattern beginning to form here. In fact, our whole weekend turned pretty much around (good!) food and drinks, and talks of course. I could not think of a better way to spend a weekend with friends. Of course, we got to see some of the touristy places on the side, very nice and without any stress.

Trev and me went to the catacombes on Friday morning. We had wanted to go last time but were too late, so this time we lined up early and were lucky not to have too many people around.
It was very impressive and surprisingly non-spooky. Just a lot of bones and skulls... after the first ten minutes they all look the same. But it's interesting how you can see the damage on them. Some were broken whilst being transported, but some had holes in the skulls that showed different wounds, or even surgery! Trev taught me how to see the difference. It was really interesting.

Another hot tip for your Paris trip is this bookshop. It's right next to Notre Dame, too, and the books are all in English. It's so charming, it looks like some library out of a story on the inside. I could have spent days there!

After a pleasant afternoon of strolling, drinks, tea and deeeeliciooous cake, we picked up Wicher and Tonya in the evening, who were coming to stay with us, too.
We had very nice food (each to his taste... ^^) and more wine and drinks and talks and went to bed quite late and very exhausted.

After a relaxing sleep-in the next day we went to the market down the road to buy cheese, fruit and everything else needed for an epic brunch. I haven't had so many great things all on one table in a looong time! I'm still dreaming of that blue cheese... mjam!

We spent the afternoon wandering, and, well.. drinking. It was a rainy day and we had to duck in for a glass of wine or a cup of tea every once in a while.

On this pic you can see Tonya freaking out about some weird display in this great bar... let's say it featured a lot of things in formaldehyde!
Dule and Fabrice had arranged dinner in a tiny winebar that also serves food. Literally everything we ordered was S.O   N.I.C.E.  I remember we were a bit sceptical when we saw the small menu, but after eating, everyone was so happy and content with what they had ordered.

The highlight of the evening was when we went to see the Eiffel tower from a little platform. It looked like it was a stairway into the clouds because the top was hidden. On the hour, a lot of flashing lights go on for five minutes and it looks like it is made from sparkling rhinestones. It's so beautiful. I got to see it more close up the next night and I actually liked it better from far away.

We slept in really long the next day and then Tonya decided that we should have crèpes for breakfast. The best idea ever. Dule looked up a place and chuckled all the way into town. We found out why when we saw the place. It's called 'Princess Crèpes'.

You can basically have anything in your crèpe that you can think of (Tonya had cheesecake in hers!!). I had vanilla ice, choccolate sauce, raspberries and whipped cream. My goodness, it was like heaven!

We had some coffee and more walks and drinks afterwards and also made it into a random exhibition of wood artwork, until Wicher and Tonya had to go to catch their train home and Fabrice went to meet some of his friends.
The three of us carried on walking and stumbled over a famous squat/art center that had its doors open for a concert and exhibitions that day. It was very interesting and a bit weird.

I had snapped away like crazy until that, but then the battery of my new camera died. I didn't bring the charger because I thought it would do a weekend easily. Well, i hadn't taken into account that I would fiddle a lot more with it to try all the new and cool features and that I would take more pictures because it was new and exciting.
I took some pictures with my phone and with Dule's camera after that, but I don't have them here presently. There's not much more to come anyways.
In the evening we walked to the Louvre to see the pyramides. The lit square, pretty empty on a Sunday evening, had such a cool ambience that I don't think I was able to capture in photos anyways.
Afterwards we met a friend of Dule's for dinner. I had requested Sushi because the last time we were here I'd tried Sushi for the first time. We even went to the same restaurant. It was divine. I can't wait for the next Sushi dinner! ^^
To perfect the evening, we went for some ice cream and then a nice cup of fresh peppermint tea. What more can you want?

We left pretty early on Monday morning and got back home in the afternoon.
I miss Paris already. It was such a great time.

So yes, Paris, that's crèpes, and wine, and cheese, and pretty cafés, and expensive stores, and everything else that you can think of. And I love it. :o)
Thanks for reading!