Bags in a cage

I love the new widows at LV in St. Germain.

The lady in black

Walking around the Marais you are bound to meet interesting people.
I particularly like the atmosphere during or around fashion week, as the population of the Marais reflects the stylish trends of the catwalks, and the cafes are packed with fashionable crowds.

Yesterday, I stepped out of the office to go get a falafel and I crossed path with this interesting couple...She is the famous fashion blogger Diane Pernet from A shaded view on Fashion
Very charming and fascinating character...

Paris and the Tour the France

Sunday morning walk..Mr R and I wander the streets of Paris, in search for good coffee and a bit of shade in this unusually hot summer day.
We walked from my favorite Swedish Institute in the Marais, to Colette on rue St. Honore. We finally stopped for a decent espresso at Le Pain Quotidien (Mr. R was looking for a Pavlova, me just a coffee).

Finally we headed back, past Place Vendome towards the Tuileries gardens, before we realized we were in the middle of a mad yellow crowd. Le Tour was arriving in Paris!
People were everywhere, on the street, on the terraces of hotels, looking out the windows and climbing on the gates of the gardens.

I just stretched my arms and let the camera take a glimpse..

Room with a view

I am back in Paris. This time I am spending the first two days in the 18th the lovely district of Montmartre. Our friends J and A are letting us stay at their lovely new apartment, a true love nest.
We are enjoying our time and really taking full advantage of the view from the bedroom. Here is what we see when we go to sleep:

Gay Paris

Fashionable Paris

I know I have seen this woman before..maybe on the Sartorialist website, or maybe on the Streetstyl..

The minute I saw her I knew I had to photograph her. I was waiting for J&A outside the Pompidou in Paris and she just walked by..a bit too skinny, smoking a cigarette, but still stunning.

Soldes! Sales in Paris

The people went crazy inside the Repetto store!

Fete de La Musique and Brideshead Revisited

On my first full day in Paris I went off to the Marais to enjoy the events linked to the Fete de la Musique.
From jazz to classical music, from techno to acappella the Parisian scene offered a show for all tastes. Of course, along with the music were the musicians and the spectators. For me, a visual person rather than a musical person, spectators and musicians were the most remarkable aspect of the whole thing.

Here, for you, some of the characters I met during my day
this guy reminded me of Sebastian, from Brideshead revisited

Paris! Fete de La Musique

I just arrived in Paris last night.
I already saw some of my friends for dinner and I am now heading out for the Fete de La Musique.
More later

P

Bad..very bad fashion shot in Paris

No need for words..

By the way, I didn't mean to take this pic, as I was just going for the odd socks. As I was taking the picture, the person bent down et voila!

Merci Paris

Think high fashion and think Paris... thank you is not the most immediate word that will come to your mind. Parisians can be a bit snappy, and the people in the fashion industry are not necessarily known for their kindness (or maybe yes)...

Anyway, talking to a fashion insider during my last visit to Paris (yesterday), I was informed of a new concept store that opened just a few blocks away from the apartment. The store is located in an amazing space, some kind of a mix between a warehouse, a posh residence and loft.
What's so special about the shop? All the profits, after costs are deducted, will go to a children's charity in Madagascar.

Merci, a brainchild of Bonpoint creators Marie-France and Bernard Cohen, sells vintage clothing, pieces from last year's designer's collections (YSL, Chloe, ..) some clothing and accessories from this year's collection, baby clothes along with kitchenware and some interesting furniture.

Interesting aspects of the Concept store at the Annick Goutal lab, where candles and fragrances are sold at 40% of the original price and the bookstore, structured just like an old English home library (at least in my mind) and runs all along the walls of the cafe. All books (or at least all the ones I picked up) are used, and the titles range from Lolita to the Lord of the Ring, Papa Goriot and Plato's republic.

