Paris, April 2013:

Bonjour!  Sadly, our brief trip to Paris is already over, but we managed to squeeze a lot of sightseeing into three days!  Although you might not want to hear it (Margaret, I'm looking at you...) we were treated to some amazing weather while we were there, which made it feel like a real holiday away from all the wind and rain.

The view from our room (points if you can spot a famous landmark!)

We stayed at the Hotel ibis Paris Sacré Coeur in Montmartre  which wasn't luxurious, but was a great budget hotel with a clean room, an ensuite bathroom (a commodity that can be difficult to come by in Paris) and even a view of the Eiffel Tower!

Paris from the Sacré Coeur

We arrived early on Monday afternoon.  After the first of many embarrassing linguistic exchanges in the airport ('Yes, yes, all the way to Paris.  Next!') we made it in one piece to our hotel, checked in and went straight out again to start exploring.  Our first stop was the nearby Sacré Coeur Basilica, the famous and extravagant church situated at the highest point in the city that really has to be seen to be believed.  It's completely free to admire the Sacré Coeur's breathtaking architecture, both inside and out.  However, we paid the extra €3 to go down into the (admittedly slightly creepy) crypt below the Basilica and have a snoop there too.

A beautifully ornate lamp post near the Louvre (Edinburgh City Council, take note!)

After lunch and ice cream in Montmartre, we made the mistake of skipping the Metro and walking all the way from Montmartre to the Louvre Museum, passing by the Moulin Rouge.  By this point, the sun well and truly had his hat on, and we spent a little while enjoying the weather in the grounds of the Louvre.

Time had slipped away from us a little by this point (probably should have taken the Metro!) and we decided that we didn't have time to see the inside of the Louvre before dinner.  Instead, we headed towards the Eiffel Tower and stopped off at Le Campanella Brasserie for dinner.  The restaurant had a very excitable maître d', but he was friendly and welcoming and we had a nice meal in the modern but cosy restaurant.

Beef bourguignon at Le Campanella 

The plan was to go up the Eiffel Tower at dusk in order to see the whole of Paris by both day and night, but (predictably) the queue was too long, and the security checks too inefficient to get us to the top of Paris's most famous landmark before nightfall.  Still, I can't really complain as the views were amazing, there was virtually no wind and every city is just as beautiful at night.

The river Seine by night from the Eiffel Tower

After choosing to walk down from the second floor of the tower (mistake) and getting well and truly lost on the unfamiliar and dark streets of the city, we admitted defeat and took a metro back to Montmartre.

On Tuesday we forced ourselves to get up early and hobble out on sore feet to see the awe inspiring Notre Dame Cathedral.  Like the Sacré Coeur, it's free to visit Notre Dame.  Craig and I were prepared to pay €8.50 to climb the 387 steps to the top of the cathedral, but the queue for the tower was already miles long, so we skipped it in favour of going back to the Louvre.

Colour coded 'love locks' on Pont des Arts

Of course, as any informed traveller will already know, the majority of museums and galleries in Paris are closed on Tuesdays.  In fact, even I already knew this, which is why I had specifically planned for us to visit the Louvre on Monday.  Whoops.  Undeterred, we walked along the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe and took in the view from up there.  We had great fun watching all the crazy driving and near misses on the roundabout underneath the landmark.  Driving in Paris is something else!

A panorama shot from the Arc de Triomphe

After resting our tired little legs back at the hotel for a while, we headed out in Montmartre to find some dinner.  Un Zebre a Montmartre has some great reviews on Tripadvisor, and we enjoyed a lovely dinner there.  The staff were really friendly, and actually let me attempt to speak some (very rusty) French when ordering, rather than interrupting in their much more fluent English.

We stopped for a couple of after dinner cocktails at the Café des Deux Moulins, which has become a popular tourist destination since the café was featured in the 2001 French film, Amélie, starring Audrey Tautou.  It was fun to visit (and peer at the glass case of film memorabilia kept in the toilets), but the cocktail menu was very uniform, and the drinks themselves didn't knock my socks off.

Props from Amélie 

Wednesday was devoted entirely to visiting the enormous and beautiful Palace of Versailles, and we still didn't manage to see all of it.  We took the train from Gare d'Austerlitz straight to Versailles (it's the 'C' line, if you're planning on making the trip!) and only had to walk for about five minutes before we reached the grounds of the palace.  I mean, you really can't miss it.

