pont des arts

words cannot explain how much i love this bridge! the pont des arts is a narrow, pedestrian, boardwalk-bridge next to pont neuf & the île de la cité, and it's known for its 'lovelocks'. visitors attach engraved/signed padlocks to the bridge's railings, and then throw the key into the depths of the seine below. it's all very romantic, except for the fact that there are now too many people attaching locks, so that the french council has to come along and chop away a heap of the locks...so much for everlasting love!  if you're lucky, yours will be left in peace...but don't bank on it...

this bridge is hands down the best place to watch the sunset over paris (even better than on the steps of sacré coeur, which is saying something due to my slightly biased love for montmartre...), with la tour eiffel in one direction, and notre dame/île de la cité in the other. the golden sun bounces off the stone buildings & reflects off the water...words don't do it justice - you have to see it for yourself!

the pont des arts essentials: a camera & a bottle of champagne. so that's exactly what i had on me when we got here yesterday evening to celebrate lotta's last night in paris, before she headed home to finland today. a mixture of sad & happy times in one of my favourite places in paris. what could be better??

bon retour lotta & à bientôt,

S.

looking towards île de la cité & pont neuf (right)

the air is always filled with music, merci resident buskers

the bridge

champagne overload

lovely ladies

frida's neglected vogue

la tour eiffel

that 324m-tall iron structure, the tallest building in paris & viewable from my apartment window... yes, the eiffel tower (nicknamed la dame en fer, the iron lady). i can't believe i've been in paris over 2 months now, and am only just blogging about it now...

i'm not gonna lie, it's not the prettiest structure & it's not even that old (1889), but it does have this element of elegance, soaring above the parisian skyline..... and it's the world's most visited monument on our planet earth.

...so, when you say it like that, i begin to feel guilty & spoilt that the tower & its stretch of grass, the champ de mars, is more or less to my friends & i: just our "normal picnic/chill spot". the main reason for this, of course, is because unlike many of paris' other gardens & parks, you can actually lay. on. the. grass. but seriously, this is a big deal.

we usually all get together with baguettes, cheese, cider & champagne - to soak up this beautiful parisian sun & kick back after looooong days of work. i love days like this, where all stress & pressure is taken off our shoulders. 

we also love our 'midnight picnics' at champ de mars, gazing up at the illuminated tower & marvelling at it when it sparkles every hour, on the hour - after dusk. parfait.

my least favourite thing about the eiffel tower is the "eiffel tower men" - those men who walk around shaking millions of miniature eiffel towers in your face, exclaiming "ey lady gaga! 1€, good praiiice!!" (because apparently being likened to lady gaga is a complement & will make you want to buy a hot pink eiffel tower that sparkles). it is hilarious to see swarms of them run away when they see the police, however, because techinically what they're doing is illegal. happy days.

however, i blame the eiffel tower for my lack of being a great tourist in paris - why go out & walk all around paris to see famous sites ....when you can just relax here? exactly, that's what i thought.

but, i will bouge mon cul a bit more in the next few weeks, as i feel like my time here in paris is running out!

here's a bunch of photos i've had culminating on my laptop for a few weeks now...

bonne fin de week-end,

S.

macaroons, miam!

frida's photo, mm sleeping in the sun

eiffel tower man

view of champ de mars towards the eiffel tower

un coucher du soleil

what better way to spend a balmy summer evening in paris than wandering around montmartre. the best part is that all of this is literally at my doorstep (plus or minus a few stairs..!), so there's no need to take the metro. i met up with friends at the base of the hill on boulevard de rochechouart, right by the moulin rouge. 

after admiring the illuminated red windmill (and imagining that it was in the time of bohemian revolution....), we made our way lazily up the hill, passing amélie poulain's 'café des deux moulins', onto rue des abbesses where the streets are lined with bistros & buskers. we couldn't resist a pit-stop at my favourite italian ice cream shop. a million +1 different flavours (no, seriously. there are 5 different chocolate ice creams!), and with the most delicious passionfruit gelato. miam!

with our icecreams we then wandered in & around place des abbesses, saw the green grocer's from amélie. (why does it seem like everything in montmartre has a link to that loveable french movie??)

with the sun finally setting around 10pm (!), and our icecreams well & truely devoured.... we settled down at my favourite terrace café le relais de la butte for a delicious pot of vanilla tea. 

i can think of nothing more peaceful & relaxing than whiling an evening away with friends at a fairy-lit open terrace café with a magnificent view across the city. i'm in parisdise (excuse the pun).

being a friday night, place du tertre & rue norvins were still full of life when we strolled through later that evening. we stopped at a little shop that sells those tinkling metal music boxes, filling the night with snippets of songs such as la vie en rose, champs-élyséees, romeo & juliet & (just to satisfy my amélie poulain fix) - la valse d'amélie. i don't think i will be able to leave paris without buying one! to me it is the soundtrack to my life in montmartre....

frida's sister stina is visiting from sweden, so we finished up our night by taking her to see the stunning white basilica of sacré coeur in the moonlight. 

idealistic.

quelle belle soirée,

S.