Taken during a crisp February weekend, this photo symbolizes everything that I love about the city of love. Whimsical, dreamy and romantic.
Paris photography holds a special place in my heart. Robert Dosineau’s Hotel Kiss was my first real introduction to portrait and travel photography. I saw it during a poster sale at my university. During that time in my life, I had no idea what love meant but Robert’s photograph gave me something to believe in and hope for. The urgency in their kiss, the way the world seemed to stop for just that instant. It was the first time a photograph affected me in such an experiential way and from then on photography took on a new meaning in my life.
A weekend of walking, eating and joyfulness in Paris. One of my favourite cities in the world.
Mom and I concluded our 2nd annual Mama-Den Summer Euro trip last week. We’ve decided to make it a tradition to set aside a week or two each year to spend time together on this side of the world. After the ridiculousness of last year’s trip, we realize just how good for the soul a raucous, unsupervised mother-daughter escapade can be.
This year, we visited Holland, Belgium and France. And even though we’ve been to Paris many times before, it was my favourite stop. The city is just stunningly beautiful. The afternoon we arrived was warm, sunny and perfect. I couldn’t get over the fairytale feeling of walking, living, eating in such gorgeous surroundings. Do people really live in such a fairytale setting?!
The city of love is a hard one to photograph. After an hour walking the streets, beauty numbs the senses. It’s like walking into a candy shop of all the best sweets in the world and not being able to decide what to purchase. Paris is visually overwhelming.
But what I loved about our time there together was just that, it was TIME. We didn’t run around trying to photograph sites. We just walked, ate, talked and shopped. Rinse and repeat. It was slow, relaxed and lazy, just the kind of time that Mum and I needed with each other.
Between the crepes and jewelry stores, I did manage to snap a few photographs here and there. It takes little effort to capture beauty in a city like this. It’s everywhere.
Yesterday we took the bus to Saint Paul de Vence, a beautiful little
village at the top of a mountain just East of Nice. We walked the
cobblestone streets, browsed the art galleries and bought a pair of
ridiculous fashion accessory cocktail rings. We had lunch at a cute
little cafe on the hill and then made our way back to Nice in the late
afternoon sun.
The Cote D’Azur is so easy to navigate! Buses all along the coast
cost one euro each and they drive right along the coast. All the
museums are free (though we didn’t go to any) and the trams and trains
are equally cheap and easy to access. Food is delicious regardless of
where you go and clothes are also so reasonable! We’ve had a great
weekend walking, eating, browsing. We are in bed by 11pm and up at
9am. Lots of sleep, lots of food, lots of shopping and endless gossip.
So relaxing.
Today we’re going to Cannes before heading back to stormy, rainy London. 
It's warm, the people are gorgeous and the food is magnificent. All
that you would expect from the French
We're in a beautiful flat in Place Garibaldi. The French know
beautiful. The lighting, the decor, the window trimmings, the colour
scheme – all so beautiful.
It's so nice being here with Mum. It reminds me of our summer in
Paris. We eat slowly, walk slowly, talk like we have all the time in
the world. Languid, artsy, sensual, beautiful.
Oh France. Thank you for reminding us that beauty is necessary in our lives.
Cyn and I spent this past weekend in Paris! We decided on a whim last Weds to take the Eurostar over so we could go shopping, eating and drinking. And it was fabulous. =) We took the Saturday morning train and were in central Paris by 11am. I got a recommendation from a friend to stay at Hotel Regent in Rue Dauphine. I had no idea that it was located on my favourite street in Saint Germain! Really great location – central to great cafes and shops and two blocks from the Seine. We did an afternoon of shopping and then met up with friends from London and Dubai (who were also randomly in Paris) for dinner. We had macroons, lots of red wine, moules and French sweets. We had latte at the Ritz on Sunday and tried on gorgeous dresses in the boutique shops in Le Marais. It was a gorgeous, mellow weekend.
There is something really amazing about being here with Cyn. She's my best friend in the whole wide world and the time that we are spending raising hell across Europe is just so special. I feel like we can conquer the world together! This week, we're in the process of looking for two bedroom flats in the Notting Hill area. We're moving in together before we head home for Christmas!!
The agenda is packed. SO SO SO packed!
