Sunday 26 July 2009

Eurostar: Little Break, big difference- Paris!

Okay, so pretty much I haven't ever won anything in my life, a colouring-in competition and a meat tray excepted (actually, I don't even think I won the meat tray- I think my friend Jen claimed the win and gave me a couple of sausages as compensation!). So when I got an email from a communications agency asking if I would like to join a group of fashion bloggers from London on a "Little Fashion Break to Paris" with Eurostar I thought all my Christmases, Easters, birthdays, anniversaries had come at once. Within 5 minutes of the email, my passport was packed, my euros were pocketed and I was firing off emails and texts to my friends in excitement: "Soooo, I'm off to Paris for the day next week" "Seriously, VJ?" "Yep, that's just how I roll these days: London one day, Paris the next ;-)"

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I adore Paris, so the opportunity to head over for the day to do some shopping, some eating, a little (lot) of champagne tasting and maybe take a few photos sounded brilliant. And it was. Despite those "first day of school nerves" that always seem to surface when one is plonked into a group situation with new people, and despite the 4am wake up call most of us had, everyone was soon chatting and giggling, talking blogs, fashion, design, art, study, work and everything else in-between.

So what did we get up to in Paris? There was shopping for some (which kicked off at Colette), while others ran around madly trying to find stylish Parisians to shoot for their blog (okay, that was maybe just me :)), lunch at B4 restaurant (with champagne), a visit to the Les Arts Décoratifs to see the Madeleine Vionnet exhibition , a cruise down the Seine with a tasting of 3 different champagnes, followed by a 9pm-ish journey home on the Eurostar (with more champagne!)

For me, one of the highlights of the day was getting to meet Marion Cointot over lunch. Marion is a talented fashion designer and stylist, who recently won the Concours de Style award. She presented some of her beautiful designs while we sipped champagne*, talked us through her career so far and allowed me to take some photos of her after lunch. You can read more about Marion here.

So was the day long enough? Hell no! Of course, I wanted to stay longer BUT I will always want to stay longer in Paris, no matter how much time I spend there. As I said to Sandrine, one of the organisers, it was an amuse-bouche: a little taste of Paris to whet the appetite, excite the taste buds, and limber up the senses for future visits.

If you are keen for your own taste of Paris, you can get Eurostar return journeys for only £59 at the moment. Click here for the "Little Break, Big Difference" deals.

*oh yeah, do I LOVE champagne!

11 comments:

  1. Nice blog, love street style ;)

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  2. Nice pictures, beautiful dress ;)

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  3. And I love doing the same. But a Paris-LDN for me. ( the other way ;) )

    Lovely blog !!!

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  4. Ack! I was at Arts-Decorative last Thursday and that exhibition completely passed me by, I didn't have a clue it was there :/
    Oh well. Did you go to the museum shop as well? They had a huuuge range of fashion and art books.

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  5. Wonderful news, Vanessa, though the junket seems to me less a 'win' and more like something well earned. Congratulations!

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  6. Hey Vanessa, it was a great trip and I love these pictures of Marion. It was good to meet you and check out my blog one day if you get the chance.

    Link swap perhaps? x

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  7. I forgot to say Vanessa, these pics of Marion are so lovely. Has she seen them? Totally capture the essence of her, don't you think?

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  8. Bonjour everyone!
    Clau- thank you! hee hee- probably it is just Marion you like ;-):)
    Uneblogueusmode: I love the dress as well! I actually forgot to ask Marion whether it was one of her designs- maybe I will email her and ask! I know her necklace (which had little insects on it) was from Les Nereides.
    Margaux- Merci! I love that the Eurostar is so easy: SO much easier than getting to the airport, having to remove one's shoes at customs, weigh bags etc. I just wish I could get over to Paris more often!
    Kim- argh! And it was BRILLIANT! The best thing was, we had a guide to talk us through the exhibition. She was excellent, v knowledgable and enthusastic- far better than any guide I have ever had on any tour (my mind normally starts to wander after the first 5 minutes). I hope to get back to Paris before the exhibition ends in January to see it again (we ran out of time)- I didn't get to go to the museum shop (some of the others did) but I could see through the window that there were some delicious things for sale (sigh!)
    Cameron- thanks Cameron! I felt so honoured to be part of the little group!
    Laurence John- yup, and she is a lovely girl as well!
    Disconaplondon- Hey Ms disconap! It was lovely to meet you on Saturday!!!Blog is already checked out and on my bloglovin' list :):)
    Heck, I didn't know you bought a watch in Colette? go you!

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  9. Whoops, sorry, Rollergirl, I must have been typing and dreaming and missed your comment: I hope so! Yep, she has seen them :):)

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  10. Amazingly beautiful photos of Marion!!

    It was nice meeting although we didn't get to chat :S, looking forward to see your next wonderful work.

    Kit
    Style Slicker

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