Paris je t'aime ... 2 nights in Paris

I went with my niece .... just for two nights.

To get some Paris.  I needed Paris, she needed Paris. 

I think a little piece of all our hearts remains in Paris - however mad it sounds, even if we've never been .. you know it when you get there, there's always a little sense of coming home.

We wanted Paris and we wanted Montmartre and the little apartment was perfect, on the top (fourth) floor, on the Rue Muller which leads to the steps which lead to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. 

The Sacré-Cœur. I cry every time I light a candle there and feel the overwhelming sense of history turning. Those candles that never go out, that each light another, as lives light other lives. I think of history, of people gone before, of my place in the world, my place right here in this place in the world.

There's no getting away from the fact that we live in times that are tense too - the day we arrived there had been another terror attack on soldiers in Paris.

It makes you feel the hand of history even more, I think, and the emotions of the fragility of life and the endurance too.

The Sacré-Cœur is breathtaking and overwhelming and also brings such a sense of peace.

There is a service taking place and the nuns sing and we take seats and stay to breathe it all in, take it all in, take these moments.

We go back the next day too, to take it all again and carry that essence with us, before we leave.

In the mornings, I stick my head out the little skylight window above the bed in the mezzanine bedroom where you can't stand up straight and see the Sacré-Cœur again.

And we go to the 'Amelie' cafe, Cafe des Deux Moulins and, bien sur, had the crème brûlée (after my niece has camembert with honey and thyme, and I have steak tartare), and we both have red wine.

We stay up talking over bread and wine and cheese from the very good supermarket just five minutes walk away.

We go out for fresh bread and croissants first thing and to sit with a coffee in the sunshine, before returning for breakfast chez nous.

Later when it rains we choose one of the many gorgeous-looking bistros - Le Sancerre - on the Rue des Abbesses and journal and write companionably together over French onion soup (her) and oysters with a glass of Sancerre (me).

When the sun is out we browse and walk and discover ... from the huge fabric shop Le Marche St Pierre to peeping into the Museum of Montmartre and the Renoir Gardens to choosing macarons in the most beautiful little shop.

We walk and walk and walk - and up and down so many flights of steps!

Usually the app on my phone shows 3-4 flights of steps climbed every day, sometimes up to 8 or 9 ... in Montmartre it was 48 flights one day and 37 the next!

We walk to my favourite restaurant for dinner - Bouillon Chartier - after queuing as always to get in, we love the bustle and noise and people-watching.

And the escargots, bread, steak haché and frites ... and all at such incredible value.

One last evening walk for a last cocktail sitting outside as it grows dark and one last walk down the iconic steps back to the apartment.

We don't want to leave ... but at just a 15 minute walk to the Gare du Nord and the simplest journey on the Eurostar back to St Pancras, agree not to leave it so long before returning.

After all, a little piece of my heart lives here.

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3 days in Cómpeta, Spain

When the plane doors open on the tarmac at Malaga airport, the 37 degree heat pours in.  

We trip down the steps and into the airport, basking in the heat, smiling in the sunshine ... and it's already late afternoon.

Pick up the hire car and set off on the very good road along the coast, turning off at Torrox and following the signs to Competa, one of those beautiful pueblos blancos or 'white villages'.

It's so high up in the mountains our ears pop on the way up, and yes - I confess to being a bit terrified by the hairpin bends snaking up, up, up into the mountains ... 

But about 20 minutes later, 20 minutes of climbing round and round and higher and higher, we reach Competa.  

We last came here 27 years ago, me and my oldest and bestest friend, when her parents took a house for a summer and then for Christmas and New Year the following year, which is when I joined them for a week, having then met my friend Kefi at Uni.

Competa has grown bigger but it's still just as beautiful and there's still something special about it.

It's so hot. The views are incredible.

We park and walk to the square.

It seems smaller than we remember it but that's because the chairs and tables from the square's restaurants cover it and when we were here last for New Year only a small area had outside tables.

