FOUREYES ON PARIS

What can we say about Paris that hasn't already been said? Everything you've ever heard about Paris is true. Except the one about how the French are rude. On the contrary, we found everyone we came across to be polite, friendly and really quite lovely. So what is there to do in Paris?

Yes, it's obvious but go to the Louvre. You could spend a week and still not see everything but if you have half a day like we did, we thoroughly recommend the Egyptian collection and Napolean III's apartment.

It would be very poor form to not spend at least one afternoon checking out the incredible shopping in Paris. The Marais is always worth a look, one of our favourites there being L'Eclaireur which stocks a bunch of amazing labels including Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcon and Ann Demeulemeester. Of course, Paris is also home to a stack of luxury labels who have incredible flagship stores here. It's well worth strolling down Avenue Montaigne or Rue St Honore, even if it's just to window shop. Not just a rack but an entire store, three levels of Lanvin, and that's just the menswear? Yes please.

Now that you've blown all your money on shopping, you need a cheap form of transport. Paris' Velib bikes are a great way to get around the city and soak up the atmosphere at the same time. There are bike stops all over the city. You can hop on and hop off all day long and the cost will still be in the single digits. Plus it counts as exercise which helps out with the next thing...

Eating. There are way too many food musts to mention them all but some of our favourites in Paris include eclairs from L'eclair de Genie, the ever-changing market menu at Pirouette, the croissants everywhere (several throughout the day is perfectly acceptable) and the incredible degustation menu at David Toutain. Also potatoes. They don't call them French Fries for nothing. Paris really knows how to cook potatoes.

FOUREYES ON VENICE

Venice was certainly an eye-opener for us. The main streets were pretty hideous with numerous souvenir shops and restaurants geared towards the hordes of tourists. But you only need to venture one street away and it becomes immediately apparent why The City of Canals is listed as a World Heritage Site. It was breathtaking, not only for its setting but also for its architecture, countless bridges and the way of life of the locals. See what we saw after the jump.

FOUREYES ON POSITANO

Positano on the Amalfi Coast must have been the prettiest little town we visited in Italy. Houses of this township seem to stack impossibly above each other up the steep slopes of the surrounding hills. Click through to see our photos of this picturesque place.

FOUREYES ON FLORENCE

Florence was one of our favourite European stops. This beautiful city set in Tuscany provided us with endless inspiration. The food, markets and art galleries kept us busy with the Uffizi Gallery being a highlight. Check out our visual diary after the jump.

FOUREYES ON VATICAN CITY

Our trip to Europe continued with a stop in Vatican City. It was quite a visual experience and well worth the long queues. The Gallery of Maps was definitely the highlight for us - the ceiling of which is pictured above. Click through to check out the amazing range of colours and textures of this small but stunning walled country within Rome.

FOUREYES ON ROME

There's plenty of old stuff in Rome obviously and you should probably try to see a lot of it if you haven't been before. But one of our favourites is the Map Gallery at the Vatican. Maps are cool as is but old maps are even cooler, especially when they are painted by Renaissance artists along the entire length of a huge gallery and embelished with gold details and intricately carved ceilings (more on that coming up later). While you are there, break away from the stream of tourists on their way to the Sistine Chapel, to admire the Vatican's largely ignored modern art collection.

Coffee is seriously good all over Italy but two places we love are Sant Eustachio and Tazza d'Oro. Both just around the corner from the Pantheon, in opposite directions, so grab an espresso at either after sightseeing.

It's ridiculously easy to find good food in Rome as long as you avoid the tourist traps which are easily spotted. One of our best meals in Rome was at the cute little Ristorante Broccoletti in Monti. Relatively inexpensive, one of the highlights was the Orecchietti Pugliese with peppers and salted almonds. Rome is also the home of Carbonara which is a must-eat while there. The pastas are great obviously, but don't miss out on the awesome contorni dishes as well.

Rome is a city that really rewards aimless wandering. We love to spend afternoons meandering from one area to another, stopping for coffee, food or vino along the way. Around every corner there's a historical monument, market, exciting shop or Bernini sculpture. It's a pretty inspiring environment.

FOUREYES ON BARCELONA

Barcelona was another stop on our recent European tour. It is home to many works by one of our favourite architects of all time, Antoni Gaudi. Even if monuments aren't normally your thing, his creations are just out of this world and you will marvel at his creations such as the still uncompleted Sagrada Familia and the beautiful Parc Güell. Definitely worth checking out.

For us, food (and drink) is always very high up on the agenda and a trip to Barcelona wouldn't be complete without a visit to La Xampanyeria, a bar serving Cava (the Spanish version of champagne) and tapas where you can feel an atmosphere that we imagine would have been how local bars were back in the old days of Barcelona; rustic, buzzy and truly delicious.

For another eating experience that you won't forget, head to the gritty neighbourhood of Poble Sec, a popular destination for the locals. We spent a whole afternoon on Carrer Blai, a street lined with tapas bars where we hopped from bar to bar eating delicious tapas (for 1 Euro each!). Reserve an afternoon for this activity!

When we visit a city, we love to explore it's surroundings and if a trip to the beach is what you feel like, head to the beach town of Sitges which is about 45 minutes out of Barcelona by train. Wander through the tiny alleys of the town until you finally end up at one of 17 beaches in the area! Also make sure you have a walk around the Eglesia de Sant Bartolomé i Santa Tecla church where you have an awesome view down on Sitges and normally find a local strumming on a guitar.

FOUREYES ON PROVENCE

We visited the south of France for the first time recently. If you are thinking of doing the same, we have a few recommendations.

