Hello again! I haven’t been blogging too much, but since it is currently my winter break, I thought I would crank out a long-ish post while I still had the chance LOL.
I went on a trip to Europe for the first time, and I had so much fun visiting London and Paris. I managed to pack a capsule wardrobe for the trip, but I didn’t end up dressing up every single outing. Although, there were probably enough items to make a different coord for each day!
Here are the lolita items that I packed on my trip:
- Cream Liz Lisa Cardigan
- BTSSB Princess Coat with Capelet
- Cornet Pink OP
- Millefleurs Lace Up OP
- Jane Marple Vest and Skirt
- Black Taobao Skirt
- White Taobao Skirt
- Black Present Box Blouse
- White BTSSB Waist Shirring Blouse
- Black Drug Honey Blouse
- Various socks and accessories
- Petticoat
It was pretty cold when I went, ranging from 30-50F. I made sure to pack gloves, a scarf, thermals, and earmuffs. Luckily, they still worked with my coords!
Day 1: London
On my first full day, I wore my Jane Marple set in an EGA style coord. I love that the underbust vest(?) can be worn with my frilly jabot blouse. The huge sleeves are such a statement detail!
After having breakfast, we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was an incredible building and we climbed all the way to the top, where there were galleries which overlooked the bottom of the church and London. There were only stairs, so it was quite a workout!
Afterwards, I walked to tbe abandoned ruins of St. Dusntan in the East Church Garden. It's a beautiful tucked-away church which was bombed in WII, and not rebuilt since. It has been turned into public garden, and I love the overgrown greenery on top of the gothic architecture.
At night, we headed down to Soho and walked around. The holiday lights were really impressive. The mixture of modern and older style buildings was really unique to see! We ended up not eating a proper dinner, and instead had tea and cake at L'ETO.
Most of them were pretty delicious! We got an apple tart, pistachio and rose cake, and a snowball cake. The peach tea was honestly more like hot juice, but it was still very yummy.
Day 2: Paris
We took the train to Paris the following day, and headed towards Arc de Triomphe at night. Unfortunately, it closed early due to the holiday hours, so we weren't able to go inside. I had a classic Steak and Frites dinner, although it was near a touristy area and wasn't cooked well. Mine was super well-done, and my cousins' was very raw. The cup of hot chocolate wasn't too bad though!
I ended up doing a Tartan look with my Millefleurs OP. To be honest, I was cold so I layered up with my coat and handmade scarf. I think the overall coord came out a lot better with these details! It kind of reminds me of Vivienne Westwood, or some of the outfits from Nana.
Day 3: Paris
On Day 3, I wore my Jane Marple set again, this time layering the skirt over a white one as my friend suggested. It helps make the unique flower lace stand out a lot better! I think it looks a lot better this way, compared to having nothing underneath.
Breakfast was some delicious pastries from a local bakery. I had the pistachio and raisin one!
We took the subway to the Eiffel tower in the morning, and also walked along the Seine. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty gloomy, but it was still so nice to see these major landmarks! I did think the Eiffel tower would be bigger though, haha.
We then visited the outside of the Notre Dame cathedral, and there was a huge line as expected. They were still rebuilding it after the fire, but at least visitors could go inside. I decided not to wait since it was too cold, and we continued walking to Saint Chapelle and the Luxemborg Gardens.
There isn't much to see in the winter, although there were still some flowers and a beautiful fountain.
At night, we went to Place de la Concord, where a small Christmas market was happening. It was right next to the Tulieries Christmas market as well. It was super crowded on Christmas day! It became a little hard to walk through the crowd of people, but we managed to try Vin Chaud, Cider Chaud, Churros, Ribs, and a Turkey Leg. The ribs and turkey were freshly grilled and tasted amazing! I was pleasantly surprised, since usually faire food can be a hit or miss.
Day 4: Paris
The next day, we had breakfast at a local bakery. I ended up trying the pistachio and apricot tart, and my mom and cousin got the quiche and opera cake.
Then, we visited the famous Louvre museum. It was really cold, and we started lining up 30 minutes before out 9:30am time slot. I definitely think an earlier time is a good move, because we were first in line and luckily only waited 30 minutes. When I saw the lines in the afternoon, they were crazy long!
I ended up wearing my Liz Lisa cardigan over my Cornet OP for a hime-inspired look. I think it turned out super cute and matched with the earmuffs and gloves I packed, which kept me warm in line.
After getting inside, I walked over to the Mona Lisa first thing, that way I could escape the long wait time later on. I only had to wait about 2 minutes to see it, although there was a 20 minute line later in the day.
I walked around so much and got to see some impressive paintings, sculptures, and furnishings. There was so many items that I couldn't have possibly seen them all. Still, I had such a good time!
Afterwards, I had lunch at Go Oun, which was recommended by my friend. Even though I was in Paris, I still crave Asian food haha. I love Korean Soondubu Jjigae, and it was really nice and filling in the cold weather.
I had to also pay a visit Angelic Pretty Paris. Even though I'm not a big AP fan, I still love window shopping! I was surprised that it was the same size as the SF store, although it had a lot less items. However, it was furnished super cute and I loved the vibe.
For dinner, we had duck confit at a nearby restaurant. It was pretty dry and salty, so it wasn't my favorite. We also tried duck terrine, which I didn't love. I never liked the aftertaste of pate, so it was too rich and heavy for me.
