Paris - sickness, publishing and shopping

2009 March 20

by Tamara

I jumped at the chance of two days in Paris - OK so I have to attend a 4 hour publishing meeting but that’s a small price to pay in return for eating at my favorite restaurant, Benoit, staying at a lovely Paris boutique hotel and shopping in some of the most stylish stores in the world!

Sad to say, within 2 hours of chugging into the Gare du Nord (am still amazed we are joined at the hip by that tunnel underground and by how easy it is!), I was puking my guts out and wishing I was tucked up in bed at home. Two days of putting on a brave face, gritting my teeth through the aforementioned meeting (hell on earth) and meeting hoteliers who must have thought I was a very quiet, grey kind of person.

One small glimmer of light in my dark dark couple of days - the discovery of a brand new concept store called Merci.

I loved the way everything was laid out - the entrance was through the florists, a vintage clothing stall was laid out like a market stall, the furniture was displayed hanging on the wall, there was a fabrics department, tucked away like a shop in a souk and my favorite - a long corridor book store in library style. Definitely the best concept store I have been to so far by a mile.