Un week-end a Paris

With the weather being the perfect mix of bright blue skies and crisp air this really is the ideal time for a trip to the city of love and berets.  Last weekend I popped over for a few days to lap up a little culture and a few too many delicious pastries. It's always tricky to know what to visit on a short trip, even if you have visited somewhere many times before, so I thought I would run through what I got up to for any of you who may be looking for ideas.

 I'm not someone who thrives on overpriced fancy restaurants on a regular occurrence and when away from home would far rather experience a city with the locals. Paris is flooded with beautiful restaurants and it's not tricky to get a good bottle of Pouilly Fume either.

We stayed North in the beautiful boutique hotel B Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement. This is about a twenty minute walk from the River Seine. The hotel is pretty and classic with shutters that let in the morning sunshine and a quiet hidden courtyard to enjoy a good book and a strong coffee.

On the first full day the sun was beaming and the city was buzzing. We started with a walk down to a small corner cafe for a breakfast of pastries and freshly squeezed orange juice. Then after eyeing up plenty of beautifully dressed Parisians and working out how I could work each look we spent the morning strolling along near the river.  This takes a fair amount of time when you insist on browsing every store from Chanel to Sephora, photographing every unique window display and rummaging little book shops to stock up on beautiful editions and botanical prints.

If you haven't visited the Louvre since you were small enough to slide down the sides of the glass pyramid and get away with it then it's a must. Room upon room is filled with objects that as a child bored you mindlessly and today with blow your mind. Hours were lost in the depths of this incredible museum where you will find an entire castle moat, rows of Egyptian sarcophagus some including mummified bodies and a few rooms filled with beautiful mummified cats. Mine had better watch out as they would make rather nice book ends. If that's not enough in the huge gallery sits the Mona Lisa which is breathtaking.

The following days were filled with a visit to the Hermes Pop up exhibition on the River (AMAZING - a digital dream), a trip to Musee D'Orsay (the classics all in one place), an afternoon exploring south of the River (Interior boutiques and Antiques galore), far too many visits to the boulangerie (sweet tooth) and a constant flow of coffee or vino.

If you're planning a visit or are in the city for Fashion Week ensure you take and hour, sit at an undersized table on the side of a busy street, order an oversized glass of wine and just watch the world go by ... Parfait.