When in Melbourne, a take away coffee cup is the accessory de jour. When in Paris, a take away coffee cup is frowned upon and audible gasps can be heard if, god forbid you should enter a store, lest the sales assistant fall over herself to swipe it from your hands and place it safely on the counter. After two days of shopping and walking, Sarah and I decided that today, we would take our coffee to the park, eat pastries and read (aka: look at the pictures) fashion magazines. But if the gods deem it to be so, shopping is always on the agenda.
Whilst this morning dawned cloudy, we decided to kick things off with some yoga in the hope the weather might brighten for our trip to the park. Forty-five minutes into the hour and a half class, I was more than ready to throw in the towel (I’m not the ‘sportiest’ person going round) and essentially gave up, lying on the floor of our living room in awe as Sarah continued to bend in ways I ddn’t think possible. I went to make breakfast – and as we established in Melbourne, I’m not the savviest cook but very good with a microwave.
Moral of the story? I’m good with microwaves in Melbourne – not so much in France. But all was not lost as we transferred to the hot plate, ate, and headed out for some time in the sun. The Jardin du Luxembourg gardens seemed close on the map but as we wound our way through the streets of Paris, it appeared that perhaps it was slightly further than we anticipated.
The reward however was the magnificent Paris architecture, glimpses of the Eiffel Tower from afar and inadvertent shopping in chic boutiques that we never intended to come across. Suddenly in possession of a new coat and boots, we found ourselves on Rue de Rennes where a second H&M (far more organised than the first) came across our path. I was able to purchase a skirt I had seen on the Champs Elysees not available in my size and it is my FAVOURITE Paris purchase to date. I’m ecstatic!
Further wanderings took us to a second hand store where I found a very French clutch in navy and white, and it seemed the gardens were never going to happen. Several hours after we left our apartment, we entered the Jardin de Luxembourg and strolled through green grass, old men playing chess, small children running and people sunning themselves. It was beautiful in the pale sunshine on this gorgeous February afternoon.
Beyond the gardens was the Pantheon, and around the corner from this, the stairs Owen Wilson sits on in Midnight in Paris. If you haven’t seen the film (what is WRONG with you), go find a copy. Now.
Photo op done and my fingers close to falling off with cold, we set up camp at le Petite Cafe around 4pm for a very late lunch, our first wine of the day and a well earned rest. More steak and fries followed (my iron levels are going to be awesome after this trip) before we decided it was too cold to walk home and hitched a ride on the Metro – but not before a quick visit to the fromagerie and the wine store next door.
Hope your hump day was as good as mine!
Note to anyone keeping count: I know we have shopped A LOT in the past three days. I checked the credit card balance tonight – the bank isn’t panicking yet so neither am I. Thanks for your concern 😉
