Children’s toys horses, Annecy France

This is one of my favourite photos from when I visited Annecy in August last year, a town situated in the east of France right near the Alps.

Taken at the park besides the beautiful Annecy Lake, we were only staying there for a few days before heading to Paris. We soaked in one of the last few days of summer, taking a promenade around the area.

I recall distinctly a group of old couples dancing to a live band playing, flowers in full bloom and a small group of kids riding around on their bikes.

As we were walking by at one point, I spotted this bright and colourful line of kids’ wheely horses parked by the side. It still reminds me of my childhood and hot summer days in Sydney during the ‘90’s…

Hope you all are looking forward to Summer just as much as I am ♥

I have to admit that the day that I visited Angelina’s was purely because it was coincidentally right next to Librairie Galignani (librairie: bookstore).

K and I are avid fans of books and when a bookstore such as the like of Galignani’s exists within reach… what else is there to do but to make a trip out of it?

Situated right across from the Tuileries gardens near the Louvre, this bookstore has a very modern and clean-cut design. Inside, you’ll find a very large range of books - in english and french, under a variety of different topics, ranging from fine arts to fashion, to literature, biographies, cooking and even a great kid’s/youth section.

Out of the many popular and varied bookstores that I have ventured into, this is without a doubt one of the best. The topics are well laid out and organised within the store, with enough room to move between shelves. I adored the range of books available, so you can imagine how hard it was to finally settle on only buying 4!

  

Left: Babar dans L’Ile aux Oiseaux;    Right: M. Personne

Very content with my finds, and delighted by their 5% student discount (a discount is always better than none!), I skipped away happily being the proud owner of:

♥ Babar dans L’Ile aux Oiseaux (Babar in the Island of Birds)
♥ M. Personne (Mr. Nobody) - of the Mr Men series!
♥ Marabout Spécial Débutants cookbook - for beginners like me :)
♥ Marabout Apéros Gourmands

Librairie Galignani
224 rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris, France
01 42 60 76 07

Another day, and yet another Parisian transport delay due to a ‘grave passenger accident’ in coincidentally enough, the MIDDLE of Paris. And where was I? On the other side of town near Nation. Thanks to this unfortunate unfolding of events, the RER train wasn’t working between Auber and Nation - great guys, just cut half the line off… !

Asides from passing the time impatiently waiting, eating an apple donut and sighing mutually with other as agitated passengers, I resorted also to reading a magazine I picked up. Save of the day! Within seconds, I had forgotten about such traffic complications and became terribly excited by…

The new back-to-basics collection of Swatch watches: COLOUR CODES ♥

Matt series - see colors available

Shiny series - see colours available

They are basic and stylish - love it! I am not a massive fan of dramatic and over-decorate accessories, including watches which is why I find the minimalism of this collection so attractive. Coincidentally enough, I currently wear (well, when I actually wear it) a silver Swatch watch that a family friend gave to me as a present.

Methinks however, that it is time for an update! I have my eye on the black Matt one, what do you guys think?

Swatch Colour Codes collection available at €38 each @ Colette

Photo credits: Swatch

A few weeks ago, when Paris was still intent on freezing our souls with its ferocious winds, Paris Fashion Week made its appearance. The Winter RTW (Ready-to-Wear) 2010/11 collections perfectly fit the icy cold weather conditions, lasting from March 2-8 in various public and secret locations around town.

Being a lover of design & fashion, I was delighted that I’d actually be in the city for once during the event. But did I have an invitation? Unfortunately no… not special enough ☹ Although that didn’t deter me from not going into Paris at all!

On that special Sunday 7 March, Gareth and I became paparazzi amateurs for an afternoon as we were luckily at the right place at the right time after having visited the Musée de Moyen-Age (Middle Ages Museum) beforehand. We found ourselves right near the Ecole de Medicine where Costume National was showing. Coincidentally too, we bumped into David - a Canadian exchange student, a passionate photographer and one who takes great shots with his massive SLR camera (jealous!)

After the show - photo by David S
Costume National @ Ecole de Medicine, March 7 2010

An assortment of interesting and well-dressed characters were to be seen as predicted flowing from the exit of the Costume National show as it ended. Frighteningly high platform heels, Blackberries and iPhones buzzing around, thick and colourful fur coats… a wild sight of fashionistas, industry reps, press and très busy people!

  

Oh the shoes ♥ ! - photos by Gareth

All three of us blended in perfectly like street paparazzi and although I didn’t see anyone that I could put a name to, I did meet eyes with some very tall female giants (models) and had the lovely surprise of coincidentally snagging one of the Grazia Fashion Week magazine bags! (See photo below for the bag).

Having become addicted to this madness within minutes, and at which point most people had disappeared from the show (yes, they run away that fast!), we decided to embark on the second leg of our fashion quest. Catching the metro, we soon arrived 15 minutes later at Halle Freyssinet, where the Sonia Rykiel show had just ended and everyone was arriving for John Galliano’s.

Before the show - photo by David S
John Galliano @ Halle Freyssinet, March 7 2010

At Halle Freyssinet, the crowd was larger and more ferocious in comparison to the previous one. At one point, we literally saw a paparazzi get pushed away onto the ground as everyone else swarmed towards a Very Important Black Car (clearly housing some celebrity inside) to try and get a shot! It’s a dangerous thing, this fashion business…

The Very Important Black Car - photo by Gareth
John Galliano @ Halle Freyssinet, March 7 2010

John Galliano’s show was definitely more celebrity-filled, as we saw The Gossip’s Beth Ditto enter, the mysterious sunglassed person in the Black Car (all I could see before they drove him/her off to find somewhere else to park!), and as well as Miss Pandora sweetheart Louise Ebel! A big fan of her blog, I particularly loved the way she plaited her hair that day and her overall outfit, particularly the feather clutch ♥

Miss Pandora’s Louise Ebel - photo by Gareth
John Galliano @ Halle Freyssinet, March 7 2010

Enjoy! It was definitely a fashionable end to an excellent Sunday in Paris… with a touch of glamour!

Being on a full year exchange, one encounters many things, one of which is the movement of old and new students half way through the year when a semester ends and a new one starts. However, two days ago, one of last semester’s students came back to visit us for a few days. Oh the jealousy for those who live in the European Union!

Her name is Inês. She is Portuguese, hailing from Lisbon. She has strawberry red hair!
A group of us spent this afternoon playing laser tag. Now not only did she manage to shoot me the most, but she was doing it whilst wearing this pair of very eclectic earrings:

At first, I thought there were weird pink small lanterns. But after taking a closer look, it occurred to me that they were actually thin metal chains stuffed with pink sequins!

A present from her sister’s boyfriend, they’re awfully cute and original. I love how fresh the design is - have fallen in love with them immediately ♥ !

It’s moments like these that makes me wish I had pierced ears…

Inês’ pink earrings
Background: Moleskine 2010 diary (notice Lisbon on the map!)