Rachel is an avid traveller, the last time we caught up with her was on a Travelshoot in Hanoi, but this time we had the pleasure of working with her to capture memories in the city of light... Paris. So with her love of exploring the world, and being in the travel industry herself, we took the opportunity to learn more about this adventure and why Paris was the spot for another Travelshoot...
Why Paris?
I’ve always wanted to go to Paris for a few days – its so close and easy to get to from London that I’ve always just done day trips there and hadn’t really spent any time in the city or explored it properly. I love the architecture in the city and I love being able to walk around the whole city centre fairly easily (and I’m genuinely obsessed with macarons!) that when I had a few days off work, I decided to get an airbnb and spend a few days “living” in Paris.
Favourite thing about this city?
It sounds weird but I love the city at Sunrise. I certainly wasn’t the only person who had this idea (especially around Trocadero!) but overall the city was much quieter and I loved walking around when the bakeries were opening up (so everything smelt amazing!) but most of the tourists weren’t out yet. I was staying in an Airbnb in a residential neighbourhood and I found that most people would chat with you first thing in the morning and were surprised when I spoke French with a very British accent!
Why did you chose to do another Travelshoot on this trip?
The photos I had from my last Travelshoot made deciding to do another one very easy! I think Paris is such a beautiful city and I didn’t really have any photos at all from my previous days spent in Paris so I really wanted some great photos and I trust Travelshoot 100% to get some beautiful shots. Paris is so beautiful and so iconic that it is definitely worth getting some professional photos here, and I would recommend my photographer Alina to anyone!
Why are travel memories important to you?
Travelling is such a big part of my life and for me trips abroad always come with so many memories that I want to hang on to. Looking at photos makes me remember the whole trip so fondly and remember all the people I met there, and I’ve always ended up having a laugh with the photographer so I usually have some great memories of the shoot itself as well.
If you only had a day again back in Paris – what’s the top things you’d do!?
Wake up early and get out and explore the city first thing (including getting a croissant fresh out the oven!) – I like having a vague direction but wandering on the back streets so I think I’d head slowly in the direction of Montmartre and spend some time there. I loved the Raspail Market for incredible local produce so I would definitely head there to get some food at some point, as well as stopping at Pierre Herme for one (slightly pricey but totally worth it!) macaron. If it was a nice day I would definitely make sure I had some time to find a quiet corner of the Tuilleries Jardins to sit and relax as well.
Next holiday and why?
My next trip will be a long weekend in New York – I have a couple of friends who live there and I love the city, especially in winter when Central Park is snowy, quiet and beautiful! One of my friends lives in central Manhattan and the others live in Long Island so they have very different local spots to show me and I come back feeling like I’ve seen plenty off the tourist trail.