Category: France

A Rather Late Round-Up of 2017

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I’m a bit late to the party here pals given that we’re almost one month into the new year, but at this particular moment in time I appear to be stuck in a hotel in Hamburg with not a whole lot to do; so what better way to fill the time than a casual reflection on the year just gone!? I mean, I thought I might as well, for a laugh. If anything I always find that it helps you to feel grateful for the experiences you’ve had, the lessons you’ve learnt and the people you’ve met, and at this point in time (the point in time where I couldn’t board a flight to the Dominican Republic due to a sick bug and am hanging out in Hamburg for a week instead), I feel like this could really help me, know what I’m saying!? Continue reading →

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The Beginners Guide to Versailles

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The Château de Versailles is, let’s face it, one of my most favourite places that I’ve ever visited. In my naivety I’d imagined that visiting it would be a bit like visiting a National Trust house back at home, and in a way it is…it is a rather large royal residence after all. But this Palace is off the scale of splendiferous, so large and ornate and full of stories that I was blown away and could not get enough of it. I spent a day there in August, and despite the fact that we were there for a good seven hours, I felt like we can’t have seen even half of what there is to explore.

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A Weekend in Paris (or, Baby’s First Hen Do) 

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Once upon a time, six girls and two guys (ie, myself and five friends) decided it would be a ruddy marvellous idea to go on a hen weekend in Paris, in celebration of one of my bestest pals Chris. Amongst other things, we bought with us a picnic basket, a selection of decorations for our AirBnB house, and a small child by the name of Noel. Don’t worry though- Noel’s mum was one of the six girl hens of the posse. He wasn’t just a random kid we picked up on the Eurostar as that would obviously have been really out of order. Our two days in Paris were jam packed with a whole load of extremely awesome things to do, so here for your reading pleasure is a blow by blow account of what exactly we did and the things I personally discovered along the way.

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Exploring Normandy…a day trip to Étretat

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We docked in Le Havre in Normandy every seven days, but under normal circumstances got no further than the city’s pebbly beach, stopping here and there for either coffee or crepes, and one particularly adventurous day for real live snails. (Actually, they weren’t alive, they were cooked in garlic butter but, you get what I’m saying!? REAL LIVE SNAILS!!) Le Havre is a nice enough place; France’s second biggest port, with some really beaut parks and gardens but also a whole lot of concrete architecture which sprang up after the Second World War, when almost the entire city was destroyed. It’s a confusing mixture of prettiness and concrete blocks if I’m honest, however this modern architecture put Le Havre on the map and it’s now recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage sight. Anyway, my actual point here is that we’d heard great things about Normandy’s countryside and were determined to get out of the city and explore further afield; so that, pals, is what we did!!

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Paris in a Day…C’est Possible?!?

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The few times in my life that I’ve ever heard the words ‘Paris in a day’ in that particular order are when they are prefixed by the words ‘It’s not possible to see…’ BUT my friends- where there’s a will, there’s a way! After spending three and a half months on a ship which docked regularly in Le Havre (the so-called ‘Gateway to Paris,’ a name which I personally think is pushing it a bit),  me and my partner in crime decided we should accept the challenge and see for ourselves whether or not it is in fact possible after all. And let me tell you something: of course it’s not possible to see any city in it’s entirety in a day, but if you plan well enough you can certainly make the most of the time that you have, even if the city in question is good old gay Paris. (Nb- if you didn’t read that ‘gay Paris’ bit in a French accent, then you bloody well should because it’s way more fun sounding). Continue reading →

Going Solo in Nice

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I bloody love skyscanner, I do. After spontaneously clicking ‘purchase tickets’ whilst browsing flights to anywhere in the world one miserable Tonsilitis-ridden day, I was fully set up to travel solo to Nice for a few days of sunshine and good times. Granted, some people found my decision to go on holiday alone a little bizarre- some were
downright alarmed at the concept- but all I’m saying is, travelling solo can be a right laugh and is something I highly recommend to anyone who’s ever considered it.   Continue reading →