Sarlat, France {our honeymoon snaps}

Its been almost a year since we left on our European honeymoon & i thought id share a few more of our pictures.

The next stop after Paris & The Loire Valley was the medieval town of Sarlat. 

You might laugh at me when i tell you i wanted to go here based purely on one image i saw on pinterest! 

Turns out the rest of the town was gorgeous too AND we hit the accommodation jackpot;

I found the gorgeous Les Cordeliers on Trip Advisor & when we walked in we couldn't quite believe it.

Run by an English couple the beautiful building had been fully restored & the rooms were enormous! 

Thats it below with the blue shutters, our room was the top level & was the whole first 3 windows from the corner. 

The best bit? Only $89 euro a night! 

I was in love with the hallway wallpaper before we even got into our room!

Our divine room

The view!

Sarlat & the region around it is the home of Foie Gras 

If you like duck or goose products this is the place for you! 

At all the restaurants we went to it was hard to find something on the menu without them.

On our first day we wandered around the town & found so many divine nooks!

The photo on the right is taken right where id seen the pinterest image & was just as beautiful in person!

On our second day, for something different, we decided to go canoeing on the Dordogne river.

We picked up a picnic at the market to take for lunch before we went.

Being outdoorsy types we loved it! You barely had to paddle at all & just got taken along by the river.

This was out lunch spot, as we came around a corner, perched up on the river bank was a castle! 

God i love France!

Then back into town for dinner (duck of course!) 

Duck A L'orange with potatoes cooked in duck fat (of course!)

...i wouldn't recommend this place if you are worried about the waist line!

...next stop Lyon & then down to the French Riviera for a week in Ville Franche!

Merci Paris

When we were in Paris, shopping wise, there was trip to ogle at the Galleries Lafayette, browsing boutiques in the Marais, a few Zara purchases and we bought some vintage Tour de France prints from one of the sellers along the seine but one of the most memorable stores we went into was Merci. A homewares store on steroids! Complete with perfume lab, super cute car & a cosy little library/cafe.
A must see!
{111 Boulevard Beaumarchais}

 And heres one from the Galleries Layfayette

Paris {honeymoon snaps}

I drove Ben crazy taking photos of all the divine doors, windows & awnings around Paris.

Here are some of my favourites!

Oh & me in front of one of them in the marais

{all photos by me!}

Paris Eats {our honeymoon}

We rode everywhere on the 'Velib' bikes, including to dinner at night!

Paris has a system of 'rental' bikes - there are racks everywhere & you swipe your credit card as a deposit, the first hour is free & after that it costs around 1 euro an hour. It ends up opting you next to nothing as nowhere you want to go would be more than a half hour easy ride, so you have racked your bike before you get charged! Some of my favourite memories are of us cruising with the parisian traffic on these bikes {including riding back to our hotel at midnight through the deserted streets after climbing the eiffel tower} 

If you are in Paris don't be afraid of riding the bikes everywhere, unlike Australia the cars are very accommodating of you!

Here we are in the Place des Voges on our way to dinner one night. 

One of my most loved photos {in fact ive just decided ill frame this}

I took it quickly as we were walking past a bistro we ate at in the marais a few times 

Les Philosopes - menu in french only but the waiter was willing to help us out after we tried to speak French {badly!}

Our local corner cafe - the uber cool Cafe St Regis on Ile Saint Louis

Where i discovered wine was cheaper than water or coffee!  Suited me just fine! ;)

Most afternoons we had a little picnic of things we'd picked up during the day from local markets, fromagers {cheese shops} 

& boulangerie {bakery} oh & lets not forget the french bubbly that was around $30aud for a bottle of Veuve!

Yep - there is the French bubbly, casually placed above the juice at the corner store!

Rue Cler is a classic Parisian foodie street to check out. 

We had a fabulous lunch at Cafe Du Marche

A typical parisian lunch - salmon tartar, melon & jamon & a carafe of rose!

One of our trips to the daily markets that are all over Paris. 

The wine is not only beautiful, but so cheap & largely free of preservatives 

{perhaps why you, and all the Parisians - can easily drink with lunch & dinner & not feel the effects!}

A picnic lunch in the Jardin de Luxembourg

{tragically we got there & realised we forgot the corkscrew!}

And of course we made the pilgrimage to Laduree!

An old university friend recommended Robert et Louise to us.

A tiny, easy to miss place in the Marais. You walk in to a cosy/crowded bar with communal tables & an open woodier oven at the end of the room. We ate the largest, rarest & most amazing steak ive ever tasted! It was here we leant that if you usually eat your steak medium rare, its best to order medium in France, we ordered medium rare & it came out virtually blue! There was no way we were brave enough to send it back, but it melted in your mouth! Served with a simple sprinkle of sea salt, wood fired potatoes & salad leaves!

One of the best meals we had was at Cafe Constant.

Right near the Eiffel Tower & owned by Michelin star chef Christian Constant but minus the price tag! 

Always buzzing, you may have to wait but its worth it! We sat at an upstairs window & had gazpacho to start, 

then sea bass with vegetables & ben had the confit duck! Trust me, don't miss it!

And then after this meal we headed over to the Eiffel Tower.

We climbed up the stairs {the lifts were broken!!} where i proceeded to have a panic attack half way up...

Turns out I'm more scared of heights & falling than i thought..embarrassing! 

I waited at the first level {away from the fence haha} while ben went up to the next level.

Seeing the hourly light show almost made me die of excitement! 

PS. I put on 3kgs in 6 weeks in France. As food lovers we wanted to try it all!

Don't go there expecting to be on a diet, walk & cycle your way around & it should minimise the damage!

{Michelle Bridges certainly wouldn't have approved hehe}

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