{glam style app: globetrotter edition}

The newest edition of the Glam Style App might just be my favorite one yet!  It's their Globetrotter edition filled with packing lists, outfit inspiration and trip itineraries for destinations around the world including a section all about Paris from yours truly.  Here's a few snapshots from the app and you can get all the details by downloading it for your Ipad or Iphone right here!

{travel snapshots}

Using the last two weeks of our time living in Paris to travel around Europe and Africa was an amazing way to end 3 months away from home.  As I mentioned before, 4 of our friends came to meet us in Paris and together we spent two nights in Paris in a fab Airbnb then headed to Spain, Morocco and back to the south of France.  Our two night stay in Paris was mostly used as a jumping off point for our travels, but we did spend a lovely day bike riding around the city and walking around the Luxembourg Gardens.  For our last night we went to dinner at FL restaurant in the 6th arrondisement, which is an adorable little place run solely by the chef and one assistant, then ended the night by closing down one of our favorite speakeasy cocktail bars, Ballroom du Beef Club.

We then hopped on a plane to spend two nights in Valencia, Spain for the annual Las Falles festival.  We truly lucked out on our accommodations which included private penthouse deck with a jacuzzi where we spent most of the day soaking in the sun before heading out to take in the culmination of the festival which is the burning of all the Falles statues around the city- learn more about the festival here.

Our next stop was 4 nights in Marrakech, Morocco spent in the beautiful Riad Pavilion Orientale.   Morocco was a truly unique experience like nothing I have ever known and I plan on doing a post going into detail about the perfect itinerary for a trip there so I won't go into too much information right now about our activities.  Our days where spent wandering the souks shopping for rugs, spices and trinkets while our nights where spent dining on delicious variations of Moroccon cuisine.  My favorite experience from our time there was our spa day at a traditional Hammam getting detox scrubs and relaxing massages.

We ended our trip with 4 nights in Bordeaux wine country in the South of France and chose once again to stay in a centrally located Airbnb.  Our time in Bordeaux was all about relaxing and drinking wine while trying not to think about how our trip was finally coming to an end within a few days.  We also took a day trip out to the adorable town of Saint Emilion to continue drinking wine among the quaint vineyards and little chateaus.

 {springtime in paris}

 {sightseeing via Velib}

 {checking out the view from our apartment in Valencia}

 {the Las Falles statues constructed in every neighborhood- most towering over 40 feet high or more.  Each statue was burned to the ground around midnight (which is particularly crazy given how close they are to the buildings- you can see a video of of one of them being lit up here)}

 {the end result of the Las Falles statues}

 {Bunuelos- basically like really awesome fresh donuts}

 {the peaceful beach in Valencia}

 {the interior courtyard of our Riad in Marrakech}

 {mini tagines served with our breakfast every morning- filled with butter, honey or jam}

 {shopping for a moroccan wedding blanket in the souks}

 {the gorgeous grounds of La Mamounia}

 {a walk through Jardin Majorelle}

 {the bahia palace}

{quick round of petanque at La Mamounia}

{a ceiling of wine glasses at Max Wine Bar in Bordeaux}

 {vineyards and adorable chateaus in Saint Emilion}

{the tiny town of Saint Emilion}

{a day at Versailles}

One of the biggest things on my list for our time in Paris was to take a day trip out to the Palace of Versailles which is located about an hour by train outside of the city.  When we visited Paris the first time we were only here for a handful of days and couldn't justify spending a quarter of our trip outside of the city.  We waited until March to visit the palace hoping for the nicest weather possible given the winter months were here and we were not disappointed.  Temperatures in the high 60s and radiant sunshine awaited us when we got off the train and made our way up the steps to Versailles. Read below for my tips on visiting Versailles.

