One of the great pleasures of being in Paris is being immersed in luxury and exquisite presentation, as only the French can do. We started our “luxury tour” at Printemps Homme, one of the Grands Magasins near Opera Garnier at Boucheron to see if I could get my Boucheron wedding ring cleaned. Bien sur, Madame. The cost: 250 euros and it would take 7 weeks! We explained that we were only going to be in Paris until the end of October and that we were here celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. The elegant Boucheron saleswoman said, “then we must have champagne” and soon an expensively dressed man arrived with two glasses of champagne on a silver tray. She encouraged us to browse the new collection and soon I was wearing a pair of 7,000 euro diamond earrings that “would be perfect for your 10th anniversary.” She would give us a 10% discount, plus we would have the 12% tax refund. She also called the flagship store at Place Vendôme and said that they could clean my ring by Oct 30 and she would take care of the cost. Merci.
I explained that we have Canadian dollars which are très faible. We did the euro-canadian currency exchange and showed her the amount of $7,992.00 those earrings would cost in CDN. She said, but you can just pay in euros. Great solution! But luxury has no currency conversions. We graciously said we would think about it and she handed us her card and told us to contact her anytime.
Now fueled by champagne, we browsed the top 3 gourmet floors, filled with culinary delights at every turn. A truffle bar, a champagne bar, chocolate, cheese … on and on it went. And you could enjoy it all with a stunning view of Paris.
Continuing with the luxury theme, we walked to the Place Vendôme to check out Ritz Hotel, which had been updated since our last visit. As we walked past the luxury windows, we indulged in the delightful past-time of lèche-vitrine, (literally licking the windows) or window shopping. I always think of Princess Diana who took her last tragic ride from this hotel.
We ended our luxury tour by strolling down Rue St-Honore and paying homage to Joan of Arc near Hotel Regina. Thank you Paris!
