Spring and Summer here in Paris is beyond beautiful. Not only does the sun finally come out, but so do all the delightful flowers. This spring, I headed over to the Champ de Mars, and spent a wonderful morning wandering around taking photos of the many beautiful flowers and blossom trees.
Having been here in Paris for 9 months – where does the time fly?! – I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my favourite places that I think everyone should visit when coming to this magical city. Off the beaten track, the places listed here will no doubt provide you with delightful experiences and fantastic memories. This blog post is based on my entry on a new-and-upcoming website, called Marco, where travellers like myself write about particular trips we’ve been on. There are so many great things about this website. For starters, you can find real inspiration from reading other people’s entries, and be fixated on stunning photographs posted. Without doubt, another great factor of the website is that when you enter the weekly competitions, you have the chance of winning $1000! Think of new amazing places that could take you to! You can check out my entry here. If you could vote for me, that would be great – just click here to vote, and don’t forget to choose ‘Explore the hidden gems …
Paris has opened it’s arms to the Roland Garros, and those visiting the area around the Eiffel Tower will be welcomed by a giant descending ball and live coverage of the tennis on the Champs de Mars. For those who know me, will know how much my family and I love tennis, both playing and watching; and I am so excited for this year’s French Open! Not only to be able to while away the time watching the tennis by the Eiffel Tower like I did this weekend, but also because I will be attending the French Open this year!! My family will be coming over tomorrow, and we will spend the whole day there on Thursday – so keep checking out my instagram, as I can imagine I will be uploading quite a few photos! Who do you think is going to win this year? Could Nadal become the first man in tennis history to win the same Grand Slam title 10 times?! (I hope so!)
Today celebrates the birthday of the Eiffel Tower, as it was 126 years ago when her gates were opened (or steps rather) to the public. To celebrate this momentous date, here are just a few of my favourite photographs taken by myself of the Tour Eiffel.
The weather this week in Paris has been like a yo-yo, one minute it’s glorious and the next it’s rainy. It was also during this week that there was an enigmatic mist covering the skyline over Paris, almost like a lilac blanket keeping the city warm. Whilst on the train into the city centre, I am usually blessed with stunning views of the vista with the Eiffel Tower emerging from the cityscape, however, on this particular journey La Tour Eiffel was concealed into the depths of the mist that engulfed it. Therefore, what better place to get a more fitting view than at the top of Montmartre by La basilique du Sacré-Cœur. There’s something quite magical and enchanting about such a landscape, it’s just a shame I didn’t manage to get a photo of the Eiffel Tour hiding away – next time.
This weekend a friend and I were exploring the streets of the 7th arrondissement, when unexpectedly we stumbled upon the gem that is 29 Avenue Rapp. Right in front of us was an amazing Art Nouveau building, and we just had to go and have a closer look! After some research, I found out that this building is much more famous than I had first imagined. Built in 1901, it was designed by Jules Aimé Lavirotte, a famous French architect whose theatrical designs are typical of the Art Nouveau moment, and today there are just around nine of his buildings left in the whole of Paris. It is a truly unique building, with a stunning façade that had me transfixed. Adorning the façade are beautiful sculptural designs, figurative symbols and exquisite balconies. Unfortunately (or fortunately to the residents), you cannot go inside, so one can only imagine if the interior is as opulent as the exterior. I also read online that a myth of this building is that it is “a private residence for widowed military spouses”, …
Róisín Astell 