Eiffel Tower

So I finally went up the Eiffel Tower!

The gilded dome of Les Invalides - Napoleon's Tomb

Ecole Militaire

The Statue of Liberty

 À Bientôt !

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Duck & Waffle

Newsflash! I'm back in London, and ready to make the most of my city for the short week that I'm here. This treat has been a long time coming. Ever since my sister first mentioned 'Duck and Waffle' to me, it's been on my 'To Do' list to zoom up onto the 40th floor of the restaurant and eat breakfast in the clouds.

Je suis de retour à Londres, prête à profiter du maximum de ma ville pendant la courte semaine que je suis ici. J'attendais depuis longtemps cette gâterie...depuis que ma soeur a mentionné pour la première fois le restaurant "Duck & Waffle" (Le Canard et Le Gaufre) c'était sur ma liste "À faire" de monter jusqu'au 40ième étage pour manger parmi les nuages. 

Doesn't London look great?

Menu: we chose the belgian waffle with caramelised banana, homemade nutella, vanilla icecream and peanut crunch for £8.50, and the homemade granola for £5.50 to share (coming to a grand total of £7.80 each!)

Le Menu: on a choisi le gaufre avec de la banane caramélisée, du nutella 'fait à la maison', de la glace vanille, et du croquant aux cacahuètes [£8.50], et le granola fait à la maison [£5.50] à partager entre nous deux - ça fait £7.80 par personne !

 Waiting eagerly for the food.. 

 Ready to tuck in...

 The view was incredible! Below left: pretending to move the cars and buses that drove by.

 

Amazing views make for great talking point, the food was yummy and the service was impeccable. Get yourselves along for a treat, especially to see London from above - it's a lot cheaper than going up The Shard! I was one happy bunny - thanks to my sister for a great suggestion and to Duck and Waffle for a great breakfast :)

La panorama fait un sujet de conversation géniale, la nourriture était délicieuse et le service était impeccable. Allez-y pour une gâterie, surtout pour voir Londres d'une vue plongeante - c'est beaucoup moins cher qu'un billet pour monter The Shard (le bâtiment le plus haut en Europe qui se trouve à London Bridge). J'était super contente - merci à ma soeur pour une recommandation excellent et à Duck and Waffle pour un petit-déjeuner géniale !

 À Bientôt !

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The Tourist Trail: Left Bank & Sacré Coeur

From the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, we had already notched up a good few sights and it had only been one day of visiting! In the Latin Quarter we encountered some sartorially experimental statues, before taking a stroll round the Luxembourg Gardens. 

Theatre de la Huchette, where Ionesco's famous "Bald Prima Donna" or "La Cantatrice Chauve" was played for the first time, and hasn't stopped playing since 1957.

The Shakespeare & Company

A statue of Charlemagne by Notre Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris; (French for "Our Lady of Paris"), also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cite in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. [Source]. 

After a tour of Notre-Dame, we hightailed it to Pigalle to take a peek at the Moulin Rouge and start the climb to Montmartre's summit. On our way past Amelie's cafe, "Les Deux Moulins" [see here], we encountered the second windmill for which the cafe is named, which used to be an old dance hall but is now privately owned. The romance of old swinging Paris in the 10s and 20s still hangs around Montmartre, as does the smell of waffles and chocolate syrup from the cafes perched on its hill. 

 

I didn't end up getting as many photos as I would have liked - but be sure to make the climb for yourself as the view is well worth the effort. Artists draw likenesses and accordionists busk in the artists' quarter, and inside Sacre-Coeur's sanctuary the peace and hushed reverence seem to reach out and embrace you, as do the mosaic arms of Christ, whose likeness watches down from the domed ceiling. I'll return soon with photos soon, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words!

À Bientôt !

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