At that last visit, we had joined in local custom with fizz at midnight and eating 12 grapes each, one for every peal of midnight, from the church's bell.

The church is in the square too. We sit and look at it and order gin+ tonics (which comes to be our drink of this holiday and are served in the most enormous fishbowl glasses) and a couple of tapas - a slice of tortilla and a tiny dish with three meatballs.

We call Graeme, from the B&B we have booked, and he says he'll walk to the square to meet us as it's difficult to explain which back streets and roads we need to take (although it's only a couple of minutes to walk). When he arrives we learn that he and his wife Jo have only just taken over running the B&B and moved to Competa just a week and a half before!

We drive round and park and Graeme kindly takes our bags on the very steep walk from the car to La Vista. It's a 200-year-old townhouse, lots of stairs and low ceilings and levels of little terraces. 

0ur twin room is exactly what we need.  it's small, but has two huge windows open on two sides and it's clean and pretty with space to hang our clothes and a nice bathroom with shower. Yep, everything we need.

And up more stairs, right to the top, is the plunge pool, plenty big enough and so very needed in this heat. Lots of places to sit and read - and an honesty bar with beer, wine and soft drinks.

We head out for dinner and eat in the square - more gin + tonics, gambas pil pil, squid, salad, ham, bread ... and back to La Vista for a few drinks on the terrace.  

The light is so beautiful as we look down the mountain to the sea, and then there's the most spectacular sunset.

And that was basically it for three days.

Sunbathing, reading, pool, chatting, lots of G+Ts, lots of gambas pil pil, lots of squid ('squidlington' it became known ha!).

Great breakfasts at La Vista with bread (from the bakery literally opposite), ham and chorizo and salami and cheese. Yogurts, melon, tomato, And good coffee.

I love this little town.

Love the cobbled streets, the narrow passageways, the steep walkways, love it. The beautiful tiles around the doorways. The sun on the white houses.

At the market on Saturday morning, there's incredible produce with enormous spring onions and peppers and tomatoes. We buy pil pil spice mix and some bowls.

We found the disco that we'd been to (so often) during our last visit - but despite waiting 'til 11pm on the Saturday night, it wasn't open that day. Maybe for the best ... 

One lunchtime in the square we found ourselves in the middle of the most beautiful wedding.

We kept eating the same food as it was so delicious!

The gambas pil pil at one of the restaurants in the square was absolutely perfect, with cloves and cloves of sweet garlic in the oil that we mushed onto the fresh bread (and ate them all). The squid was perfectly charred, sometimes served with rice and sometimes with chips. 

They brought mini choc-ices instead of chocolates with the bill (an idea I'm stealing for The Tiniest Thai). 

The sun shone, the views were amazing, the food was great, and our hosts at La Vista couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful. 

If we'd had longer we'd have made a trip down the mountain for a day at the beach, but as it was we were having such a nice, relaxing time that we stayed in Competa until it was time to brave (slowly) the mountain road and head back to Malaga to come home.

It's easy to get to, very beautiful and makes a perfect short break from the UK. La Vista is, I think, the only B&B in the little town itself and I'll definitely be back. It's also exceptionally good value.

Can't recommend highly enough.

I also just can't recommend highly enough going away for a short break with an old friend.

We laughed and talked and came up with so many new ideas. We read and ate and slept and talked and laughed more.

So good for you!

In just three days I put on a little weight (!), got a tan, totally relaxed and had the best time chatting non-stop with a dear friend. And drank quite a few G+T's. 

After a very delayed flight, a long journey home arriving back at 4am, a little sleep and back to work ... I get home and cannot resist eating more holiday food. 

I made a gambas (prawn) pil pil with the spice mix, a favourite tomato + onion salad and cooked the chorizo I'd bought in Spain with red wine. All with fresh bread and a bottle of Rioja. 

Gambas pil pil recipe to follow! 

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