It’s official! I’m going to Paris and London. Whoo- hoo. After months of saving our pennies hubs and I took the plunge and purchased our plane tickets. Wheels up on Oct 26th and as a lucky Kitchens for Living Reader, guess what? You get to come along! Until then you can look forward to a liberal dose of mentions and blog posts on these two amazing locations. If you reside in England or France or if you’ve visited I want to hear from you while I’m still in the planning stages. What’s too good to miss? I want to know because I don’t want to miss anything.
Our first stop, Paris, will be a first for us both. A big thanks to my pal Karen for turning us on to
Airbnb, a global network of accommodations offered by locals. It's more fun and usually cheaper than hotels, especially in big cities. I also love the idea of having a little kitchenette and from what I understand many guests meet their hosts which makes for a much more authentic experience outside the touristy realm. I was excited to find this cute place right in the trendy neighborhood of Montmarte. The site posts lots of pix and I can email Marthe, the owner ahead of time with all my annoying questions.
On Halloween we depart on the Eurostar train to London. I am a huge Anglophile and this will be my eighth visit, first for Joe. Look for London line up soon but right now I'm reading Rick Steve's Paris 2011 cover to cover. Here are the priorities so far:1) Le Eiffel Tower2) Le Louvre (Mainly to see Ms. Mona Lisa)3) Le Catacombs (Because it's novel and quirky)
4) Le Notre Dame5) Le Buddha Bar (I am the original "chill" music fan so of course)6) Le Pompidou Center (Contemporary art!)7) Le Rodin MuseumDo you think we can do this in four days with a few walking tours (Montmarte, Rue Cler) thrown in?In case you don't know how cool Montmarte is, here is what Wiki says about it: "Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh."I can't end this without a little French design. Just saw this tres chic post on Design Sponge about a cute couple with an apartment in Paris.
Au revoir for now! Looking forward to all you great tips and Parisian tidbits.