Friday 29 July 2011

Bonjour mes amis!

Bonjour.....I am back after a fantastic anniversary break in the city of love...Paris. And what an amazing city it is. Thank you for all your kind anniversary wishes you sent, my Hb and I had a ball there. 30 years...where does it go?! I have taken SO many photos that I could not possibly share them all so I have decided to make 3 posts out of our trip which I would love to share with you all over the next couple of weeks.

Our trip started with an amazing journey on Eurostar. I have been to Europe via "Le Shuttle" (the train which takes your and your car) a couple of times but this was my first Eurostar experience and it certainly will not be the last. It is THE way to travel from where I live to Paris. We are lucky enough to be able to get to St Pancras directly from our local train station so we just wheeled our cases to the station, hopped on the 1st Capitol Connect train and arrived at St Pancras in 40 minutes. The conversion of the old St Pancras station is incredible and it is truly world class now.

We enjoyed wandering around before we checked in for our train departure. The concourse is dotted with shops (including CK no less)and has stunning architecture and sculptures.





How apt is this piece for the start of a romantic journey...if you look at the man standing in the door way to the right  behind it you can see just how large it is. It is called The meeting place and together with another sculpture....
















of John Betjeman, (who was very involved in saving the old station) they make your visit even more delightful.
















Once we had checked in we sat in the departure lounge and sampled the coffee and pastries of my favourite coffee house, Cafe Nero


When our train was ready to board we all travelled up the escalator and onto the platform.We then made our way to our carriage and seats.













My Hb had paid for an upgrade so that we could travel in style for our special trip and we had great seats with an unobstructed view out of the window.










We were served a really tasty light lunch (much better than airline type food) and after just 2 1/2 hours we arrived at our destination. It was such an easy, hassle free way to travel to Paris.  At the Gard de Nord we caught a taxi to our hotel, checked in and quickly unpacked, as we still had a whole afternoon ahead. Our hotel over looked a beautiful park and we were able to stroll around in the sunshine.


Here a few photos taken near our hotel


The next day we decided to hit the shops and wandered up towards the Arc de Triomphe. Printemps and the Galleries Lafayette, both shown below, were huge department stores with wonderful Art Nouveau  buildings which house them.


We walked all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe

and then decided our feet needed a slight rest (we must have walked far more than our daily 10.000 steps) so we took the metro
back to our lovely hotel. We decided on an early evening meal as we had a great treat pre booked for the next day (Sunday) - to visit Versailles. Now that warrants a whole post of its own and I shall be back to share with you the opulence of this incredible estate. It really was quite breathtaking.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x
P.S Don't forget to enter my Giveaway before 8th August. The post is here and you could win a pair of silver alabaster earrings to celebrate my 1st Bloggerversary. Everyone is welcome to enter. Good luck!

15 comments:

  1. Welcome back, dear friend!

    It seems you had fantastic time, Jane, and weather looks beautiful too! It's just so handy that you can reach beautiful Paris by train (I know you love flying, I am not a big fan), and it looks you had bliss there too :) Just perfect for your anniversary!

    I am wishing you the most wonderful weekend, send you some sunshine and a kiss to Billy (who's happily home I suppose?)! See you soon again with more tales from Paris!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  2. Hi Mia, it is such a great way to travel but yes I admit I do love flying. Billy is so pleased to be home, he is so well looked after by my Mum and Dad but he does miss his garden. It looks like a sunny weekend for us...enjoy your brilliant weather.
    Jane x

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  3. Dear Jane, wow, such amazing photos you had to share with us! I may never get to Paris, so it means a lot to me to see it from your eyes (and camera!). I look forward to the next posts!!
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  4. I'm delighted to share my travels with you Teresa...Versailles is coming up next...! Have a great weekend,
    Jane x

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  5. Those flowers are just so beautiful Jane!!
    Do you know it's 28 years since I was in Paris but it's all so familiar just like it was last year. I remember Printemps and Galleries La Fayette. I also remember climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, is the traffic still mad around there!
    What a lovely trip and thank you for jogging my memory.
    Vivienne x

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  6. The traffic is manic up at the Arc de Triomphe Vivienne, it made Hyde Park Corner in London look tame! I'm glad I jogged some happy memories for you,
    Have a lovely weekend,
    Jane x

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  7. Wonderful photos, and such a coincidence that I was at St Pancras this week for a very different reason! Will blog about it on Monday :-)
    Look forward to reading more about your trip too.

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  8. Hi Jenny...that sounds very intriguing!Have a great weekend and I hope you are enjoying some sunshine, its been glorious here today,
    Jane x

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  9. I'm glad you had a lovely time in Paris! I'm enjoying the tour with you very much - you are an excellent guide! We went to Paris a few years ago to celebrate an anniversary (of our first meeting, not our wedding...we have lots of different anniversaries we celebrate!) and it is certainly the perfect place if you want romance!! I look forward to the next installment.
    Have a great week.
    Helen x

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  10. It is such a romantic city isn't it Helen. My next instalment is coming up next week..
    Jane x

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  11. Oh, I want to Paris *stamps foot*. Lovely photos, as always, so glad you had such a nice trip. Bethx

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  12. LOL Beth, it took me 30 years of marriage to get there ;0)
    Jane x

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  13. Breathtaking, to say the least! I'm still trying to comprehend the myriad of sights, here! Such wonderful colors and design all around...

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  14. I'm so glad you are enjoying it Michele, it's such fun to share with you,
    Jane x

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  15. What a lovely post!
    Thank you for sharing Jane ;-)

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