Paris is our middle name

The Fox and The Flamingo invite you, dear reader, into one of our favorite subjects, Paris. Since neither one of us lives there, it might be odd that we chose to write about it, before London or Zürich, where we presently hold residence, or even before the Romanian cities where we spent most of our lives in.

Paris is where our hearts lie. And if you think that Paris is the city of love, you’re wrong. It’s the place where your heart gets broken every time you visit. It’s narcotic and addictive, the need to see it as often as you can, to sense its pulse and to breathe its air. It sounds very “Sturm und Drang” and all, but quite true.

Anyway, we don’t see Paris as the city of love, maybe because we went there for the first time without our partners. We were quite young, Paris was our first encounter with western civilization, our first taste of another world. Although on the occasions we visited, we weren’t always together, our experiences there and our love for this city are very similar.

As you may already know The Fox and the Flamingo love making lists and of course we’ll share now with you some of our favorite things to do in Paris:

Walking on the beautiful Alexandre III Bridge towards the Esplanade des Invalides and the Dome with its gardens.
Jardin du Luxembourg is our favorite park, we can spend hours there and not get bored.
If you love art as much as we do, especially Impressionism, then Musee D’Orsay is the place to go, we never get tired admiring the paintings of Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Sisley and Degas.
Musee Rodin, although not that popular, is one of the hidden gems in Paris for lovers of Impressionist sculpture, it’s the home of the famous “Kiss”.
We just love gawking at the beautiful and expensive jewelry in Place Vendôme.
Petit Palais is nearly always overlooked when one visits, but its interiors and secluded garden are quite fascinating.
Nothing is more charming during the winter holidays then the famous Christmas tree in the Lafayette Galleries and hearing carols in the Notre Dame (sadly “her” bells won’t be ringing for a while).
Also the terrace on top of the Lafayette Galleries offers some amazing views over the Opera, Sacré Coeur and Tour Eiffel.
We always enjoy eating the salmon tartare, with rosé wine on the side and the mandatory crème brûlée, in one of the many sophisticated bistros.
Angelina is the place for indulging ourselves with lovely coffees and tasty cakes in the exquisite ambiance of a Belle Epoque interior, or the majestic Le Train Bleu found in Gare de Lyon.
Going lingerie shopping in Paris is a must and as the two “snobs” that we are, we recommend Etam as the best place, found mostly in the French speaking countries.
The best cosmetics are bought in Paris, the French labels as Avène, La Roche-Posay or Caudalie, being cheaper here than anywhere else.
No Paris trip of ours is complete without admiring again and again the imposing La Madeleine or the wonderful stained-glass windows of Sainte-Chapelle.
Our favorite thing to do here, though, is just discovering new neighborhoods, it’s where we truly feel the heart of the city.

Go to Paris, if you haven’t been already! Go to Paris, if you have been anyway! Go to Paris as often as you can, it will change your life and the perspective you have on beauty and class. As the famous quote from “Casablanca” says…“we’ll always have Paris”.

Photos from Flamingo‘s archive.