Bienvenue à Paris

“Every city has a sex and an age which have nothing to do with demography. Rome is feminine. So is Odessa. London is a teenager, an urchin, and, in this, hasn't changed since the time of Dickens. Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman.” 
- John Berger

In July 2010, my mum and I went on our first holiday together to the City of Lights, the City of Love... The City of hot summer days and cool breezed nights. Paris. 


Linking arms, we strolled down the Avenue de Champs Elysees, feeling the light pinches of the white, blazing sun on our shoulders. We spent most of our days on an open top bus as the weather granted us the luxury of watching Paris float past us from behind our sunnies. The open top bus took us past the main landmarks and streets of central Paris and we were able to hop on and off as we pleased to get more intimate with the attractions of the city.

The Eiffel Tower by day. 

I didn't even notice until I had come back to England and was uploading my photos that someone must have been taking a photo of me! (Or I would like to think). They must've not realised that the Eiffel Tower was behind them... Behind the mystery hands is a glimpse of the open top bus. 

A couple of days later, we returned to the landmark of love to climb upon it's metal skeleton to the very top. I bravely dangled my camera through the metal bars to get this photo. This is the side of the Eiffel Tower from bird's eye view - look how small the cars are!

Paris, you now know why they call it the City of Lights. This is a photo taken from the top of the Eiffel Tower at night. It was a bit windy up there but the view was absolutely breath-taking. Standing 1,063ft (thank you Google) up in the air on top of the ironically monstrous looking metal tower, I couldn't help but feel a sense of longing to be up there looking down on the City of Love with a hunky man of my own... although I do love my mum very very much. 

A gorgeous treasure of brightly coloured Laduree macaroons greeted our tongues after a long day of playing Parisienne. It was only after I'd taken a bite out of the majority of my divine sugar-gems that I realised I should have taken a photo! (Oops!)

Les Jardins Musicaux (Musical Gardens) at the Palace of Versailles. This is what drove me to blog about Paris despite having been there more than half a year ago. Les Jardins Musicaux is a summer event at the Palace of Versailles, which takes place every Tuesday from June to September. If you get the chance to go to Paris in the summer, do not miss out on this. It is the single most beautiful night show I have ever seen in my almost-twenty years of life. The garden of the Palace of Versailles is an enchanting world of mazes, hidden fountains, and mesmerising lights. The use of high-tech laser beams, beautifully coloured lights, timed fire shows, and an array of the most spectacular fireworks, Les Jardins Musicaux is an orgasm for the senses. Unfortunately, I was too busy squealing and jumping up and down to take photos during the show. 

This is a walk way to another fountain, which you can see at the end. Everything about the garden of the Palace of Versaille at night is mesmerising and fantasy-like. The high bushes, blocking out all outside noises, and the gently dimmed lights seeping through the plants made me feel like I would end up in a magical world where fairies would be bathing in fountains - if you've been, you wouldn't think I'm weird. 

These were tentacle-like decorations that were assembled in one section of the garden. Brightly lit with air running through the silky material, you can see why this place transports you into a magical frame of mind. 

Paris. Shopping. Two words that just naturally go hand-in-hand. 

On our last day in Paris, we visited Musee d'Orsay where I literally drooled and cried over Monet's paintings. We got on the wrong open top bus so we didn't have much time in the museum but rushing around in the Musee d'Orsay, taking short-lived moments in front of framed fields of flowers that seemed to move and sway before my eyes, was an experience that I will never forget.

Photos by Jenny Moon

Photos of me by my lovely mother