Color Factory Fun!

Have you ever heard of the Color Factory? We had not before our recent trip to NYC, but we're here to report it's a LOAD OF FUN. It is an interactive exhibit that started in San Francisco in 2017 before moving to the Big Apple last Fall. They opened it in SoHo and used colors collected from around the city that "invite curiosity, discovery and play". We were very intrigued!

When you walk in, there is a rainbow of colors hanging from the ceiling. Hundreds of pieces of fabric, all different shades. You also get a free mochi treat to munch on before you enter the factory!

 

You are led into a room where you watch a informational video about colors and then your journey begins.

I can't believe we didn't get a picture of the macaron conveyor belt! Imagine a non-stop belt moving with an endless supply of macarons.  YES. You were able to pick your favorite color macaron for another fun treat.

From this room, you enter a hall of colored pins. You pick your favorite color to wear (and you can recycle the pin at the end or take it home as a souvenir!)

You then pair up and sit across from each other with glass separating you. You put on headphones and are given instructions to color and draw how you see the person in front of you. Colors that represent their personality, their outfits, and then finally a self-portrait. HA.  You should see our masterpieces. It's another little fun take-home memory. 

AND you get rewarded for your artistic work with another gummy and sweet treat! 

Off to the "wish" room. One of our favorite rooms. They collected wishes from kids all around the world and put them on colorful balloons. Lots and lots of fun balloons.

 

DISCO, baby! Loud music, shiny things and colors popping left and right.  We move on to the dance room. In this room they also serve a refreshing sparkling soda. 

 

Next you begin a journey to find out your own secret color. You follow a series of questions that lead you to one of four doors where your color is revealed. We ended up all going to different ones. #oppositesattract 

 

Presenting our color palettes:

 

Music, anyone? The music/band geeks came out of us in this room. Each pillar had a "xylophone" colored note representing a different key. We played "twinkle twinkle little star". Record deal coming soon. :-)

 

And then last, but certainly not least -- the ball pit to rival ALL ball pits. A sea of blue fun awaits.

 

We didn't know what to expect.  We didn't learn anything -- but man, WE HAD A BALL (no pun intended).  It is a perfect and absolutely fun way to spend an afternoon doing something different.  Check it out if it comes to a city near you!

XO,

Welcome to Paris & the BEST roast chicken

Bonjour! Let's go to Paris! We had such a fun time in London, but we were very excited to cross the channel into France. We left our hotel in the morning and made our way to the St. Pancras train station to take the Eurostar to Paris. The train station was very similar to an airport as far as security lines, checking in, etc... There were plenty of places to grab a bit to eat or shop while you waited.

 

Once it was time to board, we rode up a long moving-walkway to the train platform. The train was super long (and of course, our car was the very last one!). When we boarded, we placed our luggage at the entrance of our car and headed to our assigned seat. You have room for a carry-on and overhead space at each seat.

We didn't know what to expect, but we were served a little breakfast on our journey. We had a croissant (welcome to Paris!), bread & jam, yogurt, juice and coffee/tea. It was lovely.

The actual ride was very smooth. It showed you where you were along the journey, so we tried to not think about being under all that water! The train goes very fast, but most times you don't feel like you are moving. 

 

Before we knew it, we were in grand ole Pareeeeeeee! We headed straight to our hotel, and we were able to check-in immediately. We opted for a much smaller boutique hotel which we'll talk about in another post. (IT IS THE BEST). 

It was a little overcast and drizzly, but we thought we'd try to get our bearings in our new 'hood. We were staying in the St. Germain-des Pres "neighborhood". It did not seem as touristy as some of the other quarters we visited. There was a school right across from our hotel, and we always saw people out shopping or going to the market. We loved the area.

In Paris, there are days of the month where certain museum visits are free! Yes, free! Unfortunately, that does mean the visit comes with more people. LOTS of people. The day we arrived the Orsay Museum (Musee d'Orsay) was free (first Sunday of the month). NO MA'AM. The line to get inside was insane. I can only image the crowds around the "hot" exhibits. We made a collective decision to go back as paying customer later in the week. If you do choose to go to one of the museums on these free days, our advice would be to go very early!? Or just know you'll have a very crowded experience. 