Merci
111 boulevard Beaumarchais
75003 Paris
tel 01 42 770033

I am on the radio...but it's a long interview

A few weeks ago, while I was in NY I was asked to give an interview for a fun travel radio station called Travel Radio Show. The interview was fun and easy, so much so that I completely forgot about it, until today when I found the information on the internet.

You can listen to this painfully long (but informative) interview here

http://tribecaradio.net/wpradioblog/letstravel/lets-travel-show-97/

And read some of the ideas and suggestions from it, here:

http://www.letstravelradio.com/thisweek/

Paris-Rome-Frankfurt-Philly-New York

I am no jet setter, but in the last four days I have moved across five cities, four countries and two continents.
Surprisingly I am not tired, nor jet lagged. I went from Paris to Rome, where I spent two wonderful day relaxing.
On monday morning one of our cars picked me up and took me to the airport. From there I flew to Frankfurt and then to Philadelphia. The gods of air travel must have kept an eye on me, because the flight was not only extremely smooth, but also I had a row of seats all for myself! I slept, read and overall had a good time.

I arrived in Philly, where I was greeted by my friends P, L, their lovely kids and my favorite dog in the world. After less than 24 hours, I am on the road again. Heading to NY to meet some other dear friends and enjoy a meal at the Harvard Club

More tomorrow

An homage to Mr Lenotre

The day we arrived in Paris, a couple of weeks ago, the papers announced the death of Monsieur Lenotre. Pastry chef, and head of the homonymous food empire, Gaston Lenotre died at the age of 88.
He was jolly looking man, as chefs often are. The first Lenotre boutique opened in 1957 serving bavarois, charlottes, mousses and macarons. In 1971 Lenotre opened a cooking school for aspiring chefs. As many French magazine and newspapers said, Lenotre will not be forgotten. In order to commemorate Mr. Lenotre's death and his legacy, we went to buy a box of macarons from the Lenotre shop near our house.

They were incredible. They made me wish I could write a letter to Gaston Lenotre and thank him for such a wonderful work of art. I am sure many people feel the same.
I think David Lebovitz wrote not long ago that there were too many macarons around, and that everyone in France was making them.
While I agree with David ( I had some in Fontainbleau that were to say the least, unremarkable), I also think it great to have such wonderful variety at hand. Lenotre, Laduree and Pierre Herme' all within 30 min walk from each other.. Vive la France!

Weekend in Fontainebleau

Last week we decided to celebrate my birthday outside of Paris. we wanted to get out of the city, travel to the country side, spend time with our friends and relax.
The opportunity came when the lovely J & A invited us to spend a couple of days with them in Fontainebleau.
The town is famous for its beautiful castle, a royal residence for many centuries, for its forest (thre times the size of Manhattan) and for INSEAD.
The lovely J, who happens to be one of the smartest persons I know, is a student at INSEAD. Here she is learning how to save the world from the economic crisis and how to be even smarter than she is.

Incidentally, the day before we left for Fonty, the NYT featured an article on the town, making us even more excited about the weekend getaway. On saturday morning, Mr. R and I walked to Gare de Lyon (10 min ) and got ourselves some return tickets (16 E each). We found the train (it was leaving from a side platform, not the main ones) and started our journey.
In 40 minutes we were in a different world, far away from the temptation of Parisian Soldes and close to a forest, wild animals and fresh air.

A picked us up at the train station, and after dropping our bags at home we went straight to the Jardin of the chateau.
We walked on the icy path, reached the castle, saw the swans that were gathering up by the view visitors in hope of some food. We loved it. The light was incredible, and it felt like we were miles away from Paris.

After a yummy lunch, we headed to Barbizon, a lovely artsy village nearby. Barbizon was the home of artists Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet.

The roof in the picture is in fact the chapel where TR is buried.
The weekend was lovely, the food incredible and most importantly, the company ideal.

We headed back to Paris in the late afternoon, as soon as we got back we opened our computers and started working..home sweet home they say.

