THE FRANTIC METRO STATIONS Chatelet and Hotel de Ville were almost void of people on Christmas morning and when I approached Boulevard Haussmann to visit the large department stores, Galleries Lafayette and Printemps, it was equally as quiet. If I said that I woke at the crack of dawn this morning, that would be lying, although I …
It is quite ironic that when I decided to abandon my little walking tour today, I managed to get slightly lost and yet at the same time, I gave four people directions along the way. Am I an oxymoron? So how does that work, that I am lost and still able to give other people directions. It confuses …
I woke up with the laptop purring on my chest. Jet lag, a heavy back pack, the disappointment with my apartment and soft duck down pillows may have been some of the reasons I passed out minutes after getting into bed last night. I had a crazy idea that I would go back to …
What do they call those songs that you can’t get out of your head, worms? Ear worms? One had burrowed deep into my head while I slept like a baby last night after my big arrival and late night. Surprisingly I woke up feeling great and didn’t look too worse for wear but the song …
I found myself faced with an unusual dilemma. Apart from a few last minute items, my suitcase was packed and ready to leave with me tomorrow. The lid closed easily, the weight seemed under and there was still plenty of room to spare. This problem needed to be rectified, tout de suite! If …
OH WE FORGOT TO CLIMB UP THE EIFFEL TOWER, I squealed to my friend as we were about to leave Paris. Never mind, he calmly assured me, this will give you good reason to return. What I didn’t know then, on perhaps my 15th visit to Paris, on that sunny October …
CHICKEN, DANCE The title on my post probably has you conjuring up a visual of Paris Adéle, hands tucked up under armpits, elbows out wide, legs bent at the knees and performing some sort of idiotic dance through the streets of Paris. Never fear people, my chicken dancing days are over but give me a …
IMAGINE THIS: Dressed in my finest clothes, snapped up at the Paris sales, I approach the grand old mansion, unusually set back from the road, on the bourgeois Boulevard Haussmann. The chauffeur enters the circular driveway, designed specifically to allow guests to be dropped off at the base of the steps and move …
The plan looked like this, pop into BHV department store, blinkers on, no fashion shopping, buy a new memory card, escape unscathed and take the metro directly to Musée de l’Orangerie, hopefully avoiding queues to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition that is currently on display there. Nothing ever seems to go to plan in Paris …
Standing under this magnificent cupola can be very dangerous especially when the surrounding signs scream out in capital letters SOLDES. The SOLDES or the sales can be dangerous to your shopping addictions and to your bank balance. Although I had been ‘almost’, patiently waiting, I didn’t partake on the mad frenzy …