Paris – SMALLCRAZY https://www.smallcrazy.com The FUN Blog! Tue, 20 Jun 2017 10:00:51 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 The Best Apartment in Paris! https://www.smallcrazy.com/best-apartment-paris/ https://www.smallcrazy.com/best-apartment-paris/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2017 05:20:51 +0000 http://www.smallcrazy.com/?p=5420 ..that I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in, anyway 🙂 Jumper: Pull & Bear // Skirt: Zara I visited Paris for the fourth time in December. My little sister, who was still under the legal drinking age in the US,...

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..that I’ve ever had the pleasure of staying in, anyway 🙂 paris apartment window

Jumper: Pull & Bear // Skirt: Zara

I visited Paris for the fourth time in December. My little sister, who was still under the legal drinking age in the US, was flying over to share a few bottles of wine with me. I was so excited. I hadn’t seen her for almost two years. We were meeting at Le Marais early on a Sunday morning. Except we got the dates wrong and she was only to arrive on Monday.

Meaning, I got on that EXTREMELY EARLY (6am) flight FOR NOTHING! I blame everything on my sister of course (no but really it was her fault).

I was in town by 9am. By this time, I was already feeling glad that I’d arranged my accommodation via Cobblestone Paris – I had the mobile number for David, who was my ‘personal English-speaking greeter’ (haha) and who was making a special effort to ensure I could access the apartment early. You know that feeling of being taken care of? When you can relax in the security that someone’s there just to make sure you get to your destination smoothly and safely? IT IS A VERY GOOD FEELING.

I passed (read:wasted) some time drinking expensive hot chocolate (I had just come from Portugal, so if it cost more than €2, it’s expensive) at a cafe across the street, which name I still giggle at when I say it in my mind (Cafe Le Spicy). I was SO GLAD when David came and rescued me – I was about to drop dead from sleep deprivation ..and watery hot chocolate.

le marais building

One of those corner units on the left was where I stayed.

According to David, apartments with a wraparound corner balcony were highly sought after in Paris.

Once in the building, I ticked off a new life experience:
I rode in the tiniest lift in the world. It must’ve been something like 75x75cm! Amazing!!

The exhaustion I was feeling dissipated as soon as I stepped inside and saw just how beautiful the apartment was:

beautiful le marais apartment

No, the flowers aren’t real, haha!

The living room had the high ceilings that I LOVE, and a generous helping of those tall French windows that I LOVE.

I WAS IN LOVE.

cobblestone paris

Chestnut, my pet fox, came to Paris too. It was his first time.

Charming chandelier.

Guidebooks galore.

More faux flora.

HIGH SPEED WIFI.

HEATERS IN ALL ROOMS.

Life was good!

Oh, the apartment also comes with a landline that you’re free to use make calls to any country in the world except one (was it Nicaragua? I forgot).

Even though David shared a good list of local recommendations with me, shamefully I barely remembered anything.. French names are really difficult to remember if you can’t visualise them!

I suppose I didn’t work my brain too hard because I knew that David was so communicative by text and I could ask him again at any time.. (which I did).

There was also comprehensive Apartment Guidebook with more than you’d need to know. This includes instructions for the dishwasher, laundry, etc, and most importantly, information about WHERE TO EAT.

It even has a page about Parisian social etiquette – Parisians are not RUDE. They are FORMAL. 😀

Looks like I was set for a great few days in Paris. No stress!

PATISSERIE STOHRER // RUE MONTORGUIEL

patisserie stohrer

Rue Montorgueil – one of David’s ‘local recommendations’ – is a lively pedestrian street – one of Paris’ permanent market streets – occupied by a diverse selection of restaurants, patisseries, cafes, cheese & wine shops, fishmongers & butchers, and even a few bars and bistros. Only a short walk from our apartment, we wandered here on one of our lazy days.

The aim was to visit La Maison Stohrer, “La plus ancienne pâtisserie de Paris”.
Meaning.. ‘The oldest pastry shop in Paris”.

It was apparently so popular that even the Queen herself had made a visit – as you can see from the postcards on display, they’re not too modest to hide any evidence of this.

I was visually impressed by the savoury ‘cakes’ in the front window, with the crab shells and foie gras and smoked salmon, but couldn’t bring myself to sample any. I wanted something sweet. Plus, David raved about a certain rum cake that I absolutely must try, so it was that one item I walked out of the shop with. But stupidly, I didn’t eat it immediately and all the sticky rum juice later spilled out onto mine and my sister’s things. Lesson: Eat delicious things IMMEDIATELY.

rue montorgueil band

Amazing jazz & swing band!

The best part was running into this swing band performing in a corner, made up of four old friends. I loved them so much I bought their CD! CD? Who still uses CDs?? Haha.

 

HÔTEL DE VILLE

hotel de ville winter

HĂ´tel De Ville, home of the Paris City Hall, was also around the corner from the apartment. The square had turned into a vibrant meeting point during the holiday season, with a beautiful carousel and a number of street performers looking to bring some joy to adults and children alike (and then get their money).

I didn’t ride the carousel nor did I try to catch the bubbles – I think being in Paris made me feel like I had to be a bit more… FORMAL?!
So I just stood rigidly taking photos while my hands turned numb from the cold. I enjoyed it.

LE MOULIN ROUGE

le moulin rouge wind tunnel

This wasn’t anywhere near Le Marais but I had such a fun time that I wanted to share!

You may or may not already be familiar, but there is a huge drain cover opposite the Moulin Rouge building that creates a sort of vertical wind tunnel on the street (?? What do you call those things??). Loads of people were on it, mostly throwing their scarves in the air while their friends photographed them.