The weather was unbelievably nice and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, with the temperature (we found out later) averaging at around 25 degrees celsius.  If we had had the foresight to bring sun cream and two pairs of sunglasses, not just one between us, it would have been an idyllic day!

After queuing for a really, really long time (we did a lot of queuing on this holiday!) and sizzling in the sun, Craig got his ticket.  Before going inside, we had a picnic lunch in the beautiful gardens of the palace, which are free to visit, and could take weeks to properly explore, if you'd rather not pay to see the palace itself.  

The inside of the Palace of Versailles is stunning and decadent beyond belief.  I had visited once before (on a school exchange trip) but since seeing Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) I was itching to go back.

After seeing the palace, we explored more of the grounds, which cover around 800 hectares (over 1900 acres) in total.  Unsurprisingly, we didn't see all of the gardens, but we walked down to the boating lake and watched our fellow tourists attempt to operate rowing boats without bumping into each other (they mostly just bumped into each other, though).  You can also hire bikes and even golf buggies if your legs aren't up to the challenge of walking around Versailles.

I loved visiting Versailles, and can't complain about the amazing weather that we had, but Craig and I still felt pretty sorry for ourselves as we tried desperately to stay awake on the train back to Paris whilst realising the extent of our sunburn...  That night, we dragged ourselves back out into Montmartre for what turned out to be a very memorable farewell dinner (a quarter of a wheel of Raclette cheese between two of us!) and then gratefully hobbled back to the hotel to bed.

Raclette a l'ancienne for dinner

We left Paris early the next day and were back in Scotland around lunch time.  It was an amazing trip, and I'm pleased that we squeezed so much into such a short space of time.  In all honesty, I kind of felt like I needed a holiday to recover from my holiday once we got home!

Have any of you visited Paris recently, or are you planning a trip?  You might find it useful to know that if you live in the EU, are under 26 and have a passport or driving licence handy to prove it, you will be eligible for free or reduced entry into quite a few Paris landmarks.  The Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Palace of Versailles and even the Eiffel Tower were all free or at least slightly cheaper for me, so keep your ID handy if you are holidaying there soon!

Au revoir:

We're off to Paris!

In fact, if this works properly, Craig and I will already be in Paris when this post goes live!  I'm sure there'll be many new photos and stories to share when we get back, but for now please enjoy a few of my favourites from my last trip there.

See you all soon!

Record Store Day 2013:

Source: here

Yesterday (Saturday 20th April) was international Record Store Day, an annual celebration of independent record shops that started in 2007.  Every year, a huge number of well known bands and artists put out special releases (usually on vinyl) especially for Record Store Day, and these can only be bought in person in independent record stores.  This usually involves a lot of queueing, and we certainly did our fair share this year!

This is only the third year I've really been aware of Record Store Day.  During the first year (2011) we accidentally bumped into Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit in the Grassmarket and I got to meet one of my songwriting heroes.  This only happened because Frightened Rabbit were playing a set in Avalanche (Edinburgh) in honour of Record Store Day.  The special gigs and in store appearances are probably my favourite part of the whole thing, you can't beat some good live music from your favourite bands!

We started Record Store Day 2013 early at Vox Box in Stockbridge, where we joined a refreshingly short queue and were let into the shop promptly at 9:30am.  Because there weren't very many of us waiting, Ruaridh and Craig (my RSD partners in crime) managed to pick up the majority of the purchases they were looking for straight away.  It's definitely worth going a little bit out of the away to avoid queuing round the corner!  The staff at Vox Box were very helpful and knowledgeable, and they were also putting on some great live music later on in the day, which unfortunately we couldn't make it to.

Source: here

After a quick stop at Coda and an attempted visit to Underground Solu'shn (see aforementioned enormous queues!) we caught a train to Glasgow for more RSD fun.  Our first port of call was Love Music, where we stood in a motionless queue for ten minutes before deciding we needed a drink!

One of the many plus points about Monorail Music is that it's attached to a bar.  We still had to join an enormous queue to get inside, but once indoors we were rewarded with the opportunity to buy a pint and drink it while we waited to get into the record shop.

We stayed at Mono for an all vegan lunch (which converted even Craig, the most enthusiastic of meat eaters) and enjoyed the atmosphere.  The venue works hard to be family friendly, whilst still catering to its vinyl junkie customers, and there is none of the squashed frenzy that we experienced elsewhere.  Mono is the most serene RSD venue I have visited, once you have waited out the queue, of course.

