Paris, mon amour !

That's me looking all touristy in front of the Eiffeltower.

Paris is the city of love, so it was great being in Paris on Valentines Day - on my own. But I think that we live in a modern society, so today it's acceptable to travel alone as a woman. Though I heard before that I should take care of the guys from France and their attitude I had the impression that the young men of Paris can't be described with this stereotype anymore.
Because I'm such a cheapskate - and love this way of travelling - I didn't sleep in a hotel or hostel. Instead I contacted a girl on couchsurfing.org and stayed at her flat for three nights. If you haven't heard of Couchsurfing before you should really check out this amazing way of travelling at low expense. I was very lucky with my host, because she was a real Parisian and she took me out to see a Burlesque show - something I would have never seen without her. During the day she was working so that's why I explored the city by myself.
On the first day I went to see Montmartre and the area around Sacre Coeur. I had informed myself beforehand about vintage, second-hand and fabric shops and so I made a tour to find them.
I started at Place de Clichy and went into the Rue de Clichy. There you can find one of the Guerrisol stores.

Guerrisol is a second-hand shop, where you can find a bargain but you really have to search for it. Most of the garments are on piles and you have to get in there and dig for the treasure. Also the garments sometimes have stains on them, so it's really a lucky day if you find something cool. I saw some great polka dot palazzo pants and a lacey dress but unfortunalety not in my size. They also have quite a good selection of boots and shoes.
There is another Guerrisol at Barbès Rochechouart. They had the most garments on hangers and a good selection of boots which were only 5 € each (whereas in the other in Clichy they were 30 €) and luckily I found some in my size. They need a new sole but I think a cobbler can fix that easily. Pictures will come when they are back from the cobbler.

From Place de Clichy I walked to Sacre Coeur.It's a really impressive church with amazing wall paintings. And since it's on a hill you have a beautiful view at the city. Small hint : I can only recommend to go from Clichy along Rue Caulaincourt and take the small streets. If you want to go to Sacre Coeur from the metro station Anvers you need to walk up the stairs ( which are like 500 steps). There is also a funicular but of course you have to pay for that. 
On the bottom of Sacre Coeur you find different fabric shops ( turn left when you come down from the cathedral). The two biggest ones are Tissus Reine and Marche Saint-Pierre.

I got some beautiful chiffon-like fabric in red with little white hearts on it from the little shop on the right where they sell coupons ( mostly 3 m for about 10 € but also silks at 30 or more €). The two stores have a good selection, but I have to say I'm a bit disappointed because from what I read on the internet I imagined the stores to have a wider selection. But maybe I'm just spoiled because if you have worked for an online fabric shop and seen place like Hüko in Berlin it's hard to beat that.

But there are some other small shops in the side streets, one that only sold leather, which were really interesting. Lots of silk and lace.
The next day I went to check out Le Marais, which is where all the small boutiques are. Really interesting things and lots of inspiration. I also went to Louvre and Champs Elysees but my feet hurt so much from all the walking that I called it a day at 4 pm and went back to the flat. In the evening my host and I went out to see a Burlesque show in the quartier Oberkampf which is where the "bobos" hang out. Unfortunalety no pictures because my camera is very bad in dark rooms.
On my last day I took the metro to Tour d'Eiffel, saw Trocadero, visited the Musée d'Art Moderne ( permanent collection for free) walked to Les Invalides and again to Louvre and Tuileries. In the evening I took the nightbus back to Germany.