Tag Archives: Paris

In Love With An Iron Lady

Posted in City of Paris, Monument, Outdoors, Paris, parisian, photography, tourist, Uncategorized by

Grey Day Eiffel TowerI have been in Paris for over 11 years now. Wow. It seems so long to me.

And no matter how many times I go to see the Eiffel Tower, I always always take a picture of her. She is beautiful. Weather it is against a grey cloud-cast sky, or dazzling beneath a vibrant evening blue hue, she is the star of this city, and everyone who comes her heads to her feet to pay hommage in the best way we modern humans know how : by taking her picture.

One day in February, as I was treating myself to a stroll around her gardens, I though how interesting it was to see the intense concentration on people’s faces as they captured her image. They were trance-like almost. Continue reading →

Some Things Never Change : 19th Century Parisian Activities

Posted in activity, art, City of Paris, Culture, Exposition, History, inexpensive, low cost, Museums/Expos, Paris, parisian, rant, tourist, Uncategorized by

Expo : Les Parisiens de Daumier.
Until March 4th… HURRY!
3€ Entry.

Galerie du Crédit Municipal de Paris

55, rue des Francs-Bourgeois – 75004 Paris.

Mon-Fri 9am-5pm – Closed Sundays

I first heard about this expo via the blog Paris, Maman et Moi. Being a 19th century French literature fan (I have the entire collection of Balzac – and FYI, some editions of Balzac’s works were illustrated by Daumier) I knew this was right up my alley. So instead of waiting in line for the Brassaï expo (just like in Sheily’s post linked above), I headed over to see these wonderful drawings of what Parisian life was like in the 1800′s.

You could say that Daumier, who’s work is the entirety of the exposition, was what we would consider a lifestyle/humorist blogger today. Each drawing (there were dozens and dozens of them) mocked, exaggerated or poked fun at a certain “type” of Parisian, in different situations of social life back 150-200 years ago. Continue reading →

Pretty Paris Pictures : Night Lights

Posted in City of Paris, Outdoors, Paris, photography, Pretty!, romantic by

I have been braving the cold and dreary weather lately, with my camera in tow, trying to capture some of those beautiful moments that flicker across my life in this amazing city… And if course I do all that so I can share it with you! Sometimes I end up walking waaaay farther than I originally intend to, all for the sake of getting more great shots. Some of my night shots come out rather yellowish, I wonder if it’s the lights here, or is it my camera? I don’t do any image altering or filtering on my pictures that I post here. I would, if I had the time, but I am just to busy to bother. So I end up taking quite a handful of clichés for each frame, in order to get the perfect picture that won’t need modifications.

Paris a-glow Continue reading →

Treize – New Secret Spot in Paris

Posted in American in Paris, bon plan, brunch, Charming, City of Paris, Delicious!, Expat, Foodie, Paris, parisian, Restaurant, Tea, vintage by

Treize Laurel Sanderson was one of the founders of the wildly successful Sugarplum Cake Shop and was the heart, soul, and sunshine of their tea salon… We were all sad when she left the Paris baking/eatery scene, but that didn’t last long! She’s baaaaaaack! And she has created her own little place that is full of her contagious and addictive charm and warm cheerful hospitality, serving up her fantastic recipes for lunch and brunch, and that amazing carrot cake she is so well known for.

Continue reading →

Poo-Pooing the Kong Restaurant

Posted in American in Paris, bar, Paris, rant, Restaurant by

Kong Restaurant After seeing the amazing David Hallberg dance the Sleeping Beauty prince… Chéri brought me to the Kong for dinner. We thought we would make a fabulous night of it and eat at what I assumed would be a swanky and chic address with amazing fusion food. (I had been to the bar for drinks this summer and had some grand illusions about dining out there).

So the swanky part was not to be denied. The place is prime Parisian real-estate. But the sparkle of all that was so tarnished by the down sides that it didn’t seem as fabulous as one would expect from an establishment that boasts presence in a Sex and the City episode. Continue reading →

Sleeping Beauty at the Paris Opera House

Posted in American in Paris, Paris, Pretty!, romantic, shows, Theater, Uncategorized by

Sleeping Beauty, Opéra de Paris I really wanted to title this post “David Hallberg’s Amazing Coup de Pied” but I wasn’t sure if that would be a title anyone would really understand, let alone click on to read the post.

Chéri took me to the ballet at the Opera de Paris (this time at the Bastille opera house). I was disappointed that the show wasn’t being held at my favorite Paris monument (Palais Garnier), but I do find the seats more comfortable at the Bastille location. The ballet we watched : Sleeping Beauty. The choreography by Rudolf Noureev and the music by Tchaikovsky, it couldn’t be anything less than a pure delight. I was beyond excited. It has been a while since I have found the time to go to see a performance and I was starting to miss the incredible shows the company puts on. The costumes and sets are always at the height of perfection, made with talented hands and designed by great stage artists.
Continue reading →

Francis Kurkdjian perfume game

Posted in Paris, Perfume, Pretty! by

Sans titre I have encountered the work of the perfect Parisian artist and idealist. A dreamer, a creator, a story teller of scents… I was strolling through the Printemps Haussmann store searching for Christmas gifts when I came across a perfume stand that caught my eye. It was full of lovely shades of cream and white, slate and gold, and little silhouettes of a Paris skyline… HOW COULD I RESIST!?! La Maison Francis Kurkdjian.

I inquired the sweet and knowledgeable sales girl and asked for a presentation of the brand. Mr Francis Kurkdjian it turns out it a first generation descendant of Armenian immigrant parents. He became a perfume artist and spent many years working for others, creating scents for some of the biggest brand names in the industry. One of his creations, just to give you an idea of his talent, is Le Mâle, in 1995 for Jean-Paul Gaultier. Here is a list of some of the other perfumes he has created for others. As you can see, the man has got talent. Continue reading →

My Blog in Review : 2013

Posted in American in Paris, Blogs, Paris by

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

WordPress, this wonderful platform I have been blogging on for several years now has been so sweet as to prepare a fun, and interesting review report of 2013 on my blog. Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 130,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Continue reading →

Ringing in 2014

Posted in American in Paris, Dairy Free, Delicious!, DIY, Foodie, French, Funny story, Holiday, Love!, Paris, parisian, Uncategorized, wine by

Cheers! Opening the bubbly for #NYE !!! With @ellacoquine and our chéris :-)Chéri and I had a fun intimate party for New Years Eve, at our place with Lisa of Ella Coquine with her chéri and our good friend Sophie. It was nice to just have a small group of good people gathered together to laugh, drink some bubbly, eat decadent delights and be silly until well past the pumpkin hour.

I served some of my remaining champagne from Mon Champagne, Hediard foie gras (splurge!), Lisa brought smoked salmon bites with a totally amazing dairy/soy free creamy dill dip, and amazing sweet marrons marinés from Sophie, and then of course one of my favorite foods, nêms! Continue reading →

New Year’s Poem with Love!

Posted in City of Paris, Fun, Holiday, Inspiration board, Luxe, mode, Paris, trendy by
Happy New Year!
I hope you sparkle, I
hope you have fun,
I hope your glass is raised with friends
and I hope when it’s done,
someone has kissed you
and wished you
the warmest of cheers,
because you all deserve the bestest,
of bestest,
most fabulous
new years!
With love, from Paris
~Melissa

♥