Death by Doxie: The Dogs in Costume Edition (Part 1)

Being an Aussie I've never really embraced Halloween (although last year we did get involved to help the homesick neighbours out), and so I was just going to let it pass unnoticed.  But then I got an email from one of my step-sons asking if the dogs had costumes.  So then I had to dress the dogs up, right?  I couldn't just ignore him, right? Oh, let's be honest, it really doesn't take a great deal of encouragement for me to start acting like a crazy dog lady...

Shopping in Paris? Here's my top three tips...

[Paris flea market finds - image by Pamela Jane]

If you're heading to Paris and you're hoping to squeeze in a little shopping, here's my top three tips:

1. Get yourself a copy of Paris: Made By Hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk.  It's travel sized and lovely and lists a bunch of gorgeous shops that you might not find on your own.  I only had two days for the wandering/shopping part of my trip so before I left I picked out the shops that looked especially interesting, Google Map-ped them all and planned out a day trip (obsessive? me? no...)

2. If you only have time to visit a few shops, I'd make it these three: 

La Droguerie - if you are a bit crafty this is heaven on earth!  It's got all kinds of sewing related bits and bobs, presented in a really gorgeous ye olde worlde kind of way.  Think worn wooden shelving piled with mason jars full of tiny, shiny baubles; a rainbow of wool hanging down a walkway; a wall of beautiful ribbon and lace (with prices to match).  Lovely.

Astier de Villatte - this was my favourite shop of all the ones I visited.  Once again, there is much in the way of tradition, history and worn wooden shelving, but there is also something wonderfully modern about this little shop.  The ceramics are a stand out - hand crafted in Paris, each piece has it's own unique flaws and imperfections (which I think makes it perfect!).

Colette - just because it's Colette.

3. Visit a flea market.  It's what Paris is famous for, you get to pretend you're a local, and you might even find a little treasure to take home with you!

From left to right, clockwise:

Dragonfly plate from Astier de Villate; 

Fabric off-cuts from ie; 

'Dentelle d'Alencon' gift tags from Cassegrain; 

Happy yellow tablecloth from a flea market!

J'taime France (really, I do!)

I may not adore Paris, but I definitely love France.  I haven't explored much of it, but from what a can gather it is a beautiful and tasty country.  On our recent visit the husband and I hired a car and spent two lovely Autumn days in Champagne.  After green tea and coffee, champagne would be next on my list of 'drinks that make life better' so I was pretty excited to be visiting the home of bubbles.

First up, we went to the Medieval town of Provins.  Being only an hour or so outside of Paris, Champagne is unsurprisingly popular with weekenders.  And unfortunately I managed to completely stuff up our original hotel booking (don't ask...).  At one point it looked like we were going to be sleeping in the car, but the Ibis came to our rescue.  It was basic, a bit out of town but is was also clean, super cheap and, importantly, not booked out.  Provins proved to be quite a charming little town, complete with a lovely town square and views from the ramparts across the rolling countryside (the food, on the other hand, was surprisingly dire).

Next we spent a night in Epernay, which is where all the big champagne houses are based.  Most of them do tours of their caves where they store thousands and thousands of bottles of bubbly, complete with a tasting.  It was like a sort of homecoming for me...

Oh, and a few things I left off my last post:

- Your ability to easily understand a menu written in Italian does not translate to an ability to understand a French menu.  Take the time to read each dish carefully before you order.  Otherwise you may ask for what you think is mushroom risotto and be presented instead with a plate of baby cow glands ('ris de veau').  Which is fine, I guess, if you like baby cow glands.

- Almost everyone who is not French will tell you the French are rude and arrogant, but I don't think this is true at all.  From my experience, they are confident and they are direct, but they are also friendly, helpful and welcoming. Some cliches are just that, I think.

Death by Doxie: The Ferdi Grooms Elfi Edition

Although Elfi hogs most of the limelight we do actually have two dachshunds.  One of my favourite things is to watch them together - I love that they are such good friends.  Whenever Elfi is uncertain or nervous she will look for Ferdi (who is one year older, and also not quite as neurotic as she is).  And they will always, always end up sleeping in a pile together.  And each day Ferdi cleans Elfi's face (she seems to quite enjoy it, I think).

