Paris Calendrier de l'Advent

While you all are tearing your hair out over which canned pumpkin filling to buy for Thanksgiving, Parisians are searching madly for the right Advent calendar to buy while they last in the month of November. When I bought that print at the map fair I had a potential ADVENT LETTER FOR NOVEMBER in mind. Time to do a bit of research...

You don't have to go far to find them. In the metro posters of 24 days of beer no less?!

The old fashioned Advent cards are aplenty. I think they're printed in Germany but I could be wrong. Quelle ordinaire.

Louvre's Carousel shopping mall is a good place to hunt. L'Occitane always has nice ones though usually with a more Provençal theme.

A charming Advent from COMTESS DU BARRY, though i wish it was filled with their tins of foie gras instead of chocolate.

PATISSERIE FREDERIC CASSEL OF FONTAINEBLEAU has two calendars on offer, both filled with his devine chocolate. Red seems the preferred color for these containers of  24-days of goodies. More on Fontainebleau later...

At the NATURE store in the Louvre  24 days of seedlings and DIY terrarium plantings. Most unusual

Along with French chocolatiers the cosmetic industry goes wild with designing Advent boxes. This one from JO MALONE goes for a mere 350€

Mini chocolate bars from MAXIM'S.

A reindeerish theme at upscale MAISON DU CHOCOLAT. Most of the time the contents are not as thrilling as the container IMHO.

I expected le LOUVRE to have their own calendar. They did not sadly. More mini chocolate bars from LE CHOCOLAT DES FRANÇAIS.

On to my November letter Advent design. I cleverly thought I'd use 'my' house (if only it were. I'm in a tiny 20 meter maid's room at the top in the back. Not complaining at all mind you!) but this building is honestly not very interesting to look at and has way more than the required 24 windows to draw :((

I picked out an old 17th century engraving instead. But it was way too complicated to draw!

Monthly tearing of hair time.

Right under my nose...watercolors of the Louvre I've done without a moan or complaint.

What's more, when I pulled out the give-away Louvre guide there was the perfect window fillers!

Ta Da! Your November Advent letter is in the mail as of yesterday! You will have to cut open the windows yourself I'm afraid. (And perhaps flatten out the crease under a pile of books for several months...ahem). Still I must say I'm rather pleased with the end result. What do you think?

Today is the 1st day of the 3-day SALON DU IMPERIAL CHOCOLAT AU CHATEAU DE FONTAINEBLEAU and I am going toute sweet. Complete report to follow. If you're in Paris you should go too. It will be an elegant affair with the top chocolatiers onsite .Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast. If you'd like to receive Parisbreakfast watercolors, letters 💌 and maps in your mailbox 📮, look in my Etsy shop. 

BEAR 🐻❤️says Hi 

Jacquemart-Andre Advent Calendar

I'm keeping up with the new PB tradition creating an annual ADVENT letter for November.

A true love story lies behind this wonderful house museum. Artist Nelie Jacquemart painted wealthy banker, Edouard Andre's portrait in 1872. They married in 1881.

Both passionate about travel and Italy, they visited every year. Together they amassed one of the great collections of Italian Renaissance art in their home on 152, bd Haussmann.

The Jacquemart-Andre is less crowded than most Paris museums and offers an intimacy and calm few others can claim.

When you enter the music room, immediately Vivaldi starts playing.

In its heyday for grand soirées, the walls lowered and it became one huge ballroom.

Right now 75 works of Italian painting of exceptional beauty from the ALANA COLLECTION is on till 20 January. They perfectly complement the rest of the collection on the 2nd floor.

Do not miss having an 19th century tea in the museum's period salon.

Why I decided to visit the museum after finishing the letter art is one of the great unsolved mysteries.

I was searching madly online for pictures while at the museum they give-away big Galeries Lafayette Paris maps with perfect reference photos. Just what I was searching for. Fontainebleau seemed a good choice but their brochure offered few artwork pictures. MUSEE JACQUEMART-ANDRE offered loads. The brochure comes along with the letter by the way.  More fun cutting up bits of paper and pasting bits of paper. You will have to cut open the windows yourselves. Does it matter? You tell me.

Can you find the museum's Paulo Uchello St. George and the dragon in the Advent letter? More Paris Advent posts coming. Christmas has begun fullspeed in Paris. Tomorrow is the 1st day of the SALON DU IMPERIAL CHOCOLAT AU CHATEAU FONTAINEBLEAU. The MADE-IN-FRANCE show is on as is the stamp show and...I feel like RUN LOLA RUN. What can I say? Enjoy reading PB with your morning coffee☕️? Keep Bear in Paris with a letter subscription from my Etsy shop. Bear 🐻 waves HELLO ❤️from Paris☕️🥐.

