Paris - Day One

We arrived in Paris under a blinding and hot sun, welcomed with a basket and a table full of goodness. My mum's friend was leaving right after giving us the keys to the room and she was feeling bad for not being able to have us for lunch. So in exchange she fed us for two days with gorgeous strawberries, tomatoes, ham, saucisson, cider and fresh bread. She also treated me to fancy Kusmi tea for my breakfasts. We started by doing what we did the most during the trip, eat.

We headed off to the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries. It probably wasn't the best destination with that weather. We cooked under the sun reflecting on the stone buildings and almost got blinded by the dry sand flying in people's path in the garden. None the less it felt special to be there together. And I was sucking in every bit of sun and light and warmth I could during that first hot day of the year.

We walked along the seine towards Boulevard Saint-Michel and its restaurants. My advice if you have a tighter budget, go in the backstreets of Saint-Michel. When you stand in front of the fountain, go left, pass Gibert Jeune bookshop and you'll find a lot of cheaper restaurants. Some of them don't look amazing, but you'll also find lovely pizzerias and surprisingly good couscous.

After that we went to do the main reason why we chose Paris for my birthday, the Dark Romanticism exhibit at the Musée d'Orsay. I have no photographs of it, apart from the view from the clock. But it was amazing. I don't think it's an exhibit for everyone, a lot of Hell, Death, skeletons and nightmare representations. I was speechless. One of my favourite exhibits ever, the best one I've seen in years. Plus if you live in the EU and are under 26, you go free in the evenings.

We got out, barely able to walk anymore, while the sun was setting down. We dragged ourselves back to the room, climbed the seven floors and talked about the next day, too excited to sleep.