Lindsey in Paris: To London And Back...

Matt and I went to London on Wednesday morning and came back last night. It was a pretty good trip... It was great to meet Matt’s cousin and his fiance (Ryan and Sarah, who were kind enough to let us stay at their place), but the weather was awful! It rained almost the entire time, and hard enough that it really restricted what we did, but we still managed to have some fun adventures.

St. Paul’s was our first stop. I didn’t go the last time I was in London so it was exciting to see it. It is beautiful on the inside and has amazing history (Martin Luther King once preached there!) We caught a few minutes of a service and saw tombs in the basement but the most memorable, and traumatizing, experience was going to the top of the dome. I am terrified of heights, which now Matt knows very well. He was pretty insistent that we go to the top, and I thought that it wouldn’t be that bad because he had been before (wrong!). The first two levels were OK - I was a little shaky but thought I could make it - but the highest part was entirely terrifying. The stairs were steep, spiral, and made of see through steel, so you knew exactly how high you were. I made it to the top, smiled for a few pictures to prove I was there, then had a meltdown on the way down. So, I did it, but I’m sure Matt won’t be asking me to climb more stairs anytime soon.

After I recovered, we walked to Oxford Street, had lunch and did some shopping. We met Ryan and Sarah at Leicester Square for dinner and then went to the coolest wine bar. Its in an old wine cellar with leaky ceilings, candle light and an awesome Londoner crowd. The place was only accessible through one narrow staircase and would vibrate when trains would go by - probably nowhere near Canadian safety standards, but so much fun. The following day we went to Knightsbridge - the Harrod’s cafe, Victoria and Albert Museum, and a little more shopping. There was a Grace Kelly exhibit at the V&A but it was sold out for the day (so disappointing!) They also had a dress from the last shown Alexander McQueen collection as a ‘recent acquisition’, which was obviously amazing. (And I am now going to call every fashion investment I make a ‘recent acquisition’)

I actually didn’t shop that much in London - just a few pair of flats from Top Shop because mine were ruined from the rain, and a shirt for my Dad from the Greenwich Maritime Museum that definitely does not count as a fashion investment. I also got a fascinator from the market in Greenwich - its basically a hair clip with big white feathers. I mostly bought it because the woman who made it was so funny, and I might go to a horse race next month and need the proper head gear.

We came back to Paris on Friday night, and went to Montmartre yesterday. Its a really cool part of Paris. The Sacre Coeur was amazing, we had lunch in a great cafe, and came across a weird cemetery. We took our time walking back down the hill, including some stops at unbelievable jewelry stores. The Cartier flagship had seriously amazing things in their display windows (I’ll include a picture of a leopard necklace, and my reaction to it!)

This morning has been a late start, but I think we’re going to Le Marais today to check it out. We were suppose to go to a music festival, Rock en Seine, to see Arcade Fire but its sold out! I'm sure we'll have fun anyway and I’ll let you know what we find! Here are some pictures from the last while:

From Matt's first night (now I have somebody to take pictures of me!)