So it's January again and everybody's writing great posts about new trends (open shelves, fewer upper cabinets, the color orange, horizontal wood grains), and resolutions (already lost 4lbs YAY). Not moi. I'm in the mood for scanning the globe for home/kitchen related tidbits and what locale could be better than my new favorite, PARIS! That famous cheap yet hip ready-to-assemble furniture company, yes, IKEA stays edgy and current by coming up with new innovative marketing schemes. The latest took place in the Paris commuter train station Auber R.E.R. A 581 square foot apartment was erected,and five young stylish occupants were recruited to live in it for 6 days (January 9-14). Oh, and commuters could peak in the windows to witness "hip" living in all its glory!
The purpose of the marketing campaign was to demonstrate how IKEA products work for small spaces in real life. Each of the days is documented via video on the IKEA France Facebook page. Here are the highlights:
1) Day 2-Take out sushi delivery (FOUL! I wanted them to cook in that kitchen! Okay it sort of looked like they cooked on Day 1.)2) Day 3- Twister (A good game choice for small spaces.)3) Day 3-Some guy really into his pink ukulele (This is actually pretty hip as ukueles are making a big comeback. Click here.)4) Day 1 -Sewing clothes with sewing machine and everything (Really?)5) Day 4, below, features a bang up birthday bash! (This must be the coolest cake ever.) This was creative, attention grabbing marketing, a statement about the relationship between form and function. Did they succeed? Has social media made marketing more important than product?
LEAVING LONDON
Back to the real world. We touched down in Fort Lauderdale at 8 o'clock last night. We enjoyed our great adventures in Paris and London but I also love arriving home after a long day of traveling. Today is the ceremonial unpacking, where we get to relive all our memories for the first time through sundry souvenirs and dirty clothes.
London was a mixture of old and new for me. Since it was Joe's first visit we saw the famous spots like the Tower of London, Covent Garden and Harrod's. The Surrealist exhibit Poetry and Dreams now running at the Tate Modern was great. I added another dimension to my gallery experience by watching the people looking at the art, the bigger picture, if you will.
The V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) was amazing, both the architecture as well as the art. One of the current exhibits is "The Power of Making" which is about, well, making stuff. Our hosts at Blenheim Lodge were simply the best. Camden Town was a new experience for me. It's a vibrant street market scene with selling everything you can think of. There are stalls with delicious ethnic foods and the best thing is you can haggle, not the case at more commercialized Covent Garden. Of course it was great to see my aunt and uncle. We enjoyed a nice visit and a couple of meals together.
It's always sad to say goodbye, but now we'll always have Paris- and London ;) We have close to 2000 photos to help us remember our latest great adventure. I'll let you know when they've been added to my "On the Road" Flickr album. I guess it's back to business now.
A GOOD START IN MONTMARTRE
Day one is now a distant memory. We left our home around nine thirty Wednesday morning to depart from Miami-Charlotte and then on to Paris. I sat next to a sweet young Parisian couple who shared all kinds of tips and tidbits with me between Miami and Charlotte. For example, I learned that it is French tradition for the man to wake up first so he can go out and source les croissants and bring them back to his lady for when she awakes. We both turned to look at Joe sitting accross the aisle, sleeping. Corentin then looked at me and said, "Don woree I will explain eet to eem".
We finally found Studio "M"and it is just exactly as described, cute, modern and tres petite, located on Rue Yvonne Le Tac only steps away from the Metro station. Did I mention how much I love Montmartre? I will try. All the streets are cobblestone and there is a sense of quaintness, where as other parts of Paris, such as around the Eiffel tower, feel grand and expansive. I love the cafes and there are artists all over Montmartre!! We enjoyed lunch at Cafe Carillon, close to our studio, then walked up up up to tour Sacre -Coeur, a beautiful church and landmark of the area. It is also the highest point in Paris. Montmartre is touristy, but hardly any Americans are here.
The second part of the day (can't believe I was still standing up going on 24 hours of no sleep) we found our way, on the Metro (subway), to the Eiffel Tower. This is where we experienced the prize winning moment of the day. As we were riding in the Metro a leetle Frenchman (street musician) with an accordion hopped on and began playing French music. As we whizzed along, suddenly the Eiffel Tour came into view.
It was just one of those moments, riding on the Metro, a car full of people really enjoying the music and then, voila', the Eiffel tower! I thought maybe it would be BIGGER than I expected. It is larger than life. After all, nothing says Paris like Le Tour Eiffel!! We ended the day (before getting lost one final time) at another cafe. I must say that, oddly enough, we enjoyed the BEST aubergine (eggplant) parmigiana I have EVER tasted. I can't wait for day two!
Paris, London, Why Not?
It’s official! I’m going to Paris and London. Whoo- hoo. After months of saving our pennies hubs and I took the plunge and purchased our plane tickets. Wheels up on Oct 26th and as a lucky Kitchens for Living Reader, guess what? You get to come along! Until then you can look forward to a liberal dose of mentions and blog posts on these two amazing locations. If you reside in England or France or if you’ve visited I want to hear from you while I’m still in the planning stages. What’s too good to miss? I want to know because I don’t want to miss anything.
Our first stop, Paris, will be a first for us both. A big thanks to my pal Karen for turning us on to
Airbnb, a global network of accommodations offered by locals. It's more fun and usually cheaper than hotels, especially in big cities. I also love the idea of having a little kitchenette and from what I understand many guests meet their hosts which makes for a much more authentic experience outside the touristy realm. I was excited to find this cute place right in the trendy neighborhood of Montmarte. The site posts lots of pix and I can email Marthe, the owner ahead of time with all my annoying questions.
On Halloween we depart on the Eurostar train to London. I am a huge Anglophile and this will be my eighth visit, first for Joe. Look for London line up soon but right now I'm reading Rick Steve's Paris 2011 cover to cover. Here are the priorities so far:1) Le Eiffel Tower2) Le Louvre (Mainly to see Ms. Mona Lisa)3) Le Catacombs (Because it's novel and quirky)
4) Le Notre Dame5) Le Buddha Bar (I am the original "chill" music fan so of course)6) Le Pompidou Center (Contemporary art!)7) Le Rodin MuseumDo you think we can do this in four days with a few walking tours (Montmarte, Rue Cler) thrown in?In case you don't know how cool Montmarte is, here is what Wiki says about it: "Many artists had studios or worked around the community of Montmartre such as Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh."I can't end this without a little French design. Just saw this tres chic post on Design Sponge about a cute couple with an apartment in Paris.
Au revoir for now! Looking forward to all you great tips and Parisian tidbits.