purse pinchers and football frenzy

Our final day in Paris was one of mixed emotions. It was the day of the Euro 2012 Germany-Netherlands clash, and Tessel, as a loyal Dutchie, was suitably attired!

We spent a lovely morning admiring Monet's Waterlilies at the Orangerie Museum and chewing our way through countless salted caramels before having lunch, lusting after glitzy ballgowns, and sharing yet another Mont Blanc (well, we were in Paris after all) at Galeries Lafayette. We then had a look around the Opera Garnier – which is absolutely stunning – and did some window shopping along the Avenue d’Opera.

And that’s when the drama started. We went inside a lovely-looking chocolaterie and after sampling their heavenly marshmallows I decided to bring some back as a present for my mum. But when I went to pay, someone had taken my purse from my bag. To be honest, cancelling the cards and reporting the theft at the police station wasn’t too stressful. More than anything, I found it rather unsettling that someone had rummaged through my bag without me even noticing, and deeply frustrating that I had lost so many cards that were important to me but of no use to anyone else – my university card, for example, and gift vouchers that could only be spent in England. I’m still going through the process of getting everything replaced, and it wasn’t even worth making an insurance claim as there would have been too high an excess to pay. Sadly, I’ll just have to put this down to experience and be more careful when travelling in future. It was a horrible way to end such a wonderful stay, but I won’t let one person’s dishonesty ruin my trip – despite feeling a little disheartened, my memories of Paris are still absolutely fantastic.

Having spoken my best French at the police station (thank goodness I am studying a languages degree!), a stiff drink was most certainly in order! We took shelter from torrential rain at a traditional French bar before moving on to a Dutch pub to watch the game. Unfortunately, neither of us had anticipated quite how many loyal Dutch fans would be in Paris at the same time as us, and we could barely squeeze through the door. A rather amusing few minutes later, in which the pair of us, clad in orange mini-dresses, ran frantically around Paris’ nightlife district searching for a bar showing the football (in Paris, it seems these are few and far between) – to the amusement of several onlookers – we finally found a quieter place, only for The Netherlands to lose the game. I suppose luck wasn’t on our side that day!

les princesses des patisseries

Our next day in Paris began with breakfast at Laduree amid gorgeous Chinese interiors. Their strawberry-shaped cake looked too pretty to eat, so we opted for marshmallow and almond macarons instead.

We then took a metro (where there were amazing Diamond Jubilee adverts!) to the Musee d'Orsay, where we had a brief look around but were rather overwhelmed by the sheer number of masterpieces on show! We came back to earth with a stroll along the Seine and a restorative coffee at Cafeotheque, which according to the New York Times serves the best coffee in Paris.

We then visited the Notre Dame before taking shelter from the rain in Paris's mosque, which is a peaceful haven amid the hustle and bustle of the city. We could have spent all afternoon sipping mint tea, sampling the array of homemade pastries and watching the birds fly around us...but we dragged ourselves away in order to visit Montmartre.

Unfortunately it was a rather grey, cloudy and soggy day, so the views weren't quite as magnificent - but the Moulin Rouge carried on turning all the same!

Sadly the rain carried on into the evening, so we took shelter in the shops at the Carrousel du Louvre shopping arcade (tough, I know) and comfort in the form of pretty cakes at Les Delices de Manon, before watching the Eiffel Tower light show from the romantic setting of the Jardin des Tuileries.

macaron mademoiselles

Exams finished, I had a fabulous few days in Paris my lovely friend Tessel. As fellow lovers of all things pretty and sugary, we organised our sightseeing schedule around numerous patisserie visits, and made it our goal to discover the best macarons in the city...

First stop: McDo for a hearty breakfast of McMacarons. They were surprisingly good - cheap and cheerful, they lacked the wow factor of the more famous and fancy brands, but they nevertheless hit the spot, and we gobbled them up before doing a spot of sightseeing.
 

We then went for a wander around the Jardin des Tuileries and enjoyed a lovely ice cream which was crafted into a rose shape, before going for more sweet treats at Angelina, a salon de the famous for its hot chocolate and Mont Blanc...

Fed and sufficiently sugared (for the time being at least), it was time for some more sightseeing and shopping on the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, before stopping for a cocktail on the glitzy Avenue George V.

Our final macaron stop for the day was Pierre Herme, where the flavour combinations were amazingly inventive and my sparkly pink macaron even matched my outfit (a Chanel-style tweed jacket was fitting for Paris, of course!).

modest metz

I arrived in Metz expecting nothing special. A family friend had warned me that it’s a “rather industrial” place, and it’s twinned with an equally industrialised city near where I live, which is, I have to admit, not the most exciting of destinations.

My first impressions seemed to confirm this view. Stepping out of the train station, I was greeted by a sprawling construction site of new apartment blocks and numerous roadworks. But, a little further to my left, a fresh contrast: the new Musée Pompidou, an expanse of white peeping out amidst the concrete jungle, and the first of many surprises to come.

The sun was shining and I was determined to see the brighter side of things. My host, Jacqueline, had prepared a delicious goûter of tarte aux pommes and jasmine tea, and we chattered away in the sunshine. That evening, she drove me around the town, pointing out beautifully-lit churches and monuments. Either the darkness had dimmed the ‘industrial’ elements I had been warned about, or there was far more to the city than I’d anticipated.



Place de la cathédrale



Part of la cathédrale de Metz





La gare



Le Centre Pompidou-Metz

The following day we ate lunch at her mother’s apartment. As we sipped Normandy cider – ‘le champagne de la région’ – and delved into a wonderfully gooey quiche Lorraine, I barely noticed that it overlooked a number of train lines. Far more interesting was the company: at 96 years old neither her mother’s wicked sense of humour nor her appetite showed any sign of diminishing; she wiped her plate with a chunk of crusty baguette and remarked that the local patisserie has gone drastically downhill since the son has taken over from his father: “il est paresseux, cet homme!”

As my stay drew on, it was the traditions and the people that warmed me most of all to the city. That evening Jacqueline invited friends over for a dinner of raclette and tarte aux mirabelles (the little plums are a speciality of the region and are found in all sorts of dishes), followed by singing traditional folk songs around the piano. The next day one of her friends came back for lunch, and aired her caustic opinions on the candidates for the upcoming election whilst Jacqueline gave me knowing winks from across the table. That evening another friend invited me to her apartment for a feast of countless tarts and petits gateaux, swearing that she really was no cook. And the following day we came home to a huge gateau and selection of madeleines that she had left on the doorstep, so that I could taste the true cuisine of the region.

Gastronomic pleasures aside, Metz also offers its fair share of things to see and do. The Centre Pompidou presents regularly changing exhibitions, the Musée de la Cour d’Or offers 3.5km of local history to discover, and the humble abode of Robert Schuman, ‘père de l’Europe’, attests to the modesty of the local people. Venture into nearby villages and there are endless streets to wander and churches to stumble upon, or stay in the centre and marvel at the incredible height of the cathedral, if you’re not dazzled by its colourful stained-glass windows.

Robert Schuman's house and garden

Churches and views in Lessy

Monuments in Metz

Metz might not be the most beautiful place in the world, and neither does it entertain any pretensions of being so. Nevertheless, its people are among the most friendly and down-to-earth that I’ve met on my travels, and its little gems really do glitter. Travelling presents its fair share of overwhelming experiences, but my memories of Metz will always bring me back to the warmth with which I was welcomed there. I left knowing that there are many more ruins to be discovered, gateaux to be tasted and stories to be told – but I’ll leave that for someone else.