Once we'd been fed and watered we headed back to Love Music to see Three Blind Wolves perform, and to buy their special Record Store Day EP.  Love was exceptionally cramped, and even getting from the front door to the till was a sweaty battle, but I'm sure the store's owners were pleased by how busy it was!  I couldn't comfortably make it inside to see Three Blind Wolves, but I listened and sang along from the doorway with the sun shining down on me and my sunglasses on!

After Three Blind Wolves, we had an excellent dinner (and cocktails) at the aptly named Cocktail & Burger on Sauchiehall Street before getting the train back to Edinburgh.  Our collective record haul is pictured above, for your viewing pleasure.  Did you do anything special for Record Store Day this year?  If not, join us next year!

What I'm watching #1:

I've been watching a ton of TV lately across a whole variety of genres.  There are some old favourites on the list as well as some unlikely newcomers, so I thought I'd share with you all in case you need some help deciding on your next telly obsession.

Source: here

The Mindy Project was created by and stars the witty and talented Mindy Kaling (who you may know as Kelly Kapoor from The Office).  The Mindy Project is a light hearted comedy (with the odd surreal moment thrown in for good measure) centred around the wistfully single, thirty-something Mindy Lahiri.  At first, I described the show to those who hadn't seen it as 'Bridget Jones-esque' (and got a few groans in response, particularly from Craig...).  However, in my opinion, as the first season unfolds, the somewhat predictable main plot point of Mindy's tempestuous love life is balanced out by her brilliantly strong and funny supporting cast and their own characters' stories.  In short, once I had persuaded Craig to watch a couple of episodes, I caught him chuckling away at Mindy and her colleagues just as much as I did.  There are some great celebrity cameos in the majority of episodes, and bear in mind that Mindy Kaling was a writer for The Office, as well as an actor, so if you like one then you will probably enjoy the other!

Source: here

Despite being one of the biggest scaredy cats the world has ever known, I recently decided to give American Horror Story a go.  Somehow I convinced myself that a TV show simply couldn't be as scary as a film.  Surely they wouldn't be allowed to actually put anything remotely disturbing on American prime time TV?  Surely I couldn't get anywhere near as creeped out by a TV episode in my own living room (in broad daylight) than I could in a tense and pitch black cinema screen for several hours?  I was wrong.  

The first season of American Horror Story is set in an infamous 'murder house' in Los Angeles, and centres on its inhabitants, both past and present.  The second season, which Craig and I are currently working our way through, takes place largely inside an insane asylum and, again, focuses on the stories of the people there.  The premises of both seasons are typical of their genre, and the show blatantly borrows from many famous horror films, as well as real crimes.  On top of that, the show's story lines can be fairly exaggerated (verging on excessive) and seem to run away from the writers at points, particularly in the first season.  

Yet, somehow, it still works.  American Horror Story is still gripping and definitely still scary, especially for a chicken like me, but also for a horror fanatic like Craig.  In my opinion, the dramatic plot twists are the best part of the show, and these are especially well thought out and executed in the second, 'Asylum' season.  Evan Peters and Jessica Lange deserve a special mention for delivering the best acting performances throughout both series, and they both make up for and carry the weaker actors in the show.

Source: here

I couldn't be happier that Mad Men is back on our screens again.  Although a lot has changed in six seasons, the show still adds a much needed dose of glamour to my humdrum life.  As I'm sure you'll all know by now, Mad Men is set in the 1960s and follows an advertising agency (or group of 'ad men' - took me a worryingly long time to make that connection!) through both their work and personal lives.  Jon Hamm plays Don Draper, the leading man everyone loves to love and loves to hate in equal measure, and he is backed up by an excellent supporting cast.  John Slattery, as Roger Sterling, is one of my personal favourites, and his character adds some much needed comic relief to the show's more over dramatic story lines.  If you haven't seen Mad Men before, start from the beginning.  You have a lot to look forward to!

Source: here

Breaking Bad is another TV show that has been a favourite for a while (thanks to my old flatmate, Liam, who introduced me to a lot of great programs!).  Breaking Bad follows the story of a high school chemistry teacher who feels forced to begin producing and selling crystal meth in order to provide for his family.  As you can imagine (and considering that there are currently five seasons) there are some consequences.  If you've never seen Breaking Bad before, I have two questions for you:

1) Remember Malcolm in the Middle?  
2) Remember Malcolm's Dad, Hal?

