On Sunday morning we attended mass at Notre Dame. Well actually we happened to be in Notre Dame when mass was happening on Sunday. I am not really religious but I have to say the priest's voice was very soothing and now that I have sent off my Chanel internship application I am regretting not having made more of an effort to connect with Jesus. I said in one of my earlier posts that going into Notre Dame was on my list of things to do. It is honestly absolutely stunning inside, as it is outside. It really is incredible how these huge, intricate stone structures were built so many years ago using no machinery, just simple skill, hard work and time. I don't think our modern generation would have the patience for it anymore. It also seems that in our modern World with all its war and distress, people seem to be attempting to tear down religions, not build huge, magnificent buildings in their honour. I love the stained glass windows in Notre Dame, they are just beautiful. I love the way the different panes and images form these gorgeous patterns which reminded me of Kaleidoscopes. Perhaps because I am not religious and don't appreciate the importance of the image in a stained glass window I was drawn to the patterns and the bold colours which completely contrast the stone interior. The windows really are a thing of beauty in themselves.
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This weekend Tom was here visiting which was so nice. I feel like I’ve been completely spoiled for visitors recently with Dad here last weekend and Tom this weekend. It also means I’ve done a lot of exploring (and eating) which I wouldn’t have done on my own so its been really great. On Saturday night we went up the Tour Montparnasse because they have a viewing deck and I absolutely love panoramic views. We also timed it to be up there so we could see Paris in the day, Paris at sunset, and Paris at night. The views are beyond stunning and I really wish I had a better camera than just my iphone to capture and share with you how beautiful Paris is. It only costs 15€ to go up there and they have a bar where you can get drinks that aren’t any more expensive than your average Parisian brasserie. It was honestly absolutely beautiful and I would more than recommend on a clear day. We waited until it was dark and the Eiffel Tower lights were on and sparkling, because this is absolutely magical and cannot be missed if you are visiting Paris. The video I filmed of this is below. It was a perfect end to this gorgeous weather which has now turned into grey drizzle. On Friday I went to the Dior fashion show. Ok this isn't technically true, but it's also not a lie. I did go to where the Dior show was being held. I just didn't go in to the venue and I didn't see the show, but not for lack of wanting to. I was hoping to be able to at least see the stunning venue Dior had constructed for the show, covered in thousands of flowers, but even this was virtually hidden out of view, through a mighty stone archway, the inaccessible gateway to fashion heaven, only for those dressed in Dior and carrying invitations. It really is becoming more and more incredible to me the lengths that fashion houses go to for their shows, which in fact last no more than 15 minutes. There is also such a huge element of celebrity that goes with these shoes. I was hoping to see Rihanna at the Dior show but was a not best pleased that she entered and exited from a different place to where most of the guests did. Although I can't say I blame here with the absolute crazy mass of people outside the main entrance. Watching Emilia Clarke leave the venue, completely swarmed by people, even when surrounded by a circle of huge body guards made me considerably less envious of her. Regardless of not being able to attend the show, most of the guests attending where actually wearing Dior so it was a great opportunity to see the clothing up close and to experience the madness of the photographers shouting for attention up close. I was also within touching distance of the legendary fashion photographer Mario Testino which was incredibly exciting, although it seems he prefers to be behind the camera and not in front of it! And finally, for anyone who thinks I am living the glamorous Parisian fashion dream at the moment, here is me squashed up against a wall and a random stranger loving life. Saint Laurent show tonight at 8pm.