Paris Opera Letter

 

While some of you will be stuffing your turkeys 🦃  for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving dinner, I’ll be stuffing envelopes 💌 with the New November Advent Letter💌

I’ve been thinking about the November Advent letter all month and going round Paris doing research.

Bear goes Advent Calendar shopping

 

Yesterday Bear 🐻 went Advent shopping. A Paris must-do in November. First stop A la Mere de Famile, top of the Advent heap. They always create inventive house candy boxes. 

This year we got it. By December 1st, most Advent calendars are sold out with no new stock coming in. 

The exception is Ladurée - their Advent box is supposed to arrive in December 😳 hmmm. 

Pierre Hermé’s Advent was available in October. Its always circular and full of fab chocolates. 

Alain Ducasse’s Advent is hexagonal with a Mexican Aztec theme. 

Also 6-sided, Breton chocolatier Henri Leroux has little removable boxes hiding his excellent chocolates. 

At Buci News you can buy empty Advent calendars. 

And fill it yourself. 

These candy calendrier de l’Advents are 24 chances to lose ‘the marshmallow test’. I always flunk and eat the contents Immediately. Waiting is not a skill I ever learned. I’m into ‘Immediate Gratification’. Can you wait for good things? If you have a serious case of IG, Paris is not the right place for you. Every month there’s at least one or two food treats that must be eaten. In May, no one eats Lily of the valleys but they do have them in chocolate. Fete des Meres (Mother’s Day) awaits at the end of the month. The annual November Salon du Chocolat (canceled this year) is the grand sugar-holic’s banquet.

 Growing up, food was a reward in my family. Do your homework and you get a cookie. The homework part got lost. My 6AM Morning cookie raids were infamous and the padlock on the cookie closet was no deterrent. I could  so easily raid my new Advent house this minute 🍫but I would pay a sugar-coma  price later. 

Meanwhile I am slaving away on the November annual Advent letter💌  3 guesses on the subject matter. 

Stay home and stay well PBers❤️🙏🐻

November = Calendrier de l'Advent

November in Paris is Advent time. You have one month to run around, fall in love and choose an Advent calendar for December. If you love doll houses you'll love Le calendrier de l'Avent. I thought it was a religious thing. Not at all. Its about gifting yourself chocolate and adorable miniature gifts.

Some Paris shops  like papeterie Marie Tournelle already looks like an Advent calendar.

Marie's shop has plenty of Advent postcards

And Advent houses you can fill yourself annually with goodies. In case you forgot an Advent calendar has 24 windows or openings. From December 1st - 24th you open a window and enjoy a gift or bonbon. In my opinion this is trial by fire. Who has the supreme patience to eat just one candy a day? I do not. Never mind. It's a fun concept.

Paris' oldest bonbon shop, La Mere de Famille looks like an Advent calendar waiting to happen.

In the past they have done that. This year for their 50th anniversary, the famed French artist, Sempé created their candy box/calendar. These sell out fast so run grab one.

Last year, enthralled, I bought Angelina's calendar. FYI Its the same design this year. This would make such a nice doll house-style Avent calendar.

Instead it opens like a book. The candies inside were not thrilling I'm sad to report. Rather plain chocolate disks and wafer biscuits, but the packaging is lovely indeed.

Chapon is repeating last year's design but I'll bet the goodies inside are très riche like their chocolates.

French cosmetic companies take full advantage of the Advent calendar.

A perfect opp to offer irresistable mini versions of perfumes and cosmetics. Yum Yum

I decided to stick with just chocolate for the December Paris map letter. Henri Le Roux, famous for creating caramel au beurre salé on 24, rue des Martyrs told me they do not stop selling their Advent bonbon boxes at the end of November. Hooray! In fact if they still have any, you can still get one on December 31st! This is great news.

Down the street at 9, rue des Martyrs I found a Provence-themed Advent box at Maison Bremond 1830.

Their box is a treasure chest of typical Provencal treats like nougat, calisson, candied almonds, biscuits and flavored vinegars and olive oils. Wow!

They kindly gave me their box to test. I ran home and immediately tested everything except the oils and vinegars. Why wait till December 1st? Why wait at all. I would never pass the marshmallow test.

Time to sketch out the December Paris map. I thought I would have a chocolate border...

No space. And a good thing when I think of the chocolates I would have to eat to get it right.

For Noël or whatever you want to call it, I'm offering on Etsy a Paris map special. 6 previous maps plus a new gift card. Take a look.

Thanks for reading PB. If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward to a friend. 

You can receive Parisbreakfast letters, maps, watercolors in your mailbox. 

More Paris videos on my INSTAGRAM. 

Cheers PBers!