Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A Paris Day


I only have a little time to see Paris. It is the reason why I whip out my camera on the morning walk from the Hôtel de Ville all the way up to the top of the rue du Temple on my way to the showroom.

Though I blow on that I'm not that interested in the romanticized Paris, it's still romantic damnit. This is especially true for me early in the morning, when I can see my breath in the wet chill of the courtyard, where the camellias and forsythias are still blooming in the brisk cold, and I step out through the big doors to the street into the city waking up, this is the city of Paris I know best I guess.

Smells of coffee and smoke from the cafés, and yeast from boulangeries and patisseries exhibiting the first trays of artful gems of the day, I go down into the metro, in love with the large graphic announcements of everything there is to do and see and buy, read the daily paper on the train and emerge into the light if I'm lucky, or a drizzle if I'm not, into a new part of the city. I walk and snap photos until I get to rue Chapon, where I'll spend my morning until we decide if we want to eat Pho nearby in Paris' original Chinois-town or the plat du jour at the Taxi Jaune right across the street. We drink little cafe "noisettes" in the afternoon on a silver platter Taxi Jaune lets us take across and are animated enough for when our afternoon appointments come, and stay until 8pm when we come out again in the dark, lock the doors for the night and decide where to go for a drink. We talk about business and about what we want to eat, which is delicious especially when eaten in the company of friends. Later we say goodbye until the next morning when it happens all over again.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Parisian Lady

Hello dear lovelies of the Bon Bon world!

I’m Melissa (a.k.a. Simply Mel) from
Reverie-Daydream. It goes without saying that I LOVE Paris, so when Deb said she was leaving for one of my favorite cities in the world and needed a few guest bloggers, I jumped on board the Bon Bon train!

So without further adieu, allow me to share a few stunning images of paintings by the French artist, Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889-1962) who was known as the painter of the “Parisian lady”.









In the 1920’s, Domergue invented a new type of woman: “thin, airy, elegant, with a swanlike neck and wide seductive eyes which gaze upon the world with longing”.

He also played an essential role in the evolution of fashion in his era designing numerous dresses, hats and accessories for famous couturier.








Très magnifique, non?!



[via Google images]

Sunday, March 15, 2009

welcome home + le château de versailles

Hello everyone! Visiting from {this is glamorous}, and delighted to join the wonderful panel of guests here at Bonbon Oiseau while Deb is away in Paris . . .

Was happily in the City of Light
last summer . . . and when dreams are of Paris, the first thing that often comes to mind is La Tour Eiffel, but for me, many beautiful memories are associated with the magical Château de Versailles, just outside of the city . . .

The welcoming gates of the Château, beautifully shot by Karl Lagerfeld.

The wonderful and expansive grounds, {above & below}, perfect for a lovely picnic and a glass of champagne . . .

A peek inside the Château . . .

And when all is said and done and you've returned home again, you'll always have your perfect Parisian memories . . .

{Welcome home, Deb!}

{images: 1 - captivate me; 2 - dankse on flickr; 3 - Paris by Pia Jane Bijerk; 4 - editorial: High Fashion, Haper's Bazaar November 2007; models: Snejana Onopka, Jessica Stam etc.; photography by Karl Lagerfeld; 5, 6, 7 - photography by {this is glamorous} June 2008; 8 - back issue of martha stewart living via this post}

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Follow me, mes poulets!

Hello sweet bonbons, it's P. from What Possessed Me, here by the grace of our darling Deb. I'm so happy to be with you.

So here's what I'm thinking:

You're gonna blow off work, throw on a cute little number...



...and hop it to Paris.

Because that's how you roll, sister.



A room at the Hotel du Champ de Mars in the 7th will be waiting. Madame has prepared the little yellow one that opens onto the courtyard. Chocolat chaud and croissants in bed taste much better than white coffee and a doughnut...



Your belly full, you wander. On the rue Madame, you follow an impossibly chic and mysterious woman to Odorantes...



...where the flowers are arranged by scent. There she buys an elegant nosegay, its perfume trailing behind her as she swishes by.



Is it me, or it is time for taxidermy? The stuffed animals of Deyrolle beckon, offering you a delicate madeleine. Who says no to a water buffalo?



But when the delightful shopgirl invites you for sweet mint tea at the La Grande Mosquée de Paris, you choose baklava over badgers, reveling in the panoply of color and light.



Wandering around the Sorbonne, you can't help but notice a French dude giving you the hairy eyeball. "I know a little place, ma petite chou" he coos. "We will have oysters and chablis."



He's small, his pants are too tight, and he's wearing a beret, but he's strangely...alluring. Somehow, you don't even mind that he bears a striking and disturbing resemblance to Maurice Chevalier. Whatever! It's kind of cute when he says, "Zut alors!" just like Jean-Pierre from your ninth grade French textbook.

You find yourself getting slightly carried away. The oysters...the candlelight...the lovely wine...



In fact, you quite like him. And you might even stay a while.

(It's a good thing you brought your cute underwear.)

