First of all if you are a subscriber by email, thank you! And secondly, I’m sorry for the bad link to the post yesterday. It happened when I tried to fix a typo in the title.
Anyway, the day after I got back to the west coast from Europe, I flew to Florida for the funeral for my brother-in-law, Keith. His was an untimely but thankfully quick death. Keith was a southern gentleman with kind-hearted soul…always putting others first. Without a doubt in my mind, he is in heaven now.
We lived in Paris, France about 14 years ago and have tried to visit almost every year since. People often ask me for tips, including where to shop.
You might want to pin/bookmark this for your next trip. You can click on the links for addresses. Check out my Instagram for photos of our European trip. Back to reality soon!
Starting on the Right Bank and in no particular order of preference.
• Colette It’s usually packed in here, but still fun to see what they curate as the best in fashion and home design at the moment.
• Monoprix used to be our regular grocery store. I love to pop in there for gifts: everything from T-shirts to fancy sugar like this to kitchen wares (like Laguioles steak knives). Seasonal items are there, too. There is one on the Champs-Elysées. But I like the less crowed one across the street from where we lived (40 Bd. Malesherbes 75008).
• Maison de la Famille at 10 Place de La Madeleine is lovely.
• Zara Home We don’t have one in San Francisco, yet, so this is fun for me. I went to the one at 2 Bd. de la Madeleine.
• Galleries Lafayette Maison and Printemps Maison department stores have their own floors of home goods to explore. While I was there last week, the Printemps Maison floors were under construction…probably to catch up to how great the new Galleries Lafayette Home section is now.
My husband said that Printemps has a store under the Louvre now…so you may want to check that out.
• Merci is always fun with it’s changing display. It’s in the Haut-Marais. I noticed that you can shop online (as my suitcase was already full).
• The Collection, also in the Haut-Marais (which is near the Marais–just plain fun to walk around there, too, more on that in another post). Check their hours of operation.
• Dehillerin and A. Simon are great if you like to cook (or set a table with restaurant quality dishes). They aren’t far from each other.
Moving over to the Left Bank…
• The Conrad Shop Paris on rue du Bac fun for more contemporary things…I bought lighting, among other things, here when we lived in Paris.
I love strolling down rue du Bac and seeing all the shops. Watch out, there are several sweet shops to tempt you.
Known for neutral colors but…
they are carrying more colorful items now, too.
• Le Grand Comptoir (115 rue du Bac) has fun, French things…
Don’t miss…
• Flamant Paris It is probably my favorite!
There are lots of rooms to tour…
• Puces de Vanves Flea Market on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Bring cash and it’s normal to negotiate…
These dyed vintage linens were cool. But her prices were firm…
10 euros per napkin.
Which got me thinking “Hey this could be a good DIY for me.”
I should have bought some since
a. I’m still thinking about them
b. have to find vintage linen napkins AND dye them
c. some already had MP monograms (not shown here–blue shades) Oh well.
• All the French Flower Stands They show up everywhere…you may or may not want to buy anything since you are visiting. But I always stop and enjoy.
In a future post, I will bring you some fun, stylish and practical travel tips for getting around, accommodations and eating in Paris.
Au revoir.
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