This was the most exciting day of them all. Morgaine, one of our lecturers, had recommended we explore the area around the Pompadou. We started the day by heading straight to the Hotel de Ville Metro station and wanting to hit the vintage stores before the rest of our course descended upon Free ‘P’Star. Of course on the way we got distracted by a ribbon store and a book store. The vintage store was the most extraordinary little shops crammed full of clothing. Every rail was heaving with hangers displaying usual items from various eras. The first thing to hit me though was the smell…that intriguing scent that you find in the treasures of your grandmother’s dressing-up chest which filled my nostrils with feeling of anticipation and excitement. With a tiny rickety metal ladder leader up to a small raised platform displaying dead animal furs (with heads and paws) alongside boxes of leather belts and a row of belts. The basement has the smallest metal spiral staircase that it was hard to manoeuvre down without factoring in the armful of little gems I have already pulled out. Trying on these items was like a movie montage that all girls dream of participating in. All we needed was some 80’s music on a sound system. I was a very happy girl to walk away with an army jumper/dress, a knitted sleeveless jumper and a silver sequin (second-skin) dress. That has to be a 21st birthday outfit sorted there! And all for the reasonable price of 30 euros!
The naughtiest bookshop I have ever been in was situated next door and had us bunch of girls in fits of giggles. It was definitely worth the tears as my stomach muscles got a proper work out!
Hours and hours were whiled away at our next stop…a charm shop! Like kids in a sweetie store, we ‘ooh’ed and ‘aah’ed over the wide selection of little Eiffel Towers, roses and knives and forkes which can be purchased. Each of us had our distinct individual style but one thing we all wanted to have in common was the same Eiffel Tower charm as a representative of our trip together. And now as I look at it on my necklace, I remember the laughs we had, the tears we cried and the horrendous travelling and accommodation conditions we withstood!
Our lunch was the rather hideously conventional for an English tourist…McDonalds. But blimey, how expensive is McDonalds in Paris? The higher price almost makes you think you might get better quality food than you do…nope it was most definitely the mass-produced high calorific fast-food I’m used to in England.
Rather inadvertently we managed to conduct an experiment over our lunchtime. A few of the flyers we picked up along our way included one from Free ‘P’ Star (the vintage store), which featured six or seven almost naked men posing. This had been placed up against the window where our table was situated…I happened to notice loads of people were looking in at us. I thought to myself, I know we stand out but surely we can’t be sitting in McDonalds any differently than a group of French girls would! Then it clicked…the men and women walking past were ogling at the semi-naked men posing with baby-oil-slicked pecks! Now if that’s not a clear indication that “Sex sells” then I don’t know what is??
I hadn’t known what to expect from the Pompadou centre following lunch. I had heard the name being spread around our tour group but I had mainly associated it with its innovative architecture, which had designed the building inside out! This was more of a spectacle that the interior. I did, however, discover the most exciting stationary shop within which as a big stationary-fiend and ex-rubber collector I was in a mini-heaven!
The naughtiest bookshop I have ever been in was situated next door and had us bunch of girls in fits of giggles. It was definitely worth the tears as my stomach muscles got a proper work out!
Hours and hours were whiled away at our next stop…a charm shop! Like kids in a sweetie store, we ‘ooh’ed and ‘aah’ed over the wide selection of little Eiffel Towers, roses and knives and forkes which can be purchased. Each of us had our distinct individual style but one thing we all wanted to have in common was the same Eiffel Tower charm as a representative of our trip together. And now as I look at it on my necklace, I remember the laughs we had, the tears we cried and the horrendous travelling and accommodation conditions we withstood!
Our lunch was the rather hideously conventional for an English tourist…McDonalds. But blimey, how expensive is McDonalds in Paris? The higher price almost makes you think you might get better quality food than you do…nope it was most definitely the mass-produced high calorific fast-food I’m used to in England.
Rather inadvertently we managed to conduct an experiment over our lunchtime. A few of the flyers we picked up along our way included one from Free ‘P’ Star (the vintage store), which featured six or seven almost naked men posing. This had been placed up against the window where our table was situated…I happened to notice loads of people were looking in at us. I thought to myself, I know we stand out but surely we can’t be sitting in McDonalds any differently than a group of French girls would! Then it clicked…the men and women walking past were ogling at the semi-naked men posing with baby-oil-slicked pecks! Now if that’s not a clear indication that “Sex sells” then I don’t know what is??
I hadn’t known what to expect from the Pompadou centre following lunch. I had heard the name being spread around our tour group but I had mainly associated it with its innovative architecture, which had designed the building inside out! This was more of a spectacle that the interior. I did, however, discover the most exciting stationary shop within which as a big stationary-fiend and ex-rubber collector I was in a mini-heaven!
No comments:
Post a Comment