globetrotting with Cecile: Paris Shopping

Showing posts with label Paris Shopping. Show all posts

February 4, 2012

Day 32 : Part 2 - Out and about in Le Marais (again!)

Because I clearly loved it the first time around, I decided to spend another weekend exploring more of Le Marais! and let me just say that each time I come here, I fall more and more in love with the old charm and character of this neighborhood... Hopefully by the end of this blog post, you'll see why :-)

For your viewing pleasure, I've decided to share a few great finds from my afternoon stroll today... Of all of them, I'd have to say that, by far, my favorite highlight would have to be Place des Vosges! For my history buffs out there, you'll be intrigued to hear that this beautiful Parisian oasis happens to be the oldest planned square in Paris!

Bienvenue au Marais. Pavillon du Roi. Love the architecture. | Rue de Birague, 3e arrondissement

Place des Vosges | 3e arrondissement

Being the nerdy little me, I've always been fascinated about hearing the stories behind people, places, and things--and so after I came home tonight, of course, I had to give myself some fun, extra little homework to brush up on my Jeopardy trivia about this place :-) Quite an interesting story indeed--I must say reading up on its background definitely brought the beautiful old square more back to life!

Admittedly, many times at school I've been called the "Queen of All Nerds." So, rather than bore many of you with a full history lesson on what I learned about Place des Vosges today, I shall resist the temptation and leave my fellow nerds to rely on my best friend Mr. Wikipedia to educate you all. Meanwhile, without any further delay, I'll let the rest of you go on and enjoy my visual delights below :-)

Statue de Louis XIII | Place des Vosges

Pavillon de la Reine. Il fait du soleil! | Place des Vosges

If only it wasn't winter, I'd spend my weekends reading here... | Place des Vosges

Hmm, I've noticed that the French love to trim all their trees flat... | Place des Vosges

Maison de Victor Hugo in the far corner. | Place des Vosges

Arcardes lining the park. Feel like I've travelled back in time... | Place des Vosges

A few more lucky gems I came across this afternoon!

To start with, this cool concept store Merci, which my sister actually told me about a few years ago. Tucked away in a courtyard off Boulevard Beaumarchais, this lovely, quirky magasin solidaire was launched awhile back by the founders of chic children's brand Bonpoint and would be what I'd describe as the perfect one-stop shop for cool little things to make life more fun :-)

Merci | 3e arrondissement

J'adore cette voiture rouge! | Merci

Inside you'll find a delightful selection of books, fashion, shoes, kitchen accessories, furniture, bikes, etc.--all artfully displayed to tempt even the most casual window-shopper to come in and take a peek :-) The best part about this store, though, is that 100% of profits from your purchases at Merci all go to charities! Hmm, now with a good cause like that, how can you resist indulging in some retail therapy?!

Day 23 : Rewind --> Art Day... in Le Marais!

Unfortunately, it's another gray and rainy day here in Paris. After yesterday's action-packed adventure, I've decided to be a hermit today and stay inside to catch up on emails and homework. While combing through my files in my computer, though, I realized that I somehow forgot to share with you my little Parisan expedition to Le Marais over the weekend! (Yeah, despite my horrible cold, I had to flee the nest on Sunday for some fresh air. Otherwise, I always end up going stir crazy...).

I first heard about Le Marais from my sister when were planning our last visit to Paris back in September. I remembered she had put it on our list of places to see, but sadly we were in town for only a weekend and could only see so much :-/ Anyway, home to the Centre Pompidou, a building complex which houses the largest museum of modern art in Europe, Le Marais has often been described as one of the liveliest, loveliest and most beautiful quartier of Paris. It's also one of the few places in Paris where most of the shops are open on Sunday! Rain or shine, the old narrow streets filled with trendy fashion boutiques, restaurants and antique shops are perfect for wandering about and just getting lost for a day...

Centre Pompidou | 3e arrondissement

High-tech architecture | Centre Pompidou

When I first read about this building, I was such a big fan... | Centre Pompidou

...but in person, it's so much more interesting and fun. | Centre Pompidou

Giant air ducts. | Centre Pompidou

Interesting juxtaposition with the historic buildings in the back.| Centre Pompidou

I must say I love the charm of the old historic buildings in this neighborhood... It almost feels like you're walking back in time! Below are a few fun discoveries I made while out and about in Le Marais :-)

Day 15 : Auchan = France's answer to Wal-Mart!

Admittedly, I was starting to get a little homesick earlier today. It's fun being in Paris exploring all the different neighborhoods and checking out all the cool restaurants and shops I've been reading about the past few months. However, with everything that the city has to offer, truthfully, there are just some things I can't seem to find in Paris that I really miss from the States...

What could that be, you ask? Well, sad as it may sound, but the shopping mecca that is Wal-Mart (or any one-stop-shop for that matter...). Yes, that's right. Unfortunately my local Franprix (or even the huge Casino I discovered down the road last week) just isn't cutting it anymore. I miss the luxury of having endless aisles of cereals, cheese, breads, etc. to choose from. Even more, I miss not having to pay an arm and a leg for my favorite Tropicana jus d'orange. Plus, let's face it--sometimes it would be nice to get all your shopping done in one place, rather than always having to navigate your way through the maze of the Paris Metro map (without your Google Maps!) to run errands :-(. I know, I really shouldn't complain. I'm in Paris.

Thankfully, just in time to cure my homesickness, Yasuyo and I decided to go mobile-shopping after class today and checked out the local mall in Cergy, where we came across the greatest thing ever... Auchan! O.M.G. It was like I had died and gone to food shopping heaven!!

Auchan | Cergy, France

For my all my non-Frenchmen (or non-European) friends, I can only describe it to you as France's answer to Wal-Mart! Not only can you do your entire week's of grocery shopping here, but they sell pretty much everything else you could possibly think of... clothes, kitchen appliances, books, house products. You name it, they have it. EVERYTHING. and not just that--you also have an endless selection products to choose from :-p Ah, thank you Auchan! and France, I love you again :-)

"Am I really still in France?!" | Never-ending aisles @ Auchan

"Pinch me! Again, am I really still in France?!" | Produce department @ Auchan

Genius! Okay, Auchan beats Wal-Mart now. and whoever thought of this needs a raise! | The Jetsons-style escalators @ Auchan

January 10, 2012

Day 6 : Sneak peek... soldes! (translation: French sales!)

Just in time for our arrival... French Sales start in Paris tomorrow! We've been hearing so much about it from our classmates that Yasuyo, Jennifer and I decided to head over to Printemps and Galeries Lafayette earlier this evening for a sneak peek. Ah, so many of the sales were tempting, but happy to say I resisted on indulging in some retail therapy. Well, at least for now...

The French Sales are expected to run for the next three weeks, and while some of the deals look irresistible now, my new french friends have advised me to try and avoid shopping this week--many of the items could be marked down as much as 70%-80% off in the final week! The only downside, my favorite items might be gone by then...