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!

Destination: Prague

Happy New Year, Prague!

That's what I said when I arrived on the 3rd of January this year! I was pleased to escape the wind and rain of England for the crisp coolness of Prague and take in all it had to offer, Christmas markets included!

I was lucky enough to stay at the decadent Four Seasons Hotel Prague and enjoyed its central location and exquisite rooms. The staff, of course, were friendly and welcoming and we were quickly ushered up to our room upon arrival so that we were able to make the most out of our early arrival to the city.

Our room was beautiful, with views of the river from our bathroom window and some delicious Czech Spa Water wafer biscuits waiting for us when we arrived. The L'Occitane toiletries smelled as good as ever and the swimming pool sized bath was just waiting to be jumped into.

We only had two nights in the Czech Republic so we were keen to make the most of each of them. With our woolly hats on and scarves tightly wrapped around our necks we headed straight out into the city to explore, heading straight for the main square at the recommendation of one helpful Concierge.

Our love of Christmas still hadn't diminished, which was lucky as there were still plenty of Christmas markets and festive cheer around the city. We loved tasting the traditional Czech dishes served fresh from the market stalls and took advantage of the fact that it seemed perfectly normal to warm up with a cup of mulled wine before midday!

We walked and walked and walked, all the way up to the Castle right back down to the dancing building and back again. Our feet had that tired feeling that only the hardcore tourists can appreciate and it was a comfort knowing that we could relax and unwind with a Czech beer as soon as we got back to the Hotel. The Hotel's bar and restaurant is perfect for this. CottoCrudo - their raw/cooked restaurant and bar concept is both sophisticated and relaxed, enabling us to feel comfortable simply stepping in from the cold or heading down in the evening for a more dressed up cocktail. One night we did just that and the bartender willingly created cocktail after cocktail enabling us to sample a full range of Czech spirits and concoctions! The food is also delicious and perfect for its setting - one night's cold cuts with cheese went down just as well as another night's seafood pasta and we were left satisfied and with that warm glow that only the most memorable evenings give you.

It was sad leaving Prague, not just because we would have to leave the wonderful world of Four Seasons, but also because we would miss the buzz of the city and the smell of all that delicious food. I hope to return again, perhaps when the Charles Bridge is covered in snow as I bet that this gives Prague's beautiful landscape its cherry on top!