The mild mannered Hal was played by actor Bryan Cranston, who also plays Walter White, the main character in Breaking Bad.  I only ask about Malcolm in the Middle, because if you remember Hal and then watch Breaking Bad, I think it becomes immediately clear how versatile an actor Cranston is.  The show is extremely tense at points, as you might expect from its subject matter, but it has its comedic moments as well, particularly in the earlier episodes.  Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, is easily my favourite character, and I'm always rooting for him.  Quite recently, one of my managers at work became utterly obsessed with Breaking Bad, and was so excited to tell me where he was in the story every time we spoke.  It just goes to show that anyone can get addicted!

I'm still dutifully watching the US remake of mockumentary sitcom The Office in its ninth and final season, feeling simultaneously heartbroken and relieved with every new episode.  The show and its amazing cast make me laugh just as much as they always have, but something isn't quite the same any more.  So many brilliant characters have left (some without any explanation) and, as has become the tradition with most American sitcoms, The Office has begun to drag out a little.  I'm looking forward to the finale, as I hear lots of old cast members will be coming back.  Don't get me wrong, I will be very sad to see The Office go, but there is nothing better than going back to the very beginning and starting it all over again.  If you haven't done it already yourself, I highly recommend it!


Are you as addicted to any of these programs as I am?  What have you been watching?  I've already been told by a few friends that I should try Girls next.  I'd love to hear some suggestions for shows to check out in the future, if you have any recommendations!

Instagram #9:

Ooft, it's been a busy month!  Where did March go?

1. Wearing sunglasses for the first time this year!  2. These butterflies were all over trees in the Meadows one night on the way to the gym  3. A rainbow spotted after work

4. Fluffy clouds and blue sky (unheard of!)  5. My glow in the dark drink in Hive...  6. Craig helping me to straighten up our frame college for this recent post

7. A birthday Instagram dedication to my best and most elderly pal, Emily  8. I desperately wish I could afford these goldfish dinner plates from Anthropologie (sadly not at £16 a pop...)  9. Classy train drinking on the way to Dundee with Steven

10. A creepy collage of Steven sleeping...  11. The train home, only slightly worse for wear  12. Bulmers and tea at the amazing City Cafe

13. City Cafe's adorable menu  14. My new anchor jumper, featured in this post  15. A no filter shot from the bus stop outside work.  It can be surprisingly beautiful there!

16. Easter egg inspired nails  17. Craig looking super pretty!  18. Our combined Easter egg haul

19. An Easter egg hunt in my parents' garden (never too old)  20. New place mats featuring some feathered friends  21. My little totem pole cocktail friend at 52 Canoes Tiki Den (read my post about it here)

22. My cocktail mermaid face  23. Watching The Mindy Project on one laptop whilst blogging on the other from my cosy bed - bliss!  24. Emulating Don Draper with a horrendously strong old fashioned from Bar Kohl

Somehow I managed to miss this photo out (I'm way too tired, you guys) so I'm putting it here in pride of place!  Aren't they the cutest?

As always, leave me your Instagram username in a comment, if you like! #forevernosey

52 Canoes Tiki Den:

I first became aware of 52 Canoes Tiki Den through photos on a friends Instagram.  As soon as I saw their cocktails in totem poles and skull shaped glasses, I was itching to visit and try them for myself.  So, under the pretence of going out for dinner, I dragged Craig and my big sister, Helen, along to sample as many cocktails as possible with me.

52 Canoes is the closest thing Edinburgh has to a tropical beach holiday, hidden downstairs in a basement building on Melville Place in the West End.  The bar is dark, but not dingy, and the tiki themed decoration is consistent without being tacky.  After reading a few reviews online, I was pleased to discover that the Tiki Den is famous for its food as well as its cocktails, particularly the nachos.

Our menus arrived with a pitcher of pink water infused with lemon and what we decided must be some kind of blossom (hence the unusual colour).  You know the cocktails are going to be good when even the water is pink!

When our first round of drinks arrived, I was very excited to find out that mine was in one of the aforementioned totem pole style glasses.  Overexcited, really.  Probably the most excited I've ever been about a beverage.  Most of the drinks are rum based, but Helen was pleased to find a cocktail featuring her favourite wine!  (See the huge wine glass it came in below!)

I loved this little guy!

When the pulled pork nachos that we ordered arrived, I was very glad we had decided to share one serving between three of us!  Somehow, we did manage to finish them.

As you can see, enormous portions seem to be the norm at the Tiki Den.  My 52 Canoes burger (with bacon and two kinds of cheese) tasted amazing, but I could only manage to eat half of what was on my plate, which is pretty rare for me!