Chanel show tomorrow at 10am. Bring it on, Fashion Week. So it's currently Paris fashion week and I have been trying to make the most of being in Paris whilst this is happening. I would love more than anything to be able to actually attend all/any of the amazing shows that take place in this week but with my invitations still lost in the post I have decided to head along to some of the show venues and check out the street style at the entrance/exit. On Thursday last week I had my first taste of this and "attended" the Chloé show at 10am. It was beautifully sunny but absolutely freezing to the point where I could barely move my fingers to take photos. I had to email Chloé to find out the location and I was thrilled to actually get a response. She sent me this 'save the date' pdf (below) and i'm not going to lie for a second I thought she had sent me an invite and I genuinely contemplated printing this and trying to blag my way in. However when we were at the show and all these tall, stunningly-dressed, glamorous people were parading around holding these pristine white card invitations I decided that wouldn't work. So aside from not being able to see the actual show it was still a great opportunity to check out some great street style and to pap a few celebs/bloggers. Firstly, Kristina Baizan, a swiss blogger who I love/hate (because she gets to attend all the shows). I wanted to get a selfie with her but she was running late and I didn't get the chance. We also saw Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith who was looking gorgeous in a bright yellow coat. The photographers were going crazy for her yelling "Jada, Jada" ! You could always tell when someone famous was coming towards the entrance because the paparazzi would go crazy shouting to look here. There were also some absolutely stunning women in beautiful Chloé style ensembles. I think I need to get myself a pair of wide leg trousers or palazzo pants (and some stilts!) in order to look like they do. Spotted: Three of the biggest losers/keen beans in Paris getting on the fashion week hype at 9am on a Thursday in the freezing cold, wishing they had invitations, pretending that they blog and laughing at the girl trying to lie/beg her way in to the show.
Yesterday afternoon Dad went home but we managed to squeeze in lunch with my godfather Bernard who happened to be in Paris at the same time as Dad was! It was funny all being together in Paris because Bernard and Dad lived together in Paris when they were starting their own business (I think?) so it was like being back where everything had started. Bernard lives in Alabama, USA now so it was really nice to see him because we don't get to that often. We walked through the Jardins du Luxembourg and I really should have taken some pictures because it was absolutely beautiful but I didn't so I'll have to go back and do that. We went for lunch in a brasserie and I had my first Parisian hotdog (which I also didn't photograph) and which was amazing. I swear I put on 3 stone in the 3 days that Dad was in Paris! Here is a photo of us three musketeers: You have to laugh because both Dad and Bernard have on what they have called the "50 year old man uniform", e.g. jeans, dark v-neck jumpers and white shirts. If you're male and 50 and you're not wearing that then what are you doing?? It is Paris Fashion Week after all.
When I first moved into my apartment the lady I am renting it off recommended a local french restaurant just around the corner from where I live and so Dad and I decided to try it for dinner on Monday night. Being a Monday we were a little worried that we might be the only people in there but we were so wrong! It was packed full of what seemed like locals enjoy good home-cooked french food. The restaurant has a menu in which you choose a starter, main course and desert for €24.90. Dad chose the pâté for his starter and they literally bought the whole block of pâté for him to help himself, it was pretty impressive, and it was delicious. I didn't think I really liked pâté but I think now I do. The photo isn't great and doesn't do it justice but you get the idea. I had the saucisson du montagne and it was also delicious. For main course Dad has the lapin à la moutarde and I chose the côte de veau (see below). Mine was seriously good. I have tried to make a creamy mushroom sauce before and it tasted nothing like this. It was just really tasty, very french, cooking and I couldn't fault it. The tiramisu I had for desert was delicious as well and I was already completely stuffed by that point! I will definitely be taking Mum there when she comes as she would love it. By the end of the year I might even be considered a regular.
On Monday morning I have a lecture at 8am which is never fun so I left Dad in bed and went off to my lecture. He came and met me after and I gave him a quick tour of uni so he could see where I am spending my days. Dad then suggested we head over to La Défense to see some new Paris for a change and he also wanted to see whether it seemed to be 'buzzing' in a business sense. It was another absolutely beautiful day weather-wise and so the views from the Arch straight down to the Arc de Triomphe were amazing. It was also nice to see some modern architecture for a change. I instagrammed a picture of it and then had my sister ask me how I had suddenly ended up in America! Paris and its old Hausmannien architecture is beautiful but it made a nice change to see the sun reflecting off of the huge glass buildings and to see big open spaces instead of narrow traffic-filled streets. We also discovered a Chipotle for lunch, so that is another reason to love La Défense.
