Wednesday, October 23, 2013

It's all about Paris

Hellooo,

Here I am, back from a long awaited weekend in Paris.
Saint-Germain, Place de la Concorde, Rue de la Paix, Opéra, Chatelet... I must have been French in a previous life. My friend Gaelle thinks that too.

But since every journey is a learning process, this is what I've learnt this time:

1) Never go to Paris when you are on a diet
2) Never go to Paris with your parents and their impossible friends
3) Never go to Paris when you still don't know how much you owe the Tax Office

1) Never go to Paris when you are on a diet:

You can't fight it. As soon as you set foot into Paris, life takes the shape of a "Macaron".


That's tricky if you are on a diet and you have an objective to achieve (my objective being the fact that I rather look like a super skinny Parisian girl than look like a Macaron myself)...
Suddenly you see the crunchy and soft little pieces of heaven everywhere... shop windows are full of them... car wheels are licorice flavored Macarons and the moon is a lime flavored one...  They hunt you and you can't hide.
The only solution is going to La Durée, the most magical place and buy them. Ehm...actually buy one or two tops because you have to spend 15.75€ to get six so, unless you leave home with a "Macarons budget" I suggest to buy just one.
Unfortunately, I don't just love La Durée Macarons, I LOVE their boxes too so in order to have more of those, I'm ready to buy some cook books that I'll never use... or some hot chocolate powder that I shouldn't really keep at home... but ohhhhhhhh.... they come into such lovely boxes (and they don't sell the boxes separately - I've already asked...).

The thing is... Macarons are just the tip of the iceberg... what about fois gras, sablés au beurre, cheese, profiteroles, éclairs aux chocolat, croissants... ???


There is always time to get back on track, at least I want to believe that... but there is one question that comes to mind: how come Parisian girls are so skinny??? I've lived in Paris for a long time and that's still a mystery to me.  Dear Readers, if any of you knows the answer PLEASE post a comment. It will be like discovering one of the best kept secrets of the modern era.

2) Never go to Paris with your parents and their impossible friends:
If you think you know picky and demanding people, please come and join me for the next horrific trip with my parents' friends and you'll know you can reach new limits.
Hold on... what next trip?? There won't be a next trip because next time I'm going to Paris (or anywhere else for that matter) I'll mention it just before leaving for the airport. No, actually I'll tell people when I'm already on the plane. You never know. Some people can pack really fast. 



Obviously, I'm a very ZEN person or I would have probably taken them to the Conciergerie (the prison used during the French Revolution) to be executed on the Guillotine
How much can you take of "What is this?" "Where is that?" What does it means?" Where are we going?" "At what time are we having breakfast?" "What's the next stop?" "What's the plan?" 
The Guillotine has been dismissed in the early Eighties but I'm positive French authorities would have made an exception for my lovely travel companions.

3) Never go to Paris when you still don't know how much you owe the Tax Office:
You might remember (see the post "It's all about taxes") that I'm waiting to know if I have to pay the enormous bill I received from the French Tax Office - being nominated for the "2014 Tax Punishment Award" - or if I still have a chance of buying the most coveted Céline "Luggage" handbag...




Walking around the Parisian boutiques is a torture, the temptation is too strong and you might end up doing the only "reasonable" thing to do....buy IT!!!

Noooooooooononononononononononononononononononononononononononono!
I'm soooo much stronger than I think, remember??

I didn't buy it also because it would have been difficult to walk into the Céline boutique with a group of six annoying adults, an allergictoshopping husband and a three year old boy who doesn't really understand Phoebe Philo's genius (and I guess he never will).

So I'm safe for now since I'm back in a place where I can only dream of my "Luggage"... the closest one to buy being in Milan! I'll be waiting for better days when my accountant will finally pick up the phone and let me know....
In the meantime...



That I'll do. Always and forever.

Baci Baci. xx
S.







2 comments:

  1. So true and so what we had been through :) LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. Any suggestions about how Parisian girls stay super skinny?? :)

    ReplyDelete