Paris, definitely worth a visit! From the beginning to the end it was constantly eye catching. The shops, the people and the food all brilliant. Like most other cities, you get the usual people randomly sleeping on the streets but mattresses outside of Ralph Lauren was a shock. Amongst the constant reminder of poverty and obvious beautiful scenery the scams took full force when my girlfriend got her iPhone 4 pick pocketed, within a split second as she stepped off the metro it was gone. With not a running bloke or a touch in sight. A low point, stepping into the police station but it did not deter my custom or my girlfriends.
We did the obvious sight seeing, by foot and metro. The metros are a complete god send because its far too easy to step one wrong foot out of A.P.C. and end up on the other side of the city. The miles you walk are necessary for the experience, amazing architecture and some very smartly dresses people. Rue St Honore, boasted some serious labels for both casual and high fashion lovers alike. You could be strolling past a Stone Island and stumble along Gucci or Prada, with the odd Ferrari and Porsche thrown along the street to make sure it looks extra expensive... Recession? Not down Rue St. Honore.
The temptation just to spend ridiculous amounts of money is within a mile radius at any point in Paris, I'm still contemplating some A.P.C jeans the shops just sell the clothes very well; from the interiors, the layouts, and the french shop assistants its a different ball game compared with the lonely streets of Middlesbrough.
We also visited Le Bon Marche, a must see for any department store lover. Its not like Harrods which is now just a tourist hotspot, its wear the french buy their clothes to look french... brands including Ralph Lauren, A.P.C., Woolrich and much more all under one roof ! It doesn't take the usual department store layout its definitely a bit classier, which was a recurring theme throughout the city.
I'm a fussy eater, i thought id struggle for food however as a steak lover you can't knock it. Other than the french cuisine there's plenty of food places to eat based on nationality... with the large amount of american tourists, came a lot of American style food places which i couldn't knock. The Hard Rock Cafe in Paris is definitely worth a visit for guaranteed good food and a massive menu. And the area surrounding the Moulin Rouge proved to be a livelier area with a lot of different places to eat, if you turn left facing the Moulin Rouge that is, if you turn right prepare to judge the dirty old basterds sneaking into the cheaper XXX nude shows... not exactly the Moulin Rouge efforts to say the least. But in hindsight, wish we'd booked up for the Moulin Rouge looked worth the trip there alone and my girlfriend suggested it. Not bad at all.
The last day, was the rainiest day of the trip and as it was a Sunday most places were actually shut. This day should be used to do the touristy things next time, id set this day aside for solely that. We visited the Pont D' Arc bridge over the Seine, one the loveliest sights in Paris a bridge covered in Lovers Locks, so we had to put our own lock on too and threw the key into The Seine. Just another, among many other reasons to go back to the city of Paris.
