This is THE busiest time of the year for us at Huff Harrington Home (and at Huff Harrington Fine Art, too) and we typically post a mandate that says “all hands on deck until Christmas Eve”. That pretty much wipes out any fun trips to places like Paris, where we’d all love to be right now. Ahhh, Christmas in Paris: we can only dream…
If a sleighful of elves magically showed up to run HHH and HHFA, this is what we’d love to do in Paris at Christmastime:
Shop ’til we drop: we’d hit the gorgeous rue St. Honore Faubourg and stroll by our fave haunts like the very old and wonderful Astier de Villette whose shelves are loaded with the most gorgeous handmade china ever seen. We’d say bonjour to the powerhouses like Chanel, Hermes and Goyard that line the street (always fun to see their glorious window displays and check out the clientele).
And we’d spent a lot of time enjoying the many little holiday market (les marches de Noel) that pop up this time of year. We’d make the trek over to Les Puces for some vintage ornaments and trinkets. We’d be sure to drop into Le Bon Marche (Paris’s answer to Bergdorf Goodmans) to drool over the gorgeously displayed goodies. And we’d dash into Laduree for a gorgeous box of macarons.
Bon appétit: the best thing about going to Paris is free rein to eat and drink like crazy. We’d start the day off with a perfect croissant and a cafe creme, bien sur, and then refuel with bubbles and oysters for lunch. Or maybe a nice little soufflé from, where else but Le Souffle?
Dinner, of course, can be a really big deal…but we think it’s much more fun to take a chance at any local and cute little bistro/brasserie you stumble upon. Stroll a bit, maybe stop for an aperitif…and wherever you end up is bound to be an adventure. We love experimenting with new and different dishes (thumbs up to our secret favorite spot that only serves dishes flavored with fresh truffles. Yum!)
And fill the day with: 1) ice-skating at the Hotel de Ville, Paris’s answer to City Hall; 2) art galore at any of the zillions of wonderful museums (we’re partial to L’Orangerie, Musee d’Orsay, the new Picasso museum that recently reopened in the Marais and of course, the Rodin Museum whose gardens are a sheer delight in all seasons); 3) strolls to Montmartre, Les Puces and along the Seine to Notre Dame and Ile St. Louis; and, 4) a shameless plug for one of our favorite activities no matter what the season: the Fat Tire Bike Tour that takes you, by bike, through Paris. Bundle up and do the evening tour for a spectacular show of lights and fun.
Best of all, we like not having any schedule at all and just seeing where a Paris day will take you…
Want to know all our favorite Paris haunts? Come with us! We’ve got openings on our Paris Buying Trip and Paris-Provence expeditions. We’d love to have you…and we’ll let you in on all our little secret spots.
In the meantime, whether you’re in Paris – or just dreaming of Paris – we wish you the most festive and happy Noel.
Ta ta.
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