Weekend in Paris, France

Easily one of the things I love about being in Europe is the ease of spending long weekends away in other countries, and who wouldn't love a sunny weekend in Paris at just a few hours away by plane.

Greeted by blue skies, sun and with no fixed agenda we were excited to spend the following days in cabaret clubs, coffee spots and sightseeing.

As a personal preference of mine we found a cozy Air Bnb in the attic of an old building just off of Champs Elysees. I always love staying in AirBnB´s whilst in new cities, as comforting as it is to stay in plush hotels I often feel that you miss the essence of the places you visit. And this little quaint attic studio was certainly giving me all the french feels, the winding staircase lead to our room, which had a gorgeous window that overlooked paris. What more could you ask for and at around 50 euros a night it was perfect for us. It was a really special spot but with no elevator we easily got our daily steps in whilst walking to the 13th floor twice at least daily (and not so easy after a bottle of champagne or two at the moulin rouge I must say).

Our first day we headed to lunch at the infamous Georges located at The Centre Pompidou, we met with a beautiful Parisian friend of ours who showered us with hand written ideas of places to visit and treats to try, including a map of the whole city and the best routes to take. We couldn't of asked for more kindness on our first morning, as we caught up over incredible food perched on the rooftop of such an incredible building.

Georges offers incomparable views and is certainly a beautiful place to absorb the sights of such a picturesque city, although if travelling on a budget this place might not be for you, it was certainly a nice place to catch up with old friends and celebrate such a special occasion.

The food was divine and exploding with rich flavour, I unfortunately did not get a photo of my colourful quinoa salad but I can assure you it was fresh and boasted exoticness, and the meat eaters also spoke highly of the duck and the beef, so without a doubt it was a recomendable place to have breakfast or lunch when in paris.

(This spot you need to make a reservation in advance, so if you fancy feeling fancy, during the morning or even at sunset i can imagine this place is spectacular, reserve your table and enjoy the panoramic view of the capital and its greatest monuments)

After saying goodbye to our dear friend we began our day exploring everything we had been recommended, with over 10 years since the last time I came to this gorgeous city it was as if I was seeing everything for the first time.

Tip for Paris is always wear comfortable shoes, because if a city was ever worth walking in it is this one. And with many a pastry shop along the ay you can constantly fuel yourself with sugary goodness.

The architecture in paris is second to none, looking over the the city and walking up close to the buildings you truly find yourself baffled with the detail, I remember as we took the elevator down from Pompidou Centre laughing to myself at the beauty of the city, it truly felt as if I were in a movie.

As many of you have seen the video of Paris on my YouTube channel you will know some of the things we saw on our first day exploring, Notre-Dame Cathedral, The Seine, Eiffel Tower to name a few.

This spot reminded me of Bellas Artes in Mexico City!

One of my favourite photos of the whole trip!

After a whole day between the hussle and the bussle of Paris we took a ride back to our Air BnB to get all dolled up for The Moulin Rouge, Check out the experience here!

As we began Day Two very slowly and rolled out of bed after a night at The Moulin Rouge, we grabbed some coffee and headed out the door to the infamous Arc De Triumphe, it was close by to where we were staying on the west end of Champs Elysees.

This spot was full of life, tourists and street performers, whilst we waited for our moment to get the perfect snaps we also noticed a traditional crepe stand across the street. So of course my hunger took over and we got some lemon and sugar crepes to fuel us before we walked around Paris one more time.

Lemon and sugar crepes always remind me of being a little girl, it certainly had been many years since i had devoured something as tasty and simple as a french crepe, dripping in sweet and sour goodness like that! With our bellies full we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, but this time to the other side. The day was perfect the skies were exceptionally blue and we wanted to snap the tall metallic beauty in all her glory during the day.

Normally we would be early risers to be able to enjoy spots like this without the overflow of tourists but after the previous nights events we arrived at peak tourist time and struggled to get shots that were not saturated with other people.

But every cloud really does have a silver lining, as we were filming and snapping away a man approached me and asked me if I could take a picture of him and his girlfriend.

He passed me his phone and muttered under his breath to me “I am about to propose to my girlfriend”...what a moment to experience!

Afterwards we headed over to the Louvre to meet our girl Michaela, those who have seen the YouTube video will know Michaela from the gorgeous scene we shot here. She eloquently demonstrated her incredible talents and made for one of the most memorable scenes in my first ever YouTube video. (If you need reminding click here!)

The Louvre is visually spectacular from the outside and even though on this trip we had no time to go inside, we made sure we had time to shoot some incredible content for my video and has given us a reason (as if we didn't need one already) to head back extremely soon and wander the hallways and gawk at the art that is hung inside.

With the day drawing to a close and the sun beginning to set we wanted to get a few more monuments in to round up our couple of days in Paris.

We meandered through the Tuileries Gardens, which although nothing more than a park offers such grace and tranquility in the middle of the city.

As we excited the grounds there it was, The Luxor Obelisk, secretly one of my favourite monuments in Paris. Anything egyption always makes me a bit giddy, the history and the detail engraved into the 75 foot gold topped tower are just damn beautiful. The Egyption obelisk was carved from a single piece of stone and sunset offered for a gorgeous glow of this incredible piece.

It is often is looked over when visiting Paris due to so many other monuments over the city, but if you are planning to visit this city apart from finding space for all of the croissants and crepes make sure you find time to pass by the The Luxor Obelisk!!

As another day was drawing to a close we scampared back to our home for the weekend and got ready for another night of cabaret soirees and paris by night.

This time we would frequent my obsession from a young age, if you have not heard of THE CRAZY HORSE it would now be a great time to inform yourself. Not only is this saloon a one of a kind but it is the only place I have ever known that offers theatre, art, sex and beautiful females playing in perfect harmony on one stage.

The ingenious visual stimulation through use of video mapping throughout the whole show almost distracts you from the naked girls on stage, you loose sight of nipples and become fascinated by art! 90 minutes is never enough for a show as spectacular as this one.

From a young age I have been utterly obsessed with this show and have often pulled on videos and photos of the performances for artistic inspiration. I would hate to ruin in anyway your experience of such an iconic, fun and completely sexy performance, but I cried as I left and I would say if you do ANYTHING (even more than eating french pastries) in Paris...you must see THE CRAZY HORSE show.

It is my adoration and every single girl on that stage is beautiful and oozing with sexuality and talent. Alain Bernardin you created a masterpiece!

What an incredible weekend in Paris, and feeling like a real tourist. If cabaret, showgirls, coffee, art and history are your jam (and of course cake!) then I would suggest a trip to paris in the near future. I know already that I will be going back it's just a matter of time!

Thanks Paris you were phenomenal.

Photography: Gerardo Arteaga