Thanksgiving Day in Paris

Awoke to cloudy, cold skies. 36 degrees with a 70% chance of snow - I hope so. Also, supposed to snow tonight, but less chance. Fingers and toes sufficiently crossed. :-)

Enjoyed my cafe au lait this a.m. while spying on my French neighbors - check out this boutique on the street below. I love how everything is locked up neat and tidy at night, and reopened the next day. Fascinating.

He's folding the door's that cover the windows. They fit neatly into these little pockets and viola! Storefront open for business. He has no idea I'm watching him...heehee

Today I'm going to get my shop on. It's day 5 and I've yet to buy myself anything of value - of course chocolate and wine are of value to me, but I'm talking fashion. Going to venture over to the 2e, 8e and 9e Arrondisements today. More later...

Well, I had quite the adventure. I covered a lot of ground. My first stop was the fabulous Galaries Lafayette. Paris has a few opera houses. Each one is an amazing work of art and architecture. Enroute to shopping I passed the Opera de Paris Garnier (hey, do you think that's where the Garnier hair products get their name? LOL) located at Place de L'Opera. I couldn't get the whole building in one photo, so I settled for the end closest to me, which is mirrored on the opposite end. There was also an impressive banner advertising for the ballet. For more info about this click on: http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/operagarnier.htm

The area was buzzing with people. This is a very heavily visited tourist area. I wanted to see the shops so I forged on.

Wow - talk about a real department store, Galeries Lafayette did not disappoint!

Ladies picture the first floor - nothing but handbags, scarves and acessories. And it's no shrinking violet, it's a whole lot of square footage. Stunning! All of the designers are kept separate, which makes for easy shopping. The really high-end (Prada, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, etc) all had their own boutiques bordering the main floor, each with their own bodyguard / doorman to let you past the red velvet rope. I was too intimidated to go in any of them or even snap a photo of the door dudes. Yikes.

I did spend the better part of an hour messing up my hair trying on every type of stylish hat I could get my hands on. There were a couple of front runners, but in the end, I chickened out. I've never been much of a hat wearer and beside where else am I going to wear it? I suppose Ohio, but...I move on.

I travel upstairs. I have NO idea where I'm going, I'm just admiring the fabulousness of it all and trying to keep my mouth from gaping open. This must be what it's like at Saks NYC, or was at the old Tiedtke's in Toledo, during the holidays. The decorations were amazing! I didn't feel bad snapping photos, I was in good company.

Sadly I couldn't get the whole tree, but you get the jist. They even had giant gift-wrapped packages dangling from the domed ceiling. Enchanting....

I think there were 5 or 6 stories to the store. This next shot gives you an idea of what each level looked like.

Those curved balcony's were where tourists like me stood to snap photos. They also housed different collections, but who was looking at clothes, I was far too fascinated with the holiday decor. :-)

Next on to Au Printemps - a rival of Galeries Lafayette - but according to the guidebook more upscale. It's far too crazy busy in there, so I opt for window shopping, which at Printemps doesn't disappoint, as they have magical windows. 

 

Each of these major retailers have a separate store for ladies, men's and home. So imagine 6 of them flanking the streets. In between was every other French chain with a shop dotting the streets. Who knew Agnes B. would have a stand alone store?? Not me.

             Zoomed in on the sparkle - it was so festive

Approaching the 'magical' windows that are Printemps. :-) So cool! Each one came to life, set to different music - ranging from rap to classical, pop to jazz. I took video, but don't know how to upload it here.

Seriously, they were live action puppet shows in the windows!

I've never seen anything like it. So cool

And then I nearly broke out into song when I spied the 'Chestnuts roasting on and open fire' - not exactly a Bing Crosby moment, but I had to snap a picture. There are chestnut trees everywhere in Paris.

My next stop Galerie Vivienne, but just around the corner I stumbled upon a quaint little 'off the beaten path' square, where I saw this shop and like the way it looked so I photographed it.

Galerie Vivienne - it even sounds chic! The grand dame of Paris's 19th-century passages couverts, or covered arcades, walking through this restored (inside but not outside) gallery, with its tiled floor will take you back to a time of gaslights and horse-drawn carriages. An excerpt from my guide book - Parisians came to passages like this to escape the muddy streets, and show amid the boutiques under the glass-and-iron roofs-the world's first shopping malls.

Outside is currently under rennovation, but inside was completely restored to an amazing sight.

Imagine what it must have been like in the 19th century? Wow. And I did see the Jean-Paul Gaultier boutique, but not photos - too shy.

My tummy was growling after all this shopping, well actually it was a lot of walking and looking, not much real shopping. Even though I have $$ burning a hole in my pocket. I am my father's daughter in that regard. :-)

On my way to St. Germain (in the 6e) I spied this vendor. Candy anyone?!

My colleague Brenna told me about this restaurant that had really good Bouef Bourguinon - which is what I wanted for my Thanksgiving feast. It delivered. The beef was super tender and full of flavor. The service was a bit lacking, but the dinner made up for it. I originally ordered the pumpkin soup (per Brenna) and the BB, and for dessert the spided apple in warm carmel sauce. Unfortunately, the soup never came, but it was probably just the same - I probably would have needed to be hoisted out by crane and wheel-barrowed home.

Instead I was able to pop back over to the Champs-Elysees area for the Village de Noel (Christmas Market). I heard about it when researching markets online. It was super festive, music, spiced wine, and lots of shops. It was afterall a day for shopping. :-)

View of the Eiffel Tower from Place de la Concorde.

Paris is trying to rival London's Eye - not even close, but impressive at night, in the shadow of the Obelisk.

The rows of shops on both sides of the street.

Cheese anyone? Yum!

Super happy I froze my tail off - to see this, it was a perfect end to a lovely Thanksgiving Day. Seriously, by the time I got home my legs felt like when I was a kid and played out in the snow too long. It took forever to warm up. What? I have thin blood, I've been in San Diego for 20 years!

Train ride anyone? Hey Izzy, I think I saw Fancy Nancy on the train! :-) 

I have a few more photos to add, but am having technical difficulties - will try again tomorrow AND give you Friday's update. Need to get up early for the Marche Aux Puce's (super duper flea market) leather goods here I come.