Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Over the Top in France - August 11

Gender stereotype reinforcement day!  Boys climb as high as they can up the Eiffel Tower, and have the pics to prove it.  Girls go on whirlwind shopping spree and have the goods to prove it.  Izzy and I start on the Right Bank at two of the grand dames of Parisian department stores:  Galleries Lafayette and Printemps.  The former, with its glorious central dome is a treasure of kids clothes (albeit, way up high past the glamorous stuff) while the latter contains a stylish coat for moi.  Both are jammed on the first floors with groups of Asian shoppers lined up outside the highest-end leather boutiques – Prada, Gucci, etc. – where they will buy bags that I guess are cheaper here than where they live. 

Then we metro it across the river to meet Uncle Tom and Aunt KT for more touring around Le Bon Marché, where the store styling is a bit edgier and the shoe department is mesmerizing.  The Bon Épicerie yields the aforementioned crème de mûre as well as fleur de sel au zeste de citron vert, truffle potato chips (OMG is the only way to describe these), un peu du foie gras, et des patisseries trés belles. 

I am felled by the morning’s activity but rally for Moroccan across the street at L'Atlas, which was very tasty[1], and glace from Berthillon (grand marnier and peche de vigne for me, caramel au beurre salé for Pierre, melon for Isabel, mûre sauvage OMG and melon for Guillaume).  Then we hotfooted it over to the Arc de Triomphe (along with all those people at Notre Dame) to see the Eiffel Tower do its hourly sparkly thing at night.  The climb up is not so bad but I’m dreading the descent on my bum ankle when mirable dictu, a guard notices me hobbling around and asks if I would like to take the ascenseur down.  Et ma famille, aussi?  Oui, oui.  Merci, monsieur!




[1] Bill notes that he doesn’t need to drink any more Moroccan rosé after this.

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