Reminiscing on past holidays is one way to get through the third U.K. lockdown and is exactly how I’m spending my days. Dreaming of my time in Paris, walking through the louvre, visiting Montmartre and taking as many pictures in the most tourist way I can.
I spent my time in Paris over Valentine’s Day in 2019 and photos from the holiday are now starting to resurface on my Snapchat memories.
My first stop on this trip was London, where I visited the V&A to view a Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition, which could only be described by one word… breath-taking. I spent hours walking around admiring all of the designs, from pattern pieces to finished garments, where it confirmed a future in fashion was exactly what I was craving.
The 12th of February was of a busy day. First, we drove down to Dover and caught a ferry, taking us over to France and then driving into Paris. The Paris streets have been beautifully created. Historically speaking, Paris can be divided into four architectural periods: Roman, Medieval, Renaissance and Classical. These can all be viewed from the 360° Viewpoint in the city. Here, you can look down on all the beautiful location offers and how the streets have been paved to lead to the centre of the City’s centre, all created by architect Georges-Eugène Haussmann in 1867.
Image credit: Ellie Daglish
However, our arrival in Paris wasn’t all that perfect. What seemed a beautiful chalet we were staying in with a pool, according to the pictures, turned out to be a school getaway for young children. Yes, you guessed it, no pool! Our beds were half the height of us, and those of us on the bottom bunks couldn’t squeeze ourselves in. In the end, we relocated the mattresses onto the floor and made-do with what we had.
On our arrival to the cafeteria, we found ourselves outnumbered with young children and seemed to be in a staring contest with them, their bewildered eyes fixed on the large group of giants walking in. Once the unforgettable dining experience was over, we returned to our rooms for a fun night of boredom and calls to loved ones at home.
The next day, we packed up what we would need for the day and ventured out to The Louvre. Arriving in front of an inverted pyramid as it would seem and walking through the exhibits, taking it all in and loving every inch of the exquisite artwork.
I found myself later walking into the Angelina Café, where I got the best hot chocolate I’ve ever drunk. Whilst in the Angelina, we had an amazing waiter serving us, and, at the time, who we all thought was flirting with us. We spent some time there and then made our way out, paid the cheque, left a tip and walked back into the museum.
While two floors down the escalators, we heard “Madam, madam” repeated from floors above. It was the waiter! We thought one of us must have left behind a belonging in the café and we went back up on the escalators. In true movie style, he went down, and our paths crossed. As he reached us again, he had us follow him through the kitchen and onto a balcony not open to the public. It had only what I can describe as the most beautiful view I have ever laid my eyes on. The balcony opened onto the main courtyard down below amongst The Louvre Pyramid, where tourists alike all looked up at where we were almost asking how to do the same.
Image credit: Ellie Daglish
The kind gentleman told us we could spend some time up there and take as many pictures as we wanted, and that’s exactly what we did. Time passed by and we enjoyed the moments we spent up there and later re-joined the rest of the public back in the museum.
Featured image credit: Ellie Daglish
Written by Ellie Daglish