Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

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As 2012 has come to a close, I’d like to finish out my Paris trip series by sharing the pieces that I picked out as Christmas gifts in Paris and some more of my favorite photographs from the trip. Here’s to more grand adventures in 2013!

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Massimo Dutti boucle jacket with black leather edging around the collar. Although Massimo Dutti opened in NYC right before we left for Paris, I still couldn’t leave Galleries Lafayette without checking out their MD selection. This was a great find!

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A cozy chic Chattawak gray sweater jacket.

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Chattawak maroon and black jacket with leather details. I normally don’t wear shades of red, so this jacket is completely different from anything that I previously owned. I love the herringbone pattern.

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Claudie Pierlot black coat with leather collar. I love the tailored, straight cut of this piece. Can you tell that I love leather?

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Charming buildings along the river in the 4th Arrondissement.

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One of our favorite neighborhoods, the Marais: cobblestone streets, traditional French cafes, and boutiques galore.

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A bakery in the Marais.

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The Marais once again.

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SA standing outside Laduree wearing a Sonia Rykiel coat purchased on Net-a-Porter last January for approximately 70% off.

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Traffic along the Champs-Élysées.

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The interior of Hermes on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

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Place de la Concorde.

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Paris manhole cover.

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A view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower.

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As we stood on the Eiffel Tower, a rainbow appeared over Paris.

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View of the Eiffel Tower from a boat ride on the Seine.

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A view of Paris buildings from a boat ride on the Seine.

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United Buddy Bears: Painted life-size fiberglass bears adjacent to the Eiffel Tower that celebrate the 25th anniversary of the twinning of Paris and Berlin and the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, which marked the official reconciliation between France and Germany after World War II.

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Millefeuille and Cafe Creme at Café de la Paix.

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Le Village Bar in Montmarte, where my mother and I enjoyed cocktails and people watching outside on our last night in Paris. Montmarte is the Greenwich Village of Paris. It’s charming without being too precious and the food and nightlife scene here is vibrant. Montmarte seems like one of the best places to go food shopping, with its delectable looking fromageries and bakeries.

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One of the great monuments of Paris, The Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmarte, at night.

All photos by StyleAspirations.

My Favorite Parisian Chocolates

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La Mer de Famile
One day in Paris after lunch at Bistro Le P’tit Troquet on Rue Cler, we decided to walk to the end of this cobblestone street so favored by Rick Steves.  We happened upon a chocolate shop called La Mere de Famille and decided to go in.  It had a good feel to it, the type of feel that a one-of-a-kind store has (even though we later learned that the shop has several locations).  We decided to try a few different pieces of chocolate so I inquired about the price of a box.  The price seemed reasonable (If I remember correctly, it was in the $20-30 range), so I decided to buy a box.  We stood in the small shop and chose a plethora of chocolates.  I kept waiting for the salesperson to tell us that there was no more room in the box, but we kept filling, filling, filling up the box with more pieces.  Quite a different experience from places like Godiva.  We were thrilled to discover that the chocolate was fantastic.  My mother deems it some of the best chocolate she has ever had, even better than Jean-Paul Hévin’s chocolates.

I later learned that La Mere de Famille is the oldest sweet shop in Paris, dating back to 1761!  Don’t we know them when we see them?!  We may have not made it to the Paris Chocolate Festival (an item on my agenda that ultimately did not fit our schedule), but we stumbled upon something good!