It is
la crème de la crèmeÂ
It is PARIS
Photo by My Beautiful ParisÂ
It’s sultry. Â It’s dreamy. Â It’s gorgeous on every level. Â Almost unattainable. Like the high school hottie.
Right within grasp.
The great news about dating the hot guy in high school is that you didn’t have to speak French to him.
Wait a second…was that the hot guy secret ??!
I just needed to learn French in high school ??!!
Erhhhhmergerd.
Thank you Coffee Break French.
{P.S. The number one language learning podcast in Europe }
I would have never survived French life without you.
 Where were you in high school, when I could have landed the hot guy with my
french words of love ?
oh la la
I must admit, on my recent trip to Paris, I had the urge to do a blog post every 4 seconds.
Maybe every 4 milliseconds.
After living in Paris for two years, it was super cool to return as a visitor and actually stay in a hotel.
 { aka not have to make my bed }
As a resident of Paris, you have a whole different list of  daily ‘to do’s’
…like ….
Opening a French bank account.
I might add, that opening such an account is equivalent to having your wisdom teeth pulled.
Maybe worse.
This time
as a visitor
 I had more important things to do.
Like sleep in my hotel bed.
When traveling, I didn’t miss my glamourous jobs at home…
Laundry.
Dishes.
 Or cleaning the bathroom.
What I wouldn’t give to have a VALET and MAID ring-a-ling thingy bell in my bathroom.
Yes, these little handy bell ringing things were hanging in the hotel shower.
Not kidding.
I would not kid about something as cool as that.
*****
Actually, in hindsight, I am kinda wondering who calls the VALET from their bathtub.
I want to meet that person.  I bet they are crazy interesting.
And as much fun as it was to take this photo….
I bet that same person would adore having a swan throwing up water in their bathroom too.
I liked it for a day. Â I admit it.
I think it was because I was able to have a bath with bubbles up to my ears,
with no one banging knocking on the bathroom door
looking for their socks.
This time, I could drink an entire cup of hot chocolate, while it was STILL hot.
As a visitor, I didn’t have to think about cleaning the house, or what reno projects I had on hand.
Truth is, if I was at home, I would rather paint the entire bathroom rather than scrub it.
No jokes. Â I would never joke about a thing like that.
Paint is MY BEST FRIEND.
So are candles.
I wouldn’t joke about that either. Â Candles are serious business.
Serious wrinkle hiding business.
I am a white/cream coloured unscented candle kinda gal.
However,
I bend my stupid candle rule for ONLY ONE CANDLE.
ASTIER de VILLATTE
 Paris
It really -really -really smells good.
The Astier de Vilatte store is really a step back in time when you visit it.
It is beautifully organized and smells divine.
Now don’t go thinking I am a piglet…I am actually really neat….I have no idea why I am telling you that.
This post is about PARIS.
Paris is a great city to just stand on a street corner and go wild with your camera.
Not that I would ever stand on a street corner……{ MOM }
But I kinda might….. if it meant I could admire a street post.
Attention to detail, is where it’s at.
After standing there, and looking like a goof taking photos of street posts, I usually lolly- gag my way up the
Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
 Dreaming about tripping tourists.
Aren’t I mean?
Seriously, there is a huge collection of TOURISTS on that street.
Wear your elbow pads. Â Throw in a couple of knee pads too.
* You might run into someone like me, and get tripped *
This is not where the true french living is…..but if given the chance, I say GO FOR IT anyway.
Swanky shops are everywhere.
Paris, is hands down, one of the…
‘BEST~EST’ CITIES IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD FOR RETAIL THERAPY.
It has incredible, retail…everything….especially…
Â
These next  few pics are from the
Parisian Perfumerie
right next door to the swanky
*
*
*
*
Now, you can find this little stunner of a perfumerie if you can find HOTEL COSTES.
HOTEL COSTES Â will take a whole new blog post to share all the goodies about this den of opulence.
*
Cafés & Bars à  Paris
Ohh, and oooh la la, don’t even get me started on those…..
After enjoying a great cup of café crème,
PARIS is a city to walk walk walk in.
