The Pineapple Chicken Blog

Hey everyone,

How is it a going? I am doing something new today! Currently, I am blogging on my phone, my poor attempt at being mobile and agile. This is also to prove to myself that I have no excuse not to update my little blog!

Let’s see how this works out, happy for anyone to put on a bet on how many spelling and grammar mistakes I make 🙂

I had not been back to Paris since I was probably 12 years old. However, since the summer of 2017, I have returned 3 times in the space of a couple of months. I anticipate I will be visiting even more this year as one of my best friends has moved there to work but also I think I have genuinely fallen in love with the city. In all honesty, I recall not enjoying my experience when I was younger; apart from Disneyland Paris, of course. As a result, it has never made it back into the ‘Places I want to go list’. However, this has all changed. Maybe I have grown older and have the freedom to do what I want (likely) or I have become more sophisticated (very unlikely).

This time round I spent about 2.5 days in Paris and made it to a culture and shopping trip! Here are some top tips and places to visit:

• The Louvre – you must be thinking, dude… Like everyone puts this on the list. Lame. However, I would also be stupid to not put it on here. It was amazing! I had not been back in roughly 15 years, so for me it was a brilliant experience. There was a massive queue to enter without prepaid tickets. However, it did move relatively quickly. Really worth the wait. Or you can be smart and just prebooked a ticket but for a premium if €2.50 (personally, worth it, just was disorganised). They currently have a massive exhibition on Delacroix, where infamous French Revolution painting is displayed. This is free of charge (after you pay admission), though you have to select it as an option. It is showing until July 23, so hurry!! Other recommendations include the relatively new Islamic Art space, Napoleon living quarters and the Apollo Gallery where the Crown jewels are held. Is it just me, but when diamonds are that big… They just look fake to me? So I wasn’t that impressed but the interior of the gallery is definitely not to be missed. Of course, I said hi to Mona but you have to battle against a sea of tourists to even catch a glimpse of her. I recommend just having a quick look and move on to the rest of the museum. I can go on and on, but as you can tell, it is a definite 5 out of 5 pineapples!

• Musee D’Orsay – I have never been before and I think it is wirth visiting if you are particularly interested in more modern art and the Impressionists movement. It is located in an old train station and the architecture alone is worth the visit. Definitely worth visiting the Van Gough gallery where his self portrait is located. Again just look for the sea of tourists. My favourite was on the top floor where through the clock face you can see the Sacre Cour across the river. It is a picture perfect moment that is worth the hard climb up the stairs… Or take the lift haha. I give the museum 4 out of 5 pineapples, just because I prefer the Louvre more and the layout is a bit odd.

• Shopping at La Marais is a must for all those fashionable and trendy and have a hefty wallet. I struggled because I couldn’t find things that were really within my price range but worth just wandering the little streets. You never know what treasure you might find. For that reason I give the area 3.5 pineapples.
• Pink Mamma is probably one of the most hipster and beautiful restaurants in Paris. It had a cult like following on Instagram and there was a massive queye waiting for it to open at 6.45pm. We arrive at 6pm and there was a queue of 30 people in front of us (weekend). We were so chuffed when we got seated in their beautiful and infamous greenhouse on the roof! The restaurant specialises in beef, however, I don’t eat red meat so it is a shame I couldn’t give a review. Though I did note most people went for their pizza and pasta. I also recommend their homemade lemonade which includes yuzu and pineapples! It was a lovely dining experience and the service was very friendly. However, I was not blown away by the food. Go for great pictures but not great food. Overall, 3 out of 5 pineapples.

That is all I have for this post but I am sure I will be back to Paris soon, so please do give me recommendations. Would love to try out new things!!

With Sweet & Sour Love,

Pineapple Chicken