Still, there was a wee bit of room left for another cocktail, and my coconutty 'Bahia' (in the blue glass) was delicious.

I think Craig's choice (which arrived on fire, and stayed burning for at least 10 minutes!) deserves a special mention.

After the meal, we paid our bill (which arrived with a huge selection of sweeties) and, with our waiter's blessing, pinched a lei necklace each from the rafters of the bar.  Overall, I really enjoyed visiting 52 Canoes Tiki Den and can't wait to go back.  Unlike a lot of bars and restaurants in Edinburgh, I felt like I actually got my money's worth for both food and drinks there.  The staff were friendly and helpful, despite obviously being rushed off their feet.  Maybe the fact that the place was so busy on a Thursday night speaks for itself, but if you're a cocktail enthusiast (or just appreciate good nachos and burgers) then you should definitely pay the Tiki Den a visit!

You can like 52 Canoes Tiki Den's Facebook page here for more information about their menu and special events that they have going on!

Inferior Playlist #1:

As you may have gathered by now, if you've spent some time on my blog, I'm a huge music fan (but who isn't, really?).  My commute every day takes about 45 minutes each way by bus, and is only made bearable by music.  For most of my life I've been a serial 'shuffler', by which I mean that I'll just stick the contents of my whole iPod on shuffle and listen to whatever it decides I should.  However, I've started to realise that in shuffle mode my iPod plays favourites with some tracks and never deigns to let me listen to others.  In the past, this has meant that I'll put whole albums on there and only end up hearing a few songs from a perfectly enjoyable full record.

Source: here

Constantly listening to the same songs on shuffle has (sadly, but inevitably) made me hate the songs that my iPod seems to be overly attached to.  As a result of this, I suppose, my listening habits have changed quite drastically over the last couple of months.  I now listen to full albums.  From the beginning to the end.  A few times.  Then I pass judgement.  Crazy, right?

I thought I would celebrate by starting a new monthly blog feature!  So, as you will already have read, this is my first Inferior Playlist for the month of March:

The Favourite:

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire (2007)

Source: here

As I mentioned in this post a while ago, I've only recently started listening to Arcade Fire, but I'm so glad that I did.  I really enjoyed their first album, Funeral, but I've been obsessed with listening to Neon Bible this month (and most of last month too!).  Almost every song is great, but my favourite stand out tracks are Black Mirror, Ocean of Noise and My Body Is a Cage.  I love this album's moody feel, and the big organ sounds on lots of the songs never fail to send shivers down my spine.

The Old Favourite:

Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit (2013)

Source: here

I wrote a whole post on seeing Frightened Rabbit live (read it here) very recently at the Barrowlands in Glasgow.  They are one of my all time favourite bands, and I pre-ordered a copy of the new album but (in true Alex style) didn't get around to listening to it properly until a few days before the gig.  Since then, so many of the songs have been stuck in my head and it's been played most mornings on the bus.  My favourites are Late March Death March, Nitrous Gas and Dead Now, but all of the songs grow on me every time I listen to them.  I'd say this album is grungier than Frightened Rabbit's earlier albums, but with the same sometimes painfully honest and heartwrenching lyrics.

The Newcomer:

Read Music/Speak Spanish by Desaparecidos (2002)

Source: here

Although I've been a huge fan of the band Bright Eyes and its frontman, Conor Oberst, for many years, I'd never listened to his other band Desaparecidos before buying tickets to see them live.  As Oberst is one of my favourite musicians (and hands down my favourite lyricist) I was pretty sure that the band's music wouldn't disappoint, and it didn't!  Although I haven't listened to Read Music/Speak Spanish as thoroughly as I would like to, it's an excellent album and I look forward to spending more time on it.  Greater Omaha, Man and Wife, The Latter (Damaged Goods) and The Happiest Place On Earth are my favourite tracks so far, and the band's sound is a great combination of angry punk and thought provoking lyrics.

The Wildcard:

Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (featuring Wanz) (2012)

Source: here

At the risk of making myself sound like an old lady, I probably won't be including chart music on my monthly playlists very often.  This isn't even an album, just a single, but it's damn catchy.  Lyrics are usually the main factor that attract me to a song, so I find myself enjoying a surprising amount of rap, and the more tongue in cheek the better.  (I know more Lonely Island songs off by heart than I'd like to admit.)  Listen to Thrift Shop here and make your own mind up (but be warned there are a lot of swear words!).  Sorry, Mum.

What have you been listening to lately?  Please feel free to leave me ideas for what I should listen to in April, all suggestions welcome!