Hello Lovely

How are things with you today?
Me? Less than cheery as chilling temperatures
do a number on 'my nerves' as gramma used to say.
Still, the cold won't stop me from posting pics I snapped
just for you in Paris or from spilling more PARIS SECRETS...
don't you adore a big fat Frenchy secret!?!

One of my favorite finds in the Marais neighborhood is
Musee Carnavalet.




 This one's my fav: study of a foot by François Boucher, Pastel, ~1751

Although essentially a history museum,
the musée Carnavalet is nevertheless an art gallery
with around 600,000 exhibits spread over more
than one hundred rooms.
 



The courtyard is magic.


The history preserved here (16th to 20th century)
was brain and eye candy.


(In my imagination, I am statuesque.
Lo, I am indeed the size of a 3rd grader.)











 all photos mine

 It's a secret too special to keep.
If you are Paris bound, make time for 
Musee Carnavalet...
and room for lil me in yer carryon.

Peace to you right where you are.






 Hello Lovely at times partners
with companies I  love and think may interest you.

Today, with a moment to daydream about
French lovely actually experienced
(daydream + dejavu + woozy),
I invite you to join me on a
daydreamavoo rendezvous
to Paris.
*
A few months ago, my
senses were overcome with
all things Paris lovely
including
ART, art, ART
EVERYWHERE.

(My favorites breathe outside of the Louvre btw.)




The bronze sculptures inside and out
of the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome,
for example, wooed me and
play a starring role
in this daydreamavoo of ours.

They were magnificently created
by this talented French visual artist:



still at work!

Roseline Granet.
Born in 1936,
she studied design and painting
in New York in 1954
and then sculpture in Paris.

With sculptor Jacques Delahaye,
she founded the Clementi foundry
in Meudon, near Auguste Rodin's studio.
Shall we daydream about the yummy foundry another day?
Cool.




Isn't this dream-a-woozy peek
at the
fresh infancy of one of her
sculpted beauties both
inspiring and enchanting?



Examples of Granet's human figures in movement.




This shot was taken in my half
of the Park Hyatt's dreamworthy
spacious bathroom (lit with the
most amazing natural light).
Functional art!




I loved sharing space with Granet's
mesmerizing forms who are
floating, stretching, and soaring
throughout this palace hotel.

For more pics of our suite, visit my post here.



a fabulous wine, oui. more bout that later.

In this shot alone, you may spy
FOUR lovely, weightless works.





Again with the woozy artful hardware!
Care for a peek outside?



Ahhhhhhhh.
Sans screens.
Sans noise.
An inner sanctum of Paris lovely.


My husband's half of the bathroom. Notice the door's lever to the WC.



I cannot wait to return to this amazing hotel,
and the first thing I will do is deeply inhale
their signature scent by Blaise Mautin.

Should you have the chance to see,
smell, snooze, spa, or sip at the
Park Hyatt Paris Vendome,
you will not be disappointed.


my photo - inside le spa

This is the part of the rendezvous when we
slip into a lush terry robe and drift downstairs
to the hotel's spa for sauna, steam, and quiet.
I have a sneaky suspicion another
daydreamavoo rendezvous awaits us...oui?

Peace to you right where you are.

above and this, my photos

Le Pavillon de La Reine
enchanted us so from its ivytastic exterior
that as soon as we returned to the apartment
we leased, I had to know more and got to googling.

From Liberty London Girl,
I learned about this magical suite
inside with giant amazing lithographs!
I would very much like to
visit this gorgeous space someday.

Designed by Didier Benderli (Kerylos Interiurs)



From Bonjour Paris:

"At the headboard was a huge lithography (a fac similé) in the handwriting of Arthur Rimbaud from his work Une Saison en enfer. In the suite's massive living room under a black ceramic Italian chandelier is Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos' handwritten segment from Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It is hardly an irony that John Malkovich favors this suite on his visits to the city. The hotel has a prized guest book with comments from notables."



So captivated by this suite,
I stayed up until the wee hours
at our paris apartment
reading about Rimbaud's work,
awed by his story,
desperate to know more.

This is one trance Paris threw me into.
Our apartment was located near the
Sorbonne, so perhaps so much
academia and bohemia
in the atomosphere-emia
seeped into our brain cells.





Maybe this sort of research
rings less than romantic for you,
but a creatively intellectual
adventure into history
and literature while
under the influence
of good red and
a Paris
trance
is
sexy
like
this
suite.




I'm still marinating in this
inspiration and plan to
do something clever
and dramatic
with my
collected
french
antique
documents.






Je t'aime, Le Pavillon de La Reine!
Someday, it will be me and you.

8 Place des Vosges, 75003 Paris
Telephone: + 33 (0)1 40 29 19 19

Who is joining me?

Peace to you right where you are.

happy new year, blogbuds!
Let's hightail it outta here and git to
gittin to Paris for a few yummy finds
like these:

(For Yummy Finds {Part 1}, skedaddle here.)

***

Yummy Find #6
Paris Bakeries Are a Gift from God.

Of course you know this already.
After trying every baguette in town,
Eric Kayser easily won for the best.
Hearty. Complex.
C'est impossible to duplicate.






I was cuckoo aussi for Eric Kayser croissants.
And his chocolate chip walnut cookies,
pain au chocolat, and apple crumble muffins.
(don't get me started...effects of an extreme bakeover
linger still. Oui. A baked goods from God hangover).




bonus:
Take away quiche, baguette sandwiches,
and prepared salads...a low cost meal to go.




Yummy Find #7
Parisien Target.

Monoprix is a smart source for
groceries, kitchenware, and even clothing,
with many locations in Paris.



I bought Speculoos cookies,
Speculoos spread (cookie butter),
dark chocolate covered
Speculoos (you get the idea),
beautiful wooden spoons,
and wee baby-like spoons perfect
for delicate devourage of yogurt.
This just in:
Apparently, I won a Trader Joe's giveaway here,
and it includes a jar of cookie butter!!! Thank you Becky!

indeed, my cookie butter deserved a photo shoot with her hunky companion.

Yummy Find #8
Luxurious Berthillon Magic.

We were defenseless against
those charming carts on the street.
Though we didn't spot many peeps wolfing down
cones from Berthillon while strolling,
we.would.not.be.denied.


via paris4travel


Try all the flavors...while you are in Paris,
you may as well taste the rainbow.

btw, i could've taken pics of these eggs all day!

Yummy Find #9
But Of Course, Outdoor Markets!

My husband especially liked the Bastille one.
I was more drawn to vendors selling vintage bling,



but that didn't stop me from asking
eggs, cheese, and fruit to
'SAYYYYYY FROMAGE.'
Curious:
French sausages were uncooperative
about saying fromage so you won't
see many uptight links grinning back at you here.




Yummy Find #10
Sugared Brioche:
Petite Dejeuner Pastry of Champions.

No disrespect to eclairs.
But one of my favorite tastes of Paris
(and one I will attempt to replicate)
was a sugared brioche served at Les Orchidees...



a tenderlovely, breakfast rave party* for your mouth
with sexy carmelized crispy goodness on top and
dangerous potential for extreme bakeover.

*i have never heard of a breakfast rave party,
but i am ready to show up if you invite me to one.




That is enough yum for you, me, and our
 muffincroissant-tops for now.

Expect more 'extreme bakeover' and 'breakfast rave party'
posts from this twisted blogger in the future.

Peace to you right where you are.



To find more frugal Paris Yummy, go here.