There and back again

How many miles to Paris town? 

10 282 miles and ten.  

Can you get there by candlelight?

There and back again.

So much to share that I am finding it hard to arrange my thoughts and begin.  If you were sitting in front of me and were to ask one little teensy question, I would be answering with a barrage of words on the wonderful trip I have just had, all the fantastic things I have found, seen and done, and especially the wonderful people I have met.

Because, I must admit, for me it is about people and our connections in the world that makes life truly interesting.  There are the people that present us with experiences out of the blue, that you don't expect, that turn a merely lovely moment into something that you will treasure.

Just one of these moments happened when my friends and I were having a degustation dinner at Le Comptoir, in Saint-Germaine.  Wonderful occasion in itself: vibrant venue, fantastic food and wonderful wine, surrounded by friends and lovely 'french food' chatter - creating an atmosphere we felt could not be topped.

And then was this jovial fellow, let forth with a french classic (you guessed it!) that is a quintessential reminder of Paris!  La Vie en Rose.  Sights, sounds and taste.  The moment and happiness now etched in my memory.

And then there are also warm and welcoming people, where by their very nature, you feel you are coming home.  Such as when I stayed again with my darling friend Sharon Santoni from the beautiful blog My French Country Home.  Such kindness and little details that she attended to!

Little homely touches, the posies of fresh flowers on the nightstands next to each of our beds, and the lists pre-prepared for us of local fairs and markets we may like to visit and new brocantes that have opened since my last visit.  Dinner reservations at a local attended to, and our highlight, a wonderful home cooked french dinner (much appreciated after so many weeks of travel)!

So bear with me while I compose my thoughts, unravel the stories and attempt to begin over the coming days...

Jennifer
x

Back home again

Isn't wonderful to travel ... to anywhere ... for any amount of time.

A country stay for the weekend, ... the beach for a day, ... or a work trip to country France and Paris for a couple of weeks.  Your heart soars, your mind clears and the ideas flow so fast!  And you are so determined to cling on to this 'new state' of mind on your return....

Eiffel Tower in Rain, David Lebovitz

But once the unpacking is done and you're back into your normal routine, whatever that entails, the 'envigorated mind' starts to settle and it begins to feel that you never went anywhere!

I've been back home to Brisbane for a couple of weeks, and have made lots of notes of ideas and creative influences - I am hoping that my buying trip will stay fresh for a little while longer.  I met so many creative people with many different ideas for me that they were perfectly willing to share - I truly hope to just capture one or two of these!

That is what I love most about what I do, it is the wonderful people I meet and that cross my path in this new venture!  My customers are such wonderful souls, from all over, and I love hearing their stories of their ideas and what they are looking for and sharing the history (as much as I can) on the pieces I find.

Normandy

And the dealers, shippers and other contacts I have met are some fabulous like-minded and extremely creative individuals both here in Australia and overseas - it's such a treat to be able to catch up and see some of them each time I return to France.  And it's so wonderful to have the opportunity to reinvigorate friendships from when I lived in London many (many) years ago.

9.00pm: Last night in Paris ... out to dinner with friends.

Isn't it amazing how our furniture and interiors, around the world, can start conversations of our hopes and dreams for our lives...

Thankyou, merci, for your comments and requests and suggestions!  All the best for the start of your week!  I hope you can retain a little magic from your own last 'escape'.

Jennifer.
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Jardin du Luxembourg