There is only one reason why we went back to Paris before hopping off to London ~ le SHOPPING! John didn't have to know this and still doesn't, so please don't tell him.
While in Paris, we stayed at this cute little hotel called Villa Montparnasse. As it turned out, VM is charmingly quaint though it took us like forever to check out which sort of dented our fond memories of the place.
There is only one reason why we stayed at Villa Montparnasse ~ le METRO! It is only a slingshot away from the Denfert-Rochereau station where the RER B took us straight to Charles de Gaulle the next day where we caught the BA flight to London.
Villa Montaparnasse - une demeure Coloniale au coeur de Paris.
A colonial house in the heart of Paris.
We stumbled upon rue Daguerre quite by accident, thinking it would serve as a short-cut to a restaurant we spotted earlier. It turned out to be a short-cut and more - it was a market street in full swing. The smells, the noise, the bustling atmosphere . . . ooh la la
One night in Paris later, we find ourselves in London the following day. Hotel Indigo is within spitting distance of the Paddington Station, and a gem of a find. The hotel is well-appointed and nicely packaged and there are heaps to do in the neighbourhood, thanks to gentrification.
Hallway in the Indigo, the ceiling looked like a panel of floating clouds.
The bed is blissfully comforting. I slept like a baby.
Design philosophy of Indigo printed on the walls . . . very art gallery-like, isn't it?
A brass detail on the floor at the Indigo reception lobby. Very curvaceous, very sensual.
UFO-like lighting feature hovering above the reception area at the Indigo; you will see double but one is a mirror reflection.
We ate at the Indigo's brasserie called Phi. I had the duck's breast which turned out to be quite good, succulent and of the right temperature.
John had the salmon; one piece seared, the other smoked, both served on a thin piece of slate. Very interesting twist.
Dining area in Phi Brasserie, cool, collected and calmly quiet. We were the only diners during that time of the day. It soon got busy, by which time we were ready to hit London town.
Yes, Phi as in the mathematical golden ratio.
If you think this is the Food Hall in Harrods, you are right! This was where we stopped for lunch on day two in London.
Shark Fins Dumplings at Xin. They were very good.
Pork and Shrimp Dumplings. Also very good. The Venison Puff and Vegetable Spring Roll on the plate are part of the Xin Dim Sum Set ordered to share between the two of us. Nothing special.
Xin Dim Sum Set, all very good indeed!
Xin Dim Sum Set menu, in case you are interested. Price of meal? £41 which is approximately 75 aussie dollars. Rich in every sense of the word, no?
That evening, we found ourselves wandering into the Argyll Arms, a pub in Soho.
Upstairs of Argyll Arms where we dined, also to get away from the madding crowd of drinkers downstairs.
Alas, the grub is not that great. It filled the tummy but that's just about it.
And then we went on to catch Sister Act at the London Palladium. I hope SA will come to Sydney, it's quite fun and will be a hit with the chicks judging by the audience who turned up. The girls clearly outnumbered the boys. You won't get to hear those fabulous Motown soundtracks as in the original film although I thought the musical scores for the stage were quite good. Patina Miller is a competent Delores Van Cartier, but trying a bit too hard to be like Whoopi and Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior nearly stole the show. A fun night. A good time, what more can we ask for?
And no, the good things didn't stop there. We got an upgrade to Business Class on the A380 we were flying with back to Sydney.
The starter of roast beef and beetroot - okay but not great.
The mains on the other hand was quite good, rack of lamb with veges.
And the dessert, mmmmm - I will leave you to conclude.
But truly, it is good to be home.
