Another fab day here in Paris. I apologize that I have no photos to go along with this but I have having difficulties getting photos from my iphone to my email. ARGH!!!!!!
We spent the morning in the Canal St. Martin area which is going through MAJOR gentrification. The area had become quite run down but the became one of the most affordable areas in Paris, although I am sure that has now changed. The canal itself is beautiful and is only made more lovely to look at through a series of bridges, foot bridges and locks. The canal was put there by Napoleon to ease the access of freight into Paris. The area is now starting to brim with cute little shops and cafe and has a very arty feel. We stumbled upon quite possibly the cutest shop I have ever seen - 3 little shops to be exact. Antoine & Lili is a women's clothing store a kids stuff and a fun (and not at all serious) home decor shop. www.antoineetlili.com. Each store front is a different cheerful color and they are all incredibly merchandised. They were not fond of the whole 'tourist taking a picture' thing, so just check out their website to see their aesthetic. Amazing!
I think all we did today was shop and eat - and that is NOT a bad thing! Last year I got some 'crinkle cups'(by Rob Brandt, 2006) as a birthday gift from my husband and had always wished I had more - so here was my big chance. There is this great little kitchen store in the Marais tht for the life of me I cannot remember their name, but they are on Rue San Antoine. Anyhoo....they carry these cups in about 20 different colors, although I prefer the white ones. The cups were designed to look like throwaway platic espresso cups, or those little cups the dentist used to give you before you spat. Anyhoo....super cool and now I have 10 more than I did before. oooooooohhh...I found a great picture on the web.....
Lunch was at the typically French Bofinger in the Marais. www.bofingerparis.com. You can't really get more French than this...and if you have never tried choucroutte...I highly reccommend it...with a little glass of good Belgian beer, of course! YUMMY!
Lastly, we were taking this open top bus down the Champs Elysee toward the Arc de Triumphe and guess who we saw - right in front of our bus...wait for it...the President of France, Sarkozy and his wife, Karla Bruni. Seriously. totally unexpeted and kinda cool! There was a ceremony at the Arc de Triumphe today to commemorate the beginning of the 2nd world war. somber.
Tomorrow, it is off and running to the Maison et Objet show - finally! Time to get to to work! I plan to visit the outdoor furniture section first to see what some of my vendors are up to with their Spring '10 collections. I will be visiting Fermob, La Fuma and EMU just to name a few. Last year they were showing purple/aubergine as a hot color and just look at us now - purple is everywhere!
So it's 11 pm and I am beat - off to sleep with visions of chaise lounges in my head. More later. Bonne nuit!
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