That french crème, vin, fromage and chocolate must go somewhere.
Either hit the pavement walking, or the chocolate hits the hips.
Take your pick.
I choose pavement.
Take a seat, read a book, chill….I can’t think of a better city for it.
My feet decided not to talk to me anymore. Â I didn’t care.
 I took one for the team.
PARIS
Gorgeous Paris.
Sweet Gorgeous Paris.
And everything in it.
Bisous !!
Visiting PARIS is like dating the HOT guy in High School https://t.co/mFLEuKGadG
Visiting PARIS is like dating the HOT guy in High School http://t.co/tYhlFY7PWZ
Ahhh….Paris. There’s nowhere like it. Love your pics! Thanks for sharing.
Visiting PARIS is like dating the HOT guy in High School http://t.co/KdPK4KafDa
Hi! I love your blog. Love it. Especially the Paris post.
I just started my own blog: showgirltipofthe day@blogspot.com
I am a singer/dancer/actress now living in a newly bought house outside of NYC.
Looking forward to reading more of your blog!
Thank you!
Hi Michelle
I went and checked out your blog. So cool that you made it on a mac. I haven’t seen a ‘made on a mac’ blog before. I was totally curious !
I am preparing a series of posts on blogging, so stay tuned for that 🙂 I hope you subscribed/signed up.
One great thing to add to your blog is sharing buttons for twitter and Facebook. I know it all seems overwhelming when you first start a blog. So much to do ! 🙂
It is also great to use the wordpress platform for making a blog. It is free and google adores it. WordPress is number one in the world. (good for blog traffic).
Keep blogging…it is looking BEAUTIFUL !!!
Many {{hugs}}
Lynne xx
Oh Lynne! I love you and this post! So so funny!!! xoxoxo
Some amazing moments have been captured in those photos… I am absolutely in LOVE with Paris. Sadly I was only able to spend a couple of days there so I am dying to go back there and see it slowly and properly…
Hi Tara
I hope you get a chance to go back and see Paris all over again. It is great to explore every nook and cranny of the city. It is seriously ONE GORGEOUS hunk of a city.
Lynne xx
Paris – the city of my youth…and my first marriage. I sucked up the beauty of the city with the gluttony of a starving infant. I lived in Paris for nearly three years and although I’ve been back several times, it’s just not the same. Being married to a Frenchman gave me an entrée into the private life of Parisians that outsiders never see. I attended weddings, a funeral, a baptism, family dinners, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve reveillons that rarely included anyone not born in France. I worked and vacationed at the rhythm of the country. Yes, the banking system is arcane and irritating, but DH walked me through it. Because it was the early ‘seventies, supermarkets were nonexistent so we shopped daily locally and ate like Frenchmen: three meals a day, no snacks, wine and cheese at lunch and dinner, and fresh, fresh, fresh dairy, charcutrie, baguettes, veggies, patisseries, every mouthful chemical free and brimming with nutrients. (It took me nearly a year to stop tasting the preservatives in food when I returned to North America.) We bought eggs for breakfast at 7:00 a.m. that had been laid that morning at 5, and milk that twenty-four hours before had been inside the cow. We were eating organic before Americans had ever heard the word. We ate like kings and walked like hikers so that the calories never accumulated. While I know France has changed in forty years, I’d leap at the chance to live there again. No visit can ever compare to living like the French.
Wow Sue –
What a beautiful reflection of France. I agree, the french life is INCREDIBLE. Although things have changed in fourty years, they are still very similar. We still shopped at the local market every day. No fast food. No preservatives. Wine, cheese, good healthy eating. LOVED THAT too. I hope you get a chance to return and enjoy it all again. I do poke fun at all the craziness, but I loved living in Paris. Did you see the wine regions, and travel the countryside? Incredibly gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I LOVED hearing about it.
Bisous !!
