A Quick Trip to London and Paris
I’m back…
… and I’m here to tell you that I did something spontaneous (for me, anyway). I unexpectedly had a week at work with nothing on the books. So, I made a last-minute decision to go on a vacation.
And that’s how I ended up taking a week in London and Paris in July. Both are cities I’ve visited before (the last time I visited London was right after I graduated university, and Paris was even longer on a family vacation). Real ones know I’m secretly British, so I was excited to give my UK passport a long-overdue workout.
As usual, there are more pictures of this trip over on my Instagram, but if you’re looking for recommendations and some stories, read on.
London (or shall we say, SoHo)
If you know me, you know that in addition to being an Adult Disney Fan, I’m an ex-theatre kid. So, if you’re wondering what I did for most of the three nights I was in London, the answer is: the West End.
The show that I was completely blown away by? Evita. I’m not a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, but I am a huge Rachel Zegler fan. If you asked me, I could make a passionate argument about how she is one of the most talented performers period. She absolutely brought the house down. If you’re in London and have a chance to see it before it closes, do it. The entire cast is incredible (also a shoutout to Diego Andres Rodriguez and James Olivas as Ché and Juan Perón) and it’s such an interesting staging of the play. I made sure to rewatch the 1996 film before I saw the show, but it still managed to surprise me.
Nothing but respect for MY First Lady!
The funniest part? I noticed one of my friends from Los Angeles posting Instagram stories in London - it turns out, we were seeing Evita the very same night! We got to meet up for pre-show drinks and go for a post-show walk. It also happened to be the same night Anna Wintour was in attendance (my friend spotted her).
I stayed near Paddington Station at the Grand Hotel Bellevue London, which was easy to access from Heathrow and a quick tube ride from SoHo. The hotel is part of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which curates small hotels around the world. I also loved how I could earn Hyatt points with this stay (we all have the hotel chain we’re devoted to earning points with - mine is Hyatt).
When I can, I try to stay at smaller hotels. There’s such an attention to detail that you don’t get at a big chain. This was no exception! The decor was the British manor house of my dreams, and the little details like the embossed stationery in my room were so cute.
Shopping?
I came to London with two things on my list: a leather hobo bag and a silk scarf from Liberty London to tie around the handle. Any other money would be spent on food (including any Marks & Spencer treats to take home!) and transportation.
I ended up getting my hobo bag at Furla. I think Furla is very underrated as a brand! This is definitely one of the nicer handbags I have right now. I went for a classic camel colour that can take me from summer to fall to winter.
For me, it’s not about shopping more. It’s about shopping smarter. Last time I was in London, anything at Liberty was well out of my budget. That’s not the case anymore, but that didn’t mean I was going to buy something just for the sake of buying. Just one iconic piece was all I needed. I landed on the ribbonette silk scarf with the Cancer print for my Zodiac sign - it was also the print I liked the best, which was pretty lucky.
After three days in London, I was off on the EuroStar to Paris (highly recommend the EuroStar - back in the day my family would take the ferry to France, but the train is 100% the better way) (Sorry to boat fans).
Already putting the bag to use
Paris in the 6th arrondissement
Completely unintentionally, I was in Paris for 14 juillet (known to English speakers as Bastille Day). I didn’t come to Paris with set plans like I did for London. I was more or less there to enjoy the scenery, drink some wine and eat at as many brasseries as I could.
One such brasserie? La Closerie des Lilas. A 30-second walk from my hotel in the 6th arrondissement, and was once the hub of the art and literature scene (think F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein) . There’s a live piano player, beautiful ambiance and an amazing wine list. Also, the profiteroles.
My hotel was another small hotel - there are so many in Paris that it just makes sense to stay at one over a big chain. I would absolutely stay at the Hotel Nude Paris again. The location was perfect: walking distance to Marché de Raspail (one of Paris’ famous open-air markets), Le Bon Marché (the world’s oldest department store) and the Jardin de Luxembourg.
Also near the Jardin de Luxembourg? Citypharma. I have long heard the legends of the French pharmacy. And as it turns out, a lot of others have too. The store was probably 90% Americans buying whatever they could get their hands on. I was more than a little baffled. A lot of the brands (Bioderma, Nuxe, La Roche-Posay), while good, were things I could easily get at a Shoppers Drug Mart or Rexall. In the interest of shopping smarter, my haul was pretty small - just three products I haven’t seen at home. I can’t say the same for the woman ahead of me who dropped 800 euros.
After two days in Paris proper, I caved and took the train to Disneyland Paris. Fun fact: Disneyland Paris was the first Disney park I ever visited as a kid. I didn’t even know there was a Disneyland in California until I was six or seven. Disneyland Paris is very nostalgic for me. And, it must be said: it has the best castle.
Michael Eisner ate that one thing.
I also need a moment for the Disneyland outfit. Theme park dressing is a balance of being cute and functional, and I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out. I had just scored the sweater on Poshmark a few weeks before - it’s a United Colors of Benetton sweater with “Epcot Centre” on the front. I can only find one other like it online. It’s likely from the early days of Epcot from the United Kingdom Pavilion shop. Obviously, it was too perfect for a full day at Disneyland.
Spot the Monoprix bag
So, there we have it. A brief sojourn across the Atlantic. I don’t know if I have any other spur-of-the-moment trips in me (the timing simply worked out for me here), but I’m so glad I took this chance.