 {view of the back of the palace from the gardens. in the winter months the fountains are drained which isn't ideal but certainly doesn't take away from the beauty of the property.}

 {hall of mirrors}

 {maria antoinette's bedroom. epic floral overload.}

 {adorable swans in the pond outside the restaurant}

 {golf carts. best kept secret at versailles.}

 {marie antoinette's hamlet- aka peasant town where she pretended to be one of the "simpler" folk- definitely do not skip this part of the property as it is completely intriguing to see in relation to the over the top spectacle that is the palace}

{pink marble at the grand trianon}

Tips for visiting Versailles:

1. Buy Tickets in Advance: This is really not negotiable- you need to do this. It's very simple and they can scan the tickets directly from your phone at the entrances so no need to print.  Unless you enjoy standing in 1 to 2 hour long lines upon arriving, buy your tickets online here.  
2. Pick up the audio tour of the palace: While most museums offer audio tours at an additional cost, the one for the palace at Versailles is included in the ticket price and it really enhances your experience walking through the interior palace portion.
3. Where to go first:  A lot of sites recommend starting out at the Grand and Petite Trianons at the far side of the grounds first and then doing the main palace last.  Even the Versailles official visitor website recommends this, but the day that we went it wasn't that busy so we started with the Palace first, then went through the gardens following by the Trianons and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet ending with a lunch.  After lunch we leisurely walked back through the gardens. 
4. Rent Golf Carts:  There are golf carts available to rent by the hour outside the back of the palace which you can use to quickly get you to opposite end of the property where the Trianons and Hamlet are located.  This may sound incredibly lazy to rent a golf cart to get you around, but the palace property is massive.  If you would like to see everything at a nice pace and not feel incredibly rushed then the use of a golf cart will cut out hours of time walking between the sites. Golf carts cost $30 euro per hour and we used ours for 2 hours.  Note there is a 4 person maximum on the carts.
5. Eat lunch on the Property: While normally museum restaurants are overpriced and not all that great, the ones at Versailles are absolutely wonderful.  You basically have 4 options for food ranging from a nicer restaurant (aka white tablecloths) to a casual sit-down bistro to a take-away cafe.  We chose to eat at the casual restaurant (which has beautiful outdoor seating if the weather permits) and were surprised at the great food at reasonable prices. 

{paris: week 11}

This past week was our last full week in Paris before we leave on a 2 week traveling stint with 4 other friends of ours who escaped Chicago winter (some have dubbed it Chi-beria) to meet us here.  Our time here flew by which is something I definitely didn't anticipate as 3 months living in a new city seemed like forever before we arrived.  I am content knowing that there is nothing left on my list that I feel I didn't see or experience in this amazing country.  In addition to taking in all the sights, I feel like we got to experience what it is really like to live in Paris not just visit it for a few days.  I'm not quite ready to write my "love letter" post about our time here, but I promise it will come soon along with a big PDF of all my recommendations for this wonderful city.  One thing I will say now is that this city has definitely given me a new perspective on life and changed me in ways that may be subtle to an outside observer, but feel significant in every way to me (sounds incredibly cheesy to write that, but it's undeniably true).

{welcoming our friends to paris with a sunday morning eiffel tower picnic}

{carry-on travel essentials}

One of my favorite features to find on blogs or in magazines is an inside look into people's purse or carry-on bags (Hallie has a great/super useful one here).  Whenever I read through people's travel essentials, I try to unlock their secrets to making travel a more seamless process.  See the thing is...I love to travel and to experience new cities, but the getting there part is never my favorite.  I'm a notorious over-packer (although I like to think I'm getting better) and I never fail to raise some sort of red-flag when going through security whether it's my laptop I left in my bag or some random metal on my body that sets off the detector.  In addition to all that, I have a general aversion to people in my personal space which gets violated constantly during travel.  I could probably continue ranting about my dislikes with the act of traveling for another three paragraphs so I'll just cut myself off right here.

Since we have been living in Paris and are conveniently located a short one hour flight or train ride away from some of the most desirable European locations, we have been traveling a lot!  A jaunt to Barcelona a few weeks after we got here, following by some time in Florence then Amsterdam, plus a train ride last week to London for a few days has me feeling like I'm finally getting the hang of traveling comfortably.  Next week we embark on our longest trip since being here- starting with 2 days in Paris at a fabulous AirBnb in the Marais then flying to Valencia, Spain for the Falles festival for another 2 nights.  After Spain we hop on to a plane to Marrakesh for 4 nights and then we end the trip in Southern France's wine country with 3 nights in Bordeaux.  I cannot overstate my excitement for the upcoming trip minus the fact that we are only bringing one carry-on piece of luggage each!!  I'll be spending this week packing up and getting ready for this trip which includes stocking my carry-on with all the essentials and I thought it would be fun to share those for you here!!

