Paris in Springtime....

...was surprisingly soggy.

Our destination of choice last April was the elegant and stunning city of Paris. This was a no-brainer for me, I'm a complete Francophile and have been brought up adoring the capital city.

James, however, needed a little persuading. As a man who has only been to Paris once, on a day trip, in the freezing cold with inappropriate clothing for the weather, he wasn't familiar with the way Paris can wow. It was merely a romantic cliche in his mind.

After some convincing ('it will be so beautiful in spring time' 'we can eat lots of delicious food' 'the journey will be so easy on the Eurostar after the wedding') I finally got a 'yes' and we booked a small but perfect hotel which promised views of the Eiffel Tower from our honeymoon room. Perfect.

And so two tired but deliriously happy newlyweds took a trip on the Eurostar from London to Paris to begin married life.

Just the taxi journey from Gare du Nord to our hotel was a delight. The last time James and I had been away was on our five month travelling trip and therefore taxis were out the question in most countries due to cost. This felt like a luxury! We spent the short 10 minutes journey whizzing past elegantly tall and perfectly Parisian shops and buildings. We caught sight of a landmark or two down side streets.

And then the giant of the Eiffel Tower loomed above us. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. I cannot explain quite how much or even why I love this city. I have been lucky enough to have visited Paris regularly from a young age due to a mother who is fluent in French and once lived in the country. We used to spend our summers travelling to different, unique little Chambre D'Hotes in France, usually beginning or ending with Paris. It holds so many secrets and so much beautiful architecture, food, music and atmosphere.

We checked into our hotel and quickly took a stroll around the corner to indulge in our first meal of the honeymoon. We had downloaded the TripAdvisor app for Paris and it had told us of a little place just 5 minutes from where we were staying. Perfect. We could fill our bellies and then head back for a nap, having been awake since the small hours to catch our train.
What we actually encountered was the most genuinely Parisian lunch we could have hoped for. Not one member of staff working there spoke English. Fantastic - we had stumbled upon a lunchtime favourite for the locals. It was exciting and real, and I managed to order us two meals and two glasses of wine with my conversational French, even ensuring my steak would arrive medium - rare. I surprised myself to be honest!

It wasn't until that evening when we could truly marvel at the view our hotel had provided for us. When staying in Paris on your honeymoon I'm pretty sure the most perfect end to an evening is sitting, curled up together in your room, with dimmed lights, watching the spectacle that is the hourly sparkling light show on the Eiffel Tower itself. We managed to catch this every night of our stay. It was wonderful.

The following 4 days were a blur of perfectly cooked cuisine, glasses (...bottles!) of red wine, views of incredible architecture and rooftops and of course the rain. We may have had a pretty soggy spring and summer in the UK in 2012, but our French counterparts were not exempt. Most of the time we were there it was raining. We managed an evening or two of fresh, dry weather, but it was fleeting.
However, this did not dampen our moods. Our way of dealing with this was to find a restaurant or cafe to hide in and keep warm....and why not eat a beautiful duck & polenta dish whilst we're there! Can you see the recurring theme? We do like our food and we were in seventh heaven with some of the places the TripAdvisor app was throwing us.

If you are ever in Paris I cannot recommend highly enough the wonder that is Relais de L'entrecote. Situated 5 minutes walk from the Franklin. D. Roosevelt metro station, it is ideally central. The experience is unique, and often means a queue is forming within minutes of the doors opening each evening.
The restaurant is always bedecked with huge floral displays and the tables and chairs are squeezed into every space available. The perfectly trained waitresses, who have made it their career to learn and develop their technique, are clothed in early 20th Century black and white dresses, as they have been since the opening of the restaurant in 1912. When seated you will be presented with a delicious walnut salad and simply asked how you would like you meat cooked and what you would like to drink. Red wine is a must in this place. They serve it by the half bottles, something we must get introduced in the UK. Once you have polished off your salad, the steak arrives, topped with a stunning 'secret recipe' sauce and an infinite amount of thin french fries. And don't think that's your lot. When your plate is empty, your waitress will appear with more of the same. Second helpings are included in your meal price! What's not to love?

We had a fantastic few days lapping up the Parisian culture and exploring the city. But my highlight of our stay was my biggest triumph to date. I had converted James (without even really trying) to adoring this city as much as I do. France and Paris have always been a very big part of my little life and now I can share this delight and enjoyment with my husband. So here's to endless honeymoons in the city of love!

Emily x