I really feel sad while writing this post about my Paris trip. Not because it was bad. In contrary, I am really bummed out that I am back. I always have an after Paris dip when I return home. I feel at home there and feel I can be myself there. Who else has this? Having a home away from home, I mean. Some of you might know that I really want to return one day to live there again. So feel free to share tips about job hunting a Paris if you have any. Also, you can always write me an email/DM if you have the winning tip 🙂

Anyway, over to a more happy post. I had the best birthday ever! I am grateful I was able to visit my happy place for this. Turning 25 never felt better. It’s actually the best birthday I have had in years. As some of you might seen on the news, it had been snowing a lot in Paris. I was lucky to still enjoy the snow during my visit. It was also quite sunny so the best of both worlds.

I hope you will enjoy reading my Paris travel diary as I put a lot of work and love in my Paris related posts.

My departure started really early. I always travel to Paris by train because that’s the easy and quick. It takes me about 2,5 hours in total which is pretty fast. I always take two trains. The first one that brings me to Belgium in half an hour and then the Thalys to Paris. It was so early that it would be the first train. So what happened? First it was said that there would be a 5 minute delay. This turned into a 10 minute delay. This turned into a 15 minute delay. When I saw that the departure time kept on changing I already started getting nervous. ‘’what if they cancel the train?’’. And what happened? They ended up mentioning that the train would not leave. The next train would be in an hour. WHAT? I didn’t have that amount of time. I would only have a 20 minute transfer time between my trains so I could not wait for the next train. We ran outside to catch a taxi.. We almost didn’t make it to our Thalys as it was rush hour and we were stuck in traffic all the time. Luckily, we had the sweetest driver and he even drove through red lights. We made it 2 minutes before the train departed. You can imagine how stressful my trip started.

Anyway, I took a chill pill and relaxed on the train.


A cappuccino aboard to get the day started. The cup has an Eiffel tower ❤

I always get super emotional when I enter Paris by train. You can see the Sacré Coeur from the train.

Our hotel was located in the 5th arrondissement. It’s my second time booking that hotel. I just love the area. It’s not in the middle of all touristic attractions but thats perfect for me as I like a more quite area as I have seen it all before.


Before going for a walk, I had to make some balcony shots in my room.


As mentioned, it had been snowing a lot


Loved this walk in the snow


Petit Palais


Pont Alexandre



It was so sunny


How beautiful is this bridge?


I already shared this picture on my Instagram. Love my lavender coat.


Les Invalides (École Militaire).


There were so many bunnies in the snow at Les Invalides! Adorable ❤


Lunchtime at one of my favourite spots in Paris. And yes, I ordered fries as a side to my salad.


Le snack du soir. Pierre Hermé ❤ It was the first time for me trying the macarons from Pierre Hermé. In comparison to the ones from Ladurée I can say that I think the ones from Pierre Hermé are far better! Have you ever tried something from Pierre Hermé? Let me know if you’re team Pierre Hermé or team Ladurée.

On Friday it was my birthday! As it was going to be snowing all day, we decided to spend the day somewhere inside. I had never been to Fondation Louis Vuitton and I had previously seen on my social media that there was a MoMa exhibition. I had to see it.


En route du Fondation. So much snow ❤


Fondation Louis Vuitton is in general a must see as the architecture of the building is impressive! Plus it is located at Bois de Boulogne so a perfect place to escape the city’s hectic for a bit.


Picasso


Andy Warhol ❤ This is one of the pieces I really wanted to see, Together with Lichtenstein and Frida Kahlo.


Roy Lichtenstein


Frida Kahlo ❤ My Mexican pride came out.


I wanted to try this chair so badly!


The views were something from a fairytale


Fish lamps at the restaurant


Posing in the snow


How unique is the architecture? I have so many pictures of it.


Quick lunch at Paul


I chose La Favorite in Le Marais to have a birthday dinner. It’s one of my fav places to drink/eat something.


No birthday without cocktails. A Pornstar Martini for me s’il vous plaît.


Only in Paris will you find candles in a toilet


After dinner I only had one birthday wish.. visit the Eiffel tower by night.


25, baby!

The day after my birthday it was time for some shopping. I will be sharing a separate Paris Shoplog upcoming week.


We ate a crêpe sucre from this cute stand in the middle of Rue de Rivoli. We ate it while sitting on a bench and enjoying the sun.


This is an art gallery and every time I visit Paris they change the outside decoration.


Same gallery but in April 2017, see?


I can’t visit Paris without going to Café Kitsuné. I took it to go and sat outside the Louvre in the sun to drink it.


At the same time I shot some outfit pictures, from the Tenue du Jour I have already uploaded


It’s a tradition for me that when I travel, I pick nick once in my hotel room. I just love the feeling of taking out some food and eat it in my room with my pjs on without having to dress up to go for dinner. Oh, and before you think that I am messing up the linen, I always but a towel or whatever under the food and pay attention.


Boo! Our last morning in the hotel which means our last breakfast.


Some last balcony shots. I just love the view from a french balcony.


Who has seen this and my other Paris pictures on my Instagram?

We pretty much had the whole day as our train back would leave at 18:00 hrs. Lafayette is open on Sundays and it was time to go get my birthday present. From me to me.


Shoe department at Lafayette ❤



Although I had been to Galeries Lafayette before, I had never been to the rooftop terrace. What a view ❤


Sacré Coeur


They were making apple juice from Pink Lady apples at Lafayette


As we were really close to the Opera we walked around the immense building and had lunch.


Before going to the hotel to grab our belongings we walked around the neighbourhood of the hotel. We went into a supermarket to buy some french goodies, such as cheese. We also went to a  Boulangerie.


So sad. So heartbroken. But that was the end of our Paris birthday trip. Leaving the city with a breath taking sunset.

I’ll be back! And hopefully there will also be a time when I return to live there. And I was serious, if anyone has tips on job hunting or knows of something in Paris, don’t hesitate on emailing/DMing me.

I hope you enjoyed reading my (long) post about my birthday trip. I put a lot of effort in it:)

Merci et bon journée ❤
xxx Valerie

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