CAPE TOWN DIVA: Paris in the gloom...still exceptional...

I wrote this post in May this year. It was meant to be spring, and you know how that song goes right... "I love Paris in the Springtime...." Well we had Paris in the grey and we still found its magic. And now, Paris is gloomy again. Firstly because winter is upon it and secondly because of the terrible bombings of a few days ago. A serious and sad time in the city of lights, and I want to say this- it won't be long before I am back. I won't allow the dark hearts of madmen to rob me of my travels, anywhere. I think Paris needs visitors...people putting positivity back into a traumatised society...spreading goodwill and support, just by being there.

And this is why Paris will be in in winter too...read about my winer experience in spring...

They say May is the best time to visit Paris…it's springtime, there's sunshine, blossoms, long walks along the Seine & picnics on the lawns of all those magnificent public gardens. I’ve only ever visited the City of Lights in autumn and winter so you can imagine my anticipation ahead of this trip, and then my subsequent disappointment when I arrived to be met with a stubborn cold front from the bad-mood bosom of Zeus himself.

Before leaving for a trip, I always keep an anxious eye on those 10 day weather forecasts so I knew that we weren’t going to get Paris at her absolute best. What to do? I’m a Cape Town girl and le soleil plays a major role in the levels of my joie de vivre.

Well I’ll tell you this- the weather can throw the worst at Paris and she will simply upstage it. Lateral Paul and I stepped out of our cab from Charles de Gaulle into a really cold, rainy Friday morning yet were instantly caught up in her magic. That feeling of being in Paris is too amazing and overshadows the negatives- just to be able to say "I'm in Paris" is a delicious feeling. We made a decision then and there to make this our best trip to date…it's the beginning of the honeymoon we never had, 24 years after le marriage (I know, better late than never) and where better to be than in Paris, one of the most romantic destinations on the planet.

I've documented grey Paris so you can see for yourselves that even in bleak mode this city is a gem.

This is my 5th visit here - this time courtesy Air France as I won 2 air tickets in their #letmebefrench Twitter competition last year - and I’m still as overwhelmed by it as when I first saw it at age 14 as a ballet student.

Visually, like so many other ancient cities of Europe, it’s thoroughly captivating - all aspects of it. Our brolly covered walkabouts have thus far taken us to the Dome Les Invalides, Notre Dame, Place Saint Michel, the Picasso Museum in the exquisite Hotel Sales, the Pompidou Centre, the Rodin Museum and to our favourite area for its vibe, stores great restaurants, stores and coffee, Le Marais. We'll be hanging out there a lot. More to follow…. enjoy the pics... a bientot.

Les Invalides