Our Christmas In Paris

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For the family, we apologise. We intended to have a little merry Christmas post up before Christmas, but instead you get some action photos of the day. Yay!

Our Last Day In Iceland

We were visiting the last places on our lists and packing our bags, ready to be out of here the next day. We were all a bit sad, though mostly so happy and excited about the lights, about Sigur Ros, The Blue Lagoon, about our day trip to Hofn and that langoustine, so happy that we had experienced Iceland and all it had to offer. That being said we are coming back here to do the things we couldn't do on this trip, partly because of weather, partly because of time...

The Northern Lights

Shooting stars and bright, bright lights!

Walking Around Reykjavik, Boats, Swimming And Markets

It looks like a Tim Burton location. It was just some run down house in the city side streets.

After spending 2 days in a car travelling to and from Hofn we decided to spend the next two days in Reykjavik's city centre. The sun decided to finally come out so we spent the days walking around the town, eating delicious food and swimming in a couple of Iceland's many heated pools.

The Place Where Bill Clinton Ate The Best Hot Dog In The World...Plus More!

On this day we managed to consume what were considered the 'world's best hotdog' and the 'world's best lobster soup'. The second was a little more obscure, but definitely more delicious. 

The Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. A magical place in Iceland.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part III

In the last part of our trip we visited two sites which we were so close to just driving past and forgetting about and we were so glad we didn't! The Svartifoss trail was one of them, pictured above.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part II

After our day long drive across Iceland the day before it was now time to make our journey back from whence we came, hopefully squeezing in the things we missed the day before due to crumby weather. We had been unsuccessful in our mission to see the northern lights far from the light pollution from Reykjavik and we were hoping for some luck in seeing a few more things on our way back including the famous Jokulsarlon floating icebergs pictured above.

Road Trip To Hofn - Part I

We set off from Reykjavik and were headed for Hofn with our worldly possessions and a couple of pizzas in our ridiculously large 4WD. We were attempting the "southern shore" tour of Iceland, travelling from the west of the country to the east going along the south coast. Adventure was in the air!

Reykjavik And Sigur Ros At Iceland Airwaves 2012

On this day we thought it best to wander through Reykjavik and see a bit of the town/very little city, which pleased me to no end. We had so much to see and do and it was a perfectly relaxing day in the lead up to the Sigur Ros concert we had very much been looking forward to that night. In fact it was the very reason we had decided to book our flights over 5 months ago and we are so glad we did.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part V - Thingvellir National Park And Soup In A Bread Bowl

Thingvellir (or Pingvellir) National Park was the last stop on our Golden Circle adventure. It was also the windiest by far (which is saying a lot!). It is the home of the old Iceland parliament house which was founded in the year 930 and is the oldest parliamentary system that still remains in the world.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part IV - Oxararfoss Waterfall

This, the Oxararfoss Waterfall (pictured above) was, according to Lloyd, the best part of the Golden Circle trip. This being said we almost drove past it, there was a moment where we coudn't decide whether we were going to turn back or keep going and I'm glad we turned back.

 The Gullfoss waterfall was spectacular in it's size and appearance and because of that it was ladden with other tourists vying for a good picture that would capture its grandiose nature (impossible!). It just lacked something captivating, something that the Oxararfoss waterafall had plenty of. It was intimate and humble in appearance and more importantly without the swarms of tourists battling for a view of this little gem. In this way Oxararfoss was a more memorable and enjoyable experience for the three of us. It felt more personal and worthy of our attention...Which we gave. We spent quite some time marveling at both her beauty and her stunning surrounds.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part III - Gullfoss Waterfall and Snow Fighting

Gullfoss waterfall! A truly amazing sight to behold. On this day Iceland remained true to its fire and ice label, throwing us an incredible view with a side of painful wind and cold. At one point Sophie was blown over.

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part II - Geysir

Our next stop was the spouting hot spring Geysir. This was the first famous spouting hot spring in the world and is from where the word "geyser" originates. In history books it was said to shoot out boiling water up to 170 metres high! Unfortunately nowadays it is considered virtually inactive and only shoots out water once or twice a day and no where near those heights. The main active geyser in these parts is called Strokkur and erupts on average every 6 minutes. From our experience on this day it only really erupted once every 15-ish minutes. Check out the photos and videos including one of us all getting wet from the eruption!

Iceland Golden Circle Road Trip Part I - Kerid Crater

Well we arrived in Iceland. After sweating in Paris only 4 hours earlier, we walked out of Reykjavik airport with not many clothes on and within 10 seconds of walking out the airport doors we were hit with a mild 30-40km wind. Strong...yes...but the kicker was the wind chill of around minus 15 degrees. Lloyd thought his fingers were going to fall off from frostbite. Lloyd's glasses were actually blown off. I had to chase down my areoplane pillow which went flying down the street. It was a rude awakening to this stunning but harsh country. After a quick nights rest we awoke early to venture on a road trip with our former Perth housemate, Adam (who had flown from Canada to spend the next week with us) We rented a car and set out on the famous Golden Circle trip. In the simplest sense there are three main sites which make up the Golden Circle; Geysir hot springs, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park. Our first stop today driving the anti-clockwise route from Reykjavik was the Kerid Crater (pictured above...and frozen over)

The End Of Our First Chapter In Paris

So after one and a half months in Paris, the end of our lease in our wonderful place is fast approaching. Next on the agenda is an exciting 2 week trip to Iceland. So here it is, the close of chapter one in the novel that is A Year in Paris. Here are our thoughts so far (and a video)...

