London Calling….

Hello there… Well, it’s already a while since I came back to Paris but these past weeks have been absolutely crazy so I haven’t had the chance to write about my trip. London was very cold, but wonderful. It was great to see my family again, the people were so friendly, and the city is so exciting. I would love to live in London someday as well, to be able to see more of the city and get to know its neighborhoods. After living in Paris and cursing all the tourists, it was quite a change of roles being the tourist yourself. We saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, saw all the obvious sights like Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey and The Tower, went to the British Museum (I love their Egypt department, when I was younger I wanted to be an archeologist and go search for mummies in the pyramids) and then we saw The Lion King musical. The musical was fantastic, expensive yes, but so worth the money…. they put so much effort into the show, the set, the costumes, and of course their voices give you the chills.

The rest of the time was spent eating, drinking and stressing around on Oxford Street. London really is the shoppers paradise, with so many stores that do not exist outside of Great Britain. I ran around trying to make it to as many shops as possible in three hours (not a lot considering Topshop is the size of a small IKEA). But I found some things: a really cute necklace, white jeans that I’ve been searching for months, and the cutest candy colored Nike shoes. Now I feel like going for a powerwalk every day. We had really good luck with the restaurants as well, everything was delicious. We ate burgers and Oreo shakes at Byron (24 Charing Cross Rd), amazing sourdough pizza at Franco Manca (98 Tottenham Court Rd) and fantastic steaks at Roxie (803 Fulham Rd), and of course fish&chips. I also met up with my friends Daniela and Janna, who I haven’t seen in years. It was so lovely to see them and catch up on everything that’s been happening. What is so wonderful with good friends is that even though you don’t see each other for a long time, it feels like no time has passed by when you finally meet. We had perfectly made drinks at a nice cocktail lounge in South Kensington called Zefi (103 Walton St) Maybe I’ll join them in London soon, who knows.  We lived in a really cute and cosy apartment we found through airbnb, just by metro Parsons Green, a lovely area which I can greatly recommend.

Back in Paris, life had been quite crazy. We have been preparing for the new exhibition (which started tuesday), setting up a new collection in the boutique, and doing renovation work on our offices. Long days at the office that is. Luckily I had a wonderful weekend to relax (or relax is maybe not the right word, but have crazy much fun). On thursday we went to try the famous fallafels at l’As du Fallafel (32-34 Rue des Rosiers). They were amazing, new favorite fast-food place, check. You have to try it, even if you don’t like chickpeas, I thought I didn’t either. Afterwards we had drinks at the wonderful La Rotonde (17 Rue de la Roquette) – some of the best cocktails I have ever had, and shots as well. On Friday, two of my best friends from Sweden, Ida and Ulrika, came to visit me. We had dinner and Libanese wine at Le Petit Phenicien (101 Rue Oberkampf) and continued on for ONE cocktail to Moonshiner, the hidden bar behind the pizza kitchen (5 Rue Sedaine). Well, when you decide you are only going to have one, it never turns out that way. We started talking to the really cool bartenders and they were going to another bar afterwards, so we went with them…. to a wonderful bar called Prescription Cocktail Club (23 Rue Mazarine). We met so many cool people that night, and had so many amazing coktails we ended up being home at 6 am. Oops…. 😀

Saturday we slept late, had crêpes on Rue Montparnasse, famed for its many crêperies. We then just walked around the city and went for a cup of coffee at my work (best coffee in town). We were supposed to have a picnic but since the weather decided to fail us we stayed in. We did have a picnic however, on the floor of my apartment – we bought bread, cheese, olives, wine and charcuteries, all that you need for a perfect dinner. Later we went by Place Vert (105 Rue Oberkampf) for a glass of wine and then swung by Prescription again. On Sunday we saw the Papier Glacée exhibition, of fashion photography through the 1900’s. It was fun to see how photography has evolved, and in a way still stayed the same. The expo is on until May 25th at Musée de la Mode Palais Galliera. Then we just walked by the Seine, and had a lovely dinner at Café St Regis on Île St Louis. île St Louis is so charming, and much less touristy than the adjacent Île de la Cité (Notre Dame = touristland). The restaurant was fantastic as well, with the best Creme Brulée I have ever tested. I might go back just for that. I had a wonderful weekend, and I miss my girls already. Hopefully they’ll come back for another visit 🙂 Yesterday was a big party holiday in Finland and Sweden called Valborg, so we celebrated with some drinks here at a new bar called Homies (26 Rue Beautreillis) and then Moonshiner. It will never be the same as the party back home, so today has been a day I’m wishing I was somewhere else. Might be the rain as well, which seems to be neverending… next week it’ll get better I hope. Until next time, good night. xx

