last weekend I headed to paris for the shortest trip I have ever taken. my main purpose was to visit my sister and brother in law who live there. it was also the first time I was going on a trip without julia so that made it all more exciting…in every way.

it was not a cultural trip, it was a short and sweet one, walking the city, people watching, eating our way but most of all spending time together with no rushes, nothing scheduled and enjoying every moment.

here are a few pictures of what we did if you’ like to see –

merci is one of paris top concept stores, they change their themes every month and the fiat 500 outside the door is always decorated accordingly  – they had our favourite portuguese soap brand claud porto and that made me smile.

bonton is the coolest kids store, with clothes, toys and decor, they also have a photo booth, a hairdresser for kids and a nailmatic nailpolish vending machine.

l’appartement sézane is my favourite french brand, i’m obsessed with all their clothes, bags and shoes. they have the store set up like an apartment so you can sit down and have tea and madeleines whilst you shop. they also have a cinema downstairs where they play artsy films. if you head there be prepared, we were not expecting to have to wait in line to go in!

cafe mericourt where we had our first brunch, the pancakes looked delicious but my shakshuka didn’t disappoint, would definitely recommend.

mure, this was our second brunch on saturday so we wanted something light and definitely not sweet, we shared a vegetable focaccia and some delicious salads, everything they have on the menu is made with local and organic ingredients and oh so good.

buvette was such a happy ending to my first day in paris, as i said we had no reservation and were lucky enough to get a table at this candle lit bistro sorry, no pictures). we shared a couple of tartines, a smoked trout and lentil salad and a vegetarian dish of leeks and mustard vinaigrette, and to top it up a cheese platter that blew my mind.

ob-la-di cafe, those of you who know me, know how much i rant about the avocado toasts in california, if I could, i would eat them every day. but i had one here that is on top of my list, topped with chimichurri pesto and pomegranate, it was seriously out of this world. the coffee was amazing too. we met and spoke with one of the owners which always makes it a little more interesting, to know how and why this place started. good coffee and good food just makes me really happy.

on sunday we had a few hours before i had to head to the airport, walked through le marais – the only neighbourhood where stores are open on sundays, made it a point to stop at Le Mont St Michel and Maison la Biche (they have a really cute paddington bear collection right now) – these are two french classics – and grabbed a fallafel at l’as du fallafel before heading back to the airport.

merci, paris – you’ve been good to me :)

ps – click here for other myseastory travels xx