Dinner and Film In Paris

WELCOME! Tonight we watched our first film in a French cinema. Who would have thought it would be a James Bond film? Not what we normally watch but Maynard was especially interested in seeing it before he left France as the release date in Australia was embarrassingly late (about a month after the French release)...

Three Cheap Bars One Night Four Australians and a Few Randoms In Montmartre

A fondue restaurant in the 18th that serves it's wine from baby bottles... We never made it here to eat with Zoe and Maynard (it was a choice between seeing the new Bond film and fondue. Bond won after Maynard learnt it wouldn't be out in Oz for another month). We will surely take our next unsuspecting guests here.

We started this evening in Montmartre while the sun was just starting to set, looking for crepes and/or ice-cream.  We ended up bar-hopping and having the best fries we have had in Paris on this trip so far (this sadly isn't saying much). Let's look at the photos from the long night...

Coutume, La Pagode and Les Invalides

Les Invalides or L'Hôtel national des Invalides as it is officially titled. The home of French military history, a tomb for past wars to rest and be remembered and most famously Napoleon's (and other notable French war heroes) burial site. It also serves as a hospital and retirement home for French war veterans.

Though this day we had set out in order to fill Zoe's desire for brunch (American in Paris style) and Sophie's never ending want for scrambled eggs...

The Chinese Quarter in Paris

Finally the day has come where we set out in search of fulfilling our dormant dim sum hunger. A hunger/ habit formed from years of living in Northbridge (Perth's China town) and breakfasting with Lloyd's family who got me hooked on the dumpling fare of dim sum. Today we went to Paris' Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement. An area most Parisian's turn their noses up at and you kind of get why. It definitely isn't the prettiest place and compared to the rest of the picturesque city, it is a bit a dirty mark. There are a lot of ugly high rise apartment blocks and the place feels like the opposite of Paris. So why did we catch a long metro ride out here? Dim sum! In Perth, Australia we know the good and bad dim sum restaurants in our Chinatown like the back of our hands. It is something that we crave (MSG?) every weekend. So we wanted to try out the French version. Check out the photos from the day...

Creperie Broceliande - Damn Fine Crepes in Montmartre

The days pre requisites were finding tasty, affordable crepes and seeing a little more of this wonderful place we now call home. You will see we achieved both in a way that made us all happy little campers.

More about the above photo later. We just wanted to make you hungry for crispy and amazing crepes first...

Jardin du Luxembourg and Pantheon

The last couple of weeks started with Lloyd and I being visited by two friends on their way back home to Perth at the end of a 15 month UK stint. We spent the next week exploring the new and re-exploring the things we already loved including Jardin du Luxembourg, our favourite bar Marlusse et Lapin and various other places. On this day in particular we spent our time in and around the 5th and 6th arrondissements searching through the gardens, seeing the Pantheon and unknowingly walking past the steps where Owen Wilson sits at midnight in Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris. What a day!

Fafi book signing and photo exhibition

This evening in Paris we went to two art exhibitions. The first was an amazing collection of collodion wet plate photographs at the Rose Bakery, which is an actual bakery/ cafe during the day. The second was a book signing for Fafi's (pictured above, second from the right) book The Carmine Vault, which doubled as an exhibition for a selection of her original artwork on display inside Ofr. A brilliant bookshop/ gallery space.

Here's how the night unfolded...

Parc des Buttes Chaumont

Let me just start by saying what a magical place this park is, it has so many weird and wonderful nooks to explore and a brilliant history to go with it. The land this park is built upon has a sordid past going from battle field, to gallows, back to battle field, to gypsum quarry, to family picnic area. A dark park indeed.

The Parc des Buttes Chaumont can be found in the north east of Paris in the 19th/e, so not in one of the overly touristy areas, however you will find enough here to satiate all your viewing needs to justify a trip out to the 19th. Surprisingly it is only the third largest public park in Paris. I say surprisingly as it was massive, roughly 61 acres with over 5 kms of walkways and paths and I think we only walked half of those paths. So needless to say we will have to go back another day to see what other gifts it can throw up. The park's most iconic feature is the famous Belvedere of Sybil (pictured above). Built in 1869 and modelled after the ancient Roman Temple of Vesta, boasting Corinthian style columns and a stunning view of Paris. Click the "read more" link to see the photos from the day...

Vintage Desir: A Treasure Trove of Goodies

If you're like us and love to spend hour upon hour sorting trash from treasure in search of that golden buy, then you will love this place. We have visited quite a few vintage stores since arriving in Paris, but we rarely find anything that takes our fancy or simply can't fathom the price tag attached (a lot of places match that 50€ tag you will find back in Perth). Unlike these places, this shop is riddled with vintage gems and all at low prices. Another great thing about Vintage Desir is, if you don't find it at their treasure trove in the 18th (pictured above), you are sure to find it at their second store in the 4th. Click for more photos...

A visit to Sacre Coeur

Today we finally went to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur (Basilica of The Sacred Heart). Set amidst the beauty of Montmartre or "hill of martyrs" on what is (geographically speaking) the highest point in Paris. The Basilica was built between 1891 and 1914 in the place where the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was decapitated for his faith. Ouch! A truly magical and beautiful building inside and out. Whilst the actual main interior of the church was definitely worth viewing (and it's free!) the best part about this visit was climbing the ridiculously narrow stairs to the dome, giving you a 360 degree view of the city. It is spectacular and we happened to get great weather. Check out the photos from the day...