I’ve just returned from four nights in Paris. It was 🔥🔥🔥. 35 degrees at one point yesterday! It was my first non-work trip since my health issues and while my blood sugar was more than a bit rollercoaster-y it was all fine and generally relaxing – despite more than a few emergency sweets.

I love Eurostar – so much more civilised than flying – and my hotel was steps away from Gare du Nord but hipster enough for my tastes (and had great wifi and aircon).

Being so close to the station meant the Metro was a breeze as well so as well as attend the two exhibitions I was there for I also did some neighbourhood exploring inspired by Giulia Blocal’s street art newsletter and her Paris city guide.

It was also my first (ever) trip when I wasn’t drinking. This was weird and took some getting used to – I definitely spoke to fewer randoms and was less adventurous with the solo dining. I ended up finding a couple of places that sold Heineken 0.0 (6 euros a bottle!) but it is safe to say the No/Low Alcohol revolution hadn’t reached the corners of Paris I was exploring!

Thank you NordVPN and the BBC iPlayer/ITVX World Cup highlights as well – I definitely wasn’t staying up for matches. Even the England game proved too much (a 10pm kick off after a day out and about was beyond me).

Anyway – it was a fun few days – I feel pretty chill and my experiment with shorts and LONG socks didn’t get too many laughs (I did get stopped in the street twice for people to compliment my trainers!)

…anyway. Here are lots and lots of photos of street art in Paris!

The Zoo Art Show

Belleville / Pantin

Beyond the Streets

Canal de l’Ourcq