To travel is to take a journey into yourself
Bonjour tout le monde, ca va? If you’re here you probably want to talk about our favorite topic: Paris of course! It’s just an obsession for some of us, isn’t it? How is it that Paris never gets old? It’s one of the few places you can go over and over again and never see it all.
If you’re anything like me, you love to think about WHO created Paris…the vision that the people all had to have shared to build a city that would still be the benchmark for beauty and culture. And they did it dressed to the nines. With no electricity, just their imagination and determination they erected a place that we stroll sometimes without a second thought. But there are some of us who still want to see the Paris of the Parisians of the Past and experience what they had in mind for future generations to enjoy.
I’m talking about the Paris where you feel at home. Not going to monuments but instead going to the special parts of the parks, to the homes of artists, visiting the ateliers and workshops where they lived and worked and sweated and created. It’s like going to visit old friends for some of us. Maybe we were there together in a past life!
image: Parc Monceau by Adam Gopnik
What about you? Is Paris on your bucket list? Maybe you’ve gone once, or even twice. I hear a lot of people say they just didn’t get it, that it didn’t resonate with them. Or that it’s changed. That’s because they didn’t get to see the real Paris. The intimate, exquisite, quiet, elegant and usually overlooked Paris. I continue to explore, and it seems the more I do the more there is to discover. Maybe the fact that you can never finish is part of the allure.
Even with my blog there are so many topics to get into that sometimes the vastness of its depth and beauty is incomprehensible. From the parks and gardens and passages to history, architecture, cabaret and follies, fashion, photography, food, shops, cafes, music, galleries, art, perfume, culture, wine, chocolate, cinema, museums, picnics, parks, gardens, ateliers, brocantes and of course the flea markets, there’s so much to see and do and taste and touch it’s like a banquet of beauty. In fact it’s a moveable feast, Hemingway was so right! And the buffet is endless.
And so, once again I’m heading back in September and have been putting together some new adventures, and you’re invited to come along. I like to share a different Paris than the one in the guide books, one that’s beautiful and serene. One that the Parisians of the past knew well and where they went to get away from the crowds to stroll and languish, paint, write and get inspired.
Lately there’s been interest in a lot of activities along with the usual trek to the fleamarkets, including off-the beaten path places like the vineyards of Montmartre, cooking in a private apartment, walking tours, jazz clubs, thrifting for designer fashions, restoration techniques, and lots more! We’re combing a little of each into our trips, creating an experience you won’t find anywhere else.
So take a look at what we’ve got simmering. If you’d like to join us, contact us and we’ll set it up. I want you to experience the Paris you’ve always dreamed about. Our trips can either be booked one on one (flea market shopping) or with a group which includes airport transfers, hotel or apartment, transportation to events, tickets and more. If you’re interested, contact me and let’s discuss your dream trip this fall. Below are the cliff notes and just a fraction of what’s in store. You’ll get a detailed itinerary with specific events and destinations when you book.
Sept 1-6
First Timer’s Trip
Joachim Hiltmann / Getty Images
I can’t begin to tell you what this trip entails but suffice it to say you’ll see a Paris that’s beyond magical. All the little streets you’ve seen IG’d, the picnics, the day trips, the cobblestone alleys and of course the places that can’t be missed, but from an angle that’s unexpected and unusual.
Sept 6-12
Decor Tour:
image: Connaissance des Arts
This incredible week will be filled with treasure hunting and shopping for home decor. We’ll take you to find everything from mantles and doors to chandeliers and textiles at the flea markets. We’ll also go to the world famous trade show, the Maison et Objet. You’ll go inside auctions and warehouses in and out of the city. It’s the perfect trip if you’re decorating a home, stocking a store or stocking up for shows and want to find linens, decor and home accessories at wholesale prices.
Sept 13-19
Artist’s Ateliers & Workshops in Paris:
If you love going into private homes and workshops of artists who lived in Paris, this is the one for you. Parisians have had incredible foresight to keep certain places just as they were when the artist in residence lived and worked in the city. Many of these homes are tucked away right in the center of Paris. We’ll go on our tour to explore these homes and it truly feels like we’re going to the visit old friends and acquaintances from the past.