Changing of the guards + tourists (luckily I am tall, makes for good photography in these situations)

Reunited with my dear mother ❤

The Tower, really gives you the feeling of old meets new, with all the new buildings around.

Big Ben

Playing around in London 🙂

l’As du Fallafel!

Café Coutume – latte love.

Sometimes Paris looks like it’s still a few decades ago, like the beautiful Pont Alexandre…

Come back!!!

The Color Run!

Hey everyone, hope you are having a great tuesday evening. I certainly am because tomorrow I am going to London, yayyy!! I am trying to remember all the things I need, running through my grandmother’s mantra of passport, money and tickets (although phone has been added to that list last decade…). Hopefully I have everything with me, finding out you forgot to bring underwear is not a great success (has happened yes). Anyway, the last two weeks have been quite uneventful: I got my hair cut by my lovely friend Josephine (thank you!! I love it), drank wine at my neighborhood favorite Place Verte (105 Rue Oberkampf), finally had a weekend off work, and got excited about the return of Game of Thrones (Season 4, Episode 2: don’t even get me started on this, just oh my god it’s great).

This weekend was absolutely wonderful. On Friday we went to Wanderlust and Nüba (36 Quai d’Austerlitz), two terraces at IFM (Institut Francais de la Mode – Paris Fashion School). These two are the must-be place of the summer. At Wanderlust they had a Street Food festival this weekend, serving everything from BBQ ribs to burgers and Grom ice-cream. Such a nice idea, combining two of my favorite things – food and meeting friends. Nüba is a rooftop terrace that I absolutely love, you’ll probably find me there a lot this summer. Afterwards we continued to dance the night away at a club named Globo I think, not really my kind of place but the music was good and we danced the night away. Saturday was spent just strolling around le Marais. We had lunch by Place des Vosges, at an Italian restaurant, but there are so many nice places around the square so everything you pick will be nice. Afterwards we walked around some vintage stores (there are so many around le Marais, just walk around and you’ll find them), had a pick-me-up at La Perle (78 Rue Vieille du Temple) and walked to the Notre Dame. Lovely day with my wonderful girls, Bea and Edith.

Saturday night we took it easy because on Sunday it was time to get out, and RUN… We participated, along with 15 000 happy Parisians, in the first Color Run here. For those who don’t know what it is the Color Run is the happiest 5k in the world, where participants are covered in different colored powder after every kilometer. When you arrive at the finish line, you kinda look like a rainbow. The event ended with a finisher festival with music, dancing and more colors. So much fun, I really recommend it! It was so wonderful to run in Paris as well, past all the sights and beautiful buildings. Later, we met up with some friends and had crêpes at yet another favorite, La Cidrerie du Marais (4 Rue de Sévigné). You have to try their banana caramel crêpe, it is the best I have ever had. Before going home we headed to La Rotonde (17 Rue de la Roquette), a nice bar by Bastille that hasn’t been overcrowded with tourists yet.

Tomorrow, I am going to London, so the next update will be about my trip. Until then, bisous 🙂

Practicing for the Color Run I also really improved my time, happy about that!

Beautiful Place des Vosges.

Last week we also celebrated the international sibling day, I miss my brothers!

Sunday funday – fresh and ready to go!!

Pink – color number 3!

Happy and all colored up at the finish line!

Final Collage…

The most amazing crêpes in Paris!

I wish I could show you a video of the Color Run, it is so much better than described. I’ll try to find one for next time! xx

 

Life is not always a bed of roses…

Can’t believe it’s April already. After three months of living here I am starting to really have routines and an everyday life, which also translates into growing irritated over a couple of things. The three things about Paris that I dislike the most are:

1. The objectification of women: Okay, I do recognize that I come from Scandinavia where circumstances are some of the most equal in this world, but still it surprises me how visible objectification is here in Paris. Yesterday I was walking to a bar with a male friend when a stranger says: “oo she is beautiful, is she yours?”. I wanted to punch him in the face (the stranger, not my friend that is) – I do not and will never belong to anybody, ever. The catcalls and whistles you get walking home in the evening are not appreciated either. However, if it gets too much or too vulgar I do tell the guys off, but people who are smaller and more shy don’t have the opportunity to do so. I am sad that they have to put up with shit like that.

2. The state of the apartments: Yes, the beautiful Parisian apartments, with their french windows and balconies…. that are falling apart. It seems like everywhere I go something breaks, and I treat things quite carefully. Of course the buildings are old but I have asked myself on more than one occasion how people can live like this. An example is the staircase of a friend, which is so crooked it would be better suited for an amusement park than an actual building.

3. The smell: Especially in the metro, and especially during the weekend. It seems that many Parisians think the metro has a double function as a urinal, and sometimes it could make even the strongest stomach turn. My colleague told me that she once saw a dog take a shit right in the middle of the metro tunnel, and the owner didn’t even pick it up or care much. Watch your step in the Paris metro system, that is.

Life is not always a bed of roses as they say… and it feels good to complain a little. But otherwise Paris is a wonderful, beautiful city, and I am sure I could make a list like that over every city I’ve lived in. Now especially as the weather has been so nice, the city is alive and at it’s best – lilacs are already blooming and it is so green everywhere. The past weeks have been busy, as usual, and filled with new adventures.

Mostly we’ve enjoyed the sun – I’ve spent my lunches in Jardin de Luxembourg (RER B, Luxembourg) and we’ve had picnics in Parc Monceau (Monceau, Ligne 2). I think picnics will never get old, I could have a picnic every week (day?). Last week me and Catharina and a finnish friend, Tiia, went to a restaurant I’ve been reading about for a while, La Briciola (64, Rue Charlot) in le Marais. One word: amazing! The pizzas were really fresh, and the restaurant was so cosy – something that can be a little hard to find in the bistro-filled capital. I had a pizza with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil, and it was delicious. We then did some bar-hopping on Rue Oberkampf, something I can really recommend because the bars are so close to each other and there are many cool places. Make sure to check out l’International, Bric á Brac, les Pirates, Place Verte and Café Charbon/Nouveau Casino.

This week we also had a lovely sweet breakfast at Ladurée (75, Avenue des Champs Elysées) with a few friends. I recommend that you skip the famous macarons (believe me, Pierre Hermé is much better) and take a pastry or tarte instead. I had the tarte de citron, and it was one of the best ones I’ve ever tasted. Breakfast at Ladurée is a nice treat and as I think prices for lunch are unnecessary high, come a couple of hours earlier instead and ask for a petit déj. Another thing I can recommend is the buzzing street Rue Montorgeuil in the 2ème arrondissement. Here you can find restaurants and bars lined up, and just pick and choose. We found a nice cocktail bar with a late happy hour and a nice bistro where you could get giant plates of cheese and charcuteries for 15 euro – deal! This weekend was spent drinking wine and walking around. I went for a walk in my old arrondissement (the 7ème which is lovely, I miss it from time to time) and tonight I discovered a new park, Parc de Belleville (Couronnes, Ligne 2).

Now it’s time for a new and exciting week, and in less than two weeks I will meet up with my dear family in London. Counting the days. Have a great week everyone 🙂 xx

It really is a wonderful time of the year right now, blooming flowers and trees everywhere…

La Briciola!

Breakfast time at Ladurée, love the pastel colored china.

Cherry blossoms under the Eiffel Tower.

Sunset from Parc de Belleville.

Sunny picnic 🙂

My life in pictures!

Woah!!! Time is flying and I have a hard time keeping up! I was quite sure I wrote like a week ago, but it is almost two and a half – where does time disappear? These past weeks have been so wonderful, because Paris has been experiencing the nicest weather in March. I don’t think I have needed my umbrella for a month. I have spent all my free time just soaking up the sun and visiting the beautiful parks of Paris, lots of picnics in Parc Monceau (Monceau, line 2) and Buttes Chaumont (Pyrenées, line 11) and all my lunch breaks in Jardin de Luxembourg (Odéon, line 4). Going for a picnic with a group of friends has to be one of the best activities ever, just spending a day in the sun, eating, talking and maybe playing some volleyball. Another sign that spring is finally here are all the flowers and blooming trees, and all the wonderful colors that are surrounding us again.

There have been many things going on as well. My beautiful norwegian friend Alexandra was visiting Paris and we had a lunch in my secret oasis, the garden of Musée des Archives (60 Rue de Francs Bourgeois). Later I stopped by another favorite in the area, Frozen Yoghurt shop Chacun ses Goûts (4 Rue Geoffroy l’Angevin) – best place for a “healthy” sweet treat. We have also celebrated the birthday of my roomie with a really great party chez nous. Blurry night, but a great success. Other really cool places I’ve been to lately are Nüba (36 Quai d’Austerlitz) which we finally went to this week, Dirty Dick (10 Rue Frochot) which is a really cool Tiki-bar with great cocktails, and Le Silencio (142 Rue Montmartre), a really cool club with great music and a nice vibe and atmosphere, new favorite. As for restaurants, two really good ones I’ve tried are the libanese Le Petit Phénicien (101 Rue Oberkampf) with a great vegetarian plate and Comptoir des Archives (41 Rue des Archives) with really fresh salads and good cheese platters. And mojitos, go for happy hour as they are only 5 euros.

On a more healthy note I have participated in two sports events these past weeks. Nike hosted a live event for their NTC Nike Training Club app in a Nike store at the shopping center Beaugrenelle. 200 girls, music and a great workout awaited, it was a really cool event and something I would love to participate in again. We also got some lovely goodie bags from Guerlain and Nike. This weekend there was a Fitness Fair here in Paris, which I checked out. The fair was huge, and you could test a bunch of different training forms and try out new programmes for group training, such as LesMills, CrossFit, and Yoga. There was also a stand for Spartan Race (www.spartanrace.com) which I really wanna do. They had a small obstacle course that actually was really tough, so I have bruises all over now. But it was so much fun, actually thinking about doing the race.

Now I just came home after having a lovely dinner with Catharina, she made fettucine with asparagus, mozzarella, onions and peas, it was yummy. Tomorrow it is time for yet another week, hope it is a great one. Here is a big photo collection of my past weeks, hope you enjoy it 🙂 xx

Was so wonderful to see Alexandra!

In the sun this city becomes alive… parks were all so busy.

I’ve never been that into flowers, always managed to kill them. But this city is changing me, there are beautiful flowers everywhere.

As I said, blurry but fun 😀

Having a lovely break for lunch.

Sun shines on Buttes Chaumont.

More Jardin de Luxembourg, can’t believe I am surrounded by these beautiful buildings everywhere.

City in full bloom…

NTC Live Session at Nike Beaugrenelle.

Yoga and CrossFit

Spartan Race, could be fun right? Okay, who’s with me?

Amazing cocktails at Dirty Dick, dangerously delicious.

Happy hour = happy girls!

It’s Over!

Fashion week that is. I know I haven’t written in forever, but this time I have work and crazy busy schedule to blame. It has been a fun, but also exhausting ten days, and this weekend I finally get to recover. At work we have finally began our fashion theme months and there are so many cool accessories from Finnish designers in our boutique. I want it all 🙂 I’ve also got to meet so many exciting people, such as the very talented photographer Osma Harvilahti and designer Satu Maaranen, among many others. I’ve also started my fashion interviews, which have been really interesting. For example I interviewed the two women behind PRE Helsinki, a platform that helps young Finnish designers to reach global recognition. Cool!

