[good news: I found and photographed some amazing shoes!]
We made our way to St Germain and when we hit ground level there was a very small market set up on the street. I liked the Yak scarves but didn't put one in my bag. Where would I (or you) wear it? Nice, heavy, warm and attractive, I just couldn't justify it. The rest just wasn't interesting ... until I found some street art. How about this in my front yard?
Placed just outside the Louis Vuitton store front.
Look hard, he's pretty weird.
After wandering about a bit, we jump back on the metro and we're off to Galleries La Fayette. I'm trying to figure out how to get as close as possible to the store and Sharon is quoting a friend, "get off at Concorde, face Madeline and walk a few short blocks to the store." Yeah, great idea, not so much. So we ask directions from a guy on a bike pulling a jittney. Right! Next thing we knew we were in the jittney, he was covering our laps with a funny looking beach towel and we were off.
He's pumping for all he's worth, no wonder he's so fit.
The price was highway robbery ... or was it? It was an experience, and an amusing one at that. He was a cutie, frequently looking over his shoulder to point out one outrageous store front or another, famous shopping and interesting people. The ride was every bit of 2 or more miles and maybe 15 minutes. Was it worth the price? Sure, what the heck, you only live once (or so many people believe; me? I'll be back! But that's another story)
Where did he drop us? Right outside the store, right next to a train stop (RER A) which, we later discovered took us straight to our home metro station! Lesson learned.
The Dome over the Galleries La Fayette from the first floor
Tree from the sixth floor
The decorations were amazing and (almost) worth the body squeeze. I don't do crowds well and it was a body crush for certain. Parents, babies, children, young people all looking to see and be seen. They had severely restricted ingress and egress with thick security at every entrance checking your bags and carefully arranged egress when you were through shopping. I stopped to admire a Lancel bag (I'm quite fond of that brand having purchased one years ago when I was here with Barbara). This bag was 650 euros which did not include the key chain that someone had attached to the handle. WELL, if you attach it and it isn't included, heck I'm outta here! I circumnavigated the 6th floor as Sharon admired the tree and watched it change colors. I found a sweater that wanted to live in Prescott, 375 euros (1 euro = $1.10) and a cute, casual jacket that retailed for 350 euros. Seriously, everyone can afford these prices? Oh me O, oh my O, oh Cleveland, Ohio! I was ready to move along.
Back to the room to chill, nap and prepare for lights. Well, it's darned cold here and none of the buses have covered upper decks, so Sharon suggested we eat locally (pizza & a salad at the Italian place a few doors away) and I agreed with that.
Dinner was delicious. Now I'm writing and she is choosing a card for Tuesday. Tomorrow we'll find those amazing doors on Rue Cremieux (the most photographed street in Paris on Instagram) and then we'll shop our neighborhood. So far we've only shopped the outdoor market (on Saturdays and Wednesdays) and made a dash through the Printtemps (Prin TAUGH). A simple day. She just pulled a card for Monday so we'll have that to look forward to.
I feel this particular trip is zooming by. Probably because it's darned cold and if we don't rest between activities we catch a chill. It's been an experience so far, but I don't think this time of year will be in my future travel plans.
Thanks for following our trip, it really is fun!
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