Holiday Destination: Paris

Paris has always been somewhere I'd love to visit and celebrating my 21st was the ideal excuse to head there for a few nights away. I hadn't looked into the city too much, meaning that our itinerary was quite spontaneous but I had spoken to a few people about their highlights and looked through recommendations, in order to make it the perfect city break. Here's what we got up to during our 3 night French excursion...

WHAT TO DO

Landmarks are always high on my to-do list when visiting a new city and Paris was no exception. Our bus transfer from the airport dropped us at the doorstep of the Eiffel Tower - a great first impression. Later in the week, we also climbed the Tower (when in Paris, right?!) to admire the greatness of the architecture, as well as the incredible views across the city.

We visited all of the landmarks over two days which was a great way to hit everything in one go but in over 30 degree heat, I would definitely choose the metro next time, rather than walking. The first day consisted of the Notre Dame and Ile Saint-Louis, allowing us to explore more of the traditional Paris, mingling with the locals in delicatessens and down the quiet streets.
The following day accounted for Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre and Champs-Elysees. We went FULL tourist.

One of my itinerary highlights was the second night of the trip, when we visited Parc de Princes to watch a PSG game. We both love watching football and seeing this was Neymar's first game, we couldn't miss it. The tickets were easy to book and print online and cost us around £35 each for pretty good seats. It was such a fun night and definitely something I would do again, if visiting an iconic European football club.

Eating and culture

I have a real soft spot for French food and always enjoy finding a local patisserie for lunch (and post-dinner pastries!). The cakes in Paris are like no other and just looking at the pastel perfect window displays will tempt you to visit.

We ate at two amazing restaurants while in Paris which I thought I would share with you. On our first night, we headed to a simple restaurant, 'Bistro Chez France', where we indulged in steak, fish, lots of vin and the most sublime apple tart tatin. The restaurant was a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, hidden in the back streets, but seemed very popular with locals and the service was fantastic and personal.

'Le Grand Colbert' finalised our trip in the most spectacular style. The brasserie style restaurant impressed as soon as we entered - the art-deco lighting, mosaic flooring and attention to detail was not to be missed. We had no idea that this restaurant was a setting for the film 'Something's Gotta Give', but luckily, it wasn't tacky with any memorabilia or Jack Nicholson enthusiasts. If you head here, definitely try the classic french onion soup and make sure you save room for pudding - their pavlova is to die for!

My birthday in pictures

My birthday wish list

Image from Pexels

It's nearly my 21st birthday and although I haven't actually made a birthday list or asked anyway for anything this year, what's a birthday without a blog post birthday wish list?!

So, this list has become more of a 'what I like at the moment' post and searching around, a few of these bits have caught my eye! I think I'll end up buying a few of these before I go on holiday or even just to add to my summer wardrobe. 

What I would tell my younger self

Image from Pixabay

I wish I knew what I knew now when I was younger. Although I'm only 20 and still have a lot to learn, there's plenty of things I wish I would have known while I was at school. When you're a teenager, it seems as though you're the only person who has ever had to go through anything and when things happen for the first time, it seems as though there's no-one to turn to or any advice that is ever good enough. 

The first thing I would tell my younger self would be that it's ok not to be ok. It's a quote that I live by and I really believe in. It's ok to cry, it's okay to feel lonely and it's ok to want to be alone. Everyone has down days and sometimes, things just don't work out the way you want them to but it's ok, because everything will always get better - whether you believe it or not.

In addition, everything will work out in the end. Another motto I live by is 'everything happens for a reason' and if you're stuck thinking nothing's going right, if your plans change or if an outcome isn't what you were expecting, there's no need to worry. Everything always works out in the end and you'll see that maybe, things that don't go to plan might actually turn out for the best.

Another piece of advice I'd have told my younger self is to be organised. Since being at uni, I've been super organised with everything; work, assignments, commuting, work experience. But at school I was the opposite, probably focusing more on a social life than work and I wish I'd have put much more effort and organisation into school, especially at Sixth Form. Although things didn't turn out how I wanted at the time, since leaving school everything seems to have worked out for the best which is brilliant, but having a plan could have prevented some of the journeys I had to take in order to be where I am now.

To finish - don't settle for anything less than you deserve. It may seem that the job, boyfriend, opportunities etc you are given at the time may seem like the best thing that's ever happened to you and that might be the case. But if you have a gut feeling about something, it's usually right. Get rid of anything that's damaging you as a person and if that will make you unhappy at the time, think about your future and whether changing habits now will enhance your future for the better.

Believe in yourself. #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/PRFrNLOwuf

— Amie Rhone (@amie_journalist) April 26, 2017

Birthday celebrations!

I just wanted to take a moment from my usual blog posts to say a MASSIVE happy 21st birthday to Ollie.

I know you'll hate this post but I just hope you've had the best week and have enjoyed celebrating your birthday!!

I haven't had much time this week to post about what I've been up to, it's been so so busy, but here's a few pictures that I've taken to show what we've been up to: