On a chilly Saturday morning the week before Christmas, we made our way to St. Pancras International Station in London to catch the Eurostar train to Paris, France. After an amazingly speedy train ride, we found ourselves alighting at Paris Norde Station. Armed with mercis and bonjours at the ready, we made our way along the Parisian streets to our hotel near Montmarte. We were greeted warmly (in English, much to our disappointment-our French hellos were obviously unconvincing!). We were directed to the elevator that would take us to our floor. To our surprise, the elevator was no larger than a broom cupboard! We contemplated going up one at a time for fear of getting stuck!

Ready to explore the sights of Paris, we headed out for a bite to eat. We settled on fresh baguettes filled with cured meats and cheeses, and spent the rest of the day wandering the beautiful streets and taking in the bright sunshine and blue skies.

That evening, we walked to the Chant Elise to see the French Christmas markets. Not only did we chance to see a visit from the French Santa Claus himself, we also got to sample many yummy crepes, pastries and cheeses.

Feeling full of treats and Christmas spirit, we continued up the Chant Elise towards the Arc de Triumph. We finished off the evening by paying a visit to the famous Eiffel Tower. Despite the cold, we braved the queues and waited for our turn to go to the top of the tower and see the 360 degree views of Paris. The views of Paris at night were breath taking, and a definite highlight of our trip. Given that we could no longer feel our fingers and toes, and Jess's nose had turned it's characteristic bright red from the bitter winter wind, we decided it was time to warm up with a glass of French red.

The following morning we decided it was high time we paid a visit to the Louvre. We spent several hours walking around this massive gallery, of course stopping by for a quick photo with the Mona Lisa herself. Feeling much more knowledgeable about Paris's art scene, we decided to make our way to the Bohemian Montmarte district- home of the Moulin Rouge and notorious Chat Noir Café. We had a fantastic afternoon exploring the quirky winding streets and unique stores, before finally stopping for dinner at a restaurant in Montmarte's main street. Jess took the safe option and ordered beef lasagne and fresh bread, while Mark was feeling more daring, ordering escargot (snails!) and steak tartare (raw steak!). Jess did have a little nibble of both of Mark's courses, but decided to stick with her own meal in the end! Mark, not one to be rube, finished off both the garlicky snails and cold meat dish- although nothing tastes too bad with some good French wine, does it? Bon Appetit!

On our last morning in Paris we returned to Montemarte, keen to explore this part of town more in the daytime. To our delight, we discovered another Christmas market high up on the hill of Montmarte by a church overlooking the city. We also stumbled across Artist's Square. This is where local artists have always gathered to practice their trade, make friends and hopefully make a little money as well. When we arrived, we saw so many talented artists drawing portraits for a small fee.

After this, we strolled past Paris's only vineyard, situated high on a hill overlooking the city.

Of course, we couldn't leave Paris without seeing the Notre Dame. To get there, we crossed a bridge that connected the Louvre to the Musee D'Orsay. On our travels throughout Europe, many bridges like this have been adorned with small padlocks. Tradition dictates that if couples attach a lock to the bridge (with their names inscribed) and throw the key into the water below, they are securing themselves a happy future. We decided that given it was our 11 year anniversary, it would be fun to give this a try for ourselves. We purchased a lock from a nearby store, wrote our names in permanent marker and attached it to the bridge. To complete the ritual, we then threw the key into the River Seine below us. Stay tuned to see how well this works!

We continued on to our final destination the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, before finally returning to the Paris Norde to catch the Eurostar back to London. Till next time, au revoir!