Ahhh….the last chapter of my Paris trip!!! AND it ends with London and a final day in Paris.

Day Four – what was I up to?

Day Four was a really really really early day as I needed to be up for another photo session. And everyone knows that if you want a photo session by any iconic anything – you’ve got to hit up the place when no one is awake yet. So that morning, Bree got up with me and helped with hair and makeup for Elizabeth. Whom — by the way, just happened to be the sister of a fellow photographer friend that happened to be passing through while I was in Paris too! How cool is that? Many thanks to my friend Emily Polzin or Emily Megan Photography for hooking me up with her sister! After that very early morning and brunch once again at our nearby favorite joint, Manfred….we were off to Montmartre for the day.

One of the special things about Montemarte is their love of art! The streets were filled with local artists…some painting right on the sport and creating beautiful art pieces. We got a chance to shop around and really take a peek at all the artists and even take some local artwork home with us. It was definitely a packed day there. Shoulder to shoulder — but I supposed that was the norm. We DID decide to go here on a Saturday which didn’t help with the congestion of tourists — ourselves included. But no worries, we walked around and found some awesome gifts for friends and family and even enjoyed some nonbusy time at Cafe Montmartre where we had more espresso and yummy pastries. Because it was so so close and a very cool exhibit, we also stopped into  the Espace Dali exhibit. Super cool permanent exhibit in France with the Salvador Dali work, related to surrealism. We all split up and took our time enjoying the artwork and taking it all in. After a short while, we met back up at the gift shop and began our journey back to the main city center and hit up the famous street — Champs-Elysees. It was so cool to drive by and stop to look at the Arc De Triomphe. Man…that thing is massive!! Check out the quick video that is a part of my insta story. Pretty awesome and I’m so glad I got to see it. This was one of the items I didn’t not get a chance to see the last time I was in Paris. So happy it happened this time around. While we were on the street that is filled with lots of shopping places…we did just that. We shopped!!

And our day was still not yet done if you can believe it. I was able to get us reservations to Emporio Armani Caffe & Ristorante. So, with not too much time to spare…we quickly went back to the AirBNB and changed out of our day trip attire and got pretty and headed to our dinner. Wow — the food was so so good and the service was excellent! We even had a table that was perpendicular to the window so all four of us were able to take a peek outside anytime we wanted. It was a perfect Saturday evening dinner in Paris!

Day Five was LONDON!!!!

Alright….so one thing I really wanted to do was to try to visit another country during this trip. And as I was doing my research, it seemed that too many places were too far away by car or train. And flying would have been amazing — except for the travel to and from the airport and the hoopla of dealing with all that. So I started searching for closer spots and when I found London — it was like it was meant to be! Not only is London home to where Harry Potter is written about (I totally read everybook twice PLUS I pre-ordered all the books as soon as I could just so I could read them ASAP…I was obsessed and still have my collection of books in my home today) but also the city that Burberry rains from. So, naturally, we had to stop over to Kings Cross Station and hit up Platform 9 3/4. They have a little shop plus a cart going into the wall where folks line up to get their photo taken. AND you even get to choose what house scarf you want to sport for your photo!! How cool is that?

Once we finished our first stop in London, we took our very first black taxi ride. I mean seriously…..the black taxi is the staple of transportation in London and such a cool vehicle! Sidenote – there is a huge fued between the black taxi’s in London vs. the Uber pool there. Not pretty at all!! I did a wee bit of shopping and even bought this awesome grey trench that you see me sporting in the images below! I was pretty happy about that. But shopping was soon over and it was time to hop over and have high tea. Who comes to London and passes on getting high tea???! Definitely not us!! High tea was a must. We booked ourselves Afternoon Tea at The Georgian at Harrods. Omigoodness was it yummy!!! We got pampered with service and food. It was a dream. And the pastries and finger sandwiches were so delicious that we even asked for more! Top that off with champagne and we were feeling like queens!

We spent the rest of our short day in London walking over by the London Eye and Big Ben. And of course — this is also the part where I lost everyone yet again, haha. Thankfully we were still able to connect and meet before heading back to the train station and making our way back to Paris and into our beds at the AirBNB. Wow — a full day filled with travel to another country and back and reservations and adventure!

Paris – Our Final Day

So sad that this was our last day in Paris but also a happy note because it meant that I was going to be seeing my Stanley soon! Can’t be mad about that…cause he brings me SO much joy!!! Another early morning for me and Bree and we got up and held a boudoir session in the streets of Paris while folks were still asleep!! That was a great morning and a fantastic kick start to the day.

This last day was pretty low key for all of us. After a short picnic at the Eiffel Tower, we went to see a jewelry exhibit at the Grand Palais called Joxaux. There was no photography or video allowed but it was stunning! Definitely an amazing show. And to see some of these masterpieces? It’s like art…taken to a whole new level. So much detail and precision in the most complicated ways and with precious gemstones to boot. After the show and being so inspired, Alyssa wanted to hit up an art shop…actually one of the oldest shops in Paris and very prestigious. Meanwhile, Shaunae and Bree went for more Macarons at Laduree and I enjoyed walking over the River Seine to the Louvre and enjoying the sites and people of the city.

We had a little bit of time to get ready and get to our reservations at the very popular Les Ombres restaurant. The best part of this place was it’s glass ceiling with a panoramic veiw of the city. Absolutely perfect view and to sit and enjoy dinner while seeing every bit of it with a full and clear view of the Eiffel Tower. It was a great dinner and an early one too…which was wonderful because it gave us more time to do a few more things. We walked over to the Inception Bridge where we waited patiently for the sparkle of the Eiffel Tower once again. It was only fitting that we saw it sparkle the night we arrived and to see it again on our final night in Paris. And afterwards, why not eat again? So, we went to Sun Cafe for some Sushi before calling it a night.

So there you have it — my Paris adventure with all the details!!! BUT stay tuned because I have yet to release the images from the photo sessions!!!!