Parisian doors...

Wandering around Paris, I came across so many beautiful doors. All shapes and sizes, ornate and simple, some framed by with elaborate frescoes and others by street art and all with so much character. Here's a photomontage of what I captured in the various arrondissements of the city during my French walkabouts these last few days ...ouvre la porte s'il vous plait...


The Boot coffee shop, a former cobblers shop...best coffee I had in Paris FYI...

At the Picasso Museum in the Hotel Sale...love the colour of their doors...

Le Labo, scentsory perfection... fragrant beauty without cruelty.

When a New Yorker friend kisses you hello in Cape Town and you catch a whiff of an exquisite fragrance. That. And when you discover that the perfume is by Le Labo, that you must have it, and that it isn’t tested on animals, even better. "We are proud to be living proof that there is no need to torture animals to compose high quality and creative perfumes". Consent-to-buy given to self with a clear conscience right there. Perfect.

The only setback was Le Labo isn't in Cape Town but, oh joie, I found myself in Paris a few months later avec Lateral Paul so a fragrant acquisition was imminent. After having a sublime coffee at Boot Cafe we slowly ambled around Le Marais and while LP stopped in at Acne, I opened up the Le Labo website to look for their outlets. I got distracted, forgot about it and then the weirdest thing happened. We were walking down a side street called Rue Froissart, I caught a whiff of that familiar scent, the one my friend wears and the one I can't forget. I stepped back from the storefront, saw no obvious signage so cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through the window. There, displayed in a row, I saw it - the Santal 33! I’d found Le Labo, without even trying. A sign right? Exactement, I also thought so. Inside, the charming Sarita talked us through the process of making up the fragrance from scratch, then created it while we observed, with the care and attention it, and I, deserved. I loved the way the bottle and box was then labelled with my nickname, ‘Diva'. Lateral Paul chose the Vetiver 46. That personal touch always goes such a long way.

I have discarded all my other fragrances. My Santal 33 is the only parfum I have ever worn where people notice it and compliment me constantly on how amazing it is and on how divine I smell. I now leave an aromatic trail behind me wherever I go. "A perfume is like a piece of clothing, a message, a way of presenting oneself.. a costume.. that differs according to the woman who wears it". - Paloma Picasso 

Have a look at their website, ww.lelabofrances.com …there are no airs (only beautifully fragranced breezes) and graces with this team of artisanal masters. Read their ‘we believe’ ethos….Le Labo is a brand after my own heart. 

Le Labo, an unassuming store on Rue Froissart, Paris

Good news! 

Le Labo is vegan and cruelty-free. It means that none of our scents uses animal products nor products that are not animal cruelty free. Our entire collection is not tested on animals either. We are proud to be living proof that there is no need to torture animals to compose high-quality and creative perfumes. Beauty is even more beautiful when no one has to suffer in order to make it !

Blue(r) skies in Paris...

Le soleil came out at last and we made the most of it as it was short lived. A bleak cold front is still hovering and won't let go of the city. Aside from the fact that blue skies make for the best travel photographs, the sun lifts my mood and there is an entirely different energy all over Paris. I've been quite irritated by this weather but only momentarily because Paris is, well Paris. What's not to love?

Paris in the gloom...still exceptional...

I wrote this post in May this year. It was meant to be spring, and you know how that song goes right... "I love Paris in the Springtime...." Well we had Paris in the grey and we still found its magic. And now, Paris is gloomy again. Firstly because winter is upon it and secondly because of the terrible bombings of a few days ago. A serious and sad time in the city of lights, and I want to say this- it won't be long before I am back. I won't allow the dark hearts of madmen to rob me of my travels, anywhere. I think Paris needs visitors...people putting positivity back into a traumatised society...spreading goodwill and support, just by being there. 


And this is why Paris will be in in winter too...read about my winer experience in spring...

They say May is the best time to visit Paris…it's springtime, there's sunshine, blossoms, long walks along the Seine & picnics on the lawns of all those magnificent public gardens. I’ve only ever visited the City of Lights in autumn and winter so you can imagine my anticipation ahead of this trip, and then my subsequent disappointment when I arrived to be met with a stubborn cold front from the bad-mood bosom of Zeus himself. 

Before leaving for a trip, I always keep an anxious eye on those 10 day weather forecasts so I knew that we weren’t going to get Paris at her absolute best. What to do? I’m a Cape Town girl and le soleil plays a major role in the levels of my joie de vivre.

Well I’ll tell you this- the weather can throw the worst at Paris and she will simply upstage it. Lateral Paul and I stepped out of our cab from Charles de Gaulle into a really cold, rainy Friday morning yet were instantly caught up in her magic. That feeling of being in Paris is too amazing and overshadows the negatives- just to be able to say "I'm in Paris" is a delicious feeling. We made a decision then and there to make this our best trip to date…it's the beginning of the honeymoon we never had, 24 years after le marriage (I know, better late than never) and where better to be than in Paris, one of the most romantic destinations on the planet.

I've documented grey Paris so you can see for yourselves that even in bleak mode this city is a gem. 

This is my 5th visit here - this time courtesy Air France as I won 2 air tickets in their #letmebefrench Twitter competition last year - and I’m still as overwhelmed by it as when I first saw it at age 14 as a ballet student. 

Visually, like so many other ancient cities of Europe, it’s thoroughly captivating - all aspects of it. Our brolly covered walkabouts have thus far taken us to the Dome Les Invalides, Notre Dame, Place Saint Michel, the Picasso Museum in the exquisite Hotel Sales, the Pompidou Centre, the Rodin Museum and to our favourite area for its vibe, stores great restaurants, stores and coffee, Le Marais. We'll be hanging out there a lot. More to follow…. enjoy the pics... a bientot.

Les Invalides

 Notre Dame

Coffee in Le Marais (The Boot)

Rodin Museum in Varennes...

Eiffel Tower on a wintry evening

Place Saint Michel

Pompidou Centre

Exploring street art, come rain or shine...

So you see, there's beauty in the grey... Paris, je t'aime...