Monday 24 February 2014

Destination: A weekend in Paris



Ooh La La, Paris!

Valentine's weekend 2014 was not spent moping around with a box of kleenex and a rom com, but with a trip to gay old Paris instead! And no, before you ask, it was not with a strapping young gentleman who had whisked me off for a romantic weekend - it was with my old chum, 'Polls'!



We headed over to St Pancras station on Sunday 16th February for the 10.25am train to Paris and slept almost the whole journey there - after the obligatory morning coffee and pain au chocolate of course! Upon arrival in Paris we swiftly got into a taxi and embarked upon the short drive to our Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris.

Yes, you read correctly. I was lucky enough to spend the night at this breathtaking Hotel, located smack bang in the centre of Paris, right in between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Driomphe. We were two very lucky girls.

So we pulled up in the taxi and were greeted by a very lovely doorman who whisked away our bags and ushered us inside. Our room wasn't quite ready yet, but that wasn't a problem as we wanted to get straight out and make the most of our whistlestop trip!

Turning right out of the Hotel, we walked towards the Eiffel Tower and stopped for lunch. Given that the main objectives of this short trip were to see the Eiffel Tower, eat a macaroon, drink red wine and gorge on French food, we were pretty successful right from the get go. We stopped in a little bistro and had a glass of red wine, shared some French onion soup and a croque monsieur before tucking into a delicious platter of bread and cheese. Perfect.

Feeling very full we waddled over to the Eiffel Tower and admired it from various angles before heading back to the luxurious, welcoming arms of the George V. Our room was breathtaking and as it was only a 'standard' room we couldn't help but to wonder what on earth the other categories looked like! 

Draped in creams and golds, the room was big, bright and everything that you could expect of a Parisian 5* Hotel. I was particularly impressed with the rather snazzy looking TV remotes and of course by the fact that there was a Nespresso machine with complimentary coffee capsules! Heaven!





After we'd appreciated our surroundings, we headed over to explore The Spa. This was also, as you can imagine, a highly luxurious and utterly relaxing experience! A lovely lady gave us a quick tour of the Spa and its facilities before we robed up and headed straight for the pool, where we stayed for at least an hour making full use of the Jacuzzi and reveling in our own joy.

The sauna and steam rooms are equally fantastic, especially as they are located in the changing rooms so that you avoid that awkward moment when you enter to find a hairy man and then can't leave because it looks rude. There was none of that! The steam room was simply divine and we left with our pores glowing as much as our insides!

Needless to say, we didn't return from the Spa for quite some time, so we actually didn't make it out for dinner by the time we'd got dressed and enjoyed the most delicious cocktail in the Hotel bar! Not that that was any kind of a problem as we were more than happy to stay where we were and enjoy the relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere of the bar area.

The following day we headed straight out to find a croissant before continuing to explore the city. As we had such a short amount of time we decided to just walk around and see what we found. We'd also made a reservation for Afternoon Tea at the Hotel so we only had a few hours to explore.

I managed to tick off another important goal from my list as I found a rather lovely chocolate shop selling the most exquisite macaroons. Delicious!



We walked up and down the Champs Élysées admiring the views and popping in and out of shops before heading back to the comfort of the Four Seasons. Even though we'd already checked out, our bags had been taken care of and our table was ready for us at 3pm on the dot.

I do love Afternoon Tea and think that it is the perfect way to experience a Hotel without splashing out on the cost of the room, so I could not pass up the opportunity to have a taste of the George V in this way as I could definitely not afford to splash out in their Michelin star restaurant!



After we were more full that we'd ever been before in our lives, we got back into a taxi and headed back for England. Even though this trip was one of the shortest I've ever been on, it was definitely one of the most relaxing. I left Paris with a warm glow and with the feeling that I'd just experienced something truly special. Hopefully I'll be able to return soon!



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