September 21-26
Parisians of the Past – Salon Hostesses:
We’ll visit the homes and haunts of the women who made Paris the center of the universe in the Age of Enlightenment. When there was nothing but dirt and oppression, these women decided they’d create a new world for themselves filled with beauty, culture, manners and etiquette. They designed clothing and interiors and gardens that are still the benchmark for good taste today.
Together we’ll walk in their footsteps enjoying the homes and salons that still stand in commemoration of their epic legacy by day and have evenings in our own modern salons that include cooking, music and dance.
Well that’s it for the moment! Bottom line is there’s a Paris that’s just for you, not a cookie cutter tour but an adventure that’s full of fun and discovery. A journey and experience that will leave you with a new appreciation for this truly magical place that’s just waiting to be rediscovered…by you!
If you’d like to schedule a day together in July, email claudia@theparisapartment.com. Et alors, ciao for now…à bientôt!
a fair to remember
happy monday! i’m just hitting the reset button and doing some research for the updated app. i want it to include markets and brocantes in and around paris as well as the outskirts, heck let’s face it, all over france.
i couldn’t help but stop to share this upcoming event. you know the story, one minute it’s humdrum work and with just one click and you’re in another world. click the link above to be transported for a minute and you’ll see what i mean. i won’t be in france in may but if you happen to be there may first, check out the fabulous goings on at CHÂTEAU-DE-CHAMBORD!
this looks like a show not to be missed…definitely a goal for next year! 450 dealers in this insane setting…click the link below for more eye candy.
ok back to work. have a great week!
love is a many splendored thing
allo all, how have you been? here’s hoping your spring is in full bloom! for me it’s slowly changing from the winter of my discontent to a new era of optimism. it’s been a long time since i’ve been able to blog, in fact over a month. if not for my mom i may not even have come today. but when your mom wants you to blog, you blog. guess we end up doing what our moms tell us after all. maybe they do know best and i’d do anything for mine. so here i am, and truth is i missed you and all the ways you inspire me.
first let’s go back to the past blog and announce the winners of the giveaway. i decided to give all 5 fashion plates away and if you’re on this list please send me your address at theparisapartment@gmail.com so i can get them out to you: susanne, terri, fredreika, melissa and beth. i wish i had more but i do have other wonderful things that i’ll share. in fact i’ll see what i can come up with at the end of this post and we’ll do it again! oh why wait? i have these four pretty little boxes i got last time i was in paris. the idea was to have them on my desk but they never made it and deserve to go with those who’ll use them. so each can go individually and if you’re interested, well, you know the drill…
so what’s been going on? well as you may recall i was working on a self improvement challenge for my business to turn it around over the next year. i tried blogging more frequently, making daily videos on youtube and working more diligently on office and organizational aspects. where has that gotten me? hmmmm…well, i’m still here so that’s one good thing. i’m working on a new angle for the my website so that’s been productive. and i’m collaborating with colleagues on their business and hoping to learn a few things from that which i can apply to the paris apartment. i’m traveling to their store in ashville, nc this week and will blog from there about the goings on.
so it’s been slow and steady but the reality is that there comes a point when you just can’t do everything alone. i’ve had interns and employees over the years but it always comes back to me in the end. the problems i face are self created and i have to take full responsibility. but if i’m going to keep the paris apartment going, i want to be the joyful, playful company it’s always been, full of infinite possibilities instead of one filled with dread and drudgery which is what is was becoming. but why was that?
well, i think part of it was when i started working with vendors and lost control of my brand and vision. so what’s the vision? well, it was originally a brick and mortar store. a place that was sort of a salon, where yes, it was a shop, but also a place where friends gathered in an atmosphere of casual opulence and would converse, share stories, music, their art and just inspire each other. where had my inspiration gone?
when it became a website it was hard to translate and has ended up being a sort of patchwork of ideas and pieced together over the years by various designers and webmasters. i haven’t had control over the site except the boutique and therefore it hasn’t changed much. it’s at the point where it’s out of control. but little by little, i’ve been editing, paring it down, taking off things that aren’t consistent with the brand or are from vendors who are impossible to work with. getting back to basics, basically, to get to a point where i can enjoy my work.
so maybe this is a sort of ‘seinfeld’ post, one not about anything in particular, but one just to touch base and get back in the groove. so thanks, mom, for providing the kick i needed. you always inspire me and i just came across these liles of the valley which i know you love. have a super sunday, everyone~
all images can be found at pinterest.com/parisapartment
the paris apartment 