Time stands still.

While wandering the streets of Paris and marvelling at the magnificent architecture I often imagined what lay behind some of the imposing doors of various buildings.

Well, here's a great story about a Parisian flat that lay uninhabited and untouched for 70 years. Belonging to a woman (named as a 'demimonde' in the article) who never returned to Paris after the Second World War the apartment was only recently explored upon her death - at age 91. In it, amongst the cobwebs and dust, a Bodini painting worth a hefty sum was discovered. Ah - dust, treasure, a war and an illicit past - could only be in Paris.

Au Revoir, Paris.

"There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see and sees it, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more. He is constantly comparing what he sees to what he wants, so he sees with his mind, maybe even his heart, or tries to. "  

Adam Gopnik, Paris to the Moon.

What does two months in Paris look like?

Well, from my point of view it looks like the above. It's my pin board on one wall of the studio illustrating our Parisian adventures (including visits to Venice and Amsterdam.) I'll be dismantling it this evening in preparation for our trip home. It's all boxes, suitcases and mess in our tiny apartment at the moment. 

But I think the last evening in Paris calls for a glass of champagne somewhere beautiful. 

Tea at Mariage Frères.

You may be excused for thinking that all I do in Paris is have afternoon tea. Not true, although there are many, many amazing places to sip the infusion. Mariage Frères was recommended by my SIL (although she cautioned against ordering the green tea tart which she described as tasting like silkworms). I just hope she meant it tasted how she imagined silkworms would taste otherwise there's a story I need to know more about. 

Silkworms aside, I really didn't need much encouragement to add this tea house to my list of places to go. The brand is centuries old and at it's salon in the Marais the brew is celebrated beautifully from it's packaging to the tiny museum on the second floor. It's a challenge to decide on a flavour from the menu of countless different options.

Tea from Mariage Frères is sold in Cape Town for a small fortune and DH once brought me some home from a trip to the South of France - but this is one tea that tastes even better when sipped in Paris. 

Palais de Tokyo.

The above piece by Theo Mercier was a favourite at the 'Dynasty' exhibition. The Michael homage was spotted in the court yard. 

I'm watching you.

Spotted these bizarre mounds of earth in a park in the Marais. The grass hasn't completely covered them yet but it's well established. I think they're nicely weird. I wonder how they came to be - a commissioned piece? And I'm sure the kids love them (after what I imagine could have been initial fear!) 

Jaime Hayon at Masion & Objet.

One of the many interesting things I saw at Masion&Objet in early September was the Jaime Hayon exhibit "Moving Ideas". It was a glimpse into his creative process - from work-in-progress sketches to prototypes from first projects and recently unveiled pieces. Experimental, eccentric and quite extraordinary. 

More here. Images from here. (Cameras strictly verboten so no images of my own.)

Macarons might be overrated.

Shock! Horror! I can hear the reaction in the blog world to the title of this post. But really, I haven't been as impressed by macarons as I was expecting. Admittedly, we've only tried the above macarons from Laduree, but they're supposed to be one of the best. 

Or perhaps my underwhelming taste experience was because I (like a true Art Director) selected my macarons by colour rather than flavour. I hear that some other houses - Pierre Herme, for example, are really experimental with their flavours. They offer Huile d'Olive et Vanille (olive oil and vanilla) or Chocolate and Foie Gras. Or a Wasabi and strawberry combination. Hmm, not so sure. 

The redeeming factor of my Laduree experience was certainly the packaging. It didn't actually matter what the morsels tasted like - they looked so fantastic. The French are really great at packaging things beautifully. Some of the best advice I've been given was that each time you buy something in Paris and the sales assistant asks if it's a gift - say yes! The item then gets specially wrapped. But then, I am easily seduced by a bit of ribbon and paper.

Maybe I just need to keep trying macarons until I find my nirvana? There are enough patisseries here for that to be a full-time occupation. But then I'd need a few more months and and insulin on stand-by.