Paris vs London.

Two friends, Xanthe who lives in London and Irene who lives in Paris, have recently started a photographic treasure hunt to share the beauty of day to day life in both cities. For obvious reasons, the Franglaise I am is totally smitten with this new blog!

Ps: it reminds me of Paris vs. New York series from last year. Remember?

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City prints.

Remember the city prints by Blanca Gómez? At last, they are available in her wonderful shop.
Ready, steady, shop!  (I've just bought London and Paris for our home).

Home sweet home.

photo ©Vanessa Ribeiro

We have arrived back from our two-week road trip in the UK which I am sad is over, but all the same, happy to be at home sweet home. Altogether, we travelled 2 483 km, slept in six different places, visited over a dozen friends and relatives, explored 13 towns, attended two weddings, mended one punched tyre, enjoyed as much rain as sunshine, and ate lots of yummy unhealthy English food.

The happiest of us all to be back was baby L. The little darling was fast asleep on my shoulder right up until we arrived outside our builing when his eyes suddenly sprung open (some sort of sixth sense that we were home). As we entered our flat, he wouldn't stop smiling and bouncing about in my arms. His head was turning left, right, up and down times and times over as if in disbelief that we were actually home. A special moment I will relish for long.

More on our holidays next week. Till then, I am keeping busy organising things around the flat and catching up on everyone's blog.

Colourful maps.

Check out these amazing maps of London and Paris by Famille Summerbelle. The detail on each is incredible, especially if you consider these were originally paper-cut! View more of Julie's meticulus work in her online shop. She has also just released a world map which is stunning.

Louise Bourgeois.

1911 - 2010
I love that giant spider in front of the Tate.

Cuppa Tea.

photo © C. Tyler

I stopped in a café yesterday afternoon for a warm cup of tea because it was ever so cold and rainy out. But when it comes to drinking tea, France still has much to learn. I don't know why I am fussy about this, but I like it when my tea comes in a big tea pot with a side of cold milk as opposed to it being served in a mug with a side hot milk. It's on grim rainy days like today when I miss England and long for a proper English cuppa tea (and a couple of HobNobs to go with it)!

Cowshed - made in the UK.

photos ©LaFranglaise

Knackered cow...that would be me! Our wonderful friends from London were visiting us in Paris a few weeks back to meet baby L. and they treated me to these amusing bath and body products. Every Cowshed product is 100% natural, allowing pregnant or nursing mothers to use safely (a small organic range for babies is also available). You can shop according to your mood: horny cow, lazy cow, knackered cow, grumpy cow, wild cow, and moody cow! If you do not have a store near you, you can shop on line as Cowshed delivers internationally. I simply love the concept. Those cheeky names make me chuckle.

City prints by Blanca Gómez.

As the franglaise I am, I simply adore these city illustrations by Blanca Gómez. With a minimum amount of detail and a maximum sense of humour, she has managed to perfectly capture Paris and London (NYC is also illustrated). I hope these divine prints will be available soon in her Etsy shop. To find out more about the Spanish artist, be sure to visit her website.

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