music, art and daily sorbets

I finally got the chance to visit Alizee in Paris! 🥐 I’ve been to Paris a couple of times now to see her but this time it was extra special since I got to witness her first orchestra concert 🎻 🎶

I took the Eurostar to Gare du Nord after work on a Tuesday night and roughly 2.5 hours later, I was off the train and heading to Alizee’s :) It was pretty late by the time I got to hers so we had a quick catch-up and headed to bed. The next day, I had the day to myself before her concert so I visited Petite Palace, a museum with great sculptures and paintings you can see all for free entry! The building is gorgeous and I found a fun piece of a boy sitting on a staircase of books with his head in the ceiling. I then took the metro and went to a few other places, but my favorite was seeing the oldest square in Paris at Place des Vosges . There were a few people dancing, some sun bathing and it was nice to just people watch for a few minutes before heading to her concert.

The concert was amazing and seeing Alizee perform the violin made me feel like a proud mom since I saw her practicing the violin 2 years before with Rosalie! Her orchestra played 3 songs and later another orchestra conducted by the same lady played as well. I truely enjoyed it and loved witnessing Alizee’s greatness!

The next day, we got on a train to Giverny to see Monet’s house and garden! The train ride was only an hour long, and after another hour’s walk, we reached Monet’s house and garden, where we were met with a whole lot of tourists! We didn’t expect this many people on a weekday and with the added heat, we were exhausted by the time we finished seeing everything. Despite the crowd, I enjoyed seeing his garden with its lily pads and bridges. After taking a hydration break, we headed to our airbnb where we dropped off our backpacks, and then headed to a Michelin star restaurant called La Musardiere, where I had the best French cuisine! We had a 3 course meal with fresh veggies and fish that I had been craving for so long! Everything they served tasted amazing and I wish I could go back for that fish again 🐟

The next day, we did a 7km hike around Giverny. It was boiling hot but we completed the hike, and luckily saw a deer along the way! Before heading back, we went to the local church and listened to a piano concert which was so lovely! Giverny was all in all a lovely place to visit, full of music and art and great delis that serve one of the best sandwiches we’ve had!

On my last day, we had our Japanese day in Paris, starting it off with karaoke! 🎤 We went to the same karaoke bar as we did a few years back, and had another great karaoke session! It brought back our uni times in Tokyo, and we practically sang the same songs we did back then too! We then went to go see an art exhibition which was lovely, and to end the day,Japanese food for dinner- the best way end the trip!

I had an amazing time in Paris yet again, thanks to Alizee! Can’t wait to visit again for the next concert!