 

We decided to just stroll around the area and get acclimated. Everything was so Parisian! (ha) The white/cream buildings, the statues....  We made our way over toward the Seine River. What a great place to people watch! It was a Sunday when we arrived, so people were outside on their bikes and just walking around enjoying the day. 

We decided to eat a late lunch/early dinner. Our hotel had recommended a lovely cafe near our hotel, Le Nimrod. We both had taken French in high school (@mkmaddox actually minored in French in college), but it took us a few days to get into the French language mindset. Most everyone did speak English, but most all the menus were in French. 

 

It was the cutest little restaurant. You could definitely tell it was a neighborhood spot. Although this little plate may look unassuming, this was one of our favorite plates the entire week. The French know how to roast a chicken! It was so crisp yet so moist. I can still taste it! The frites (french fries) were perfection too. It was exactly how a French comfort Sunday afternoon meal should taste. Definitely one of the top meals of our trip.

We stopped by a little macaron shop for a little sweet bite before we called it a night. There was so many fun flavors to choose from! 

It was the perfect first day to welcome us to Paris. Stay tuned for a fun few days exploring the City of Lights!

Bisouxx

London Marriott Hotel Park Lane

One of our (ahem, @aushellbell's) biggest stresses when planning a trip is deciding where to stay. This was no exception. We researched & researched and read blogs & reviews until we were blue in the face. We ended up selecting the London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. GUYS. Let us do you a favor. Stop your research - STAY HERE! It more than exceeded our expectations for many reasons.

• Location - It's right across the street from Hyde Park
• Transportation - There is a tube station literally outside the door
• Safety - We always felt safe in the area (important for two female travelers!)
• Comfort - the rooms, the beds, the amenities were all top notch
• Customer Service - the staff was second to none

When you walk into the lobby, you are greeted with a sitting area with steps leading up to "check-in". Everything is crisp and clean. At the top of the stairs, there are two desks where you you sit and meet with the staff to check-in for your stay. The concierge is right around the corner.

We had chosen a double room. Every detail is thought of. When we walked into our room, this was our first view:

The beds were to the left. They were so COMFORTABLE. The rooms were very large and very quiet. We never heard a peep from another guest from within the room. We did not have any real view to speak of but did read there are some rooms that have a view of Hyde Park which would be very neat! There was plenty of room to store your luggage.

The bathroom could be a post in itself. Look at this oasis. Plenty of room for all of our toiletries. There are also shelves to the right where you can store additional things. A new amenity for us was that the toilet was HEATED. We had never experienced that luxury, and we're already researching how to get one installed at home. ;-) There were also speakers in the bathroom, so you can relax or catch up on the world news as  you are getting ready!

As Marriott rewards members, we were allowed access to the lounge for breakfast and other food and snacks throughout the day. The breakfast was amazing. It was a huge variety and the perfect way to fuel up before your day of adventure or business.

You could come in during the afternoon and get a drink, snack or a sweet treat! Every time we came back from an adventure, we at least stopped in for some water. It was so convenient. 

 

The hotel's fitness area is called The Club at Park Lane. It has a gym, steam room, AND a swimming pool! Not many hotels we had looked at included a pool on-site. You can also use their services to book a massage. That's one ideal way to help you with jet lag!

There is also a restaurant on site, Lanes of London. We never had a chance to eat there, but it looked very nice. They have all-day dining as well as an afternoon tea.

There were always fresh flowers to greet us, and a smile on everyone's face. Aren't these flowers so pretty?!

It's true, if you are in London for leisure, you won't spend that much time in your room; but the time you do spend needs to give you the rest you need to relax and be ready for another day of fun! 

We both said this is one of the nicest most customer-friendly hotels we have had the pleasure to stay in. Every person we met went beyond their way to make sure we were having a pleasant stay. Thanks to the bellmen, who always opened the door for us, the front desk staff who greeted us with a smile every day, and the housekeeping staff who made our stay so special. 

Thanks, London Marriott Hotel Park Lane. You added to the delight of our week in London. Can't wait to come back!

XO,