Bonjour Paris

With the strikes ongoing in France, we arrived an hour late. I had been trying to contact my air bnb via email and phone (there wasn’t one) as well as the website I booked through. There was an issue with my card while booking, but I had still received confirmation and payment taken. When midnight had come and gone, kids sleeping on the floor we got in a taxi to take us to a local hotel. He insisted on calling around and finding us a place for the night in Montmartre where we could all fall into bed later then I would have liked.

We all woke up to a bright and sunny morning with a perfect view of Sacre Coeur from our bedroom window! Our room was so pretty but unfortunately booked for the remainder of our trip so we packed our belongings and walked to the air bnb we paid for. Our casual walk through Montmartre, was like the walk of shame down Granville street when you didn't make it home. Sex stores, Moulin Rouge, junkies and junky stores lined the street. The boys kept pointing out the stores and I tried to underplay what was being sold at some of these places! I love Montmartre area with its colour, artsy and bohemian vibe. Previous home to Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Manet to name a few of its past inhabitants. 

Nina and Duncan were already seated drinking sparkling water in the 18th century Parisian townhouse adorned with richly coloured tapestries and period paintings. Le Clarence, a top 50 restaurant in the world, decorated in all original art fashioned from the Age of Enlightenment. Our six course, five hour dinning experience featured many flavours and colours prepared by Chef Christophe Pelé at Le Clarence. It is worth treating yourself!! Foodies and travel buddies, it was such a delight to spend a long afternoon winning and dinning for my little sis' birthday💖. We finished our desserts with green tea and a history lesson before we walked back to our hotels through the champ Elysée 45 mins away.

Once we got to our apartment, spoke with the cleaner with my broken French, we surmised that we were SOL with no home for the next three days! Unfortunately I had exciting plans to attend so I dropped my family at the McDonalds down the road with wifi and plans for food and hopped into a cab for greener pastures.

During our meal, I found a hotel just outside Montmartre and I came home to a two bedroom spacious room unpacked and all set up by the kids. They spent the day enjoying a much needed break! We all talked about heading to the Eiffel tower for the evening show of lights, but with a couple of our group feeling sick, we took an early bedtime!