There have been many soirées as well, which I can tell from the dark circles under my eyes. I need my beauty sleep, it shows. Last wednesday we went to a club called Le Magnifique (25, Rue de Richelieu), a really nice club if you like hip-hop mixed with hits. I’m a big fan of the smaller clubs, where the feeling is a little bit more intimate and the atmosphere cosier. This is a place like that. On Thursday we headed to 79 Club again for a fashion week party, Been Trill. It was such a good night, even though I am not a huge fan of hiphop. The DJ:s were so great and you could just see that they were having so much fun, jumping and dancing around the stage. Happiness really is contagious, and we stayed happy until 5 in the morning. On Friday my roomies friend made us a real Moroccan couscous. It was delicious, and so nice to be invited over for dinner. I really love cooking but it feels quite great to just be seated at a table and served a great dinner.

On Saturday we went out again, this time to St Germain, and a club called Chez Castel (15 Rue Princesse). The venue is one of my favorites here in Paris, too bad the middle age is about 15 years older than us. Or maybe it was just that night. It’s funny, but it feels like Parisians continue partying up in their 50’s, I might be wrong but these French people do love to party 😀 On Sunday I realized I hadn’t really done any sightseeing in the two months I’ve been here, so I walked along the Seine, snapping some pictures in the sun. Speaking of the sun, the weather has been absolutely wonderful and for this weekend they are promising temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius. Picnic times! This week has been a little bit calmer. On wednesday we had some wine at Le Progrès (hmm.. starting to become regulars…) and then went to a fashion week closing party at Le Baron (6 Avenue Marceau), one of my favorite clubs in Paris – one of the small ones as well.

Of the fashion shows I would have to say I loved Louis Vuitton the most. Nicolas Ghesquiere had really managed to make an elegant, wearable yet edgy collection, bravo. Shoutout to Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel though, who would’ve guessed a supermarket would work as a runway. Tomorrow I’m meeting a friend from Norway that I haven’t seen in too long, so excited. Later, we are heading up to a bar called Nüba for a mini-festival, that the DJ from Le Baron told us about – sounded really cool. Tomorrow is also Women’s Day, so be sure to hug all and smile at all the wonderful women around you, because we are quite great ❤ xx

Collection Mode – Institut Finlandais

Been Trill @79 Club

Louis Vuitton feels young again!

Chanel shopping

Evening walks by the Seine are some of the perks of living in this city…

As is seeing buildings like this every day.

Late work lunch in a park by the Sorbonne

Simple, easy, best dessert ever… and healthy on top of it

Nüba, tomorrow’s adventure! Good night 🙂

Le Montana!

Hope you all have had a great week and weekend, and that you are well rested for the coming week. I surely am, after sleeping for 12h last night… yes I was a little sleep-deprived!! If last week was all about food, this one has been all about sports. PSG crushed Bayer Leverkusen, Finland won olympic bronze by crushing the US 5-0 (so proud of our lions) and I went to the gym four times this week. With the hectic schedule I have, I consider it a great accomplishment 🙂 Otherwise the rest of the week has been fantastic as well. On Wednesday, me and my colleague Silja had dinner at a restaurant by Rue Mouffetard (Metro Place Monge, ligne 4). Here you can find tens of cosy little restaurants with 16 € three course menus (I found the candlelight, checked tablecloth restaurants mom). The food was surprisingly good, and you definitely get your money’s worth.

On Friday we had a very French evening here in our little apartment, with friends coming over for cheese, charcuterie and wine. So simple, but so delicious. I wonder why we don’t eat more of that at home in Scandinavia. I’ll have to host a little cheese party when I get back. Me and Bea were feeling really energetic so we continued on to the Paris night. First we went to Little Temple Bar (12 Rue Princesse), one of my favorite Irish Pubs in Paris. The music is always great and the ambiance very happy. However, we wanted to dance, so we continued on to Le Montana (28 Rue Saint Benoit). I really loved Le Montana. It is quite a small club, with a bar on the top floor and a dancefloor in the cavelike cellar. We had such a great time, talking to a bunch of people and dancing the night a way. I actually didn’t look at my watch at all, and when we were leaving it was already 5am. But I think that’s the sign of a great night, totally loosing track of time.