1.  Incase neoprene laptop sleeve & Ted Baker Bow Ipad case:  I have both of these, but in different colors.  The neoprene laptop sleeve is amazing because it's as slim as it gets and features zips in all corners so you can charge your laptop while it's in the sleeve.  Since I use this ipad stand when I'm at home, I don't like to keep a cover on my Ipad and opt for zip around sleeves instead- the Ted Baker ones are the cutest you can find!

2. Travel Sleep Set: This is the one item on here that is actually on my travel wishlist, but I don't own yet.   Whenever I am packing I don't feel the need to use up space with a travel sleep set, but then when I am on the plane I immediately regret that decision.

3. Herban Essentials Wipes:  These smell heavenly (my favorite is the lavender one) and can come in handy in a lot of gross travel situations.  You can also find them at Whole Foods!

4. Klorane Dry Shampoo, UD All Nighter Make Up Setting Spray & Caudalie Beauty Elixir:  The dry shampoo is sort of a given for travel.  UD's make up setting spray is a miracle worker- I have never had make up stay on throughout an entire flight before using this.  Caudalie makes a few different beauty elixirs, but the L'Wren Scott edition is by far my favorite for freshening up after a flight. 

5. Travel Atomizers:  I'm obsessed with perfume and these allow me to bring travel sizes with me.  They also sell these at Nordstrom and if you buy an empty one they will fill it with any perfume you would like for free! 

6. International Converter/Adapter:  This little guy costs $4 and allows my curling iron to work pretty much anywhere so enough said.

7. Luggage Scale:  This doesn't necessarily come into use during travel, but I can't live without it since I like to pack my checked luggage to within an inch of its life (as long as its under 50lbs of course!)

8. A big cozy scarf:  Zara makes the best ones since they are huge, chic and affordable! I have my eye on this one!

9. Portable Ipad Stand:  This little ipad stand folds up super tiny and works like a dream since I can't travel with this one that I use at home.

10.  Kindle Books:  I am currently in the middle of reading The Power of Habit and am about to start Cleopatra's Daughter.  Both very different books, but I generally find myself wanting a little variety during flights. 

11.  Chloe Edith Bag:  I have had this bag forever and its HUGE which makes it the perfect carry-on bag to fit all the essentials into.  It has shown me many good years, but it starting to show some wear so I am hoping to locate a vintage version of this bag on ebay sometime soon! 

{paris: week ten}

This past week in Paris was a total dream- the weather warmed up significantly which was perfect for showing our friends around the city who stayed with us during the week.  We crossed a lot of sights off our list that we had previously never seen before like the breath-taking Sacre Coeur Basilica and the impressive Notre Dame cathedral.  We also took a day-trip out to the Palace of Versailles which I'll be doing a full post on soon!  Having friends in town meant we got to have a lot of fun nights out for dinner and drinks including one of our new favorites, Club Raye, and a delicious dinner at one of our restaurant neighbors, Les Cocottes.

This upcoming week is our last full week in Paris before four of our friends meet us in the city and we embark together on a two week trip to Spain, Morocco and Bordeaux in the south of France.  I want to soak up as much of this city as possible in our last couple days here, but I know this week will probably be spent preparing and packing for the upcoming trip as well as shopping for a few things to wear in the 80 degree heat of Morocco!

{first spring blossoms}

{pont alexandre- my favorite bridge in the city}

{enjoying the sunshine on the steps of the Sacre Coeur}

{candles at Notre Dame}

{dramatic beauty inside Notre Dame}

{relaxing along the fountains in Luxembourg Gardens}

{entrance to Versailles palace}

{eclairs to end an amazing night at Club Raye}

{hamburgers are kind of a big deal here and in my opinion the best burgers in Paris are at Blend}

{spending sunday afternoon drinking wine along the Seine}