Tuesday With A Friend

I spent yesterday with a good friend who lived here with me for a year and a half but moved back to Houston last summer.  She was a good partner in crime, and my shopping muse, and I miss her! We wandered around some of our favorite places and pretended that she still lived here.

On my way to our meeting spot, the Museum of Decorative Arts, I enjoyed my first visit to the Tuileries since my return.  The day looks colder than it was, although it definitely did not feel like spring.

When the Museum of Decorative Arts (part of the Louvre) opened at 11:00, we were in line to see a current exhibition of the creations and inspirations of the Belgian fashion designer Dries Van Noten.  The exhibition was very well done, and included gorgeous inspiration pieces by other designers, some from the 19th century. Sorry- photos were interdites.

Next we hopped on a bus to go across the river to St. Germain.  After a light lunch at Le Cuisine de Bar, the small restaurant associated with and next to Poilane bakery, we wandered over to our favorite department store, Le Bon Marche.  Everyone should experience this store at least once, if only to walk around and be amazed by its grandeur.  I could happily do it once a week.

The grocery section, called Le Grand Epicerie, is a wonderland of gourmet foods and gorgeous produce. It had been re-done since our last visit, so we were interested to see what changes had been made. Such a fun place to wander- a far cry from my little stinky Franprix!

wall of waters

you say tomato

From there we crossed the street to the main part of the store.

My favorite section was the bathing suit department, which was designed to look like a large swimming pool.  Fantastic!

Isn’t that amazing? It’s almost enough to make the prospect of swimsuit shopping a tad less horrendous. Maybe.

Paris is the perfect place for wandering, and it’s even better to do it with a friend.

Merci, my friends, for sharing it with me!