Yesterday we went to Bercy Village (Metro Cour Saint Emilion, ligne 14) to eat and see a movie. Bercy Village is a really cosy outdoor mall with many nice restaurants and one of the biggest movie theaters in Paris. We had salads at Factory&Co, and while they were delicious, I would say their burgers are better. Personally, I think they make the best burgers in Paris, and with the burger being the trend food in Paris – that is saying a lot. They have great cheesecake too. The movie we saw was 12 years a slave, and it was so good. It makes me sick to think that people were treated that way, that other human beings were considered property. I think it’s disgusting that people are treated differently just because of their skin color, gender, or sexual preference, and that this is happening still today. So while it was a good movie, with great performances, it was also a film that made you think about the cruelty of mankind… definitely an Oscar favorite. Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02Ie8wKKRg

Today, I have just walked around a sunny Paris, along the Seine and in Le Marais. I stopped by the new trendy crêperie called Princess Crêpe (3 Rue des Ecouffes), and had a nutella, strawberry and whipped cream calorie bomb… but it was delicious. I don’t think there is a big difference between the taste of the crêpes wherever you decide to go, but this place was so cute. It felt like stepping into Barbie’s mansion, with pink shelves and teddybears. Worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood. This coming week will be crazy, because fashion week is coming to Paris. Many nights out on the town and a Paris filled with the fashionistas of the world is to be expected. I will keep you updated. xx

Rue Mouffetard

Friday wine night!

Factory cheesecakes

A sunny Place de la Republique today

Welcome to Princess Crêpe

Delicious crêpes

Ihanaa leijonat!!

Soixante-Dix Neuf!

I know it’s already Tuesday (Wednesday if you want to be really correct) but I still have to say, what a weekend! On Friday me and a Swedish friend Edith went to see the Cartier exhibition at Grand Palais (Champs-Elysées Clemenceau, Ligne 1), and well… Diamond’s are a girl’s best friend is all I can say. The jewelry was absolutely stunning, with crowns worn by queens and princesses, necklaces worn by actors and legends, and Grace Kelly’s gigantic engagement ring. Unfortunately the beautiful expo is now over, but Grand Palais is worth a visit in itself, such a beautiful building. Afterwards we headed to Le Marais for dinner and ate crêpes at Breizh Café (109 Rue Vieille du Temple). I have to say I was a little disappointed with my ham, cheese and mushroom crêpe, I had heard so much about the place I expected better. Which I did get, for dessert… the caramel banana crêpe was heavenly (I started dreaming about it now). Afterwards we met up with Bea for some wine and gossip at Le Progrès.

On Saturday, me and my Swedish girls wanted to go out, really go out. I have a friend who works at a club called 79 Club (22 Rue Quentin-Bauchart), so we decided to try out that one. The club was really cool, big and stylish – but not for those on budget. This is where to go to see celebs party and play music, to dance on sofas and drink Dom Perignon. I don’t even dare to tell you the price of a G&T, because it was ridiculous. But all in all, a really cool club, good music, but not to choose for a budget-friendly night on the town. But we had a great time and I will surely go again, sometimes it’s fun to get all dressed up and glam for a night of dancing. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures, the night was a bit too blurry for that 🙂

On Sunday morning, Parisians were greeted with bright blue skies and temperatures reaching 15 degrees C. Spring is coming!! We decided to have a little picnic, and went out and bought sushi, and sat down in Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower (École Militaire, Ligne 8). No biggie, just having lunch by a major landmark… I swear I’m still hypnotized by the beauty of Paris and I wonder if that will ever go away… After lunch we walked from the Eiffel Tower all the way to Bastille, a nice 8km walk, so we managed to get some exercise as well. Later on, I joined my colleagues at a pub to watch the Canada-Finland olympic hockey game, which Finland unfortunately lost by one goal. But hope is not gone yet, we are still on to the next round – exciting game tomorrow. The sports event of today however, was a different story. PSG completely outclassed Bayer Leverkusen, with a score of 4-0 being promising for the quarter-finals of Champions League. And I have to say it, Zlatan is a god here… his second goal was magnificent. You should have heard the crowd in the pub, shouting Ibra, Ibra, Ibra… haha. I love the atmosphere at the pubs here, especially when it is a victorious game. Everyone starts jumping around and talking to each other. Today we were at the Lions (120 Rue Montmartre), a small but very crowded and cosy sports bar by Bourse. Until next time, xx.

