Graace Hotel, Luxembourg City

minimalism & functionality

Welcome to Graace! A hidden gem in Bonnevoie, Luxembourg City. When I first entered the courtyard of the hotel it felt like Paris or London to me, such an atypical place for luxembourg! The perfectly organised garden rising in front of me, accumulating symmetrical steel pillars reminding me of Japanese power lines, raw concrete, fogged glass windows, a fascinating, surreal, urban jungle. I instantly fell in love. The entire place reminds me so much of Japan… It even reminds me, somehow, of the Kill Bill fight scene in the Japanse garden. Something is so dreamy about this place while at the same it’s structured, organised and functional.

GRAACE HOTEL
10, Rue Sigismond, L-2537 Luxembourg

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS ♡

A beautiful weekend in Paris. The colours outside are warm, the atmosphere peaceful, the weather perfect, I am in love - nothing could have gone better during this short trip.

Friday evening. Arriving at the hotel - the legendary Paris Les Bains. A boutique hotel with a long story..

"SINCE ITS BIRTH IN 1885, THE SOUL OF LES BAINS HAS SPARKED THE IMAGINATION OF CREATIVE PEOPLE AND TRENDSETTERS: THOSE WHO BLAZE THE TRAIL AND PROVIDE THE CATALYST FOR ALL WHO FOLLOW."

Opened in 1885, Les Bains Douches, was the first and the most renowned bathhouse of Paris. In 1978, the place transformed clubbing into an art and rapidly became a cultural phenomenon; a temple of the Parisian night. "It was a centre of gravity, the eye of the storm, a crossroads of fashion, media, show business and arts. Current visitors were icons like Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Naomi Campbell and David Bowie. This year, on March 24th, Paris icon Les Bains has been revived as hotel, club and restaurant. 

Lenny Kravitz: "What happened in Les Bains stays in Les Bains.”

https://www.lesbains-paris.com/en/

The interiors are crazy aren't they.. Dark, modern, stylish and sophisticated at the same time.  I love the mix of creepy and elegant. The ceiling in the restaurant looks like blood, in the waiting room hangs a frame of voodoo dolls,..

Getting reay for dinner. I love the oldschool telephone in our room.. And the raw colours of the walls in opposition to the white bed. There is a mini lounge corner with a Warhol-esque replica sofa, a Marshall MP3 docking station, nice drinks in the mini-bar..

Time for dinner!

Delicious. From the starter to the dessert, the food over here is incredible. Star chefs Philippe Labbé and Michael Riss made a great job to serve us a beautiful and tasty result of their culinary creativity. Raw fish with mango, tender meat for the main course, creative cocktails, best wine selection and creamy desserts. Full house, weak light and good music - perfect place for romance. Good night!

The day after... Starting the Saturday morning with walk through the City.

This city is perfect to visit during Autumn, leaves covering the multiple alleys..Amazing..

Outfit of the Day - Zara coat and mini skirt, Marc Jacobs bag, Eram leather boots and plaid scarf from And Other Stories.

Little brunch at Coutume Café. Big space, lots of creatives working on Photoshop or reading newspapers. A good place for a coffee break in a hipster mood.

Walking and capturing moments and monuments.

Lots of beautiful historical symbols in front or above you..

Alleys, selfies,.. Time for a quick lunch.

Stop at Le Pain Quotidien. Sweet waffle before getting back on our way. I bought some Kusmi tea on the Champs Elysées. Did you know that the brand has Russian origins? You should definitely buy some tea over here, the black and green tea variations are great.

So many different layers in one picture. Looks like a rainbow cake.

The huge Centre Pompidou architecture.. Still impressed by this monster. Now back to the hotel to get ready for a special night - dinner at Maison Blanche and prestige show at Moulin Rouge.

Quality shower! Love the Le Labo products offered by the hotel. Santal 33 is the name of the body care range. Thumbs up for the hotels who choose quality products for their clients.

- Taxi!! Direction Maison Blanche!

Majestic dinner with a couple of friends on the rooftop of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Maison Blanche. With the aperitif, we were brought a shell St Jacques ♥.. View from the terrace - Tour d'Eiffel bonsoir! Not much time left, so we hurry up for the show.

Moulin Rouge. We enjoyed a show full of diversity, humour and elegance accompanied by tasty treats and an excellent service..  Wonderful French Cancan show.

A beautiful experience when shared with your beloved one.

Goodies from last night..  Moulin Rouge souvenirs found in my goodie bag - cute key ring with a dancer charm, a little macaron box, DVD, photo album plus hotel goddies and business cards.. Lovely.

Sunday late-late morning. Healthy vitamin breakfast - Paris, à bientôt ! ♥

London calling!

London 2015. A City in the early Autumn trip I'll never forget! 

It's my second time in London. The first time I was here in September 2013 with Marion from One More Tattoo to exhibit some works. I will not forget the way he told me to start a blog after watching me taking pictures of everything. Thanks my friend! I hope you're proud of my new daily passion.

London 2013.

