First on the agenda today, was to visit the famous bookshop Shakespeare and Co! We took the metro to 'Saint-Michel Notre Dame', as the exit is opposite the cathedral and a swift walk away from the bookshop - which was handy!
Upstairs was like entering a whimsical labyrinth! There's a piano and type writers dotted around for you to entertain yourselves with and practically every nook and cranny is used by visitors to add their own post-it notes and messages to Paris or their future selves! I left one hidden somewhere in the typewriters booth!
"We'll always have Paris" - Casablanca
If there's ever a place to buy 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', it's here!
The little shop is full of character and if you buy a book, the lady will stamp the first page with the Shakespeare & Co stamp!
Next, we took the metro to 'Solferino' and walked along the famous bridge. Couples and families add their locks on, each keeping a copy of the key and throwing another copy into the River Seine. Since I don't get to see my dad as often as I'd like, I thought the idea had a sweet sentiment!
My dad bought me a silver chain for me to keep my key safe. I also added the lucky penny I found in Norway last September!
Next, we went on a boat tour on the River Seine for an hour...
It was worth it just for the lovely strangers waving and waving back!
Because in France New Years Eve is known as 'La Saint-Sylvestre', it's traditional to go for a feast with your family to celebrate. So, we wined and dined at Chartiers in Montmarte! Although there was a fifteen minute queue to get in and it's slightly off the beaten track, it was still worth it!
As there was just two of us, we were seated on the same table as a dutch couple, but this, no English menu and the waiters writing your order on the paper table cloth, all added to the overall old world vibe!
The parisian who helped us find Chartiers told us that the large wooden drawers were used many moons ago for customers to leave their napkins in!
We spent New Years Eve at the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre! At first, we walked around the artists village and I ended up getting a portrait drawn of me by one of the artists! He said since it was a special evening, he'd give us a discount price of just 15 euros! We then attended the late service in the Sacre Coeur cathedral, before heading out ten minutes before twelve!
The atmosphere was incredible! As the clock struck midnight, a fellow Northerner from England offered us a plastic glass of champagne as a good will gesture and minutes later, we found ourselves in the middle of a dancefloor besides some streetdancers who'd brought their own boombox!
If you ever go to Paris for New Years, I can't recommend Montmartre enough! The vibe and energy was the loveliest way to enter 2013!
