Favorite Moments in Paris

I swung by Paris for only three days last April, but I made the best of them. The photos below showcase my favorite moments from my most recent trip to the belle ville.

Reuniting with old friends

Capture the Colour Photo Contest 2013

For the second year in a row, Travel Supermarket is hosting Capture the Colour, a contest in which travel and photography bloggers showcase five pictures, each featuring a different color -- yellow, red, green, white, and blue. Each blogger then nominates five fellow bloggers to enter the contest, which ends October 9.

Recently, Joe of Cosmic Smudge nominated me. Yay! There's no way I'm winning this thing, but it's fun to participate because 1) it makes me feel like part of the travel blogger community and 2) it gives me an excuse to spell the word colour with a u. So here goes.

Sir Gnome's Paris Highlights

A London resident, Sir Gnome visits Paris as often as his busy life allows. After all, it's an easy trip across the English Channel on the Eurostar. He loves making new discoveries in the "city of lights" -- venturing outside the city center, finding hidden corners, dining at bistros that tourist guides ignore. However, while Sir Gnome loves an adventure, he also finds comfort in the familiar. For this reason, he has chosen to share the three experiences he can never do without in Paris. Below are his photos and descriptions.

How I Argued with a Grumpy Old Frenchman and Won (sort of)

- "Look, monsieur, I don't know who you're talking about, but I booked a room for two."

Grand Hôtel du Loiret is a classically Parisian budget hotel -- small, quaint, locally owned, and centrally located. After checking out the official website and reading mostly positive reviews on Trip Advisor, I decided to give this hotel a shot. I booked over the phone and then emailed the hotel to request a confirmation. Below is a translated and heavily abbreviated version of that email exchange:

Paris Picture-Takers

I lived in Paris for a period of six months as a college student, and I've visited the city while on vacation a total of six times. Lucky moi. When I travel there now, it feels more like a second home than a travel destination. I'd much rather sit at a café all day than venture to the top of the Eiffel Tower. That said, I can't keep myself from snapping photos of the same famous structures over and over again. It's beyond my control. On my most recent trip to Paris, I tried a new approach -- capturing the city from the perspective of a first-timer by taking pictures of people taking pictures. Below are the results of my mini meta-photo project.