More pics here: Fonty weekend

Paris: the Park

I just loved the light..also it's rare to see snow in Paris.

Step 2: the market

So our fridge is empty and we have to stock up for the days to come. Mr R. and I are in the mood for fresh, seasonal produce. Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and anything that looks good on the stands.
Among others, the Bastille market is our favorite. Here we can find amazing fish, a dedicated stand just for apples, a fabulous variety of potatoes, mushrooms, etc etc.
The market on Saturday was a bit sad, not the usual lively- so packed with people you cannot walk-place. Nevertheless still exciting.
It was cold and gray, so not the ideal climate for shopping in the market, but the colors of the vegetables and the smells of the cheeses made the overall experience a real pleasure. Here are some pics. We bought cheese, potatoes, a bunch of veggies, oranges, apples and some meat..yum yum..

Back in Paris. Step 1: the boulangerie

So we are back in Paris. This time is for a short stint. We are here and then, while Mr. R goes back to Rome I fly to the US of A.
At the airport in Rome I bumped into an old friend, someone from my days of crazy clubbing and questionable choices. He was on his way to Paris to see some relatives, we had a nice chat and remembered the good old times. Far from being jealous or suspicious, Mr. R kept reading his book and sipping on his water ignoring me, my friend, and the conversation we were having.
I guess it is refreshing to see that :

A- he trusts me
B- I am so over my past life
C- I can still have conversation with people who belong to my previous life

Anyway, once we got to Paris, and we said goodbye to S. and his traveling partner (we even exchanged numbers again, in case they needed anything in Paris), we jumped in a cab and got home in 20 minutes.

It was lunch time, so as soon as we dropped our bags we ran downstairs to survey the situation at the boulangerie. Did they still have the Gallette de roi? Any rose de sable? What could we (Mr. R mainly) buy?
Before we could even make up our minds about what we were craving for, we were stopped by this sight.

Not only there was a line to get in but they were also delivering bags and bags of flour. It looked like a scene from a WW2 movie. Mr R and I were too hungry for that..turned around the corner and indulged in Breakfast in America

Back in Rome- back at home

And I am enjoying it!
I got back from Paris a few days ago and magically the sun has appeared.

The horrible news about the Tiber river overflowing seems to be obsolete now, that the sun is out and the sky is blue.

These days I am making it a point to walk to work, this way I will re-learn my ways around and enjoy fully the beautiful light of Rome. Not that I forgot my route, but maybe I missed a shop opening, or a new gallery display or the new interior decoration of a bar.

Mostly, I am drinking coffee, cappuccino and marocchinos on a daily basis. I am going back to my fav spots and asking for my solito..in fact, I don't even need to ask, I just go in, stand by the counter and smile. The hot foamy perfect drink comes without saying.

Last day in Paris, last minute shopping

On my last day in Paris I realized I still had do do a bunch of presents. Remembering a friend suggestion, I ran out, threw myself in the crowds of Rue de Rivoli and headed to the Carousel du Louvre. This cunning structure is part of the larger Louvre building and it hosts shops and cafes conveniently open 7 days a week from 8:30AM to 8:15 PM.
Among other shops is the official Musee du Luvre boutique where you can find the usual postcards, catalogues, books and a beutiful selection of copies from the museum collection. Jewelry, tapestry and ceramics that make the perfect little gift for a friend who has almost everything, but doens't have a replica of an ancient Roman bracelet.

After picking up a bunch of beautifully wrapped gifts (what else do you expect from the French?) a couple of macaroons for the flight, and after bundling up again, I headed back home.
Rue de Rivoli was still packed, but I could not help noticing these pictures posted outside the Samaritaine building. This beautiful department store has been closed for quite a while as it is undergoing restoration. In the meantime, the pictures posted on its scaffoliding make passerbys remember that the heart of Parisian shopping is still beating.
Pictures show children photographed few minutes after their birth. I thought they were beautiful and joyful. A message of hope for the future.