4/18 In Paris

So the big 4/18 Club–and by big I mean we have 3 members from my clan alone: Lil A, my cousin Steven, and yours truly–is having its day today, but unfortunately we are not all together to celebrate it. However, the great thing about membership in a club is that even distance can’t keep us from coordinating our outfits!

My sister and I’d had a quick conversation about Lil A’s outfits for her bday party a few weeks ago, and as the event was French themed, I’d suggested something with navy stripes and red leggings, primarily because I was secretly hoping back then that I’d myself get to wake up in Paris for my own bday and had visualized wearing something similar (err, minus the leggings). So I was thrilled when she emailed me this picture of Lil A in her birthday outfit:

And while Lil A was killing it in NYC with her fashionista self (3 outfit changes if I’m not mistaken from the pics I received!), her aunt was celebrating a mellower day in Paris. All I’d really wanted to do this year was to spend 4/18 in Paris with zero agenda. No long shopping list, no new museum exhibits to chase down, no appointments to keep. Just a girl in the city with a camera.

But first things first…aren’t sweets always a prerequisite for birthdays? I’d walk on hot coal and through a blinding snowstorm for these Ladurée macaroons–my favorite flavors are definitely the Pétales de rose and café:

Is 9.50am too early for champagne? Perhaps…so with my morning loot of sweets in hand, I head over to the Chanel mothership on rue Cambon to see if I couldn’t find a dream jacket for a birthday pressie…

That’s the lovely La Madeleine, a church that looks more like a temple, looming behind me in the above picture. But let’s get back to the matching outfits…see what I mean by the striped top on me in these pictures?

I strike out at this boutique…lovely items as usual (store was packed even this early in the morning) but nothing different from what I’d already seen and bought in NYC. Plus the shoes I was hoping to find in Paris for less than in the US after VAT refund were not available. And no sign of that dream jacket, which is becoming more and more elusive by the day. I am, however, tempted by a pale, pale pink Chain Me flap–not released in the US–but I email my Chanel Anonymous sponsor and am promptly talked out of falling off the wagon. Boo, what fun is it to curb your binge on your bday!

But as all you addicts know, we usually trade one addiction for another. So by the time I get off the metro at the Père-Lachaise cemetery, I am dying to devour the macaroons…

And no, I don’t find it macabre or morbid to visit a cemetery on your birthday. Walking through large cemeteries filled with ornate tombstones is to me a great reminder not of the dead but the living. It’s actually quite peaceful in this parklike setting (more on this cemetery in another entry)…of course, until you get close to Jim Morrison’s gravesite, where there is always a lot of activity.

I grab lunch, followed by a blackcurrant violet macaroon (I really wish they made diabetes-friendly versions so that I could bring some home for my mom), and leisurely take one of my favorite walks in Paris that leads me to the Musée d’Orsay…

then the Tuileries Garden,


where my view is full of this:

and my belly is full of that:


Lil A told her parents that she would like to go to Paris in a helicopter. It’s funny and adorable what kids say at that age, but what I really wish for her on her second birthday is that she gets to hang on to that blissfully unguarded spirit, so wonderfully captured in the first photo of today’s entry, for as long as she can.

9 Comments

  1. larkie

    Donna, i was actually going to bring the matte dk gold reissue on this trip with me, but ended up with Leo b/c its leather/finish are a bit hardier than the reissue. i actually find the (more matte) metallic bags to make super neutrals–they are chameleons and go with everything. but you do have to care for the metallics a bit more as i hear they’re much tougher to fix should scrapes happen.

  2. Donna

    Happy belated birthday Larkie! I’m so jealous of your yummy macaroons. I’ll take a dozen of those over a birthday cake any day. I can’t wait to go to Paris and taste the real French macaroons. I never went on my Europe tour that I had planned ages ago & had emailed you awhile ago for tips due to shortage of funds from one too many shopping sprees. Your trip entries are giving me a good idea of what places I want to visit when I seriously go on my trip. Speaking of Chanel, how versatile do you find your dark bronze reissue? I found one in the size I want at a decent price but not sure how versatile the color would be since practically all the bags I own are black sadly. I have to say this again too, Lil A is super duper adorable! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

  3. Lil A

    “Happy birthday dah-ling! Paris! Eiffel Tower! Ooh la la!” (as transcribed by Lil A’s mommy)

  4. scholastican

    oopsie, that was me wishing you bday greetings, but hitting the enter button too quickly =p

  5. Anonymous

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MissL! Wishing all the best and zest life has to offer! XOXO!

  6. larkie

    Sophia: spill! i want a full report of your loot from heathrow lol!!

  7. larkie

    CC&L: ya, my black and silver leos have seen the world with me. i’m always trying to figure out the perfect travel bag but in the end Leo has come through every time. and i get to fall in love with it all over again each time i take its picture :D.

  8. sophia

    Thx for this! I’m going to Paris in two days so looking very forward to it!
    PS. London Heathrow airport’s Chanel shop had lots of selection. Had a mad splurge sesstion there =)

  9. Chic 'n Cheap Living

    What a fun birthday you had (Laduree contributed greatly to that I’m guessing!)
    If only we could all hold onto the blissfully unguarded spirit for a little while.

    p.s. Your bag is all kinds of amazing.

    xoxo,
    Chic ‘n Cheap Living

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