NY-Paris-NY

A week in Paris...

What can I tell you... Family, friends, small dinners, shopping and more shopping, Paris, amazing Paris...

Sandro, Maje, Isabel, Vanessa, Iro, Manoush, Zadig, Noir Kennedy, Gas, Almost Famous, 58M, AB33, Swildens, Bash, etc... Yes I saw all of them.


A real pilgrimage, but let me reassure you (and especially my banker who follows this blog on a daily basis) there were some I just admired, as the dollars is slowly and surely still collapsing!

For the fashion summary, you will have to wait, but Paris it is also all this...

Its roofs...


Its fab areas, so different, St Germain, Le Marais are among my favourites...




And there are all the little extra things... The ones you cannot find in NY (yes yes there are some!)

No? You don't think so, well let me show you...

The Velibs, or how you can rent bicycles by the hour everywhere in Paris.


The patisseries, and they are so good, people are even queuing for them!


And in no specific order...
The tube, so much cleaner, the buildings which, because they are smaller let us see more of the sky, the museums, the Eiffel tower which shines like a diamond at night, to have a real expresso, the brasseries and small cafes, and above all the feeling that people are taking the time to enjoy life, un je-ne-sais-quoi...



Oh I know... I am so French!!

Neimo rocks NY!!

Are you wondering whether or not I can't spell, or just, what I am talking about?... No I am not talking about Nemo (even though he is a cutie too) but Neimo (pronounce Nay-mo), four French guys who remind me of the Strokes, and who will give you an adrenaline rush on stage with their fab energy.

The reason why I am mentionning them now is because they are playing in NY. We saw them last night at the Club Midway, in the Lower East and we had a great time. The venue was very small but the sound was good, and the show was pure indie rock!
They are playing again tomorrow, on New Year's eve at the Knitting Factory and then back to Paris for a showcase on 4th January. All the details are on their my space, along with their last album (let me know what you think).

I didn't take my camera with me, well I didn't want to look like a groupie & a tourist but here are a few photos from the net.

The stage at the Midway.


The Neimo Boys!


There are four boys, Bruno (who sings in a perfect English), Camille (who must be the son of Slash, they have the same hair!) Matthieu and Alexis. They remind me of bands like Blur and the Smiths but also the Strokes and Phoenix.
Alright, I am not going to lie about this, I am also very proud that they are French and playing in NY!



So did you know them? Do you like their music?

Oh I almost forgot, my Fashion de-brief! So a lot of... Skinny jeans, and more... Skinny jeans! The dress code was skinny jeans (!), white repettos (very Serge Gainsbourg), vintage boots, tee-shirt, waistcoat, a few cute vintage dresses and of course the compulsory black leather jacket! Yes whether or not it is 6 degrees outside, you will not come with your coat, it will have to be a cute leather jacket and well if you get a cold not our problem!!
And the cherry on the cake, they asked for our I.D at the entrance, you have to be above 21. At the eve of 2008 it is a real boost to be asked for your I.D... Ok I know it is the law in the US, but one can dream right!?

Neimo, the new record Modern Incidental, comes out in Spring 08 butin the meanwhile you can listen to it on their site.

Beautiful "Prairies"

To tell you about Paris without going through a lit bit of my shopping would not be a complete story.
But because I don't want to bore you, I have decided to talk about only one boutique this time, and it will be the Prairies de Paris.

Why only one? And why this one in particular I hear you say?
Well then...
Because I will not talk about Isabel Marant, that will be for another post...
Because many of you know the Paris shops and I should be talking about the ones in New York (promise I will do so soon) so I have decided to talk about one of my favourite boutique...
Because last Saturday was a religious event for some and therefore I found many stores closed... And when you come to Paris for only three days it is kind of funny (yes ok not that much) after all!! Yes I know I should have known, well so much for writing about many other boutiques, they won't be any post on Sandro and Maje that's for sure!
But above all the real reason is that I love this brand since I bought my first pair of shoes (ballerinas) from them last year and because one should never get rid of good habits and I fell for their ballerinas again this year!! Needless to say I love them, and that the only difficult part was to decide on the colour, yes well I had to hesitate, change my mind, go back, etc... I had to right, otherwise you would not have recognized me in that story.
And to be honest, I really have to thank my mum for her patience, my friends for their advices, and also Laetitia, the store manager and Dominique who were adorable with me.

The boutique is superb, off of St Germain boulevard, the collection is gorgeous and even the fitting room has to be checked too!! They give you advice, nobody tries to push you to buy, everything is reunited for a successful shopping experience.


So I left with ballerinas and also with some high heels, and just when I was thinking I might go back to NY empty handed and have nothing to declare!!
So what now... Well I am awaiting for my next trip in October to go back there and lose myself in the beautiful Prairies...

Add three letters to Paris

And it is Paradise.

I am back after a magical week end, a quick stay in Paris, where I met with my family, a glimpse of what is waiting for me in a month time when I come back on holiday...

In Paris, I don't know about you but all I want to do is wander about and discover cute streets just like this one... You start with le Marais, Rue Vieille du Temple, then the francs-Bourgeois one, you stop at Place des Vosges and finally you keep on walking until Rue de Charonne... All this is one example of many of the walks to do on the Right bank, and... The left bank is pretty good too...

Then you get a little bit hungry after all that walking so you must have a small pastry... Choosing is tough, but with a four day stays well it means four different pastries!! A good average, right?!

One cannot come to Paris and not shop! Shopping in Paris is compulsory, and even more when you live abroad as you discover new places when you come back such as Isabel Marant new boutique in rue Saintonge or NO60, AB33 big sister on rue Charlot and there are so many more!


All in all just pure happiness... Don't you think?