BLOGG #101 SHOPPING IN PARIS

As every woman knows, there is only one dream place to shop-Paris. Here is where our dreams of fashion come true. Here is where we can,just by shopping in Parisian stores, by osmosis manage to acquire that elusive and elegant French look. The places to shop are of course the Haute Couture designers such as Balenciaga,Dior and Chanel near the Champs-Elysees but realistically,for most of us these are areas to just window shop. The best places are department stores-The Bon Marche and for sensual experience the Galeries Lafayette.This huge and famous store which features a stained glass dome caps the world's largest perfumery.The shops which are arranged in open galleries looking very much like opera house balconies for giants feature everything from top designers to Gap and even features affordable sales.It also features perfumes of course. My daughter and I finally on the last day in Paris insisted on devoting it to shopping at this unique store. On entering this fabulous place I heard announcements over the intercom which sounded very much like Chinese but decided I was mistaken. I was not. We were on the women's fashion level and were surrounded by shoes-"Jimmy Choos,Balanciaga and Dior.We were also surrounded by Asian shoppers all trying on these shoes at five hundred Euros a pop. The sales clerks many of them Asian looked elegant in severe black with maroon sashes. We drifted through aisles of exclusive merchandise marveling at the opulence.I especially was pleased to find my favourite designer-Isabel Marant.I saw a lovely fur shrugg of hers I coveted and stroked the sleeve-it was sensually soft and luxurious.I happened to see the price tag-32,000Euros-??? I hastily dropped the sleeve. I was so out of my element though one can dream-me in fur? Never!. My daughter kept drifting to the perfume dept. a very elegant section with very elegant sales persons.She particularly liked the Guerlain section-wonderful scents in huge flagons.Eventually I became overwelmed by all this decadence and longed for coffee. According to my guidebook one needs to reserve at the restaurant. Nonetheless I approached it hopefully and asked the elegant maitre de if we could just have coffee. He was very charming and seated us in a quiet spot. We had coffee served in a gold rimmed coffee pot.It was delicious and we lingered over it for an hour- the best fifteen Euros I spent in Paris. After this it was near closing time but my daughter again found herself at the Guerlain counter so I encouraged her to buy some perfume. She said no, she could not justify spending so much money. I argued that we were in Paris-one buys perfume in Paris. she herself said perfume bought in Paris is different than the same brand exported and this was the last day for her.She said no again. Then I had a bright idea."How much money did your husband spend on his fishing gear "gismo" the day before we left for Paris? "Two hundred and fifty dollars" she said and I smiled. "Right!" she said and wheeled around and bought her perfume. The sales lady was gracious and helpful,pointing out the most important accesssoire is a woman's parfum. The perfume selected was wrapped tenderly and put in a box and then in a charming Lafeyette bag. She then opened a drawer and gave us a few handfuls of samples including the famous Shalimar and a heavenly face cream sample that I used through the entire trip. In triumph we exited, my daughter happily carrying her purchase. As we came to the main entrance there was a phalanx of salespersons in their smart uniforms standing in a semi circle. "How charming" I said " they are saying goodbye to us"My practical daughter said "hardly likely. They are probably checking to see if anyone is walking out with stolen Jimmy choos.