,On Sunday, Paris had it's first "Journée sans voitures" which means day without cars. This didn't apply to the entire city, but certain areas where restricted to only taxis and buses and some areas vehicles were banned entirely. Dad and I decided to start the day in the east of Paris and then cycle all the way along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, making the most of the limited number of cars on the roads. We began down towards Quai de la Gare and the national library which is hyper cool, stark modern building which features this huge urban forest right in the middle of it. It felt very futuristic, especially on such a bright clear day. (The weather, by the way, has been absolutely amazing these past few days!) From here we cycled along the edge of the Seine all the way to Saint Germain where we stopped for a spot of lunch in famous Les Deux Magots. I walk past this everyday on the way to/from uni and I can see everyone enjoying these amazing lunches so it was really nice that I finally got to try it with Dad. It might be just about the most expensive brasserie ever (an Orangina for example is €6.50) but it was delicious and you pay for the name, the street-side sunshine spot, the traditional french service. Following a delicious lunch we got back on our Velibs and headed towards the Champs- Élysées. This was completely closed off to any vehicles and I have never ever seen anything like it. The whole of Paris seemed to have descended on the Champs-Élysées on bike, foot, skateboard, rollerblades.. it was amazing! I really think they should do this more often because it became so much more than just a long street with cars and people could really enjoy and appreciate it. I tried to take some photos of the scale of people there but it doesn't come across. This BBC news article has some video footage which gives you an idea of what it was like: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34374125 So if there was a vote for this day to happen every week then I would definitely be voting yes. It's so nice to be on the roads and cycling without having to worry about angry french drivers beeping at you and wanting to run you over every 5 minutes!
Below is a photo of me being french and on a bike. All in all a really great way to spend a perfectly sunny Sunday! On Saturday Dad arrived in Paris, my first visitor! On saturday night it was the England VS Wales rugby world cup game, which is a huge game and so we decided to go and watch it in a pub called The Frog and Ros Bif, which was born in Paris about the same time as I was! They brew their own beer and serve amazing burgers (see below). There was an incredible atmosphere in the pub with a real mix of English fans, Welsh fans, and french people supporting Wales. The game was ridiculously tense and England looked set to win for pretty much the entire game until the nail-biting final 10 minutes in which Wales managed to take and then sustain a lead. I've got Wales in our family world cup sweepstakes and a boyfriend who is their biggest fan so England's loss didn't really bother me that much. I really enjoyed the game though and the atmosphere, food and beers in the Frog and Ros Bif are great so I would definitely recommend it if you're in Paris and want to watch a sports match. They even bring the beers to your table, you don't even have to go to the bar to order another one!
I'm sorry I've been a little slow in updating this past week but I seem to have been really busy and haven't found the time. I am in the midst of beginning my search for an Internship and writing cover letters (good ones!) in French takes up a lot of time. Also Dad has been here this weekend and so we were doing of lots of fun things that kept me pretty busy. I recently attended a really interesting Paris Startup Job Fair. There were loads of great startups there from some much larger ones e.g. Uber, to smaller ones that I hadn't heard of before hand. I spoke to some really interesting companies and am pursuing internship opportunities further with some of these. On Friday I had a meeting with Lefty, a company who have created a search engine for user generated content on Instagram allowing businesses to utilise this content. They seem like a really great team and a super interesting company so a really intriguing opportunity. It was great to see so many different startups in one place and to see so many people there interested in working for these startups! I wanted to give out business cards so that people would visit my website but I didn't have time to get any proper ones printed so I decided to improvise and make my own using playing cards! They were actually really successful and I had loads of comments and compliments on the unique idea.
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