Cartier necklace

Sushi lunch at work on Valentine’s Day. This has got to be the best Valentine’s meal I’ve ever been offered!!

Happy in the sun!

Allez PSG!

 Good Night!

Eat my Balls!

This week has been all about food, and I have eaten way too much. Oh well, I blame it all on Paris and its delicious pastries and and sweets everywhere I look. But let me back up a week first, to the event I was in charge of last week. It was a fun event, and we had a great turnout (224 people) – I had no idea people had such an interest in Iceland. I understand it now, it is a beautiful country with a cool culture. I think it’s the cold that has made me overlook it as a destination. However, I had a great time, and it was nice to be given the responsibility of having such a big part in organizing the event.

Otherwise I’ve had a busy, busy week. On Tuesday I met up with a friend for wine at one of my absolute favorite wine bars in Le Marais, Le Progrès (1, Rue de Bretagne) – I am so happy that even in February you are still able to sit outside (okay, under heating lamps but anyway). When we got hungry, we walked over to the nearby Candelaria (52, Rue de Saintonge), the cocktail bar I have already written about. They also have delicious authentic tacos, and nachos with guacamole.

Yesterday the Institute organized a really cool event called apéro-débat, an evening filled with discussion and drinks. It was the first event in a part of a series, and this time the topic was the new community driven culinary culture, which is characterized by movements such as the Restaurant Day (www.restaurantday.org) and Disco Soupe (www.discosoupe.org). Disco Soupe is a very interesting food initiative, born as a part of the slow food movement. The team collects food at markets and stores, food that otherwise would be thrown away because it doesn’t look 100% fresh. From this food the team makes salads, smoothies, fruit salads, and soup which they serve – for free. Disco Soupe were also at the event, and we got to try their salad and soup. It was even better than I expected. Later, I met up my Swedish friends Anna and Bea, who has finally arrived to begin her exchange here in Paris.

Today, me and a couple of my colleagues tried out the restaurant du jour in Paris, the hyper trendy Balls (47 Rue St Maur). The menu is very simple – you choose your balls (meatballs, that is) from a choice of beef, lamb, chicken, pork or vegetarian; thereafter you choose a sauce and a side. I ate chicken meatballs, with greek yoghurt and herbs and mushroom risotto. The food was delicious, as was the cocktail I had with it. The cocktails were named white balls and black balls (no blue balls unfortunately) and the white one was a delicious citrus drink that I definitely will try to recreate. Unfortunately the place was rather expensive, but I’ll try to go back for lunch, when they have a menu for 13 euros. This weekend is also packed with things to do but on Saturday I will finally get to sleep in, and that my friends, is something to look forward to. xx

PS: Finally I have to tell you about a little gem I discovered about 5 minutes from my place. Scoop Me a Cookie (5/7 Rue Crespin du Gast) sells fantastic cookies with big chunks of nutella, coconut, kinder chocolate and pecans for example. This place will become dangerous, as access is too easy.

Packed auditorium for Festival Air d’Islande.

Icelandic treats – did not suit my taste as my mother always diplomatically told me to say.

At the Swedish Institute tuesday night, for the opening ceremony of Latitude Suédois.

Cupcakes!

Seriously, could you resist?

Patisserie des Rêves – Bakery of Dreams, literally. The best birthday cake I have ever eaten.

Disco Soupe salad

Tonight at Balls!

Scoop Me a Cookie – or five….

Moonshiner…

Hey everyone, hope you have had a good week! This week has passed by so quickly and I have had a lot to do, preparing for the event I’m responsible for at work tomorrow. We are collaborating with the Air d’Islande festival and tomorrow will be a Finnish-Icelandic day at the Institute, where people will have the chance to see short films, a monologue, and try all sorts of Icelandic and Finnish treats. One of the Finnish short films we will show is the Oscar nominated “Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa?” (Do I have to take care of everything?) which is hilarious, situation comedy at it’s best. Watch it! Luckily the event can take place because we had water damage (burst pipe) on thursday, huge disaster, but at least for tomorrow we’re good to go.

