Thursday, April 26, 2007

Ah Pa-ree: Montmartre

We spent Sunday morning in Montmartre doing all the usual touristy things - starting off with Sacre Coeur, wandering around the little streets filled with artists, visiting the cemetry and seeing Degas' and Berlioz's graves and taking a peep at the Moulin Rouge before having lunch in Pigalle. Montmartre is pretty, but I think it's a little too touristy for my liking. Those portrait artists can be scary.








Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Ah Pa-ree: Sights in the city

Before I'm in danger of never posting any pictures of my Paris trips, I'll start putting some up for now.


What is Paris without a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower?



The Hotel des Invalides - we were too cheap to pay to go in and see Napoleon's tomb, so we just admired the building from outside.


After walking half the Champs Elysses, we stopped by the Alexander bridge for a breather.




St Germain is very pleasant to wander around on a Sunday afternoon.



The bookstore featured in Before Sunset opposite Notre Dame cathedral.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Desigual





I'm probably one of the last people to visit Vivocity since its opening, but I'm glad to say I finally made it there on Saturday. Parking was extremely painless and there weren't as many people as I expected. We were there to check out River Island, but after a little wandering around, discovered a section called Spain2Dream. Besides the Chocolat Factory and a wonderful handbag shop called Myriam Gallego, I found this great Spanish label called Desigual.

I'm not normally one for streetwear, but many items in the store really appealed to me. They were the right balance of hip with just enough of a funky edge, and with very reasonable prices - about $70 for tops and $100-$120 for dresses. Despite telling myself that I was not allowed to shop anymore this month, I walked out of the store with a top. Methinks I'll have to visit that label more often.

View the collection.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Monday, April 16, 2007

This April, I am into...



macarons by Laduree & Pierre Herme, Mariage Freres tea, all the new buys from Paris, Cote d’Or chocolate, the new Moleskine 2007 planner (I know, we’re already into the second quarter, but it was such a good price!), rose (in macarons and perfume), Lynne Truss' book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, one last dinner at Chef Chan's before it closes.

(My, there's a lot of food in my list this month!)

Friday, April 13, 2007

Give me liberty at Target



Even before Patrick Robinson's collection for Target has hit the shops (I think they're due out in May), I have discovered the new images for the next Target: Go collection. The new collection is by Libertine. This new collection looks playful and colourful, and while most of the pieces aren't really my style, I really do quite like these 3 looks above.

View the rest of the collection.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Pretty things from Etsy


A tote bag, a goldfish necklace and some buttons, oh my!

I need to interrupt my Ah Pa-ree ramblings to show you some of the pretty things I've found recently on Etsy.

Clockwise from left:
  • You can find this pretty floral tote bag with attached flower pin and other lovely flower pins from VeryFairy.
  • The cute goldfish necklace is only one among other cool necklaces which feature other fauna, bits of the human anatomy and even dresses. From Paraphernalia.
  • These vaguely nostalgic fabric buttons would be great on a bag or jacket! From FluffsStuffs. (I know, it's so close to my blog title!)

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Ah Pa-ree: Where to stay


Rue Saint-Anne, where the Hotel Baudelaire-Opera, right in Paris' little Japantown, is located.

My colleagues in the French office recommended this little family-run hotel, mostly because it's walking distance to the office and it quite reasonable (I paid about 110 euro for the double room, breakfast included). Overall, I'd say it wasn't too bad.



It's a little small, but I was perfectly comfortable.


What I liked: convenience to the office, the area it's in (lots of yummy ramen and udon places to try!), the squeaky clean bathroom, the little balcony, the croissants served at breakfast, the lovely detergent used to clean the towels, the cute guy with the English accent at the reception desk. What wasn't so hot: the bed (sunken in the middle, so I had to sleep at the corner), the attitude given by some of the reception staff, and the fact that despite being told there was Internet access, there weren't enough cables to go around for everyone.

But, given a choice between this hotel and the other one I stayed at for the second week (it was cheaper, at only 80 euro for a single bedroom), I'd go back to the Baudelaire. However, the next time I go to Paris, I think I'll try booking a hotel through this website. A lovely English couple I sat next to at dinner on my last night in Paris highly recommended the Tryp hotels and said if you were lucky, you could a room for 40 euro a night!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Back from Paris!


Just a little something to whet your appetite

Bonjour! I'm back from my 2 week jaunt in Paris laden with lots of chocolate, macarons and new clothes, oh my! It would have been nice to do some blogging while there, but the first week was packed with work, and the wifi in my hotel refused to work during the second week. I'll just have to sift through my gazillion photos, edit them and divide them up into posts. Watch out for them soon!

And now it's back to answering all the emails accumulated from a week ago!