I thought it was finally time to blog about my 24 hours in Paris from last December…considering it’s now officially February, I’m only a few months behind in blog posts. I flew home to New Zealand ex Paris as it’s way cheaper when flying long haul…it’s a nifty trick to save a few hundred pounds…and I got to eat gluten free chocolate eclairs…a win win situation!
As I said before I was kinda nervous about visiting Paris, thanks to the media and one of the guys in the office telling me he wouldn’t want to be visiting Paris…I was quite literally crapping my pants on that easy jet flight but I landed…grabbed my bags and jumped onto the bus from the airport into central Paris. My abode for the night was the Starwood property, Le Meridien Etoile which I thought was a really good base and there were two reasons why I booked it – they had a 2015 point bonus offer on if you stayed in December (which I’ve since used to book a free night in Peru…I’m so becoming a tight arse where hotel rooms are concerned, if I can book it with points I will at the moment) plus the bus stopped right outside the hotel…perfect when you look like a little old bag lady carrying four bags!
The room wasn’t huge however I was there for only one night and it’s Paris…the city isn’t known for having the biggest hotel rooms in the world (possibly why it’s the city of love, you’re basically on top of each other in your hotel room as they can be super pokey!)…unless of course you stay in a gorgeous duplex suite like this one at the Sofitel Paris Arc De Triomphe . The room had a few quirky touches so it wasn’t your standard boring hotel room which I liked plus it had plugs right beside the bed so I could scroll through instagram without losing power…you wouldn’t believe how many hotel rooms don’t have plugs beside the bed and it drives me bonkers especially when I lose charge when I’m having my daily instagram hit!
I had arrived quite late in the evening so I went straight to bed and woke up with a spring in my step (okay I might have slept in…the beds were rather comfy!) as I was quite excited about eating chocolate eclairs and going home to New Zealand…four years between visits is a long time. I managed to connect my uber account to my spg account to earn even more points…I’m becoming a points hag, I truly am! So popping my uber cherry with a lovely french man…it was very oh la la and we had many giggles on the way to Galeries Lafayette.
My trip was after the Paris attacks and everything was rather quiet…it was a strange feeling seeing Paris empty and security was tight with bag searches at all the department stores. I felt really safe in Paris and didn’t mind the searches even though some tourists were complaining. High on my list was to visit the christmas tree in the middle of the Galeries Lafayette and I wasn’t disappointed…
…it was breathtaking! Paris definitely won the Christmas Tree war against London and I wish I had my mum with me to see the Christmas tree as she would have had kittens!
^^I really want to live inside this department store!
The roof top terrace at Galeries Lafayette offers the best views over Paris and it’s free and it’s where I go every time I visit Paris so I can just look out over the roof tops of the city…
…sometimes the best things in life are free.
Every blogger that visits Paris seems to end up at Angelina for a hot chocolate…
…so I thought it was time to join the blogger party and popped into Angelina on the ground floor of Galeries Lafayette…
…I broke a cardinal rule of blogging…I ordered an ice tea instead of a hot chocolate (and then took a photo when I had drunk half of it!)…I’m sure I will lose about 50 bloggers following me on bloglovin’ for admitting that!
^^My shameful dirty secret from my 24 hours in Paris
Apparently none of the pastries were gluten free…no surprises there so I opted for an omelette…trust me omelettes become your best friend when you’re gluten free in France…don’t ask me why but they just do! They weren’t sure if the ham was gluten free…then it was the cheese…it got to the point that if they said they weren’t sure about the eggs then I was about to leave. I had an cheese and ham omelette in the end…and then they bought me out bread containing gluten…they got to see my “are you f****** serious” face…it was rather hard work eating here!
Moving on with a full tummy, it was time to skip down the road to pick up some Laduree macarons from inside Printemps for Lisa (yes these macarons made it all the way home to NZ without me scoffing them…self control people, self control…I can do it…or maybe I just bought an extra two for the 24 hour plane ride home…thankfully these are gluten free…the salted caramels macarons are the best things since sliced gluten free bread!)…
…and I also wanted to see their decorations…I love Christmas and it would be rude not to check it out…
…it was also gorgeous inside and had me smiling away to myself over how beautiful it all was…their christmas windows were just incredible!
^^Does anyone know what that pink thing attached to the tree is?!
A close up of the decorations for my mum…she’s always looking for fresh ideas on how to decorate three christmas trees.
Of course you can’t go into Printemps without browsing the shoes…
…it would be rude not too really! I may have talked a lady into buying an expensive pair of shoes…she deserved them…I could tell!
^^^PRECIOUSSSSSSSSS!!!!! I talked myself out of buying shoes…and then also out of buying some jewellery…it was a close call.
Then I spotted a rather glamorous tiled floor, it was time for a shoefie!
Just around the corner from Galeries Lafayette and Printemps is Helmut Newcake aka gluten free heaven…I may have had a few items boxed up to take away with me for my flight…I panic on flights now over my gluten free meal (first world problems I know) so I pack accordingly…gluten free chocolate eclairs are compulsory on all long haul flights going forward…and I may have eaten one in the shop also…that will be just our little secret!
But in all seriousness, if you’re gluten free then you just need to visit as look at all these glorious gluten free pastries…
…I may just go back to Paris just to eat gluten free chocolate eclairs.
It was time to head back to the hotel and collect my things before heading out to the airport for my flight home with Cathay Pacific…it was my first time using uber and I think I’m hooked!
^^The view heading back to the hotel after going around one of the world’s craziest roundabouts.
While I didn’t visit any of the main tourist attractions on this trip…I enjoyed a sleep in, a bit of shopping and a whole lot of eating…24 hours in Paris is definitely not enough time however I will be back to enjoy the delights of this european city!
So if you only had 24 hours in Paris, what would you visit?
xx
If you liked this post on 24 Hours in Paris, France then why not come and join me on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest – I won’t bite!
You may also enjoy:
