I love Paris in the Springtime...

What a perfectly lovely weekend spent in Paris with my friend, L ...blessed by fabulous sunshine and warm temperatures, and filled with the type of conversations that just meld seamlessly from one to another and are a hallmark of such a lovely, lasting friendship - irrespective of the fact that due to our individual circumstances, we now so rarely have an opportunity to see one another face to face. So, we made sure to relish every single moment during our 48 hours.

L had flown into Paris on Thursday, so when I arrived on Saturday morning we decided to set off on foot for a meander through Paris - which took us from Opera, into the Marais, across the Seine, into the Luxembourg Gardens, back to the Seine for a picnic, and eventually home via the Louvre...and before you think we were incredibly virtuous for walking all of that way, there were actually many stops along the way (for coffee, for lunch, for ice-cream, and finally for our picnic - which included a somewhat shocking 8 euro punnet of strawberries...but they were delicious).

Here are some images of our day...

Sunday was equally as warm so we made an early start northwards to the Marche aux Puces (17 acres of antique markets). It was the first time either of us had been - and there were just so many treasures to discover. I was very remiss in taking photos, but thanks to L's brilliant eye for finding treasures, I came home with these two lovely memories...

Into my luggage went an antique map of Australia (in French), and a sweet little silver cheese knife...

I had been looking online at vintage maps for a little while, so this was a perfect find - a nod to the country of my birth, and a memory of such a lovely weekend...

...and the planning has already started for a holiday next year to Kenya (where L lives), Well, I say Kenya, but there was also talk of Ethiopia and Zanzibar (plus an visit to the elephant orphanage in Nairobi). So much to look forward to...