Paris, je t'aime!

I must confess that––although I do love New York––I've been having a little romance with Paris lately. It might be because I've been seeing too many photos from Paris Fashion Week––and dying because I'm not there––but I just can't take out the astonishing ville lumière out of my mind.

So after a long day in the library today, I decided to take a break and go through some of the old photos I have in my computer. Some of them––which I decided to omit in this post––were taken when I lived there as a student. Others were taken when I spent a week there with my two best friends. And yet others––the ones I'm including here––were taken last summer. I'm not really sure if seeing all these pictures helped at all... But at least now I know why I'm so in love with this city... It is just perfectly beautiful!

I guess my dream life would be spent travelling between New York and Paris every few months... Hopefully it comes real sometime soon!

Love,
  Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Paris, je t'aime!

If there's one city I love more than New York, it's got to be Paris. I love seeing people in the streets, the food––especially when we're talking about street crêpes at Odéon or hot cocoa at Angelina––, the architecture––not just the Eiffel Tower––, the artsy atmosphere... I just love everything about Paris!

So... To fulfil an intense wanderlust attack I've been having recently––staying at home this summer hasn't turned out to be such a good idea––I decided to bring back to life some pictures I took last year in this beautiful city. Hopefully they'll make you want to fly to Paris now as much as I want!

Why am I still here? Can't I just book a flight that takes me to Paris now?!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Au Revoir, Paris!

Out sixth (and last) day in Paris started at the bautiful Pont des Arts! The rest of the day was spent visiting two of my favourite places in the city: Île de la Cité and the Quartier Latin. I don't know why, but there's something about these places that is so magical, that it takes longer for me to walk out of them than it takes for me to want to come back.

And here's also where my geek side comes out. When I noticed I could understand enough French to read French literature classics, I started spending long hours reading Balzac (my favourite), Victor Hugo, Zola... And maybe that's where my love for this two comes from. In the end, their masterpieces illustrate perfectly the magical essence of these places!

If you haven't read them, I'm quite sure you've at least heard of Notre Dame. Even if it's only on Walt Disney's movie. And, although the church is absolutely magnificent on its own, what I love the most about it are all the details. If you take the time to look around, there are thousands of beautiful details that build up the real essence of this amazing place.

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Paris Day 5

Our fifth day in Paris was mostly about the shopping, although there's always time to do some proper tourism. We woke up early to go to the Musée de l'Armée. There's something about it I really like, and it probably comes from the long hours spend discussing war propaganda for my GCSE History Exams! In any case, although I'd never like to have a war again (yeah, BIG dreams there!), it's fascinating to see how all this propaganda worked!

By the way, have you ever seen that even Vogue Magazine covers were full of nationalist ideas during the wartime? It's absolutely amazing!

We then had lunch neat Galeries Lafayette (nothing amazing, so I'm not posting food pictures this time), and then spend the rest of the day shopping. I also had to do some work (a super long paper about Microfinance and Women Empowerment), so I spent most of the afternoon writing it.

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: A Day In Versailles

Versailles. If there's a reason why I'd loved to be a real life princess it's to live in this magnificent palace and be able to play hide and seek with my royal friends in the gardens. I wouldn't be sad if I had Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon as my dollhouse, or if I could go horse riding in the backyard...

This museum/palace is a place I loved from the first moment I stepped in when I went there for the first time. I loved (and I still do) how you feel like you've been taken back in time when you see al the decorations, the sculptures, the incredible luxury...

But one thing I also adore about this place, is having hot chocolate in Angelina. It's the absolute perfect break in the middle of your visit to the museum, to recharge energies and be able to fully enjoy the Musical Fountains in the gardens!

So, when we went to visit Versailles (my sister probably loves it now more than I do), we had to stop at Angelina! And we had to drink the super classic (and even more delicious) hot chocolate! However, since it was lunch time, we needed some proper food before. We had an Angelina club sandwich and spaghetti with caviar. After this, we were ready for dessert: hot chocolate, tarte chocolat and a mont blanc. Absolutely perfect!

By the end of the day (and despite the huge amount of calories we had for lunch), we were a bit tired, so we decided to go back to the hotel early. However, I then spent the night out with an old friend, watching a football match. I never realise how much I miss him until I see him. And this time I realised that I do wish I could spend more time with him more often... It's a shame we live in two totally different continents!

Bonne nuit,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio

Travel Diaries: Paris Day 3

Our third day in Paris was cold and grey, so we spent the morning visiting Sacré Cœur Chapel and had lunch at some bistro in the magical Montmartre. This place is absolutely wonderful and full of inspiration, which makes me completely understand why it has been the favourite place of all these poets and artists throughout history... If anyone of you has ever been there, I bet you understand what I mean!

By 3pm, we were tired of being in the cold, so we decided to go to Champs Elysées (again) and have a tea party at Ladurée. We started with croissants and pain au chocolat, followed by an oh-so-French foie gras. We then drank tea (I had the Thé Cheri, i.e. a "delicate blend of black tea, cocoa, caramel and vanilla," according to the menu), accompanied by a delicious raspberry & chocolate tarte, vanilla ice cream and, of course, macrons! Not a bad tea party, was it?

As you might imagine, our tea party was absolutely perfect! Although, the only problem we ate so much, that we had to go back to the streets and have a long walk to help us digest all the food we had eaten! So we decided to walk all the way to Concorde, and then to Place Vendôme (my favourite place for window-shopping in the world!).

At Place Vendôme, we found a collection of antique cars, and they were all beautiful! I'm sure Diego would have loved being there! We took our time to check them out, and then we went back to our hotel.

Gros bisous (every time I think of this, I remember one of my best friends from high school, who used to say this meant "fat kisses" in our French lessons),

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio