It’s 5am in Paris so what better time to write about the magical happenings in the city of light and love, and share with you more pictures (dubbed ‘InstaTorture‘ by those still in Melbourne) of the adventures I’m having in France?

We are halfway through our trip, and the second week in le Marais has bought snow, sun, rain and wind – but also the kind of wandering around Paris most people can only dream of. Yesterday we set out for coffee and after a stroll past the Hotel de Ville and the ice skating rink set up in the forecourt, I meandered my way down Rue de Rivoli all the way to the Louvre, taking in the shops, the Seine and the people along the way.

I was lucky enough to walk through Notre Dame on this trip – celebrating its 850th birthday this year (those are some very old bricks!) – as the queue was non existent, unlike Easter 2011 when I could have stood in the sun for 3 hours and still not seen the inside of that cathedral.

The Louvre is pretty magnificent – the glass pyramids are art in themselves and always remind me of the Da Vinci Code. Was amused to realise I was wearing the same scarf as I was wearing 2 years ago, that was originally a gift from Kimberley of Dream. Delight. Inspire. – from when she travelled to Paris!

                                                                                            Now…

                                                                                         And then!

I passed by the bridge over the Seine when thousands of lovers have installed padlocks with their initials and thrown the keys into the river, and marvelled at the many monuments, churches and generally amazing city that is Paris.

And by the time all this walking (with some shopping along the way) was done, I was more than ready for the delicious chicken and mashed potato I inhaled for dinner, at the restaurant just a few metres from our apartment, le Passage Oblige.

Following a shared entree and mains (and a cheeky champers!), Sarah and I headed off to find ice cream (I know it’s supposed to be too cold for ice cream but we are on holiday!) and instead found ourselves at Cave du 38 Riv’, an underground, cave like, jazz club. At 13euro for the two of us to get in, and 4euro glasses of wine, we thoroughly enjoyed the musical stylings on offer – finishing up with a fabulous rendition of What a Wonderful World.