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Shopping at La Vallée Village

I first heard of La Vallée Village whilst shopping at Bicester Village; both are part of the Chic Outlet Shopping, a ‘collection’ of nine luxury outlet centres in Europe.
I wrote about Bicester two years ago, and last month I had a chance to go to La Vallée Village, east of Paris about 35 minutes via shuttle.
The centre is much like Bicester, quaint outdoor settings, featuring a large variety of designer brands at steep discounts. The centre also has an art gallery.
Next to the outlet is the huge Centre Commercial Val d’Europe which has Sea Life, and Disneyland Paris is just five minutes away.

Posted November 14th, 2011 in Photos, Places, Reviews, shopping. Tagged: france, Paris, Vacation.

Wristlet From Recycled Snack Wrappers

This cute, colourful and stylish wristlet is a real conversation piece; it’s made from intricately woven recycled snack wrappers.
Nahui Ollin bags are designed by Olga Abadi using ancient Mayan weaving techniques.
The designs produced under fair-trade conditions include totes, clutches, wallets etc all trendy, green and eco-friendly. The wrappers are factory rejects meant for the landfill.

This lovely wristlet was a gift; a re-gift if you will – it was gotten from the MoMA store and lovingly passed on to me when I needed a coin purse.

I bet you never thought snack wrappers could look this cute.

Posted November 6th, 2011 in shopping. Tagged: accessories, recycled.

A Good Walk

In the days leading up to my vacation I was on the look out for good walking shoes.
Last year while getting a Compeed patch for my blistered aching feet, the guy at the pharmacy smiled knowingly and said, “This city is full of lost tourist with sore feet”.
I found these boots at the Bay from the Topshop Capsule Collection.
I didn’t know then that I’d wear them everywhere throughout my vacation – yes, they are that comfortable!
I didn’t get them because they looked comfortable; I liked the classic look, and felt they’d pair well with my travel wardrobe.
I didn’t mean to wear them everyday, I just keep reaching for them every morning because I’d walk in them for hours and not feel like my feet were on fire.
Last year my seemingly comfortable looking shoes let me down, the year before that, I actually broke down and bought a pair of flats while on a day trip.
Taking it off and on at airports was a breeze.
We did three cities and stayed out one night till morning came.

Posted November 4th, 2011 in shopping, Travel. Tagged: Paris, Vacation.

Shopping Stories: Z&V

Zadig & Voltaire – Meatpacking District, NYC

It was in Le Bon Marché in Paris; there I stood looking lost in the massive men’s department when a woman walked up to me and asked me if I spoke English in what I could only assume was bad French.
Her face lit up when I said I did, I know that feeling… she asked if I knew what floor Zadig & Voiltaire was on.
“Mais oui… Voltaire écrivait Zadig, non?” I joked in what I’m sure was bad French.
I told her it’s on the second floor; I remembered because I’d been intrigued, and I’d wanted to make that joke too but skinny french shopgirls intimidate me.
And then I asked her… I’d been wandering the halls for a while, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get to La Grande Epicerie – did she by any chance know?
That she did; I needed to go out, it was actually the building next door.
I thanked her and she thanked me, the next day I downloaded a free copy of Zadig and read it days later on the plane home.
It had been on my list of books to read for years now.

Posted July 15th, 2011 in Daily, shopping. Tagged: france, Short story.