Back to this last trip. I already can't wait to go back again and again to explore more of this urban jungle.. I am sharing with now you some fancy, hipster and touristic places that I visited hoping that you will discover something you didn't see in London yet! Let's start with the hotel..

London Edition. An amazing hotel experience on Berners Street, located a few steps away from Oxford Street. The hotel  offers sophisticated interiors in warm tones, great service and quality products. 

Entering the restaurant you immediately look at the dominating two giant bronze chandeliers and the eccentric floor-to-ceiling collection of framed photographs and paintings.

Very good breakfast selection.. Loved the guacamole toast and the earl grey tea!

After some shopping, moving towards Buckingham Palace.. We passed by at the right moment. Watch the Queen's Guard changing the guard.

Shopping, selfie-ing, discovering pretty, clean streets and amazing buildings.. like the Burlington Arcade, area in Chelsea and other corners around the Picadilly Circus.

Wearing top from Gerard Darell, skirt from H&M, Blazer from Zara and and bag from Marc Jacobs.

Next stop: St James Park. My target - geese! I loved those geese!! Couldn't stop shooting them!!

I even managed to turn a goose into a prince charming, crazy isn't it?

Continuing towards Covent Garden to discover a hipster corner.. 

Here we took a break of our long walk in the coffee shop Timber Yard which is a lovely place to hang out, drink coffee and enjoy pastry. It was fun to relax on the little terrace and watch all kind of outfits moving around. I love the tradition in London to automatically serve still water. 

Awesome 'tables' right? Suitcases everywhere!

Dinner time! In a tiny empty street I was brought to Hakkasan on Hanway Place, the finest Chinese restaurant in my opinion. It's hidden from the rest of the society. Amazing food, weak light, couples everywhere - romanticism was in the air! I'd never imagine that there was a restaurant in this street, no indication or advertisement. You really need to know this place to know that it exists! And don't forget to book your table in advance. 

Another restaurant I recommend you: La Bodega Negra in Soho - a Mexican kitchen with amazing tapas, also hardly identifiable from outside.

The day after.

What's better than room service after a long night? Breakfast in bed before leaving great London! Goodbye!

Follow me in Brussels today!

I thought it was a good idea to show you how I spend my student life in Brussels. What I do after school, which are my favourite spots, what the streets look like, etc. I hope you're gonna like it. I'm currently finishing my master in marketing communication and enjoying my last year in the City together with my twin. Here an insight of a normal Belgian day...

7.30h - waking up and leaving for school.

Sleepy thing arriving at school... But the good thing is that now I live 4 minutes away from school (by foot). Lucky me! At school we have a group meeting with the girls to discuss the topics to do during the day. From school we move to one of us to work on our campaign for an international brand, Havana Club. Interesting project!

What I wear: A 3XL pullover from H&M, Zara loafers and scarf with my favourite bag by Marc Jacobs.

Productive morning makes hungry girls...

12h. Yummy, healthy lunch at Exki, Café Capital or Peck 47.

13h. Back to school..

16h. Group meeting at school finished. Back home to discover a surprise sent from Lush Cosmetics, a special edition box full of soaps, creams, bath bombs, shower gels and more for the 20 years lush anniversary. For me, LUSH cosmetics are made to have fun in the bathroom. Crazy bath bombs, funny body scrubs, colourful soaps... It's a brand I use to relax and have fun after a long day.. The products make me smile :)

Plaid shirt found at Pull and Bear. (soon to be found in Lululand... maybe.. Stay tuned for this info!)

So many amazing smells! I love the smell and consistence of lush products and the fact that they're handmade and free of toxic ingredients. Among the products: the Experimenter Bath bomb, Cup of Coffee face and body mask, Salted Coconut hand scrub, Pink Flamingo reusable bubble bar...

This red piece is a body scrub called Rough With The Smooth and is my favourite product together with the Layer Cake soap, Yuzu and Cocoa yellow shower gel and the Love and Light hand cream.

The sweet flamingo bubble bar..

Love and Light hand cream for dry Winter fingers like mine..

Can't wait to throw this Experimenter bath bomb into my bath.. 

17h. Back to the city for some quick shopping and street exploring..

The main street in front of the Bourse has been transformed into a pedestrian area and people enjoy themselves in several ways over here, they play ping-pong, play chess, make skateboard competitions,..

17.15h. Short coffee & cake stop at Yuka on the same street, boulevard Anspach. Uoploading some pictures for this article..

17.40h. After the little walk, back home to do some homework.. At this moment I was writing my first article for a Luxembourgish weekly newspaper.. More about my new projects for several Luxembourgish media soon.. (towards journalism!)

Blogging, scribbling at the same time..

19h. Enough work. Time for apéro. Leaving home with my twin and discovering a tightrope walker between two buildings..

There's always action in Brussels, crazy.

19.10h. Arriving at the Place St Géry to have a drink in our favourite bar Zebra before moving towards the Japanese restaurant Sakura a few steps away from the bar.

Yummy shrimp gyoza after a miso soup..

Ending up with amazing sushi.

21h. Next - back to Zebra for tea time.

Coffee and mint tea with my twin.

Love the interior of Zebra..

Good night!