Here is an amazing doorway in Paris to bring in the weekend!
While just 2 blocks from our first hotel (which Heather talks about here), it's a far chicer address! My favorite building was the small townhouse nestled in between the larger apartment buildings. What a cute house!
You can see it has balconies facing the Seine and the Louvre across it, seen below.
I only wonder about the tourist boats with floodlights which crowd this area of the Seine late at night. If you live here have your black out blinds ready!
Great examples of all different styles of Parisian architecture.
And of course, this area is full of AMAZING shops -this one in particular caught my eye.
Why bother going to the Louvre across the bridge here when you can see amazing items like this in the shop window!
These bike stops were all over Paris. This location is ideal to pick up a bike after a visit to the Louvre and the Quai Voltaire!
I interupt these Paris posts to bring you a disturbing little problem I came across recently in a popular local restaurant & bar. These large urn lamps (probably 5' tall) flank a banquet. The space itself is wonderful -however....those lampshades.....
Thats the lampshade you put in a stylish restaurant .... on THAT lamp? Seriously?
Nestled behind the Institut de France in St. Germain is a quiet, charming little park with some unusual features.
Notice anything odd? cobblestones, trees, lanterns, benches......
This fountain looks ok -charming even.
Oh yes -the benches look like open books! I loved these whimsical places to sit and perhaps.....read!
Just don't let the creepy statue of the monk across the street scare you away!
Surprises around every corner!
A trip to Paris isn't complete with a healthy dose of shopping. Parisians excel in this department for sure! All shops, even the most simple, are very beautiful and tasteful with a big imagination! 
Or an eye-catching window display. This makeup shop (again along the Rue du Faubourg St Honore) had quite a crowd gathered in front of it. The makeup 'palatte' was made out of glitter that caught the afternoon sun beautifully.
A lot of shops would have a speciality, such as this 'Orchideiste' -that was a new word for me!
A charming hat shop.
A shop of chic houseplants!
Many shops would display their products along the street, such as this cute florist shop in St. Germaine, where a lot of the fun, more unusual shops are housed. Heather and I wondered how some of this stuff just didn't walk off' with would be customers!
This florist shop was next door to one of the most famous shops in Paris, Deyrolle. You know that was coming after I said 'unusual' right?
You all know I'm not always a fan of taxidermy but this shop was too fantastic to miss!
Why go to the zoo? These animals are silent and won't bite! 
These small birds were SO charming -I could see one sitting very happily on my coffee table! I was so tempted to get a little canary! I contented myself with taking home some candles though.
The shop is surprisingly bright filled with tons of natural light. 
An immense collection!
Turkeys and butterflies cohabiting peacefully.
I loved the wall color in here! 
One of the shops I was most looking forward to visiting did not disappoint. Cire Trudon in St. Germain was a fun stop with very 'historical' fragrances: warning -they're not all pleasant! However, I picked up a heavenly scented candle here, Proletaire.
A lot of the shops incorporate beautiful antiques and art into your experience. Roger Vivier had some outstanding antiques that were museum worthy. I wanted to take this ebony console with me, forget the shoes!
Of course Chanel was ever so chic, across from the Ritz as always!
And why waste time in a museum when you have roman antiquities filling shop-fronts along the small streets of St. Germain?
Or check out the Chagall along the Rue St Honore?
I think Paris had the most beautiful floral shops. Aquarelle is particularly well known, around the corner from our first hotel in St. Germain.
The city is so gray, that these flowers really POP!
Too beautiful for words....
This beautiful umbrella shop along the Boulevard St Germain reminded me of one of my favorite movies, the umbrellas of Cherbourg!
Notice the metal umbrellas hanging outside? 
The shop front of Zuber was black to show off the colorful wares inside.
Our favorite shopping haunts were definitely found walking around St. Germain back streets or along the Rue St. Honore. Avenue Montaigne had some AMAZING super high end clothing stores but was a bit intimidating to say the least!
All of that shopping is EXHAUSTING! It was always a relief to go back to the hotel room, drop the bags off and have a snack from Laduree with a cup of tea.
Photo at the top of the post is of the St. Germain Laduree store where we spent a small fortune DAILY.
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