The 'Soldes'

 Happy Wednesday!

Here we go! The sales started at 8am this morning.

The Soldes in France come around twice a year. What is a Soldes you may ask? Basically, France holds two sales, one mid-winter (January) and one mid-summer (July). It is the time to have minor panic attacks and drive yourself a little crazy. The sales are pretty standard (this is coming from a Westerner)…But you will find insane prices by the 3ieme demarque (third mark down) which will happen around mid February.

The French typically return from vacation around this time, so you will notice a lot of fresh looking faces strutting around Paris. This means, they are ready to shop until they drop, literally. Last year, I almost got trampled at the Galleries Lafayette in Marseille over a Sandro cashmere coat. I lost. The French can be downright ruthless when it comes to clothes and getting what they want! I have no problem with that, in fact, it's helping me grow a thicker skin. Grrrrrrrr.

Hmm, that is pretty much it for now, one last thought...After returning from vacation, I finally found my groove at work this week and I really feel that I’ve learned so much in the Oil and Gas industry this past year. While it may be a tough industry to crack, it is most definitely rewarding.

Bisous fois dix.

Sex and coffee in Paris.

Hear ye hear ye! Top headlines in Paris as of last week: free condoms with a coffee in Parisien bars and cafes. Ladies and gents, the big news of the day... enjoy a delicious cup of mocha and safe sex!

Victoria Beckham's Emporio Armani ad summer 2009 (I thought it was appropriate)

The coffee and condoms will be offered in bars and restaurants located in the 18e arrondissement Today in Paris.

The campaign is obviously directed towards todays tweeners which are being exposed to sex at an early age. With hopes that the Twilight era will protect themselves from a mishap or Even worse a half-human half-vampire hybrid named Renesmee (ok ok i did watch Twilight). Where was I? Right, free condoms in Paris. Over 130 000 condoms were distributed in cafes and bars found in the 3e, 4e, 9e, 10e, 19e, and 20e arrondissements. Here is the info.

(1) 3e arrondissement: Info
(2) 4^e arrondissement:
28 november - 4 décember: Info
(3) 9^e arrondissement 
30 november - 5 décember: Info
(4) 13e arrondissement 
30 novembre - 4 décember: List of bars and cafes in pdf 
(5) 18e arrondissement 
28 november - 4 décember: Info 
(6) 19e arrondissement 
1^st - 4 décember: Info
 

So sattle up, buckle down, and ride away safely ;)

Happy sexing or sexting (I can't keep up with this lingo)!

Bisous fois dix

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you all a warm, toasty, full-of-love-and-laughter Thanksgiving. 

 This year, my boyfriend and I will be preparing a feast for our 8 closest 

friends in Paris. I am thankful for:

(1) the unconditional love from my family in Canada

(2) My beautiful friends from each corner of the world

(3) my boyfriend (for the better person he has helped me become)

(4) Feta Cheese

(5) New Hermes Booties coming in the mail anytime soon.

(6) My super cool sister that is mostly too busy to call me. 

She still is my no. 1 person in the world.

(7) The internet
(8) Living in Paris
(9) My job in the Oil and Gas industry.
(10) Being able to come home to the Coolest place in the World.

Bisous fois dix.                                                                    

A sparkling surprise on the Champs Elysées : Marks & Spencer

Goodmorning All! I wish you a warm, toasty and loving THANKSGIVING!!! With that comes great news from Paris. A brand spanking new 1400m squared Marks & Spencer will open its doors to all the fashion-hungry tourists on Thursday the 24th of November at 11:30 ten years after originally closing in France.

Marks & Spencer will take up three floors of lingerie and the latest ready to wear collections for women. Guess who will be there?! Ryan Reynolds and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley so grab your free autographs today in Paris. The british department store will take the number 100 on the most famous street in the world, non other than the Champs Elysees. By the way, have you seen this years light display? What do you think?

Lights from 2011-2012

It might be a little hard to make out from this picture. There are strings of small circular mirrors hanging from the branches and three halos filled with lights on each tree. The mirrors are in place to reflect the light given from the halos, obviously. The total of 600 halos on the 200 hundred trees ligning the famous street are controlled seperately.

I mean this is a huge deal for Parisians. I'm talking gossip of the year (ok I'm exaggerating a little bit). It really does look original in comparison to the previous years (which I preferred). Here are some from the past:

Lights from 2010

Lights from 2006-2007

Lights from 2004

 I tried finding pictures from the 90s of the Champs Elysees Christmas Lights, they pretty much stay the same either white or blue strings hung from the trunk upward. Let's not forget the drop dead gorgeous display from Galerie Lafayette each year.

Well I hope you enjoyed a little enlightenment* from yours truly... Have a great day! As per usual, overcast and rainy today in Paris.

Bisous fois dix

*my obvious attempt at a sarcastic joke

Red Red Wine: Beaujolais

Hi guys! In France, it is officially time to celebrate Beaujolais! On the Third Thursday of every November the country celebrates a very young wine (6 weeks old) called Beaujolais from the historical region of Beaujolais. This is probably one of the countrie's most popular 'commercialised holidays' (yes, it even beats Halloween). Festivals take place all over the country with the largest in Beaujeu. The massive party is called Sarmentelles.

In Lyon (South-East of France) they host Beaujolympiades!

And in Paris, you can find a vast array of parties held by certain restaurants and bars.

Here is a list of places to celebrate the french tradition and get really drunk (hey, I'm allowed to be blunt. It's my blog).

(1)  Le Petit Chavignol, rue de Tocqueville in the XVIIe arrondissement

(2)  Le Marché des Enfants Rouges, in the Marais, lots of hippies and late-night parties

(3)  Rue de Verneuil, shopping and drinking! YES PLEASE

(4) Rue des Martyrs, in Montmartre, go here for a village vibe with a lot of locals.

(5) Rue Paul Lelong, in the 2nd, the intersection is blocked for this fiesta

(6) at the Mairie in the 2nd arrondissement

I hope this map helps.

Beaujolais wine is served chilled and can be paired with picnic foods and salads! What a great way to celebrate tradition.

Source

Have fun and enjoy this year's Beaujolais. This will be a perfect wine to serve as an Aperitif (drink before dinner) for Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for my tips on how to prepare a stress free Thanksgiving feast in Paris.

bisous fois dix