The Standard

I’ve been gone a while, and I know you’ve noticed. The emails, the texts and the tweets have been deafening. I’m sorry to have been so quiet, but I’ve been away. I went to the city of lights. For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s Paris. Yes, mes amis, I had to steal away after the madness that was fashion week in order to recharge the batteries and to refill my martini shaker.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share with you some highlights of my trip in a photo essay I like to call L’Album de Paris de Stan Pour Les Enfants Terribles… Alors, voilá mon voyage…

If you’ve never been to Paris, it’s filled with really old buildings that look like my grandmother’s country home. This is one of them.

One of my favorite places pour faire de leche vitrines (meaning to window shop, but literally translated to mean “to lick the windows”) is rue St. Honoré in the 1ére arrondissment. This is the beginning of the street upon which I spend most of my days.

When you want to lose yourself, like I do often, one spends the day walking around Le Jardin des Tuileries. This public park houses countless ponds, little forests and this gorgeous palace. I like to tell passersby that it’s mine. Most of the time, they believe me.

You’ll remember my post on revamped street signs, right? Well, some genius Parisian took his own take on the concept and dropped these signs all over the city. J’adore!

Midnight in Paris is not only a Woody Allen movie, but it’s also the most genius time of the day to explore the city. There’s an incredible quiet that envelopes you, and the glow of the buildings is breathtaking. I present to you Notre Dame.

Wherever you go in Paris, you see this weird tower thing in the far distance. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s pretty cool. And every hour on the hour during the nighttime hours, it sparkles!

This is Paris’ City Hall. En francais, it’s called L’Hôtel de Ville. Come on, People. Can it get any chicer than this?! I don’t think it can.

Even in Paris, a 4am burger and beer is in order. Except in Paris, it will cost you $42! [Note to self…Open a Parisian late night diner. Retire early.]

The view from my apartment in Paris. Could you just die?

My trip to Paris wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the mothership, the CHANEL boutique at 31 rue Cambon where it all begin. You pass by and you hear Coco whisper “Bienvenuuuuuuuue” in your ear. Magic.

Whenever I go to Paris, I always visit Montmartre. Located on the edge of the city in the 18éme arrondissment, it was where all the great artists kept studios…Picasso, Modigliani, Monet, Mondrian and Dalí. It’s an incredibly quaint part of town and home to the Moulin Rouge as well as Sacré Coeur as pictured above.

On my last day in the city of lights, I was very honored to be invited out on a private Riva boat to take an early evening cruise on the Seine. It was the chicest moment of the entire trip. There was vintage champagne from 1911. There was caviar. It rained a bit, and then immediately afterwards, a rainbow appeared. In all my Parisian days, I have never seen a rainbow over the city, and on my last day, I was bid adieu with my own personal arc en ciel.

And with that, Mes Amis, I sign off til the next time we meet again…

xoxo

Stan