Paris!

Macaroons from Laduree

Picnics in the parks

 Christmas market along Champs Elysée

Sunset boat ride on the Seine

Exploring Montmartre

These are some of the things I did in Paris a few weeks ago when I was there with my mom and my sister. We had a lovely weekend and I'm really looking forward to the next family trip we all go on! 

Once again, I took hundreds of photos! I could never include all of them here but I do hope you enjoy the ones I have posted below.  My favourite photos of the set are those where the famous Paris landmarks are not the main focus, but rather captured in the background against which everyone goes about their daily lives. 

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Coeur and Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

Eiffel Tower

Tuileries Garden

Notre Dame

As its getting closer and closer to Christmas, I have started thinking about what presents to buy for my friends and family. Once again I think it is likely to turn into an Internet shopping spree - as I am not sure when I'm going to find the time to make my way to the shops. I will be updating my pinterest boards with any cute ideas I come across :).

I know I have mentioned the following singers quite recently, but I just wanted to share  some more of their music. I have been listening to these singers/bands on repeat for a little while now. I've also included the new single from the Black keys - I have listened to their music for a while  - but have only heard their new single in the past few days! Amazing!!

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (Album out on 31 Jan - think it will be my birthday present myself!) 

Florence and the Machine - No Light, No Light (Fantastic Album! and stunning video)

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy (I will buy this album this week! I think this will be amazing to play really loud when I'm driving again next month!)

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and if you have any new music suggestions/gift ideas or things to do in London before I leave, drop me a note!

Paris in Autumn and other thoughts

Last year September, I went to Paris on business and managed to get an afternoon off to go see some of the sites including my favourite, le Sacre Coeur.

This trip was very short so I'm looking forward to going back later this year for a girls weekend when my mom comes to visit. Loads more time to explore the less "touristy" spots and experience a little bit of life in Paris.

Le Sacre Coeur

View from Le Sacre Coeur

Jardin des Tuileries

Looking toward Champs Elysee

Notre Dame - stained glass window

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

The Louvre

Arc de Triomphe

This week has been quite hectic. Luckily we weren't affected by the London riots. I am not going to pretend that I fully understand why they occurred; but it seemed to me that what started out as a peaceful protest with a message to be conveyed lost its purpose as anarchy took over.

What was amazing though, was the community coming together in the aftermath with the various efforts to clean up the destruction and help those affected. These initiatives took over my twitter feed on monday and restored my pride in this city. The photo below was taken by twitter user Lawcol888 showing the clean up volunteers in Clapham.

One video that I did find quite amusing related to the riots:

Changing topic... we had to say goodbye to one of our dogs on Tuesday. Roswell was a special dog, and he had been with our family for over 10 years and we will miss him.

Roswell

I'm about to do quite a bit of travelling, which will be great. Next week I'm off to Dusseldorf for work, the following weekend is our Scotland trip - we're heading to the Highlands. And I have now booked a long weekend in Italy in mid September. But more details about these trips  - including loads of photos - as they happen!