Day Four: How Could I Go To Paris And Not Check Out The Shopping?

Number of Pictures Taken: 162

What I Wore: A burnt orange tulle skirt and a white tank top

Meals Eaten: Two

Something I Learned: The line at the Eiffel Tower doubles in size between the beginning and end of sunset

            Today started out with a bit of Paris’ literary history. Breakfast took place at Café Deux Magots on Place Saint-Germain-des-prés. As I learned from the guidebooks, the café is named after the two statues of Confucian wise men that hang high on its walls (in fact, they look a little funny in the otherwise classically French-looking room). Once haunted by greats such as Sartre and Hemingway, I think that everyone there could feel a sense of history and weight in the air as they sipped their coffees and ate their omelets. Speaking of coffee and omelets, my breakfast consisted of a cheese omelet, a café crème (basically coffee with whipped milk in it), and a chocolate macaroon from Pierre Hermé.

Café Deux Magots

My "Macaron Chocolat"

            After breakfast I embarked on a trip to the Galeries Lafayette on Rue Haussman. Galeries Lafayette is a major department store in Paris and actually has 63 locations world-wide. Started in 1895 by Theophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, it began as a small store on rue La Fayette and expanded to multiple locations as the 20^th century began. The current five-story women’s department store with its glass-domed ceiling is located on Haussman and is where I spent my time. The ceiling is a work of art in itself: 33 meters high with 10 painted windows. Starting off on the cosmetics and jewelry store, I walked through a flurry of perfume counters before standing at the center looking up at the only unobstructed view of the beautiful dome and the balconies on each floor.

Galeries Lafayette

            Continuing my tour around the store, I found it to have the same kind of feel as Bloomingdale’s in New York City, but with a size more in keeping with a shopping mall. Each balcony held a different designer’s clothing (everything from The Kooples to Diane von Furstenberg). Upon landing on the Zara section, I ended up buying a pair of black pleated flowy pants. Completely out of character, I was inspired by the long skirts and bohemian style of many of the women I’ve seen in Paris thus far.

            As if the Galeries Lafayette weren’t cool enough already, I did some post-shopping research and found that Edith Piaf (one of my favorite singers since I bought a huge collection of her music in the eighth grade) sang there in 1950 as a marketing strategy of the shopping center.

            Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré was the next stop of the day as it houses many of the major fashion brands’ stores and headquarters (But not Chanel! That was still to come!). It’s a beautiful street that ultimately led me to the Hotel Bristol, which is where Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams stay in Midnight in Paris. It’s in a very quiet section of the city, but it’s very beautiful and was worth seeing because I’m such a huge movie buff.

            After that I decided to walk to Chanel. Not realizing where it was until I had wandered through more streets of Paris, I ended up walking from the Hotel Bristol to the Champs-Elysee, back toward the Jardin des Tuileries. Heading in that direction, I went to the left side of the gardens on Rue Rivoli and eventually turned left onto Rue Cambon. A few blocks later I arrived at number 31.

Chanel at 31 rue Cambon

            Chanel began in 1910 as “Chanel Modes,” a hat shop run by Gabrielle Chanel. It was located at 21 Rue Cambon. The hats sold gained great popularity and ten years later, Chanel purchased the entirety of number 31 and began to sell her first perfume (Chanel Number 5) along with garments. The building contained everything from shopping to private quarters to a studio. Today, Karl Lagerfeld (head designer of Chanel) works in that third floor studio. Oh how I long to run into him while idly walking down that street some day.

            It was closed when I arrived, but that did not stop me from swooning over the iconic façade and peering in dark windows for a glimpse of the iconic staircase that you may have seen in movies about Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) or in the Chanel ad campaign starring Blake Lively. It was definitely an inspiring precursor to the start of my fashion program here.

            Tired of hearing about clothes? Have no fear! My next stop was the Eiffel Tower. This time I approached it from the massive lawns in front of it. I had seen this area in movies like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Passport to Paris and from people’s pictures on Facebook. Somehow it had always seemed bigger and grander than it did in real life, but it was still worth seeing. I sat on the grass as the sun set and people took pictures and had picnics around me. It was an incredible photography opportunity as the lights came on at ten minutes to 10 (or 22, as Paris apparently uses military time). While I did not stand in line to go up into the Eiffel Tower, I marveled in its grandeur as the Paris air swirled in a gentle breeze through the trees.

That Classic Jumping In Front of a Famous Landmark Picture

Eiffel Tower at Dusk

            Being very late, I returned to Creperie Saint Germain for dinner. This time I had a Toscane crepe, which is on a kind of whole-wheat thin pancake with cheese and bacon for dinner. Dessert was a homemade dark chocolate sauce crepe with vanilla ice cream. And that was a delicious way to end the night.