shopping in Paris

Friday
Climbing the M steps, pushed by a gush of wind, we emerge from the Metro at Tuileries Gardens.
The gardens are breathtaking, lined with trees, sprinkled with colorful flowers, populated with people searching for peace and tranquility in a huge city of sound and sensory overload.

To the left towers the Musee de Louvre

Across rue Saint Honore  and among the stone arches stands Angelina's.

Angelina's hot chocolate and pastries attract food lovers from all over the world to the lovely mirror- walled tearoom.  One can just imagine ladies of years past dressed in lovely long gowns and matching hats, parasol in hand, sipping the hot, thick, rich chocolat chaud and eating financiers.

The sidewalks are densely populated with shoppers/admirers; we stroll at a leisurely pace along rue Saint Honore, admiring window displays and the merchandise therein. The windows are adorned with lovely French fashion, colors as vibrant as a rainbow and also as neutral as a country bread board.

A short metro ride takes us to the world famous boulevard Champs Elysees.  Tourists, serious shoppers, and outdoor cafe patrons densely populate the wide sidewalks of this massive avenue once trod by Napoleon and hundreds of others throughout history.  Fast moving small cars, bicycles, and motorcycles weave around double decker tour busses along the boulevard, horns sounding and motors revving, as they travel east to circle the Arc de Triomphe or west to circle the fountains in the  Place de la Concorde.

All the greats in the retail world fill valuable real estate on either side of the boulevard.  From the light green awning of Laduree (click the Laduree link and scroll over all the images to watch the shop come alive) to the tall building housing Louis Vuitton, to the very hip Renault Twizy showroom.

We step into Guerlain, and are swept away by aromas of French Perfumes and beautiful sales ladies, spritz bottle at hand.

A late afternoon (7PM) climb approximately 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe unfolds a 360 degree view of the city.  We watch the lights of vehicles below begin to illumine.  It's yet too early for the street lights to burn as the sky has not begun to show signs of dusk.