Okay, lot of text about work but since that is where I spend most of my time, it’s what I have the most to write about… Haha no, I have done other things this week too. On Monday night, I met up with two American girls, Lauren and Patricia, for coffee at a really cool place called Kozy Café (79 Avenue Bosquet) and, this being Paris, the coffee turned into red wine and cheese. The cheese plate was heavenly, and the owner of the café really nice and service-minded. Another nice place to add to the list. Wednesday night two Swedish friends were in Paris for the night. We got a glass of wine by Bastille and then tried out another “speakeasy” bar, Moonshiner (5 Rue Sedaine). All I can say is: WOW! To get to the bar, you have to enter a very modest restaurant, go through the kitchen, and then you step into a dark but cozy room with a fabulous 1920’s atmosphere. The cocktails were some of the best I have had in Paris, especially thinking about price to quality, and I had the best Cosmopolitan ever. At work the next day, I had the worst day ever. Note to self: You need more than 5 hours of sleep not to become a zombie…

Today, me and my new German friend Catharina visited Café des Chats (16 Rue Michel le Comte), a place I have wanted to go to for a while already. The place is not only a café but also a cat shelter, with about ten cats running around (actually most of them were sleeping) and being adorable. The food was not great, but the desserts looked amazing so that is probably what I would have when I go back. Because I will go back – the cat café is perfect if a cat person like me needs a pick me up. Just remember to make a reservation, the place is usually fully booked. Later in the afternoon I did some shopping and found some really nice pieces at Zara, so this Friday has been a perfect start to the weekend. I hope you have a great one too.

You can never go wrong with cheese!

Moonshiner

The best white russian ever. At Moonshiner

The “day after”…

Cutieees!!!

Good night from Paris! xx

Février!

Hello February, the last winter month in the calendar – spring is on its way, which could be felt in a beautiful sunny Paris this weekend. January, however, ended with miserable weather on Friday but we braved the rain and headed to the 7th arrondissement for the birthday party of a friend to my roomie. The apartment the party was held in was a dream, and totally gave me more career motivation. It was about 500m from the Eiffel Tower, on the 7th floor with a view over the rooftops of Paris, and felt like a castle after living in 32m2 for a month. Not that I am complaining, I love our little cosy home. But enough about that. The funny thing about house parties is that they are the same everywhere in the world. In the beginning of the night everyone stands in these cliques, only talking to friends. After a few hours, some music, and okay maybe the wine plays a part as well, everyone is talking to each other and dancing with strangers. Needless to say, we had an awesome night and met new people.

On Saturday, the sun finally showed itself, after a week of rain and clouds. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do to your mood. I enjoyed the beautiful day in Parc Monceau, just walking around and taking pictures. Parc Monceau (Monceau, Ligne 2) is one of my absolute favorite parks in Paris, and a sanctuary from the busy city life. When it gets warmer the park is packed with people, but now it was wonderfully calm and quiet – just what I needed. I spent the night at home watching an entire season of How I Met Your Mother, but at least now I feel well rested and ready for a new week.

Today I met up with my Swedish friend Anna and her boyfriend, and had brunch at Breakfast in America (4 Rue Malher). BIA is one of the more affordable brunch places in Paris and even though it is not the best food in the world, eggs, bacon and pancakes will always make for a good Sunday morning. Afterwards we went to another favorite place of mine, the garden to Musée des Archives (entrance on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois) and enjoyed the sun for a while. Now sadly, it is already Sunday night. These weekends always pass too quickly, I wish I could slow down the clock Saturday morning. Have a good week everyone 🙂

The perfect apartment

This little girl watching the ducks was so adorable, she jumped and ran around because she was so excited by them

Beautiful Parc Monceau

Retro American Diner – Breakfast in America.

Sunshine guys!!

I don’t have to go far to get a dose of Finland, cinnamon rolls at work (60 Rue des Ecoles) – Scandinavian expats, these are some of the best I have had in Paris!