J'adore Paris (well, sort of)

I have a confession to make!  I don't LOVE Paris!  Gasp!  Shock!  Horror!  I do like Paris though, and it is a breathtakingly beautiful city.  The only problem is that once you've oohed and aahed and oh-la-laed over all the prettiness, and you've battled the crowds and the queues to see all the big things (Lourve, d'Orsay, Pompidou, that tower - you know the one), and eaten your body weight (maybe more) in the best bread and cheese in the world, nae!, in the universe...well, once you've done all that, I'm not sure there's much more.

This was my third visit to Paris.  It was as beautiful as ever, but it's kind of conservative.  And I can't seem to find it's heart, it's soul.  Not like Rome or Tokyo or Hong Kong, or even Barcelona, which I could visit again and again and again and constantly feel the bubble of life, the evolutions and revolutions.

Can you believe I'm writing this?  About Paris?  Do you feel like slapping me?  Just a little?  Maybe if I had the chance to stay there for a month or three, maybe then I'd feel differently, maybe?  I do think Paris is a must visit, at least once in your life time, kind of city.  And I do think I could most definitely live there (oh YES! I could!).  But I'm not sure I'd rush back there again for another visit as a fleeting tourist.

But, if you are going to Paris (and I know you'd love it if you do go) here's some things:

- If you don't like the smell of cigarette smoke, be prepared to not like lots of Paris.  Everyone smokes, everywhere.

- Walking is my favourite way to explore a city, but with it's grand buildings and wide avenues Paris is not an easy city to walk.  I tried it the first day and very nearly broke myself.  The second day I combined walking with the metro system and it was perfect.  The metro is super easy to get the hang of and as an added bonus you'll feel like a bit of a champion for having conquered it!

- Having said that, le Marais (3eme & 4eme) is a wonderful area to go a-wandering.

- As is the Jardines de Tuleries, especially if you like to take a photo or two (see below).

- Motorists actually take notice of pedestrian crossings.  After being in Asia this came as quite a shock (in Seoul drivers will toot their horn at you if you try and use a zebra crossing in the way in which the road rules dictate). 

- Parisians still don't clean up after their dogs.  Watch your step.

- Women in Paris actually are all thin and immaculately put together in a style-is-eternal kind of way (sometimes cliches exist for a reason).  At aperitif time, pull up a cane chair at a cafe and spend a lovely hour or so watching them pass by.

- This trip I stayed in the Champs Elysees area (8eme) and it was my favourite area I've stayed in so far. Everything and everyone was fabulously beautiful.  Note: I may be biased as I had a bad experience last time I was in Paris on my own (my hotel was in the 3eme, or maybe the 11eme); it was the only time I've ever felt unsafe traveling solo.  But this time, staying near the always busy Champs Elysees, I never felt unsafe - even walking around alone at night.

- If you want to do the big museums, expect to queue or plan ahead and buy your tickets on-line. Also, there is a secret entrance to the Lourve if you pre-purchase your tickets; it's in the shopping centre underneath the museum.

- Be prepared to see extremes of unbelievable wealth and heart breaking poverty.  There were a fair few beggars out on the streets in all the areas I visited.  Not too far from the famous shopping area around the Galeries Lafayette I saw a whole family living on the street - the kids had a tent and the parents had a mattress.  Might put a dampener on your shopping...

- Lots of bits of Paris are basically London, but with better food.  I may get hunted down and shot for saying that, but the truth must come out.

- Have I mentioned the best bread EVER?  Oh, and the pastries!  The cheese!  The omelettes!  etcetera!

- Breathtaking beauty seems to equate to breathtakingly expensive hotels.  It took me a lot of research to find a hotel that was reasonable, in a good location and that looked ok.  I stayed at the Hotel Mayflower which was friendly and nice.  The room was basic but it was a palace compared to the shoeboxes I normally expect to get in Europe.

- If you're planning on doing a weekend trip just outside of Paris book early, otherwise you'll find that everything is already booked out, and you'll end up staying at the Ibis like we did.

- Get your hands on the Michelin Red Guide.  It's all in French but you can figure most of it out.  My husband swears by it.  After testing it's inclusions and exclusions out over a number of years, I can now say it is the most reliable guide for hotels and restaurants that I know of.

- And the shopping?  Well, that deserves it's own post - don't you think?