Hello everyone,
I hope you are doing well despite the ongoing corona situation. I must say this year has been a challenge for me as I’ve been thrown out of my comfort zone. As part of this, I have also resorted to many different entertainment methods to pass these sometimes incredibly boring times including Netflix binges. One of my Netflix discoveries was Emily in Paris and I wanted to share my response to this series. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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Hey lovelies,
Today I will be interviewing my very good friend called Eva. I met her in Paris during my year abroad and she lives in Taiwan. I wanted to ask her a few questions about her beauty habits in order to see what the differences between Western and Asian beauty are.
I hope you enjoy the interview!
Hi everybody,
Today I would like to present to you the Jardin des Tuileries, Paris. It’s a beautiful park or ‘garden’ that is great to visit in the summertime and make the most out of the sunshine.
It’s located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris so it is a great place to relax after visiting these different monuments.
Last month I spent lunchtime with my good friend Anna exploring the garden and would like to share a few pictures with you:
Hey all,
A few months ago I was still living in Paris and I was going to a store called SEPHORA. Americans will probably know this store but for those from the UK it’s like our equivalent of boots but only for make-up.
During the sale season, I discovered small little eggs called kiss me. They are tinted lip balms that moisturise your lips whilst still giving you a lipstick look and are available in 6 different colours. I have the cotton candy balm and I adore it.
After having used it for several months, I will share with you a quick review:
Paris is known to have many beautiful areas, however not many tourists (or Parisians to my knowledge) know about Porte de Choisy- in the 13th arrondissement that is largest ‘Chinatown’ in Paris. This area is however perhaps better described as a quartier asiatique because as well as the Chinese, there are also Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians living in the area.
I worked in a high school in the area so I know the area pretty well so I thought I would share some hidden gems of the area with you:
Street art
If street art is your thing, you will be able to set your eyes on some beautiful art on apartment blocks as well as shop walls. Here are a few:
Lycée Gabriel Fauré
At N° 81 Avenue de Choisy is the Lycée Gabriel Fauré, a high school. Interestingly, this is a reminder of the area’s industrial past because from 1860 until 1940 this was part of the site of the Chocolaterie Lombart, the Lombart chocolate factory.
I didn’t know this up until recently so it is fascinating to find out its industrial history and it also helps to understand its layout as it does not look like your typical high school.
Tang Frères
A short walk from the Parc de Choisy will bring you to the Tang Frères supermarket.
Tang Frères (Tang Brothers) is an Asian supermarket chain based in Paris and it’s reputed to be the biggest Asian supermarket chain west of China. They have several retail outlets throughout the city and its immediate suburbs, as well as an outlet in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, from where the company’s founding brothers originate.
Should you be interested in the Asian culture, you should definitely go there and stock up on some souvenirs—preferably edible ones! Whether you’re on the search for Thai basil, soba noodles or pickled eel, you’ll certainly find it in stock here.
You’ll also find some interesting stuff during the Chinese New Year but beware of the crowds!
New year poster- year of the monkey
Bubble House
If you’re thirsty be sure to grab a refreshing Taiwanese bubble tea at the Bubble House on the avenue de Choisy. Of course there are many different Asian deli shops offering it but this shop specialises in it. The wide range of flavours includes sesame, mango, matcha and taro—all of which can be combined with dairy, almond or coconut milk on demand.
Yinki
If you have more of a sweet tooth be sure to try out some of the cupcakes in Yinki. Look how beautiful they look!
Ny Hav
Set the ball rolling with a tasty lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant at 102 avenue de Choisy where you can slurp on some delicious pho or enjoy a variety of specialty noodle and rice dishes. The bo bun dish is my favourite. This restaurant provides fresh food which is made as you order, while prices remain low as ever (10 euros per person).
Bo bun
Lots of love,
Charlotte xoxo
Dear readers,
I am currently doing an internship at the National Assembly in Paris and last week I was given the opportunity to visit the entirety of the building. It was honestly amazing to see the beauty of this building as well as discovering the political activity that goes on inside. Here I will share with you my experience.
What is the National Assembly?
The National Assembly is the second institution of the French Parliament. For those of you who are from England you can see it as the equivalent of the houses of parliament in the UK. It aims to act for the French population by establishing laws and controlling the government and is composed of 577 deputies, elected every 5 years.
Now, let’s discover the different rooms of the Assembly! Here I will be sharing the ones that caught my eye the most.
Galerie des fêtes
This is an absolutely stunning room that was inaugurated in 1848. If you have visited Versailles, you will see some resemblance with the Galerie des Glaces. The ceilings are painted by Francois Joseph Heim and this room is full of allegories of Justice, Industry, Trade and Agriculture.
La salle des Pas Perdus
This is another beautiful room where before each session, the President of the Assembly (Claude Bartolone) goes to the hemicycle surrounded by a double guard of honour drumming. It was amazing to see this service and quite impressive that they do this before every single session. Interestingly, it is forbidden for journalists to enter this room and is commonly called the “sacred perimeter” due to them not being present.
The Library
For those who are Harry Potter fans, you would have been delighted with the sight of this library, which has a very high resemblance to the one in the film. The guide actually tried to trick us into thinking that it was the one in the film but I have done my research and found that the true one is in Oxford.
Regardless of this, the library is still absolutely stunning. It was built in 1830 by Jules de Joly and designed by Eugène Delacroix. There are 70 000 books in the library itself and 730 000 books are stored in the basement.
The Hemicycle
It was designed by Jules de Joly from 1828 to 1832 and is where the members of parliament debate and discuss laws. When the deputies deliver their speech they stand to the nearest microphone and cannot speak more than 2 minutes (there is a countdown timer). There are also editors who note what is said during the sessions in order to write the report of the session as well as cameras constantly filming everything.
The right winged deputies sit on the right side of the hemicycle whilst the left winged politicians sit on the left side. Also, the more important a MP you are, the lower down you sit.
What was my favourite part of the visit?
I really enjoyed MPs discussing live before my very eyes as it was amazing to see them as real people and not just as people on television. However, I cannot forget the beauty of the building that is quite overwhelming.
Also I did enjoy the lunch that we had- gazpacho as a starter, salmon and vegetables as a main and a cheese cake for the dessert. It was beautiful.
A Touch Of Charlotte 