Creating the September Paris Letter - Poilane

 

The monthly Paris Letter art begins with a 3” x 5” idea doodle, usually drawn on the bus or Metro.

I had an old 20’s boulangerie paper scrap cutout. 

I imagined I could create a cut-out stand-up French bakery.Ha!Dream on.

Many ‘punition’/punishment cookies (Poilâne’s signature sand cookie) were eaten to get in the mood.

For research I visited Poilâne on rue du Cherche Midi.  

My 1st Paris Map was on this charming street. Have you been?

Tufts of hair hit the floor fast as I looked for my engineer’s hat.

visiting Poilâne is a cosy, warm experience - the smell of sourdough bread and cookies baking.  

While deleting photos I found this French family trio.

                                   Something clicked.

No need to wrack my brain creating a cut-and-paste paper invention...

That was before I got out my scissors✂️The Breakfast Club pigeons are taking baths in plain view. 🙏 Pray for beautiful Napa Valley ❤️

Home in Paris

What do YOU do your 1st day in Paris? It could be anywhere you love to visit really...Do you rent a Velib and go cruising around town?

What makes you feel immediatement at home in a place you've visited before? A stop at your favorite patisserie per chance, like SECCO? Do you plan on cooking a meal (you rented an apartment) and go off to your favorite marche? Buy a few fleurs for your room, say at La Nom de la Rose, even if you're staying in a hotel..? GO SHOE SHOPPING! Or browse in a wine shop..?

Do you get all sportive and need to take a jog in the Luxembourg Jardin to feel homie?

How about buying French magazines/journals at a presse kiosk even though your French is rather rusty or non-existent?

Then you head for your favorite cafe where they even remember you from the last time, like Le Select...

Must-haves = box of macarons!

Some French chocolate!

Bread or those cookies by Poilane bien sur.

A quickie run into a department store to catch up on the latest tendances/trends like Le Bon Marche?

Do you take a Metro or a mini tour on a Paris bus like the No.95 that goes everywhere you want to go..?

Do you stand in the rue studying the ardoise/menus pretending you're going to eat there..?

Did you book a table ahead at your favorite resto?

Is visiting the Eiffel Tower an absolute must-see for you first day?

Do you keep an eye out for something special to bring home to remember your trip?
My 1st day in Paris, I pretend it's my last day so I can remember to appreciate every single nano second. But usually I forget. I get caught up in the visual buffet and forget to remember until it is The Last Day...

Do tell me what YOU do 1st day in Paris.