The Paris Traveler

This guest post is by Mary Jo Manzanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
If the thought of a fine bag, a decadent pair of heels, or the feel of the fabric of a finely crafted suit makes you swoon, then an afternoon on the Champs-Élysées in Paris may be your definition of heaven.
Avenue des Champs-Élysées is not only one of the most recognized street names in Paris, but in the entire world, and is lined with luxury and specialty shops, theaters, cafes and restaurants.  Its name translates to "Elysian Fields" a reference to the …read more

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As I go along my merry way through the land of the Internet, I come across all sorts of crazy and/or unnecessary things that would be fun to have or just fun to know that they exist.

I am fairly certain that no one would actually use this anymore, but it would be so fun to have–a little treasure that I would put on a fancy little dish on my desk and just look at and think how cute is that.  A pen nib in the shape of the Eiffel Tower!  Something for the Francophile that has everything.
 

We are all chocoholics …read more

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 Actually, we are starting with Argentina in New York.  This is Enrique Muthuan, a native Argentinian which explains his wonderful accent, now living in New York.  I met him at the corner of Green and Wooster in Soho which sounds a bit bad but really was all quite good.  Enrique was just setting up a table displaying his fabulous handmade jewelry, which he sets up on the above mentioned corner on a regular basis in case you happen to be in New York.   We chatted for a bit while he tried to get things put together and since I …read more

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Previously, I have mentioned Palais Royal, my most favorite spot in Paris, along with Concorde, the Tuileries, Jardin du Luxembourg…..maybe I should just go with, all of PARIS is my favorite spot!  I don’t think anyone who knows me would argue with that.
Now that I got that off my chest, back to Palais Royal…and Le Prince Jardinier, a garden shop that brings “haute” to all things green thumb-ish. Created in 1995, this shop caters to creating a world of outdoor beauty with tools, containers, furniture, comfortable clothing as well as scented candles.  Those are all good things and if you love …read more

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 You might not want to try this in your own home unless four women are in it that all have a weakness for handbags.  This would be the Poulin women’s very own collection of Longchamp bags that we have gathered over the years in numerous cities, as well as countries, throughout Europe.  Our Longchamp lust started about 4 years ago and keeps growing with each collection that they come out with.  
Here’s a little history:   The Longchamp company started in 1948 when owner, Jean Cassegrain, started making leather coverings for pipes–the kind you smoke.  Over the next 2 decades, they slowly …read more

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For some reason I am stuck on the topic of shoes….yesterdays were fun and fanciful.  Todays are equally fun and fanciful but you can actually wear them!
 
 Roger Vivier, an innovative shoe designer influencing heel and toe shapes on women’s shoes has been a fixture in the fashion world for years.  While working for Christian Dior in the late 50’s, he designed the emerald encrusted shoes worn by Queen Elizabeth for her coronation.  The real turning point  for him was his Pilgrim buckle shoes, introduced in 1965 to accessorize Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian collection which were an instant hit and became …read more

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 Le Bon Marché, considered the world’s first department store, offering “the good market” or “the good deal” was founded in 1838 by Aristide Boucicaut.  It is touted as the first “space” dedicated specifically to shopping and was the first to incorporate iron work (thanks to Gustave Eiffel) to create an open space while using less masonry.   Today, it offers few “good deals” as it is filled with beautiful haute couture clothing lines and accessories that will make your credit card statement wince in pain when you get back from your trip.  But it is four floors of pure indulgence …read more

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I am being a total nudge this week-end (my word for lazy) and have been an absolute mouse-potato–just searching the web and shopping as I go along.  Thought I would share some of my fun finds.                                  

 I hear you whining–not another book!  Yes, another one as they are my oxygen and so many  are written about Paris that I would hate for you to miss a one! This one, Atlas Pocket Classics France, is a collection of  travel essays by literary genius’: the likes of Robert …read more

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This is very weird.  Have you ever been on line looking for something and you get caught up with something else on the page, a link, that takes you to another page, and another and before you know it you are 20 clicks away from where you started,  finding yourself on a Swiss lighting website looking at exit signs (a little man running towards the arrow) that are all over Europe thinking how you could write a post about that and then you click something else but you don’t know what or why because it is in a language you …read more

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Yesterday I posted the Top 20 To Do List in the City of Lights according to Miriele Gilianio, author of French Women For All Seasons and Why French Women Don’t Get Fat.  I have personally taken advantage of all the sites she has proposed and I think it is only fair to give you some additional information so you can make informed choices as to whether they are something you would like to do on your next visit to Paris.  
Passages or galeries in Paris were conceived by town planners in the 19th century to protect pedestrians from weather, mud and …read more

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