Paris on a Monday

Today I woke slowly and lay in bed listening to the sounds from the street below. 

People walking along with high heels, children being coaxed along all rugged up against the cold. Students on their way to uni, bike riders chatting as they bike along. Big doors to the apartments being clicked open then slamming shut. 

I'm in a first floor apartment in Rue  Universite which is three streets from the river near the Musee d'Orsay.

The chandelier

The chair

The see through bath

It's a fairly quiet street with lots of decorating shops filled with the most amazing things for your home . If you want to be very swish then this is the place to come. Gorgeous glass vases, antique tables, lush fabrics, glossy and matt tiles in every colour, a see through bath, coloured chandeliers, a chair shaped like a man, silver candle sticks, umbrella stands, lights in every size, stuffed animals, tassels, braid and bows to tie back the curtains. I could window shop all day.

On a practical note there is a 3 story Monoprix food store. This is where all the locals do their supermarket shopping. It's well laid out and has a doorman in formal coat and tie. Of course that's where I bought my meagre supplies of tea (herbal), cereal (muesli),  tomatoes, cheese, smoked salmon, humus - and a bottle of wine. All very useful in a little flat for one.

Also in the surrounding streets are shops filled with beautiful clothes - but all for winter. Gorgeous cashmere jumpers in a rainbow of colours, coats and jackets, boots, scarves and hats .

Let me tell you what is big here. Studs...... Studs on shoes, jackets, boots , jumpers just to name a few. Also embellishments on jumpers. Feathers make an appearance as
does leather, used as a trim on lots of things including dresses and jackets, also used
as patches on the elbows of jumpers and jackets .

Then there are little pearls, shiny things, but all tastefully done in the better shops and
a bit nasty in the not so tasteful places.

Mixed in with this are some great pastry shops and chocolate temples! Carmel and I
were only saying the other day how good and boring we were . We hadn't had one
naughty pastry! So we lashed out in a little town in the Loire one day when it was cold
and wet. Yum. Then we had a macaroon with Carmel's friend Annie. Yum yum. But I
couldn't do it every day. I'm struggling to fit my clothes now.

I lined up with lots of locals and booked my train ticket to Sanremo. I'm going there next
week for another language course. I think it would be cheaper to fly, but by the time I
get to the airport and worry about the weight of my suitcase it's easier to pay the 177
euro to go by train. I go to Nice and then change for Ventimiglia  in Italy where I change
again ! I am booked into a little flat in the seaside town. Hope it's good.