OHLALA Mag

TODAY IS OUR LAST DAY IN PARIS ... AS PARISIANS!

Alek and I have moved to Paris 11 years ago. Yes I was only 12! Time goes by so quickly ;-) Tomorrow we are flying back home in Los Angeles, this will be our official move since we have now sold everything in Paris.

I don't want to look back and feel nostalgic about this period of our lives. We had a blast living in Paris, I had no plans for staying that long in fact but Alek came along with an all new adventure. We went through so many stressful situations 'immigration wise' in France with Alek who is originally from Serbia that getting our papers for the US was like asking for a croissant in Paris ;-)

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of our lives and we are so excited ...

D&G AND A&F DENIED BY THE CHAMPS ELYSEES COMITY

Back in April OhLaLa announced that the first Abercrombie & Fitch store was about to open in France on the Champs Elysees [Abercrombie & Fitch Store To Open In Paris]

This summer the C.D.E.C. (Commission Departementale de l'Equipement Commercial) denied the right to Abercrombie & Fitch and Dolce & Gabbana to open on the Champs Elysees !!! D&G that already has several stores in Paris did not react to the news, but A&F decided to file a motion.

The avenue is always packed with people ready to spend their euros those two mega selling stores would have created so needed jobs ... and in this economical contest it totally make sense right !?

If some people like in America may be over with A&F and think this store would be disgraceful to the 'most touristic beautiful avenue in the world, those people needs to know that the except Louis Vuitton's store the Champs Elysees are kind of over rated and so not the place to shop. Abercrombie should open in the Marais ... I am sure it would be a HUGE success especially with the greeting boys shirtless ;-)

CARNET DE VOYAGE: PARIS! THE SIMPSONS, THE SMURFS & ANDY RODDICK

This afternoon around the Louvre we saw this funny painting, I could not resist to share. The Simpsons and the Smurfs or 'Les Stroumphs' as we call them over here together, I think it was a cool idea!

Talking about cool things, while walking rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore we had the pleasure to see Andy Roddick and his girlfriend Brooklyn Decker! They are both extremely sexy but that we knew already, what I didn't know is how tall Andy was. Yesterday he lost against Robin Soderling at the Lyon Grand Prix quarterfinals, so I guess they have decided to do a last minute romantic weekend in Paris.

CARNET DE VOYAGE: THE ARTSY TULIERIES GARDEN

Almost every single day I or we (Alek and I) like to spend some time at the Tulieries garden, no matter the season, the time of the day, or the weather, this remains one of my favorite spots. Right now the garden host part of the 'Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain' [FIAC] so one more reason to go to the Tuileries garden if you are in Paris.

But today besides the great scenery, the art, and the sunshine, there was something else not to be missed, two gymnast-break-dancers doing their stretching and training :-)



For them, there are no better spot than the comfortable grass in front of the Louvre overlooking the Eiffel Tower, that's much better than a simple indoor gymnast!









Those guys were amazing, talented and sexy (not negligible) I should have recorded a short video to share with you, but we let them do their thing and kept on walking to enjoy this gorgeous day.



I am always fascinated by those street dancers, mostly because I am just incapable of doing a single move they are doing ;-) If you remember this summer there was two guys who were performing Place de l'Hotel de ville [Street Dancers in Paris].

CARNET DE VOYAGE: A ROMAN-WAR-TIC WALK IN PARIS

Today Alek and I have enjoyed another great fall day in Paris by taking a long walk along the river. If in Los Angeles you have helicopters flying around almost 24/7, in Paris it is a rare thing and expect on the 14th of July pigeons are pretty much the only things flying above your head and eventually if you are lucky enough, defecating on you.



I have to say that it was a bit weird to have those huge army helicopters all over the place.



But after their military demonstration it all went back to the quiet and romantic atmosphere we like so much.

CARNET DE VOYAGE: FALLING FOR PARIS

Today was another gorgeous fall day, nothing like the summer feeling we experienced a couple of days ago but it was nice and crisp, well, sunny and cold ;-) So We took our camera and just walk around.



Even if I dream of an endless summer, I have to say that I really enjoy the change of seasons. It is like an all new scenery even to the most familiar places.

CARNET DE VOYAGE: FALL A PARIS C'EST SEXY ;-)

Paris is such a wonderful inspiration for our photography. And of course if we can have the Eiffel Tower somewhere in the background ... then it is even better ;-) We have one more shot in the second part of the post. More of Alek and Steph photography in Paris here.

CARNET DE VOYAGE: A LATE SUMMER DAY IN PARIS

Today was so nice that I could not help but spending most of my time walking around the city.



The sun was shinning and it felt like one of those summer days where people just want to relax on the grass and do nothing but looking at the cloudless sky or enjoy a good book ... shirtless!





One of my favorite Parisian spot on a sunny day is the Le Jardin des Tuileries, where the cute army boys are looking after our safety ;-)

CARNET DE VOYAGE: PARIS

There is no such a thing as 'indian summer' over here in Europe, so let's just call it a lucky fall day! Even if you can't really tell from those black & white photos the weekend was sunny and warm enough in Paris to forget that the summer is definitely over ...



But just like any fall day it gets dark pretty early so we have decided to go and see a couple of movies. On our list Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Blindness both presented at the Cannes Film Festival in May but only released this week.



Vicky Cristina Barcelona Being great fans of Woody Allen it is hard to be objective. Penélope Cruz was so good, very latina drama queen. We loved that there are no happy ending or any kind of 'moralization' just a piece of life a la Woody Allen.



Blindness If you go to see just a sci-fi movie then you may leave a bit disappointed. It goes way beyond, describing our society and the human kind (from good to worst) with perfection. At some point the movie becomes very oppressing especially the quarantine zone ruled by self proclaimed king Gael García Bernal!

CARNET DE VOYAGE: MORE PHOTOS FROM PARIS

After sharing those photos of the Eiffel Tower from every angle yesterday, today more photos from Paris ...



without forgetting THE one and only ;-)