Lucky me, I had a skirt, and who knew it could be such fun to try to keep your skirt down in public? 😀

COBBLESTONE PARIS

beautiful parisian windows

Just can’t get enough of these windows..

I really couldn’t recommend Cobblestone enough if you’re looking for an apartment to rent in Paris and would prefer a stress-free, hassle-free experience. They’ve been in the business since 2004 – long before the age of Airbnb – and so they know what they’re doing. They currently offer 26 centrally located, beautifully furnished, fully serviced apartments that will definitely make you feel like you’re living the Parisian dream!

The apartment featured in this post is La Charme Du Marais.
If you use the code SMCRZY, you’ll get 10% off your booking 🙂

My favourite things about the apartment:

  • Wraparound balcony
  • Many many tall French windows with sash curtains – isn’t it also your dream to open the doors to look out at life from the terrace?
  • Wifi with super fast internet speeds
  • Complimentary bottle of wine and chocolate
  • It was warm in winter

Not-so-favourite things (hey gotta keep it real):

  • The pillows were rather hard
  • Small bathroom

*My stay with Cobblestone Paris was complimentary. All opinions are my own and are always honest!

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Fun at Mama Shelter Paris https://www.smallcrazy.com/mama-shelter-paris/ https://www.smallcrazy.com/mama-shelter-paris/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2015 01:21:39 +0000 http://www.smallcrazy.com/?p=4952 I want to tell you about what a fun time I had in Paris, staying at the super-cool, Philippe Starck-designed Mama Shelter Hotel. This was in January, when I’d just come from Christmas celebrations in Porto and ushering in the...

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I want to tell you about what a fun time I had in Paris, staying at the super-cool, Philippe Starck-designed Mama Shelter Hotel. This was in January, when I’d just come from Christmas celebrations in Porto and ushering in the New Year in Granada (with a mouthful of grapes..).

Arriving late at night and looking dishevelled, I stepped out of my taxi feeling extremely out of place. It was a Thursday night and there were all these chic and trendy looking people on the steps outside; girls in fur coats and high heels. I could hear music coming from inside the building. Then there was ME. In jeans and flat hair and no makeup.. accompanied by my unglamorous red suitcase.

Reminding myself that “no, I don’t look like this NORMALLY”, I proceeded to check in and resigned myself to a night in to rest up before meeting with friends the next day.

mama shelter shoes

But hey at least I had pretty alright shoes (they’re Topshop, if you’re wondering).

Funny masks are provided in every room. So is an iMac that has all the info you need, including maps and a list of recommended bars/restaurant/shops in the neighbourhood (Charonne) and Paris in general. Plus a whole load of TV channels.

And.. there’s also free porn! LOTS of it, at no extra charge. I had a good browse and noticed they included gay porn too. All bases covered huh!

mama shelter porn

There wasn’t much of a view, but it was so good to have that whole big comfy bed to myself after having had to share, before coming to Paris.

mama shelter welcome

I spent the first morning indulging myself in a super-long shower followed by lots of lounging around naked and I took my time moisturising every inch of my body. It’s important!

pizzeria and bar

Left: Reception area // Right: The bar

The shelves on the left contain a whole assortment of fun things you can buy to make your stay a little more vibrant. They include party packs, toys, novelty items, more masks, and some arty things that you’ll want to have despite them being of no real use. I’m certain there was a section with some actually useful stuff as well..

pizzeria and table

The pizzeria’s meant to be really good. I didn’t manage to eat there though – I was too eager to go out and stuff my face with all the French food I could find.

I did however spend one night at the restaurant/bar. The music was excellent and the vibe upbeat! It seemed to be frequented by a lot of the local residents/Parisians, which I really enjoyed.

WHAT’S YOUR ROOM NUMBER?

We bumped (literally) into a loud, over-confident French chick who looked somewhat like Alex Vause from Orange is the New Black. She was SO BOLD. She ‘introduced’ herself to me by grabbing my arm, with a too-enthusiastic HEYYYYYYY. No holds barred, she proceeded to ask my friend (female) and I if we were sleeping with each other – but in a much, much more direct manner than how I’m describing it here (use our imagination).

Then she invited us to Mexico.
Why? Because she and her friends were going in two weeks.
Why?  Because, she’s getting married to a man, who knows she is gay, but doesn’t seem to mind, although he’s not aware that she’s still sleeping with girls. That’s what I got from it anyway!

“So why are you getting married???”

“Why not?? It’s fun!!”

That was it. I liked her.

We hung out with her and her friends, who all worked in TV (although at that point I didn’t know what to believe anymore). She couldn’t stop trying to find out our room number. She would slyly insert, mid-conversation, totally irrelevantly – so what’s your room number?

I found it soooooo hilarious. SHE was freaking hilarious. Made my night!

PLAYTIME IN BED

mama shelter lights

They had these lights.. probably some kind of utility lights with long cords, but they provided lots of entertainment, especially with the mirrors on opposing walls. Simple pleasures!

mama shelter masks

We must’ve spent two hours just fooling around on the bed with these props. Such kids!
AH! That’s just it – the hotel’s tagline is ‘Mama Loves You’!

Here are a couple of videos we recorded (very silly):

Four nights in that room went by in no time! Melissa left day earlier, so I got another night on my own to bring out my inner teenager and giggle at some super-cheesy porn movies. And enjoy some nude sleeping.

alone in room

Oh! You can also take pictures and videos of yourself using the iMac camera and send it to Mama.. or yourself via email.

Everything was fab – location, service, ambience, food, entertainment – save for a weird technical glitch that interfered with my porn watching the iMac screen sometimes which was never fixed (probably a good thing).

I stayed in a Mama Luxe room. Prices from €109.

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