Lynne xx
AHHHH I LOVE PARIS!!!!!! I had the phenomenal opportunity to study abroad in London in college and took quite possible the BEST ‘holiday’ weekend during that time that I will ever take– in Paris. We had a crazy, great, fabulous, goofy, delicious, eye-popping time in this glorious place. Yes, we were definitely those tourist people, but with my light French skills and our quest to be fabulous, the four of us fit in quite nicely! haha I miss Paris all the time and can’t wait to go back and say ‘bonjour’ yet again! Great post–your pictures are fantastic! :o)
Thanks Sarai !
Isn’t it a fab, quick train ride from London to Paris? Love the adventure of the train ride too!
Mostly because I can SIT and stare out the window, and watch the world go by. So beautiful.
Your Paris visit sounded remarkable. What a city of incredible EYE CANDY. J’adore aussi.
Bisous!
Lynne xx
Hi Lynn, I like so much reading your blogs, you have beautiful photos!!
Your Bali post is my favorite – I miss so much my country!
Oh, we’re talking about mosaic house in twitter 😉
Dear Lynne,
It was a pleasure to spend again an evening with you.
The three of us enjoyed the “Chablis Permier cru”.
(we missed your friend and Michael)
Lot of kisses to all the family.
Et … à très bientôt de nouveau à Paris !
Bisous.
Cher Nicolas,
Merci d’avoir écrit dans mon blog! Et en anglais aussi?! Impressionnant. J’ai eu un amusement dîner avec toi et Claude. Merci d’être des amis merveilleux. Bisous, Lynne
Such a fun French-inspired post – I felt as if I was right there in Paris with you 🙂 So many fun things to do and interesting things to see and yummy food to eat… I’d be right there with you on the street corner, snapping pictures of everything around me. I’ve even been known to take pics of manhole covers!
Manhole covers ??!! Love it. That is hilare. We could be friends IRL for sure ! Lynne xx
Ha!–I laughed in my living room as much as I laughed at our IRL drinks!! SO glad to have met you ladies and know the voices behind what I read–joy of living in Paris is I know fun people will always come back! Adore the humouristic view of our city–j’adore, good for me to have some fresh perspective now/again… and glad to hear you walked those tootsies off…did you ever discover the Diptyque stores & their candles? I promise you won’t be disappointed. I finally remembered that restaurant/oyster bar in Toronto I was telling you about–Miller’s Tavern. Go. You won’t regret the oysters *wink wink* Next time, drinks are on your turf and I’ll leave my mustache in Paris 😉 xoxo bisous
Do you like how quickly I reply in my blog ? My bad. So sorry for the late reply. I am still dreaming of Paris, and it is hard to write about it/reply in it, without getting caught up in the idea of booking a flight to get right back there!
It was such a pleasure to meet you, and fooooshur , if you are in our neck of the woods….we will have a beautiful bevie in T.O. tinsel town.
Cheers!
Lynne xx
Actually I think I remember you standing on a street corner….Just kidding —I just wanted to feel important because you put my name in the blog ( “Mom” that is. ) LOL
Mom- Too funny ! Now I feel important that my MOM reads my blog. Guess I better behave myself now. Busted by my momma *_*.
Luv’s ya
Me xx
What a wonderful (and beautiful) post. I just returned from another trip to Paris and I am at a loss for how I could love the place more each time!
Dee Dee, I can see from your blog that you love Paris too. I hope you get the chance to live there some day! What a great opportunity that will be. Do you speak French? Do you live in NY now? I ADORE NEW YORK as well…so I am totally curious. I sound like a kid in a candy store. So many places, life is not long enough to soak every single one of them in…but I am sure gonna try. Lynne xx
Beeeeautiful photos Lynne.
Loved reading about Paris YOUR way.
Only thing is, I now want to go sans enfants rather than how we may be going!
Hiya Janet, you will LOVE Paris…I can’t wait to hear more about your travel plans. We will have coffee and email chats and get all caught up. Lynne xx
Lynne you make Paris seem even more dreamy! Wonderful post.
Hi Lee
I have a few more pics to send to you. I fell in love with a few mosaics along the way too…
Lynne xx
NO WORDS (rare pour moi) ….Le grande sigh!
We will grande sigh together Mo. It is a city that literally takes your breath, {and words} away . So pretty . Lynne xx