Hello everybody! It’s time for the weekly update from Loepsie’s Life :) This week was quite special, as I got to end it with two days in Paris. My good friend and I have this tradition of going on a little city trip every year around our birthdays, and we chose to visit Paris this year. More on that at the end of this diary, let’s start at the beginning of the week.
Gel manicure still going strong! Not in a million years was I expecting to have any nail polish last this long on me. Normal nail polish only lasts on my nails for about two days, so the fact that I went well over two weeks with the OPI Gelcolor is a miracle to me. It had grown out so much that it didn’t look good anymore though, so I painted over it with Essie’s Lady Like.
We got some amazing weather predictions in the Netherlands, so I decided now was the right time to tackle my wardrobe. I took my spring and summer clothes out of storage, purged some things I didn’t want any more, and put the really warm winter clothes away.
The result: a much more colourful wardrobe, all ready for warmer weather! I filmed the whole clearout process for a video, so you can check that out in case you’re interested.
A super simple dinner. I’ve noticed I’m starting to get lazy with my cooking, now that I’m cooking almost every single night. I don’t always feel like cooking up something new and exciting, so sometimes we end up eating boiled potatoes with steamed broccoli and vegan “steak”. The steak was something we tried for the first time, and I’m happy to report it doesn’t taste anything like steak, haha! It was good though :)
Nap time with my cuddly boy Llewelyn <3
Robbert was away for the night so I made myself another dish he doesn’t like: Turkish pizza. I’ve had my eye on this vegan Turkish pizza from the supermarket for a while now, and this was my opportunity to try it. I topped it with some fresh veggies, and I loved it! Will definitely be having more of these.
Llewelyn and I went on a quick little visit to the vet, as he’s still experiencing soft stool. The vet thinks there’s something going on with his bowels but can’t tell what it is without extensive and invasive examinations. As he still doesn’t seem bothered by it himself at all and is getting really old, we’ve decided to just treat the symptoms for now. He’s still a happy boy, luckily! Just one that leaves a smelly trail :)
Saturday morning, off to Paris! We took the train from Amsterdam, which will get you to Paris in three hours. It’s a super quick and comfortable journey, and you can bring all the liquids and batteries and sharp things that you want :) I wish I could travel everywhere by train this quickly!
We had a slight delay, and arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon. After taking a bit of time to change, we headed into town.
Paris is full of beautiful sights! Prepare to see a load of photos on Instagram the upcoming days, haha :)
Our first glimpse of the Eiffel tower. Both of us had already been there before so we decided not to visit it, but I’m still glad we got a look at it from afar a few times. It’s an icon, after all.
At the top of our to do list was to have tea and pastries at Ladurée. Oh my gosh guys, if there is one thing you do in Paris, let it be this. It’s 100% worth the (steep) price, these are the best pastries I’ve ever tasted and the tea is incredible as well.
We happened to walk past the Notre-Dame at mass, and luckily the doors were open so we were able to take a look. It was very impressive, let me tell you that. The cathedral is breathtaking, and the organ sounds amazing in there.
We went for dinner at Le Potager de Charlotte, a vegan restaurant that puts a lot of care into the food. We had chickpea pancakes with cashew cream as a starter, and I had a noodle dish as a main. It was delicious!
After dinner we hopped over to the Experimental Cocktail Club for a drink. We had no idea what the menu said so we ended up ordering something random, and fortunately it was a lucky guess :) The place was incredibly crowded but we found ourselves a nice spot to sit down after a while.
“Can you take a photo?” “Nah, it’s too dark. Maybe I can try…” And this is the charming result, haha!
Next morning we had breakfast at the hotel, before heading into town again.
The amount of tourists by the Sacré-Cœur! And tourism season is only just beginning… It’s a really beautiful building though, so I’m glad we went anyway, despite the crowd.
Afterwards we wanted to hop into Sephora, so we headed to the Champs-Élysées. We didn’t end up buying anything at Sephora, but we did spot a Five Guys across the street. Neither of us had ever eaten at one of those and we wanted to just grab something quick to eat, so we went in. I had a portion of fries which I later found out was meant for three or four people, haha! Ah, well… :)
We walked down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Again I was shocked by the behaviour of some of the tourists. There were people literally standing in the middle of a busy street with cars driving by at high speed on both sides, just to get a photo with the Arc. And I don’t mean your occasional Instagram model, I’m talking entire families with elders and children. Sometimes I wonder where common sense has gone.
For the last few hours of our stay, we decided to visit the Jardin de Tuilleries. It was nice to enjoy a calmer atmosphere for a while, and have an amazing Amorino ice cream by the water.
Afterwards we took the train home again. Robbert picked me up at the station in Amsterdam, and that was the end of my trip! I had a great week, and hope you did as well. See you soon!