Photos: 1 and 2: Le Blog de Betty. 3. Hotel du Champ de Mars. 5. Garance Dore.6. All Stripes 7. Deyrolle 8. 39 Vaugirard 9. Danske 10. Grunge Gypsy

Monday, March 9, 2009

Mille mots

Allo, allo! This is lazysundae of Clinton Hill Chill & The Itis writing from Brooklyn, NY. I really wanted to do a macaron taste test of different spots in the city, as well as make my own for this chapter but the first batch of macarons I bought were so unsatisfactory they spoiled my taste for them (for the time being) so I scrapped the idea. Just as well, since I would never have done the previous post any justice. Beautiful photos, cindy*!

Instead, I have put together a mini-mixtape of songs by French artists, songs in French, or songs in French movies, and paired them with some beautiful photographs from Paris I found on Flickr. Download the music here.

Enjoy!

"Paris sous la Neige" by Mellow
Mellow is a French band I discovered in college during my stint as a radio DJ. This has always been my favorite song of theirs. The photo is actually a postcard from 1905 and captures the lighthearted mood of the song perfectly.

"Ce Matin La" Air
This photo reminds me of Le Petit Prince's home, Planet B612. It goes with the song because it's fluttery and space-y. And also, Air is French.

"Rally" Phoenix
Phoenix is a French band. I thought this song fit the photo because I imagined myself running round and round up and down these stairs at l'Arc de Triomphe. I also love this photo because it looks like a nautilus shell.

"Tout Doucement" Feist
Leslie Feist is one of my favorite singers, hailing from Toronto. She was originally in the collective band Broken Social Scene, whose members are also in KC Accidental and include Jason Collett. The song was originally sung in 1957 by Blossom Dearie. I love this photo with the song because they're both old-timey and fun.

"Comptine d'un autre ete l'apres midi" by Yann Tiersen
This is from the Amelie soundtrack. It's a little sad but also happy. Like Paris on a rainy day. I like this photo because it's of a famous landmark but it's not touristy.

"Melody of a Fallen Tree" by Windsor for the Derby
This song was in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. There is a tinge of desperation in both the song and photo, like trying to hang onto something that is slipping away. But this time there is a happy ending.

Again, music can be downloaded here in a zip file.

A bientot et bonne Lundi!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Oui, oui, Paris! Oh, how I love thee...

It was October 2006, just one month shy of my wedding, and I, Miss Bee, was galavanting through Paris with my friend Nancy. We had flown there on her frequent flier miles—mine a free companion ticket, thanks to Nancy's constant travels—and were staying with a friend, just a stone's throw away from the Eiffel Tower. By any measure, I'd scored a free trip to Paris. How did I get so lucky?

Nancy had surprised me with the idea of a quick jaunt to Paris one night over dinner and drinks a few months earlier. Certain there were more drinks than dinner involved in her decision to whisk me away, gratis, I waited the next day for her to confirm that her offer still stood... that she had, in fact, been lucid when she'd offered me a free ticket to The City of Lights. She had. And we would... leave in late October—the perfect girls' getaway before my walk down the aisle. I was ecstatic!

There was only time for four or five nights away, but it was all we needed. We logged miles each day, on foot and sometimes by ferry, leaving no stone, shop, or scone unturned. Museums, gardens, cafes, and bars—we couldn't soak them in fast enough. And the shopping! Oh, the shopping. To this day, my favorite pair of boots (espresso brown, soft leather, two-buckle, scrunch-down beauties) were bought in a small boutique in the (oh, which was it again?) la-la arrondissement near our flat. Whenever I put them on, I smile and think back to that wonderful time spent in the apple of France's eye. It was completely magical and my do I have some wonderful friends.

A city like Paris is meant to be courted, cajoled, returned to again and again throughout one's life. I imagine the city I fell in love with two years ago will bring me something new and different when I return, perhaps a year or maybe five years from now. It is romantic and popping with energy and love and light. For now, I'll live vicariously through friends like Deb, and through my vivid memories of walks along the Seine. I can still close my eyes and smell the crisp, fall air now. Paris, je vous adore.
Merci, my lovely bonbons, for indulging my trip down memory lane. I hope you'll come visit me from time to time at my homes, The Lil Bee and Feather. And to my sweet Deb, safe travels and big kiss! J'adore.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day



Wishing you a sweet day of heart shaped filters on everything, doing something nice for yourself, some pretty things, maybe a little romance...

Valentine's Day for the past 2 years has been a stressful day since my countdown to Paris officially begins. Jim always helps melt that away...
This year, I think I've almost got it. 



Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Last Tango













On my last day in Paris, after a week of being inside and working for 10 hours a day, I had one day free. I walked to one of my favorite places to dig around for some antique beads, across the islands (above) and up the busy loud Boulevard Sebastapol. After, I dropped into the metro and went up to Montmartre (below) to visit one of my shops. I hadn't been for too long and took the afternoon to walk around, a luxury, drank a cup of chocolat and watched the world go by for a few last hours.