Day 5: Paris
I decided to visit Square Lousie Michel and Sacre Coeur Basilica. The weather was really nice and sunny this day, so it was perfect for a walk! It was a pretty touristy area, and there were a lot of lockets on the surrounding fences.
Walking along this neighborhood, I saw some lovely shops! There was a chocolate store which had detailed recreations of famous landmarks all made in chocolate.
I got myself a sugar lemon crepe and a hot chocolate at Carrete. Both were too sweet for me, but they were really warm and great for the cold weather. Nothing really compares to a freshly made crepe!
After that, I walked to Montemarte cemetary and stopped by Boris Lumé Boulangerie. Although I haven't watched Miraculous Ladybug, it was still cool to see. I think it may be a popular spot for children to visit, as I saw a couple families taking their kids there. I got a sandwich, although it was difficult for me to really taste it with how cold it was outside. Still, the bread was really crisp and fresh.
Montemarte cemetary was absolutely beautiful and was a wonderful experience. I love cemetaries, and it is always so peaceful walking through them. I saw so many impressive graves and tombs, and my favorite was this small cathedral which had it's own stained windows. Best of all, there were also cats!
For dinner, we had duck confit again. but it tasted much better this time. It was tender, and the potatoes were crispy and flavorful.
Day 6: Paris
We went to Musée d'Orsay on day 6, and I wore a simple maid-inspired BxW coord. IDC we love being ita in this house.
I loved seeing some incredible paintings by Bougereau in real life. Particularly, I love Dante and Virgil in Hell as well as his rendition of the Birth of Venus. There were also some great impressionist pieces in this museum, such as those by Van Gogh and Monet.
I also loved seeing the Art Noveau furniture that they had on display. Something is just so eerily whimsical about the way the furniture incorpates curves and asymmetry...I've never seen anything like it before!
Afterwards, I went to get something to eat at the Tulieries Market, which wasn't nearly as crowded during the day time. I wanted to try Sausage Tartiflette, but they didn't really add much cheese, and the sausage wasn't that tasty.
We then headed to Palaise Garnier, and didn't manage to make it in time to get tickets at the door. However, we were able to see the amazing architecture from the outside.
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann was nearby, so we decided to check it out. It was so crowded! There were a lot of fancy food and dessert stalls, as well as so many luxury brands. Of course, we didn't buy anything 😂
Day 7: London
Back in London again! This time, I just wore a simple coord with my Cornet OP and my handmade bonnet.
I wanted to visit the V&A museum since it was free, and I really enjoyed seeing the different items in their collection. They had so much furniture, sculptures, art, and other items. There were even fashion displays and a BTSSB coordinate. I was pretty tired from all the museum hopping, so I just explored 2 levels instead of all of them.
I decided to stop by a cafe in South Kensington, which was called Farm Girl. I had their happy hot chocolate (matcha, peppermint, and CBD oil) and almond butter banana toast. To be honest, I didn't really like either of them LOL. After having Parisan hot chocolate, the one I had here tasted really watery. The strange mix of flavors also wasn't too appealing, but maybe it was just the lingering flavor of CBD oil.
Later, we had afternoon tea at the Orangery in the Kensington Gardens. Maybe I'm losing my penchant for afternoon tea, or it just really wasn't good. The sandwiches were subpar, and the desserts didn't taste great either. It kind of reminded me of airplane food. I think my expectations were pretty high since I was in London after all. Apparently the Ritz has a much better afternoon tea spread, but who knows haha.
There wasn't much to see in the gardens since it was winter, but there were some swans!
At night, I went to Angel and just walked around. There wasn't going to be any markets on the days I went, but I decided to check out the vintage stores in the area. I think some shops were still closed for the holidays. It was a nice little area though!
Day 8: London
This was my last full day in Europe, and I was getting pretty tired by the end of it haha. I wanted to visit Camden Town and just relax. I heard that Camden isn't as nice as it used to be, especially being more commercialized in the past few years. I still had a good time though! I went early in the day, which meant that there were less people. However, by the time afternoon rolled around, it became crowded.
Although there were a lot of touristy, cheap souvenir stalls, there still were a lot of cool shops. There was a Bandai Namco Store and a manga store with a decent selection. I also visited the Moomin store, which was super cute! I don't really know the show or characters that well though, haha.
I also visited a clothing store called Collectif, which had a lot of cool vintage inspired dresses. I really loved the black coat with fur trim.
There was this cool rave store called Cyberdog, which was so uniquely furnished. There were lots of cyber inspired decor, like robot mannequins and flashing lights. There was even a DJ station with music playing, and it was really fun to explore!
Camden Market also had a lot of kitschy gothic and punk shops. They're fun, although some are overpriced. Burleska was one that was recommended to me, and the pricing seemed a lot more fair. They have their own storefront and brand. I loved their selection of miniskirts! They came in so many colors. There was also some really cute boleros, but I don't know what I would wear with them.
I also visited Sai Sai, another gothic store. They had a lot of Dark in Love clothing and even some lolita brands like Infanta. They don't allow photos, but I saw a cute skirt with a piano motif there. It was expensive for what it was though haha.
There were also quite a few food stalls within the market, mostly selling Chinese food. I went a little further out and got some Korean fried chicken and a drink, which was pretty affordable.
I didn't end up buying anything from Camden, although it was a pretty cool experience!
Closing Remarks
I really had a great time in Europe and would love to come back again! The food was really great and I loved seeing all the beautiful architecture that is unique to European countries. All of the museums I went to were really impressive as well.
Thanks for reading to the end of this very long post~
See you next time,
Valentine
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