Yup, Paris is all that and
a bag of chips…or should we say pomme frites? Fifi LaMode, The Budget Babe's International Shopping Advisor, sheds light on sightseeing, shopping and style in the City of Lights. —TBB
by Fifi LaMode
I LOVE PARIS—WHO DOESN'T?
5:30 a.m. on a cool April morning—the street cleaners are out, dressed in bright green, amazingly fashionable uniforms that fit just right—these guys looked like models. Only in Paris.
The French are cool. They are born cool. We can't imitate them, shouldn't even try, would look silly because we're not them. Period.
For the Francophile in each of us, here some stuff that's worth buying in France: Designer handbags and shoes (Longchamps, Lacroix, Dior, YSL, etc. roughly 20% cheaper than in NYC, even with the stinky euro exchange rate), and, get this, some of the sale items in the upscale shops on Faubourg St-Honore (YES!! Faubourg St-Honore!) This is a big surprise because the stuff is REALLY REALLY high end and yet they have better sales than you would expect—still pricy compared to Macy's but it's Paris, isn't it? Deal with it and brag when you get home. The whole point of being a 'budget babe' is that you can save money so you can spend it in places like Paris, right? Unlike Milan, the sales people are normal and surprisingly friendly in these ritzy shops. Told you—they're cool.
Also, neighborhood shops have a really good selection of fashionable stuff at reasonable prices (reasonable even by American standards). Blvd. Gen. Jourdan which runs south from the Left Bank all the way to Porte D'Orleans has a large selection of shops. If you get tired along the way hop on a Metro and in 5-10 minutes you're back where you started. It's that simple in Paris. On the Right Bank, facing the Madeleine church (looks like a Greek temple), there's Rue Tronchet, with pricier items, but very nice quality, especially the shoe stores. This is 10 minutes' walk from the Louvre, where, if you go after 4 pm, tickets are cheaper. Same with my favorite, the Musee D'Orsay. Unlike the Louvre, it's a small museum, so if you go after 4, you can see it all for 1/2 price! Such a deal—Really.
Like to walk? Take a stroll all the way down the Blvd. St. Germain des Pres (lined with shops and cafes, of course) in the Latin Quarter, then head south past the Odeon to the Jardins des Luxembourg. There's a cafe facing the gardens, the Cafe de Luxembourg (duh). Sit and have a bowl of onion soup or an omelette and a glass of house red. In France, it's absolutely senseless to order anything but the house wine unless you have money to burn. Watch the locals—they all do it. After all, this is the land of great wine, right?
Ask a cop for directions and he'll tip his hat to you and call you Madame. They are so polite (again, forget what you hear—you're nice to people and in most of the world they're nice back). You say thank you, they smile and do the hat tipping thing.
I was walking with my non-French-speaking husband, so I had to ask someone how to get to the Louvre. Stopped the first person I saw, who happened to be tall, blond and gorgeous, in black motorcycle leather. Swoon. He was so gracious and so nice and asked me if I understood his directions (He said to continue straight for 2 minutes—what's not to understand?). I just gaped and said "uh huh". Then the guy smiles, calls me Madame, wishes us a good day and does a cute little nod with his head, after which my husband dragged me away and told me to stop drooling.
Remember those stereotypes about the French and the cigarettes hanging from their mouths? Surprise, surprise, they have jumped on the bandwagon and banned smoking inside restaurants like Ireland and Italy. Yay! Cool, right?
But I digress. Back to Paris—you don't have to spend a lot to enjoy it. That's the beauty of the town. Metro tickets are 1 euro each and you can get anywhere on the Metro. You never have to wait more than 5 minutes for a train and some of the stations are works of art in themselves. Stop and have a look. Check out the little specialty shops and even if you don't buy, the window shopping is fun. Don't try to do too much. Limit yourself to one area per day. Stop and enjoy the scenery in a cafe. Cafes are great because they also serve light meals, which is a good alternative to pricy restaurants. Stay at a small boutique hotel rather than a chain. (Our favorite is the Hotel Opal, a small boutique hotel on Rue Tronchet, near the Madeleine) By all means get a fresh baguette in the morning. There's absolutely nothing like fresh French bread with that crispy crust. Paris is easy to get to, easy to navigate, and a joy in any season.
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Yup, Paris is all that and a bag of chips…or should we say pomme frites? Fifi LaMode, The Budget Babe's International Shopping Advisor, sheds light on sightseeing, shopping and style in the City of Lights. —TBB
ha ha ha