So, this was my first time in Paris and as our initial plans for a family holiday here fell through, my mum joined me to visit; 23 years after her first trip for her honeymoon!
It was really amazing to see the beauty of Paris in real life after gazing at photos on a computer screen for so long.
Admittedly, sometimes the reality isn’t as picturesque and perfect, with the pungent smell of the metro as you travel from place to place or someone’s selfie-stick almost whacking you in the head.
However, the moment you gaze up at an ancient artwork in the Louvre or at the grand ceiling of Saint-Paul Saint-Louis, to imagine the latter coming to life after hours under a pair of talented hands or the former even having one of its pillars leaned against by a bored child, does take your breath away.
In fact, we essentially happened across Paris’s most iconic attraction.
Emerging out of the metro stop, we wandered down the street to find that my mum’s “Where’s the Eiffel Tower?” was swiftly cut off by a quiet “oh” and then silence as we turned a corner and caught our first sight of the tower at the exact and perfect moment when it lit up and glittered.
Paris may be frustrating and difficult at times with the slowness and complexity of its administration or the hustle and bustle of the metro, but it’s hard to deny that the city does have its moments of pure, fairytale magic.
Although I’m not sure how I feel about our following meal of Fish and Chips at a nearby brasserie actually having the option of salmon with rice. Sorry France that may be too far for me; to upset the sanctity of a lovely battered fish and thick, more-ish chips is a sin.
For the next day, the weather was fortunately pleasant enough for us to walk all the way down Rue de Rivoli, gasp at sights like the Saint-Paul Saint-Louis church, before finding ourselves at the Bastille.
Despite the lack of data and with the help of following the metro stops and bus maps, I was quite pleased to find that we managed to walk all the way to Place de la République before finding our way for a night-time view of Paris’s largest artificial lake, the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th.
This was clearly a ridiculous level of walking to do in one day so we then quite happily caught the metro back to our hotel in the 10th with the lovely view of the sex shop opposite, for a spot of dinner before bed.
