Almost Parisienne

I may have mentioned previously that Paris is probably my favourite place in the world. I am already so excited about a trip that my mum and I are taking in November for my birthday. We started planning it over the weekend, and just booked our hotel, so that it's firmly in the diary and we can start deciding what to do while we are there. I can't believe it's only the start of this year and I am thinking so far ahead, but it's so important to have things to look forward to!

It's been far too long since I was in Paris, and I'm so pleased that by the time we go I'll have already been to Nice on my French language course (more on this later) so I can get some more practise later in the year. I think it takes less time to get to Paris than it does to get to the north of England on the Eurostar - another reason I love living here.

Now I have 4 days in Paris to plan before Christmas and I'm starting right now! I dug these out from my book collection to get me started.

Parisian Chic is primarily a fashion book which I think is spot on and very entertaining. I've taken a lot of tips from this over the few years I have had it - I do really like the French style. There's also a great section on the city itself, as well as a 'Secret Paris' chapter which I haven't explored yet.

My Little Paris is a great book full of inspiration and things to do, from exploring secret Parisian outlet stores, to having your lingerie delivered (perhaps not such a good one for a long weekend trip!). Either way its a great read, and a list I'm going to make sure I complete in the years to come.

When Triné and I went to Paris a few years ago, we had the most amazing time. We invested in Moleskine city notebooks; such a great idea to document all the wonderful places we found along the way. I can't wait to venture back to some of these places, and add to my collection of things I have discovered to do and see. My mum and I have a plan to each surprise one another with a restaurant while we are there and I think that these will go a long way in finding some wonderful venues.