Explore Marseille. Marseille is full of beauty and charm but also has a gritty edge that adds a heap of character. It's a functioning port town and the waterfront is a great place to wander around, taking in the sights of old forts, fishermen and local kids playing in the sea. Have a drink on the balcony at La Caravelle, overlooking the historic port and head to the iconic Pizzeria Etienne (Italy is just around the corner from here after all) for a great lunch with staff that make you feel like family.

Spend a day at Bandol on the Mediterranean coast. This cute little town has a great retro feel to it and a distinct lack of overseas tourists. Head to the beach for a swim in the crystal clear water, and grab a glass or three of Bandol rose on the promenade while watching the local retirees play petanque.

Explore the numerous hill-top towns around Provence. We loved the tiny La Cadiere D'Azur. Those quaint little Provencal towns that you see in movies? This is it. There's a great boulangerie, charcuterie, a little square to eat in, and pretty much nothing else, including tourists. Bliss.

Cassis is another cool seaside town worth visiting. For a great view of the town, jump the security gate and walk around the ruins of the old fort on the waters edge.

Check out our photo diary after the jump.

FOUREYES ON MADRID

If you follow us on Instagram, you probably know that we've done a bit of travelling recently. Our little feature in the latest Remix magazine prompted us to pull out our favourite photos of the things that inspired us on this trip. First up in a series of travel posts is Madrid, Spain.

FOUREYES IN REMIX

The latest issue of Remix has hit the shelves and we're in it, this time talking about our recent travels to Europe. Get yourselves a copy to see what we say about it and what you should do if you're thinking of heading in that direction any time soon. Also, some of our holiday snaps made the final cut too, bonus!
We'll be posting about the places we visited along with shots of things that inspired us in a series of upcoming posts. So watch this space. 

FOUREYES ON VIKTOR & ROLF SPRING 2015

If you've been following our Instagram at all you'll probably know that we were over in Paris last month right around the time of Paris Fashion Week. While we weren't really there for the shows this trip, we couldn't turn down an invitation to visit the Viktor & Rolf showroom and be taken through the Spring 2015 collection, straight off the runway. See what we saw after the jump.

FOUREYES ON THIS WEEK #14

ALEX - I'm currently in Venice and all I can say is WOW! It is stunning! I spent the day wandering through the canals, climbing a million bridges, catching the Vaporetti (water buses) around the island and sitting and enjoying not having to do anything but soak in the sun and everything around me with a Spritz Veneziano in my hand. And I get to do it all over again tomorrow! P.S. Sorry about the phone pic - I forgot to bring the camera cord with me!

  
CHIN - I managed to find time this week to pop into Ciel PR's showroom. I saw this and pretty much forgot to look at everything else. The Panopticon bucket bag by Blue Blank features chunky tassels and a sunburst eye design. Everything looks better with sunbursts right? It's available at Children of Vision in Auckland, The Service Depot in Wellington and Company Store in Dunedin.

  
DANNY - My mum's in the process of a huge garage clean out and yesterday I got an ultimatum to pick up all the toys I'd almost forgotten about before they got dumped. So I did. Now my hallway is looking pretty awesome and I get to put off being a grown up for even longer. Plus it's a rainy day today so playtime!

  
MINO - With the Spring 2015 menswear shows currently happening in Europe at the moment, I have been excitedly scrolling through the latest collections on style.com and a standout for me so far was the collection by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Here are some photos (via …..) of some of my favourite looks.

image via Fucking Young!

FOUREYES ON THIS WEEK #10

ALEX - This week, we each ordered a pair of sunglasses from www.clearly.co.nz and it couldn't have been easier. They have a great selection, a very user-friendly website and I can't wait to see my purchase. More on this later.


CHIN - I'm thankful for the cooler weather. It's allowed me to look in that section of my wardrobe I've ignored for too long. Knitted from an Eighties Vogue knitting pattern, I rediscovered this gem of a woollen jumper given to me a couple of years ago by a friend.

DANNY - My workplace currently has this 20 kilo wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano sitting in the fridge. Just because my work decided that a 20 kilo wheel of cheese was a very good thing to have. You know, for just in case. I think the pit we've made in it so far is adequate evidence of a good week.

  
MINO - 3-day weekends are the best. I had the perfect end to the week in Matarangi in the Coromandel with 11 of my closest friends. We ate (a lot), drank (a lot), laughed (a lot), played board games (it got pretty competitive -you know who you are…), and just walked along the beach enjoying the fresh air and good company. Does it really have to be Monday tomorrow?

NEW YORK THROUGH OUR iPHONE LENSES

Everytime we visit New York, we fall in love with this city all over again. There is no city in the world quite as vibrant and crazy as New York and we already can't wait to go back. This trip was planned very last minute (like a few days before we left!) and was meant as a relaxing post-NZFW trip and although there were relatively relaxing moments, New York isn't really where you go to de-stress after a week of fashion. It was actually the opposite with New York Fashion Week taking place while we were there. Highlights included the Karen Walker SS/14 show, an awesome rooftop party thrown by RewardStyle and also the Bec&Bridge trunk show at Owen and meeting New York street style guru Bill Cunningham. The rest of the time we spent exploring/eating/drinking our way through the streets of Soho, the Meat-packing district, East Village, Tribeca and the Lower East Side. Here is our week through the lens of our iPhones.

- Alex & Mino

ON THE STREETS OF NEW YORK - PART 2

This is Part 2 of our "On the Streets of New York" street style series. If you missed Part 1, make sure you check it out here.