Paris: The Swag

Paris wasn't all decadent meals, and bike rides along the Seine, and me taking pictures of CM taking pictures. We also did a wee bit of shopping. We could have done so much more, but we managed to restrain ourselves. Sort of.

As a tourist, you might not stumble upon BHV (which stands for Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville), but I encourage you to reserve at least an hour for this massive department store. We wandered through like starving people at a buffet—there is just nothing remotely like this in Vienna. There are departments for just about anything you can thing of, ranging from automotive to bedding to jewelry. We bought up such myriad items as crafting supplies, a bunch of these prints for our kitchen (don't you love them?), a wedding guestbook, and I picked up some honeymoon lingerie (ahem). We couldn't stay too long without getting overwhelmed, but it was glorious while it lasted.

I long to look like a French girl, so I picked up an adorable blue and white striped summer dress and Les Tropeziennes sneakers. It's a start...

While wandering through Le Marais, we found this shop/gallery, which sells original art in small sizes. We bought the sweetest little painting. I can't wait to find a place for it.

And now for la pièce de resistance (aka The Most Ridiculous Souvenir Ever):

We must have walked by the window of Pylones (one of my favorite shops in Paris, but there are actually a few in NYC, too) a dozen times and seen this Eiffel Tower Nespresso pod holder. We started out joking about it, and then slowly the joking turned into reality, and on our last day we walked in and bought it. It came in an enormous box which we had to carry onto the plane back home. I can only imagine what the Security personnel thought as it went through the x-ray. I have to say, I know it's silly and beyond tacky, but it puts a smile on my face pretty much every time I walk into the kitchen.


Arguably the best things we bought in Paris were a tiny lock and a permanent marker, to continue our tradition. We added ours to a vast collection just across the river from Nôtre-Dame. I hope we do this all our lives.

Photo by CameraMan

And a close-up by me

I think it's safe to make this official:

44. Go to Paris with CameraMan.