Week 1: Paris

Hooooly I don't even know where to start! I was only in Paris for 5 days but managed to do A LOT!... Even though in typical Mal travel style I got sick for a whole day, I had experiences that I never even imagined having in my entire life! To start, I'm sitting here in the Paris Lufthansa business lounge starting my blog, crazy! I'm going to go get more food, then I'll explain the week I had in Paris!....

Well I'm back and I feel completely out of place here, but it's great! When I checked in with my snowboard bag and travel backpack they were like "vous etes buisiness class.....?" "Oui!".

So we (Diane and I) left Vancouver Wednesday morning and flew to Montreal where we met two of Diane's colleagues/friends. We then got on the plane and I had my first first class experience... I had a bed! For those of you who have traveled with me.. or even been with me on a bus, or in a car, I bet that you would have never thought that I could sleep any more easily. Well it's possible! I had a dinner (a great one), passed out (completely) and then woke up to the lights being turned on a breakfast being served!

When we arrived in Paris we went straight to our hotel, which was just around the corner from the Ritz, holy! We checked in and went straight to shopping (well I just looked!). The stores around our hotel were so fancy it was intense, Hermes, Dior, Gucci, Channel, Prada..... etc. After shopping we had some lunch at a cafe and a nap back at the hotel. We all woke up in time for dinner, drinks at the Ritz (nicest bathroom ever!!!!) and a late night Moulin Rouge show! I had no idea what to expect for the show, but it was great. Amazing costumes, music, dancing and singing. 

After a late night I slept in the next day and then went for a little walk to the gardens around the Louvre (again, just around the corner from the hotel). When I returned we went to the department store Galeries Lafayette. It is probably the most amazing store ever. Even though we only had an hour there we managed to scope out all the lingerie brands that we were going to see at the show as well as find a blazer/skirt that Diane got me (so generous!). After shopping we changed hotels to one that was right across the street from the show and we went for dinner nearby.

Day 3 consisted of my first ever lingerie fashion show! I again had no idea what to expect, but it was not what you'd imagine for a fashion show. It was in a large show room area and each brand had a booth. However by "booth" I don't mean a little hole in the wall. Each booth was decorated to the max; some had waterfalls, others had little catwalks, some even had real trees. To get into each booth you either needed to have a pre-scheduled appointment or you needed to be  VIP (which Diane is with many of the companies). Once you got into the booth for your appointment they would show you the collection and ask for your opinions (haha people even wanted my opinion!). They would also offer you champagne and a food specific to their country (baked goods or chocolate!). For lunch at the show we went into the VIP lounge (I sort of snuck in with Diane and her colleagues) and had some more champagne. Since they didn't have very much food in there we went to get some sushi, which was 14E for a role! And, the role wasn't even made with seaweed... weird! After a full day at the show we went back to the hotel and got changed into fancy clothes for the evening event. The event for the night was the 125th anniversary party for Anita Lingerie. We started the night by accompanying the two owners of anita in a Limo to the Champs d'Elysee where the Lido (our evening destination) is located. When we got out of the Limo there was even someone taking pictures of us "red carpet style". When we got into the Lido there was a private cocktail party for about 70 people from all of the world who were Anita customers. We had champagne and even escargot (which initially I was SO excited about I even took a picture!). But... then comes my typical stomach issues.. We went to sit for dinner and I was beside one owner, across from the other and our table was front and centre to the stage. HOLY! However, after the appetizer I had to make a run for the washroom and threw-up in the Lido, typical. Not fun. (I'm good now though, so family don't worry!). So as you can imagine dinner wasn't very enjoyable but the entertainment was great and I was also sitting beside the swiss clients who were so kind to me it was amazing! The after dinner show at the Lido was similar to the Moulin Rouge with amazing costumes and performances! 

The next day I had big plans to go to Versailles.... Unfortunately I slept until 6pm. Although a very lame way to spend the day in Paris it was probably very needed. Luckily at 6pm I woke up and felt well enough to have dinner IN THE EIFFEL TOWER! The terrible part about this evening was that while we were waiting for the taxi the sickness came over Diane and she had to go back to the room. So it was me, one customer and five people from the Empreinte lingerie company (oh man I am lucky!!!). What more can I say about this night, it was a once in a lifetime experience and it was absolutely amazing. We each had five glasses at our place setting and then one more was brought later for dessert wine. I wasn't feeling 100% so I couldn't fully enjoy the food and drink but the whole experience was phenomenal. We were even in the Eiffel Tower for 2 of the hourly light shows and in the elevator for another. Amazing.

My last day in Paris I took the Metro to the Louvre. I spent 4 hours just walking around and admiring the art. At this point I was missing home and then something great happened. I saw a mom with two kids walking around speaking english and thought that they were from Canada, but wasn't sure. Then I saw that she was wearing Lululemon, so it was a sign and I started a conversation! They were from Edmonton and had been traveling for 6 months! In the Louvre I even found 1 piece of BC art, a First Nations mask! After the Louvre I went to a little cafe for lunch and started to write in my Journal. I asked for water with my food and when the bill came it was 5E (~$9) for a bottle of water!!!! And gross chlorine water! Anyways I had my crepe and soup then took the metro back to the hotel. For the evening I went with one of the Empreinte employees who was younger and wanted to see the city (she's originally from Lyon and living in Montreal). So we took the Metro again to the Champs d'Elysee and walked and ate. It was a really pleasant evening. 

And that brings me to today, in the airport on my way to Switzerland. After reading that you won't believe me when I say that I miss home (especially since I hardly ever get homesick), but something is missing (other than the tap water and sushi)! I miss my friends and family a lot, but hopefully once I get my own place on February 1st I'll start to miss you all less! LOVE TO ALL! XOXOXOXOX (but actually.)

LOVE MalPal

Stay tuned for the next update and I would LOVE to hear from you too!

PS I am now in the Frankfurt lounge and it may be one of the funniest experiences of my life. I am wearing my lulus, a cowichan sweater and I have my backpack with my maple leaf sewn on. There are are 3 women out of about 100 businessmen in sight. Everyone has a suit on, a blackberry and a briefcase. Oh and there's a hotdog stand. And toilets that clean themselves. haha, life is good, I’m just sitting here having a beer in Frankfurt.

Thanks Diane for a great 5 days!!!